Debbie Levy's "Imperfect Spiral"

Debbie Levy writes books—fiction, nonfiction, and poetry—for people of all different ages, and especially for young people. Before starting her writing career, she was a newspaper editor with American Lawyer Media and Legal Times; before that, she was a lawyer with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now called WilmerHale).

Here Levy dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Imperfect Spiral:

Imperfect Spiral has two storylines. One concerns the aftermath of a terrible accident, in which a five-year-old boy runs into traffic to chase down his football while in the care of his fifteen-year-old babysitter. The other is the tale of the deep connection forged between the little boy, whose name is Humphrey, and the babysitter—Danielle—during the summer they spend together as babysitter and babysittee (he coins that word) before the accident. Casting those two characters is key to the movie. Danielle feels, as teenagers often do, that she is impossibly peculiar. And she is, in fact, peculiar, but only a little bit, as so many of us are. Humphrey is also a little bit peculiar and wonderfully and completely unaware of this. And he thinks Danielle is absolutely the greatest. For the perfect Humphrey, I’d cast Jonathan Lipnicki—not as the 23-year-old that he is now (sorry, Jonathan, wherever you are), but as the six-year-old adorable little kid, Ray, he played in Jerry Maguire. As for Danielle—here’s a thought—Renée Zellweger, who played little Ray’s young mom in Jerry Maguire. I mean, of course, not as the forty-four-year-old she is now, not even as the young woman she was in Jerry Maguire, but rather Renée Zellweger as a teenager. We can make this happen, right?

Learn more about the book and author at Debbie Levy's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tracy Guzeman's "The Gravity of Birds"

Tracy Guzeman lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work has appeared in Gulf Coast, Vestal Review, and Glimmer Train Stories.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her new book, The Gravity of Birds, which is her first novel:

What a blissful assignment! Populating a film version of The Gravity of Birds with actors of my own choosing seems like the best possible way to procrastinate for a while. But since the narrative goes back and forth in time, I’d need a handful of Alices, a few Natalies, certainly more than one Thomas, and at least a pair of Finches. (Or else one extremely talented makeup artist.) I’m hard pressed to identify young actors that would bear enough resemblance to their older counterparts, something that often pulls me out of the action when I’m watching a film where the actors age dramatically. But for certain characters, at certain points in the novel, choosing a card-carrying SAG (or Equity) member is a piece of cake.

I didn’t have him in mind when I wrote the character, but now when I imagine Dennis Finch, the art history professor, I can only picture the brilliant Michael Kitchen. I’ve been a fan since seeing him in Enchanted April, then later in the PBS productions of Reckless and Foyle’s War, among others. He exhibits the ideal combination of intelligence, dry wit, and dark humor required to portray Finch, as well as a deeply-sentimental core that reveals itself in small gestures. Being able to think and talk at lightning speed, and make seemingly random connections completely plausible once explained, is critical for the eccentric art authenticator Stephen Jameson, so he would be played by none other than Benedict Cumberbatch. (Partly because I love saying that name, but also because, as evidenced by Sherlock, he makes antisocial behavior oddly endearing.) As for Phinneaus, the mysterious neighbor who pines for Alice for years, I’d cast Viggo Mortensen. His voice has the right quality—quiet and plainspoken, sincere—and he perfectly embodies the mental image I have of Phinneaus. He gets extra points for founding Perceval Press, and the fact that he’s a poet as well as a fabulous actor seals the deal. Naomi Watts (21 Grams, The Painted Veil, The Impossible), with her affinity for characters who find the strength to go on in the face of both physical and mental anguish, would be a good candidate for the adult Alice.

And as far as Thomas Bayber, the reclusive artist who sets everything in motion at the beginning of the novel, and then again, forty-some years later at its end, there’s only one choice: Jason Isaacs. Why? Because he can do wistful and brooding, and convince you that he’s aware of those opportunities for love he’s recklessly squandered, yet still can’t make the timely overtures required for redemption. As his own worst enemy, he’s perfect.

Learn more about the book and author at Tracy Guzeman's website and blog.

Writers Read: Tracy Guzeman.

--Marshal Zeringue

David Rich's "Middle Man"

David Rich has sold screenplays to most of the major studios and to production companies in the United States and Europe. The author of Caravan of Thieves, he lives in Connecticut.

Here Rich dreamcasts Middle Man, the sequel to Caravan of Thieves:

Want to have some fun? Spend a little time trying to cast Maya: the daughter of the man claiming to be the King of Kurdistan; she is dark, voluptuous, mysterious, wry, witty, focused and determined.

