Randall Silvis's "The Boy Who Shoots Crows"

Randall Silvis is a novelist, screenwriter, essayist and teacher.

Here he dreamcasts a big screen adaptation of his latest novel, The Boy Who Shoots Crows:

When I can see a scene playing out in my head like a scene in real life—as if I am not at the moment creating a scene but standing off to the side and observing the scene play out--I know that the writing is going well. This process is facilitated when I have a physical model for each the characters. And from the first day of conception of The Boy Who Shoots Crows through the last tweak of the final paragraph, I saw Diane Lane as my Charlotte Dunleavy. There is to Ms. Lane an elegance of bearing, the dignity borne of having lived a somewhat privileged life, but absent the haughtiness and narcissism of believing the privilege one’s due. This is Charlotte, a small-town girl, adored only child of middleclass parents. From kindergarten through a Seven Sisters education, she stood out. Inquisitive, intelligent, talented, lovely, and appreciative of her many gifts and opportunities. And yet, one of life’s blows—the death of a parent, her husband’s betrayal—can leave her reeling, feeling flung off balance from a suddenly tilting earth.

Charlize Theron could wear the role well, too. Even Angelina Jolie. Natalie Portman if she were older. Each as seemingly elegant and perfect in her beauty as a tawny doe, yet capable of being startled by a sudden noise, stopped in her tracks by the hurtful and unexpected.

And Sheriff Gatesman, so softened by life’s hardness, so familiar with sorrow.... I always saw James Dickey in that uniform. The same James Dickey who, in the movie made of his novel Deliverance, muses, without much hope, “I'd kinda like to see this town die peaceful.” And what actor could become James Dickey as Sheriff Gatesman? Philip Seymour Hoffman, given a bit of make-up and a few extra inches of height, would be my first choice. I would love to see what such a fine actor might do with that depth of compassion, that gravitas, those insuperable wounds. He is, to my mind, precisely the kind of man needed by a Charlotte Dunleavy or a Livvie Rankin—the only kind of man who might reach a woman so deep and lost in the belly of her whale of grief.

I understand, though, that a female audience might disagree, might wish that the hand reaching into that darkness were attached instead to an actor with the face of George Clooney. And yes, Clooney could pull it off. Not the stuttering bumbler of Burn After Reading but the emotionally pole-axed Clooney of The Descendants, a man who wants only to do good but, while doing so, must drag his own whale of grief behind him. Thin out his hair and darken the bags under his eyes, attach a drag to his smile and let the eyes carry the role, let the eyes tell the tale of the struggle against despair.

I can even more easily envision Pierce Brosnan in the role. Still strikingly handsome though no longer the pretty boy. His face is now marked by time and softened by sorrow. I can see him, too, feeling his way through life with a delicate, uncertain tread. I can see a troubled woman longing to be cradled in his arms.

Which brings me to Livvie Rankin, my favorite character from the novel. Strong, tenacious, uncomplaining Livvie, she with so few blessings in life, she whose first thought is always for someone other than herself. My model for Livvie was my mother as a young woman, and the actress who most closely approximates my image of my mother is the Hilary Swank of Million Dollar Baby, dark-haired and pretty, dark-eyed and tender, as bruised as a boxer who never wins but never goes down, as resolute as stone, as determined as a wide, deep river.

Some of the scenes in The Boy Who Shoots Crows remain as vivid inside my head as a recent memory. I can see the shafts of sunlight in the red pine forest, I can smell the damp pine needles, can feel the coldness of the snow soaking though my boots. Does that then mean, you might ask, that you are the boy, that Jesse is you? Of course Jesse is me. Just as Charlotte is me, and Gatesman is me, and Livvie is me. I am he and I am she and they are me and we are all together because I know what they know, I feel what they feel. To be human and painfully alert to your humanity is to know grief and guilt, remorse and shame, and to strive against all odds to carry on in spite of those burdens. This is what The Boy Who Shoots Crows is all about, whether the novel is packaged as a mystery, which it is not, or as a thriller, which it is not. It is a novel about the options available when life blindsides us, as it inevitably will.

Learn more about the book and author at Randall Silvis's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Boy Who Shoots Crows.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Will McIntosh's "Hitchers"

Will McIntosh is a Hugo award winner and Nebula finalist whose short stories have appeared in Asimov’s (where he won the 2010 Reader's Award for short story), Strange Horizons, and Science Fiction and Fantasy: Best of the Year, and others. His debut novel, Soft Apocalypse, was published in 2011, and his second novel, Hitchers, has just been released. A New Yorker transplanted to the rural south, McIntosh is a psychology professor at Georgia Southern University. In 2008 he became the father of twins.

Here he writes about the actors he could see playing his characters in an adaptation of Hitchers:

A-list actors should be lining up to read for the three central roles in Hitchers. The reason can be explained in one word: Oscar. Actors win Oscars for playing challenging roles, and all three of the starring roles in Hitchers require the actor to play dual parts: The character, and the dead person possessing the character. They’re challenging roles, for sure! Here are my casting choices:

Finn Darby. Colin Farrell gets the role of the tortured cartoonist, partly because he’s Irish. Playing Finn when he is controlled by his ranting, drunken, dead Irish grandfather will require someone who can put on a dynamite Irish brogue. Farrell also has the emotional range to play a tortured soul like Finn. It’s an introspective role -- the character’s face must always carry the weight of his responsibility for the deaths of both his wife and, as a boy, his twin sister. This role has Oscar written all over it.

