Friday, February 27, 2009

Lights... camera...

Now, you all know I come from an acting background, so for my question to our Lovely Launching Novel Girls, I thought it might be fun to take a little trip to the casting couch! I asked Jillian and Tracy to fantasy “cast” four of the characters from their debut novels, The September Sisters and A Taste of Magic, with real live actors!

Don’t forget, all you have to do to be entered in the draw to win is leave a comment in the comment trail!

Let’s see what Jillian has to say about her characters – and who she’d like to see play them on the silver screen:


Lesley, I have to say I love your question because it combines my two favorite things, books and movies. It also gave me permission to spend lots of time on one of my favorite websites, IMdB, and still say that I was “working.”

Since you asked for four, I decided to cast the family in my book, the main character Abigail Reed, her younger sister Becky, (who disappears), her mother Elaine, and her father Jim.
First Abigail – For her I would choose Abigail Breslin, who is not only one of my favorite child actresses right now, but who also shares the same first name with Abigail Reed. Perfect! I loved her in Little Miss Sunshine, but I also recently saw her in Definitely, Maybe. As I was watching that I may have even mentioned to my husband that she would be perfect for the movie version of Abigail, in a year or two. I think she plays smart and strong and unique very well, and these are all characteristics that I see in my Abigail.


For Becky, I choose Elle Fanning (Dakota Fanning’s younger sister). In the book, Becky is described as petite with straight blonde hair, the opposite to Abigail’s darker skin and curlier brown locks. I don’t know much about Elle’s acting, and I think the only thing I may have seen her in is an older episode of House, but I think she has the perfect look for the part.


For the mom, Elaine, I choose Naomi Watts. In the book, Elaine is supposed to be petite and blonde like Becky, so Naomi fits for looks. But I’ve also loved Naomi’s acting ever since I saw her in 21 Grams. Elaine might be the most complex character in the book, and her depression borders on mental illness at times. She is beautiful, but also broken. I think Naomi Watts could absolutely pull this off.


For the Dad, Jim, I pick Matthew Fox, who I’ve been a fan of since his Party of Five days. Jim is supposed to be intimidating and controlling, but underneath, he means well and is trying to do what he thinks is best for his family. In some ways, this reminds me a little of Matthew’s character on Lost. Plus I just really, really like him, and wouldn’t he and Naomi Watts make a cute couple?


Thanks so much, Lesley, for this fun fantasy trip!

Thank you Jillian! Now let’s see what Tracy had to say:

This is easily the hardest question of the week for me. Why? Because I think different actors bring a unique style to any role they play, and therefore, figuring out who would bring just that right "something" to my characters is nearly impossible. But...giving it my best shot, here we go:

In the role of Elizabeth Stevens, I'd choose Sandra Bullock. She has the same physical characteristics as Elizabeth, but my reasons for choosing her extend beyond "looks." I loved her in While You Were Sleeping, Two Weeks Notice, and Congeniality. She's funny, which is a huge plus for Elizabeth, but she also expresses the deeper emotions of her characters, which is a necessity in Elizabeth's case.


I had to think long and hard about Nate Sutherland. Finally, I settled on Mark Ruffalo, because Nate is serious, but also sweet and fun. I loved Mark in 13 Going On 30, and that's pretty much how I see Nate, except, of course, Nate is a cop.


Grandma Verda is such a fun character, that my first thought was Shirley MaClaine, because who does zany humor better than Shirley? The problem is that Grandma Verda is quite a bit older than Shirely, but if there was a way to make it work, she'd definitely be my first choice. Other than Shirley, I'm not sure who else I would choose. Hmm, I'll have to give it more thought!

There are a lot of other characters in A Taste of Magic, but coming up with these three were difficult enough, so I'm stopping here! Thanks for a great (and TOUGH) question, Lesley!

Thanks Tracy!

Congratulations again, ladies! Keep that party rolling!

8 comments:

Tracy Madison said...

HA! Shows you how well I read your question. I never saw the "four," LOL. Oh well, as I said, choosing those three were difficult enough, so maybe it's for the best.

I love your choices Jillian!

Maureen Lipinski said...

I love this question, Lesley!

And Jillian, I too am obsessed with IMdb, but mostly just to look up old teen stars from the '80s to see what craptastic movies they're now starring in.

Tracy--I've just started reading your book, but when I saw Sandra Bullock, I immediately went, "Yes!" So good pick, LOL!

Jill Kemerer said...

Tracy--Sandra Bullock and Mark Ruffalo are perfect! Why doesn't Sandra appear in more movies? I've always liked her!

Jillian--Naomi Watts blew me away in 21 Grams, and, no, that's not my type of movie. She's an amazing actress.

Thanks for the juicy post!

Jillian Cantor said...

I agree! Sandra Bullock and Mark Ruffalo are perfect, Tracy. And from what I've read so far, I think A TASTE would make a great movie.

Jill, I agree about Naomi Watts. Too bad we're only casting the fantasy version of the movie here.

Thanks for the fun question, Lesley!

Wrighty said...

What excellent choices! Now if the powers that be in Hollywood would listen, those would be some great movies!

5wrights1@verizon.net

thebluerose said...

I think Abigail Breslin would be perfect. She's such a great actress, even though she's young. =D

Lisa Patton said...

This is such a fun question and I love your choices, Girls. I didn't even know Dakota had a little sister.

Paradox said...

As soon as I read the books I'll have to come back here to see if I think the characters match the actors.