For inspiration I spent a little time staring at photos of the astoundingly beautiful and talented Isabelle Adjani. If you have never seen her in One Deadly Summer, drop what you’re doing. She’s too old now for the part now, but once upon a time…

There are probably Persian actresses who would fit the part, but I am not familiar with them. French actresses are often popular around the world so I searched there and Bérénice Marlohe (Skyfall) stopped me right away. If you want to know what Maya looks like (and you do) check her out. And I would be remiss if I did not mention – in any blog post on any topic - Eva Green. I’m going to work my way through Italian and Greek actresses next.

Johnny Bannion is a bald headed Welshman, a one eyed charmer and con artist extraordinaire. He is Dan, Rollie’s father, times ten. Anthony Hopkins would be achingly good in that role. Pierce Brosnan  has just the right mix of menace and charm.Geoffrey Rush  would bring a different kind of energy to the part. Is there anyone better at being devious?

As for Rollie, I previously mentioned Colin Farrell or Ryan Gosling and would add Ben Foster to the list. He has the requisite unpredictability. A long list of leading men – from Jeff Bridges to Tommy Lee Jones to Jack Nicholson to Michael Douglas (and there are more) would be excellent as Dan. The art would come in matching the Rollie with the Dan. Ryan Gosling might go well with Jeff Bridges. Ben Foster with Tommy Lee Jones or Woody Harrelson. I would team Colin Farrell with Michael Douglas or Jack Nicholson.

Learn more about the book and author at David Rich's website and blog.

Writers Read: David Rich (September 2012).

My Book, The Movie: Caravan of Thieves.

--Marshal Zeringue

Anita Hughes's "Lake Como"

Anita Hughes was born in Sydney, Australia and had a charmed childhood that included petting koala bears, riding the waves on Bondi Beach, and putting an occasional shrimp on the barbie. Her writing career began at the age of eight, when she won a national writing contest in The Australian newspaper, and was named "One of Australia's Next Best Writers." (She still has the newspaper clipping.)

Hughes received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from Bard College, and attended UC Berkeley's Masters in Creative Writing program.

Her debut novel Monarch Beach was released in June 2012, followed by Market Street in March 2013.

Here Hughes dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Lake Como:

The minute I started writing Lake Como, I began visualizing it as a movie - it is hard not to when the setting is one of the most picturesque lakes in the world!

Hallie is a young San Francisco interior designer and I see her as a vibrant and beautiful blonde - possibly Blake Lively. Hallie's mother, Francesca designs wedding cakes and she is one of those women who looks elegant in jeans and Keds with flour on her fingers. I see her as Ashley Judd or Andie MacDowell with a bob.

Hallie's grandmother - the San Francisco society matriarch Constance Playfair would be a lovely older actress with beautiful skin and exquisite fashion sense - perhaps Glenn Close.

One of my favorite characters is Portia Tesoro - Hallie's Italian half sister. Portia grew up in a villa on the shores of Lake Como under the thumb of her overbearing grandmother Sophia. Portia is beautiful and just a little bit wild. I think Emmanuelle Chriqui who played Sloan on Entourage would be fabulous as Portia. (And I miss Entourage so it would be great to see her on the screen again!)

The male characters are a little more complicated. Angus could be played by Matthew Goode who I loved in Leap Year and Peter might be Topher Grace (who I still have a crush on from That '70s Show!).

There is definitely a role that would be perfect for George Clooney, but I'll let the reader decide which character that would be!

Learn more about the book and author at Anita Hughes's website.

Writers Read: Anita Hughes (July 2012).

My Book, The Movie: Market Street.

--Marshal Zeringue

Carolyn Jess-Cooke's "The Boy Who Could See Demons"

Carolyn Jess-Cooke was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland – right around the corner from C. S. Lewis’ birthplace. Following a first class honours degree in English Literature and Classical Studies at the Queen’s University of Belfast, she received a scholarship to study for a Masters degree in Creative Writing, during which she developed the first drafts of what would later become her debut poetry collection, Inroads. Working as a piano tutor, pianist, photographer, and the occasional acting stint, Jess-Cooke travelled the world during this time and lived for several years in Sydney, Australia. Later completing a PhD in Shakespeare on film, she took up an academic post in film studies at the University of Sunderland in 2005 followed by a senior post in Creative Writing at the University of Northumbria in 2009. She gave up tenure in 2011 to write full time.

Jess-Cooke is the author of The Guardian Angel’s Journal (2011), The Boy Who Could See Demons (2012), and the award-winning poetry collection Inroads (2010).

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of The Boy Who Could See Demons:

There’s been some interest in making the film of The Boy Who Could See Demons and as a former filmmaker, I would just love to see it happen. I see all my books as films.

