Ted Kosmatka's "The Games"

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Ted Kosmatka was born and raised in northwest Indiana and spent more than a decade working in various laboratories there before moving to the Pacific Northwest. His short fiction has been nominated for both the Nebula Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. He now works in the videogame industry where he’s a full-time writer at Valve, home of Half-Life, Portal and Dota 2.

Here he shares some casting ideas for a big screen adaptation of The Games, his first novel:

I'm a huge movie buff so this is the kind of question that I can really sink my teeth into. The movie in my head has evolved somewhat since I first started thinking about my novel in those terms. I've always thought that Terrence Howard would play an awesome Silas because he's so good at playing conflicted characters. (Plus I'm just a huge fan.)

My thinking on Baskov has changed somewhat over time, and now I'm leaning toward John Malkovich as an actor with the right mix of intellectualism and menace.

Anthony Hopkins is another actor who could be really interesting in the role of the Baskov villain.

For Ben, the unapologetic side-kick to Silas, I can see Simon Pegg filling the bill nicely.

Vidonia could be played by Eva Mendes or Zoe Saldana.

Evan is probably the hardest for me, because I've always pictured the role filled by a young Philip Seymour Hoffman, but he might not be young enough now, as the book is written. Giovanni Ribisi could possibly be a great Evan. He's played some excellent, twisted characters.

Learn more about the book and author at Ted Kosmatka's website and blog.

Writers Read: Ted Kosmatka.

The Page 69 Test: The Games.

--Marshal Zeringue