For Anya, I think it’s a toss up between Carrie-Anne Moss (yep, from The Matrix) or Jennifer Connelly. For Alex, Asa Butterfield (of Hugo and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas fame) has my vote, though he’s already 16… (come on Hollywood, get cracking!) For me, Michael was always Sean Bean. For Alex’s Auntie Bev,  Amy Poehler. For Cindy – she’s a tough one – Niamh McGrady, a Northern Irish actress. For Alex’s father, Cillian Murphy.

Learn more about the book and author at Carolyn Jess-Cooke's website and blog, and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Writers Read: Carolyn Jess-Cooke.

--Marshal Zeringue

Brad Smith's "Shoot the Dog"

Brad Smith was born and raised in southern Ontario. He has worked as a farmer, signalman, insulator, truck driver, bartender, schoolteacher, maintenance mechanic, roofer, and carpenter. He lives in an eighty-year-old farmhouse near the north shore of Lake Erie. Run Means Red, the first novel in his Virgil Cain series, was named among the Year’s Best Crime Novels by Booklist.

Here Smith shares some ideas for adapting his new novel, Shoot the Dog, for the big screen:

Let’s make this movie in the 1940s. That way we get John Ford to direct it, and we get Henry Fonda to play Virgil. Fonda has that perfect laid-back demeanor, coupled with wry humor. I’m thinking Barbara Stanwyck would make a cool and sexy Claire – she’s so good at playing smart, caustic women; her fire would make a great contrast to Fonda’s taciturn Virgil. Claire Trevor, volatile and beautiful, would be Kari. Who else? Well, if Ford’s directing, we have to cast Victor McLaglen – possibly as Tommy Alamoso. (We might have to make him a drinker instead of a toker.) And we’d have to find something for Peter Lorre to do, because why would you miss out on a chance to work with Peter Lorre?

Learn more about the book and author at Brad Smith's website and Facebook page.

Writers Read: Brad Smith.

The Page 69 Test: Shoot the Dog.

--Marshal Zeringue

L. Tam Holland's "The Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong"

Lindsay Tam Holland was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, and actually convinced someone once that every student there rode dolphins to school. After moving to Northern California and earning an undergraduate degree from Stanford, Holland went on to earn an MFA in creative writing from the University of San Francisco. Along with teaching high school English and creative writing, Holland coaches water polo, avoids tofu, and enjoys writing limericks.

Here Holland dreamcasts an adaptation of The Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong, her debut novel:

This brings up the interesting question of what my protagonist Vee Crawford-Wong (who is half-Chinese, half-Caucasian) actually looks like. I’ve hinted that he feels more Asian than he looks; his best friend Madison calls him “confused-looking” and “cute in a kind of old-fashioned way.” He’s also sort of big and soft, and very self-critical – and since the story’s told from his perspective, our view of him is really shaped by this. A friend of mine, who’s a fantastic painter, is working on a self-portrait of Vee; he ultimately told me he’s doing something a bit Cubist – drawing all the physical descriptions that Vee mentions and criticizes, and putting them together in an exaggerated mish-mash. I thought this was a great choice, since Vee’s self-consciousness about how he looks is intrinsic to his questions about his ethnicity and identity.

None of this, of course, is helpful for movie-making. To some degree, I think my book would make a good cartoon/graphic novel. But I also think, in realistic movie form, the father-son relationship and the vitality of China could come through in moving ways. I don’t think it’s a cop-out answer to say the best person to play Vee might be an unknown. If you look around at Asian-American actors, they are still so typecast as action heroes (a la Jackie Chan) or sidekicks (a la John Cho). My closest bet would be someone like Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower; We Need To Talk About Kevin), who isn’t Asian at all, but could put on 15 pounds and pull off the geeky, sarcastic-but-sensitive Vee.

Chinese-American actresses might have an even tougher time with being typecast. Vee’s best friend Madison is a nerdy, sarcastic, Chinese girl. Her charm comes from her sharp wit and the fact that she embraces and exaggerates the stereotype she knows she conforms to. For the role of Madison, I see someone like Sandra Oh – except, obviously, Chinese and a teenager.

Learn more about the book and author at L. Tam Holland's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: The Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong.

--Marshal Zeringue

Margarita Engle's "Mountain Dog"

Margarita Engle is the Cuban-American author of The Surrender Tree, recipient of the first Newbery Honor ever awarded to a Latino/a. Other novels in verse about the island include The Poet Slave of Cuba, Hurricane Dancers, The Firefly Letters, Tropical Secrets, The Wild Book, and most recently, The Lightning Dreamer, Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist. Engle has received two Pura Belpré Awards, two Pura Belpré Honors, three Américas Awards, and the Jane Addams Peace Award, among others. Books for younger children include Summer Birds, When You Wander, and Mountain Dog.

Engle lives in central California, where she enjoys hiking and helping her husband with his volunteer work for various wilderness search and rescue dog programs.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of Mountain Dog:

Mountain Dog is the story of Tony, a Latino boy from an urban dog-fighting background. When his mother is arrested, he’s sent into foster care with his uncle, a forest ranger in California’s rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains. Gabe, the uncle’s SAR dog, is a goofy, but hardworking Chocolate Labrador Retriever who changes Tony’s life.

I think Mountain Dog is adventurous enough to become a wonderful dog movie for the whole family. The book grew from a short story I wrote called "Trail Magic," which was published in Ann Martin’s middle grade anthology, Because of Shoe and Other Dog Stories. When Ann Martin (super-famous for her Babysitters’ Club books and movie) invited me to expand the short story into a full-length chapter book for 8 to 12 year olds, I was thrilled, but terrified. Then she offered to edit the manuscript herself, and she told me I could write it any way I wanted, even in verse. Suddenly, the scary project started to sound exciting. I had already written When You Wander, a search and rescue dog picture book for younger children, as well as numerous historical verse novels about Cuba. I also had a great deal of personal experience with search and rescue dogs. The resulting book includes fictionalized versions of many of the real life searches my husband and other local SAR dog handlers have experienced. So I think the movie would offer authenticity, as well as adventure, and it could help children understand topics as varied as kindness to animals, hiking safety, and Hispanic Heritage Month. (You have to read the book to see why I include the latter!)

Xolo Maridueña (who plays Victor on the Parenthood TV series) would be perfect for the role of Tony. In fact, the book’s beautiful illustrations by Olga and Alexey Ivanov portray a sensitive boy who looks so much like handsome young Xolo, that it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role. Benjamin Bratt would be ideal as Tony’s kind, but reclusive, uncle, and Zoe Saldaña as his troubled mother. Choosing the perfect Chocolate Lab would be the only challenge. He would have to be a dog so energetic and imaginative that he’s willing to chase the moon, just because it’s round, and reminds him of a tennis ball. This is a dog that thinks in rhymes, and is mystified by the stupidity of the human nose. He just doesn’t understand why we can’t find lost people ourselves. Can’t we smell their scent trail? It would take a skilled film director and brilliant cinematography to convey Gabe’s fascinating dog-thoughts.

Learn more about the book and author at Margarita Engle's website.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Margarita Engle & Maggi and Chance.

--Marshal Zeringue

Clay Carmichael's "Brother, Brother"

Author-Illustrator Clay Carmichael grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and graduated summa cum laude in Creative Writing from UNC-Chapel Hill. Her books have been translated into many languages, most recently German, Korean and Chinese. She visits schools, libraries and other venues to talk about writing, illustrating, publishing, and the exotic life of the author, and lives with her sculptor-husband Mike Roig and an ever-increasing number of animals in piedmont North Carolina.

Here Carmichael shares some dreamcasting suggestions for an adaptation of her new novel, Brother, Brother:

When asked for entries for the blogs My Book, The Movie and/or Coffee with a Canine, I thought: Brother, Brother has two great dogs, so why not a canine-casting mash-up? In fact, when my editor Nancy Mercado bought the manuscript, she sent me a tongue-in-cheek canine guide to the characters in my book, which I redesigned only slightly to make-believe cast my pretend movie. I also invited galley readers to chime in with casting suggestions on my blog, Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter. We had a blast coming up with the perfect actors for the book's ruthless and grasping Southern senator (no shortage of real-life role models around here); intrepid, outspoken, mystery-solving teens (ditto); and strong, smart North Carolina women (ditto again).

Since the actors could be living or dead, and aged-out of the part was okay, there were multitudes of choices and a slew of grade-A alternates/runners-up, which included:

For teen twins Brother/Gabriel: Will Rothhaar, Jonathan Jackson, James Franco, Liam James and Logan Lerman. For their sister, Lucy: Mae Whitman. For Brother’s love-interest, Kit: Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Amber Tamblyn, with several votes each for Emma Watson and Emma Stone. For Brother’s best buddy, Cole: Nick Robinson or Nicholas Hoult. For Cole’s kid brother, Jack: River Alexander.

Several people liked Robert De Niro (Magwitch reprise) as Amos, the strange island hermit, but also Steve Buscemi, Peter O'Toole, or Sam Shepard. For Brother's grandmother, Mem: Ruth Gordon, Helen Mirren, Lily Tomlin or Sally Field. For Senator Grayson’s sister, Mamie: Allison Janney, Emma Thompson (can she do Southern?), Betty White, or Lauren Bacall. And for the scenery-chewing part of Senator himself: Alan Rickman, Gene Hackman, Tom Hanks, Albert Finny, Philip Seymour Hoffman in 20 years, or Sam Waterston.

My co-caster husband argued, wisely I think, that since my book was for a younger audience, the final choices mostly ought to be actors teens might know or at least recognize. The by-a-hair canine-cast winners are represented in the fabulous Nancy Mercado's funky visual format in the graphic at left [click to enlarge].

Learn more about the book and author at Clay Carmichael's website, blog, and Twitter perch.

--Marshal Zeringue

Greg Carter's "The United States of the United Races"

Greg Carter is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Here he dreamcasts an adaptation of his new book, The United States of the United Races: A Utopian History of Racial Mixing:

As a survey of positive ideas about racial mixing, The United States of the United Races spans over two hundred years, so a miniseries like Roots would best present the eras in the story I tell.

The book starts by contrasting views on race held by three men: Thomas Jefferson; his secretary in Paris, William Short; and Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, who wrote Letters from an American Farmer, which characterized America as new and mixed. Damian Lewis plays the President; James McAvoy is his more liberal protégé; and Michael Sheen is the Frenchman. On Monticello, Nicole Lyn plays Sally Hemings, with whom Jefferson fathered six illegitimate children. He only manumitted two of these, Madison and Eston. Complicating appearance and race, I cast two Weasley brothers, Rupert Grint and Chris Rankin, as these fair-skinned sons.

The Civil War era hosts the most tumultuous chapter of my book. At one end, the New England Anti-Slavery Society accepted interracial marriage over the racist laws that prohibited it. Wendell Phillips (Tom Wilkinson) expressed this position most regularly, outdoing his mentor, William Lloyd Garrison (David Strathairn). At the other end, David Croly and George Wakeman wrote a pamphlet in 1863 that seemed to praise mixture, but was actually a hoax associating the Republican Party with compulsory intermarriage. Seth Rogen and James Franco offer comic relief as these pro-Southern journalists.

The tension around racial mixture continued during the Reconstruction, culminating in Plessy v. Ferguson. Creoles of Color initiated this case, using their mixed background to invalidate racial classifications. One of their leaders, Rodolphe Desdunes (Giancarlo Esposito), presented his white-appearing son, Daniel (Michael Ealy), to challenge Louisiana’s Separate Car Act. Later, they hired Albion Tourgée, a former Union officer and federal judge to bring the case to the Supreme Court. Russell Crowe is the carpetbagger, and Naomi Watts is his wife, Emma, who supports him as long as she can. Wentworth Miller is Homer Plessy, the other white-appearing Creole who sat in the “white only” car in 1892.

Through the work of progressive intellectuals, the early twentieth century shifted the rhetoric around racial mixing. The playwright, Israel Zangwill, popularized “the melting pot,” providing a way for Americans to celebrate mixture. The novelist, Jean Toomer, and the Mexican educator and politician, José Vasconcelos, took him to task for his under-developed notions of diversity: Ben Stiller adds levity to Zangwill’s inconsistencies. Although white, rather than mixed like Toomer, Jon Hamm shows his skill at portraying a man with a complex past. Clifton Collins, Jr., adds fervor to Vasconcelos’s promotion of a “cosmic race.”

Concurrent with the civil rights movement, the story of Mildred and Richard Loving concluded with the Supreme Court deeming seventeen states’ laws against intermarriage unconstitutional in 1967. I’m imagining Zoe Saldana and Jeremy Renner as the Lovings, and Liam Neeson as Chief Justice Earl Warren.

My book’s adaptation will be the first to dramatize the efforts to put a multiracial identifier on the 2000 census. Andy Garcia plays Carlos Fernandez, who stressed how multiracial activism hailed from earlier civil rights efforts. Mary-Louise Parker plays Susan Graham, who emphasized the self-esteem of the children. A Georgia resident, Graham gained support from Newt Gingrich, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The final episode of the miniseries shows Barack Obama’s (Harry Lennix) 2008 campaign. Flashbacks tell the story of his parents, Ann Dunham (Rooney Mara) and Barack Obama, Sr. (Don Cheadle). At his side is Michelle Obama (Regina King). A montage of current events shows that, even with public acceptance of mixed figures, the U.S. is not “post-racial,” and the screen fades to black.

Learn more about The United States of the United Races at the NYU Press website.

--Marshal Zeringue