Summer. The actor playing Summer has to be thin and slight, cute but not stunning. She has to be believable as a poor, struggling single mom working as a waitress. She also has to convince an audience that she is possessed by a voluptuous, flamboyant Latina woman. It’s a tall order. I’d like to cast Carey Mulligan for this role, because she looks like the picture of Summer I have in my head, she’s already taken on quite a few challenging roles for someone who’s only twenty-seven, and she worked as a barmaid once upon a time. The problem is, she’s British. Maybe we can alter Summer’s background a bit to incorporate her being British into the plot. Sure, that wouldn’t be too difficult. Carey Mulligan it is.

Mick Mercury. The aging, hard-drinking, washed-up British rocker must surely go to an aging British rocker. The question is, which one? This rocker must have a magnetic presence, be somewhat roguish, charming, extraverted, a bit blue-collar, in his late 50s or thereabouts. He must still be able to belt out a tune, and, above all, must be able to act, because he’ll be playing two very different roles. Some decent candidates are just too old to be convincing, such as Mick Jagger or Keith Richards. Ozzy Ozborne? A really nice fit, but I’m uneasy about his ability to take on the second persona convincingly. Elvis Costello is an interesting possibility, but he’s not British. I decided to go with David Bowie. Bowie is a bit more cultured than Mercury, but the man can act, and he has the dynamic presence and powerful voice I’m looking for.

That leaves just a few supporting roles. For Finn’s tough as nails grandmother, I’d love to convince Maureen O’Hara to come out of retirement. For Finn’s mom, Sigourney Weaver. There’s a scene where Finn’s furious mom tries to smack Finn’s grandfather right out of him, and I could picture Ms. Weaver bringing the right amount of rage to that scene.

So there it is. If you read this, Mr. Farrell, let's talk. Call me!

Learn more about the book and author at Will McIntosh's website.

My Book, The Movie: Will McIntosh's Soft Apocalypse.

Writers Read: Will McIntosh.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Pam Houston's "Contents May Have Shifted"

Pam Houston divides her time between her ranch in Colorado and the University of California at Davis, where she is director of the Creative Writing Program. She has been a frequent contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine, and her writing appears regularly in More and other publications. She in the author of the best-selling Cowboys Are My Weakness.

Here Houston shares some ideas for director and main cast members for an adaptation of her new novel, Contents May Have Shifted:

If they make Contents May Have Shifted into a film, I would want Sandra Bullock to play the Pam character. I say this party because I know her production company was seriously considering buying my last book, Sight Hound for a while (they eventually passed) but during that time I did a little research and found out we feel the same way about animals in general and dogs in particular, about several works of literature and other things, (the questionable taste in men on both our parts hardly needs to be spoken of.) But beyond the practicalities of that I see a lot of myself in her, in her authenticity, her humor, and maybe most of all what I would call her “try.”

I love Philip Seymour Hoffman about the best of any male actor these days, and I especially like him in a romantic role, which he does not get all that often, so I think I would like him to play Rick. Annette Bening is perfect for Cinder. (Hey, this is more fun than I thought it was going to be). Drew Barrymore would make a great Willow. (How we doing on budget so far?) Laura Linney as Janine, the acupuncturist. Salma Hayek as Ruby. Maybe Geoffrey Rush as Fenton the human. This book has so many characters, I think I better stop here.

As for a director, I think I would throw that back to Sandra Bullock. This book needs a woman at the helm, I think, and one who is able to laugh at herself.

Learn more about the book and author at Pam Houston's website.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Pam Houston and Fenton Johnson.

The Page 69 Test: Contents May Have Shifted.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Kevin Fox's "Until the Next Time"

Kevin Fox is a producer and writer for the Fox TV series Lie to Me, and his professional screenwriter credits include the film The Negotiator. He splits his time between coasts, living in both Los Angeles and New Jersey.

Here he dreamcasts a big screen adaptation of his debut novel, Until the Next Time:

Until the Next Time is actually comprised of two intertwined stories – that of Michael Corrigan, who is fleeing a murder charge in the United States and gets caught up in the ‘Troubles’ in Ireland in 1972 – and that of Sean Corrigan, his nephew, who goes back to Ireland twenty-five years later to solve the mystery surrounding his uncle’s death. Both men fall in love in Ireland, and both are at odds with the ‘Hard Men’ of the Provisional IRA.

Michael, who was a New York City Police Officer before fleeing The States, is a bit more worldly than Sean, but gets in over his head in Ireland and has an accessible vulnerability. There is no actor who I think would be more adept at playing Michael than Matt Damon, given the nuances of the role.

Sean is a bit more naïve, a modern-day Holden Caulfield, fumbling his way through life, likeable but frustrating in his lack of understanding of the world. Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Three Musketeers) can easily convey these qualities, and in spite of the fact that he is not from an Irish background, has the looks of the black Irish.

For Declan Murphy, our likeable IRA rogue, there is only one choice for me, the man who played Michael Collins himself, Liam Neeson. I believe we can still love Liam, as we need to still love Michael, even when he’s killing people.

There are two women that are crucial to the story, Kate, the love that Michael loses who I am sure that Cate Blanchett could embody and make the world fall in love with her as she has so many times before – and Anne, the foul-mouthed, sharp-edged girl-of-the-world that teaches Sean everything she knows. For Anne, Saoirse Ronan is the only actress that I could imagine.

There is one other character that haunts the book, in both stories: Jimmy Coonan, a sociopath that enjoys the bloodshed of the ‘Troubles’ while still managing to charm those around him. For the young Coonan, Cillian Murphy would be ideal, and I am sure that Colin Farrell would find himself at home in Coonan’s skin.

Learn more about the book and author at Kevin Fox's website.

The Page 69 Test: Until the Next Time.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Elizabeth Hand's "Available Dark"

Elizabeth Hand, a New York Times notable author, has won the Shirley Jackson Award, the James Tiptree Award, the Nebula Award (twice), the World Fantasy Award (three times), and many others. Her novella, “The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon,” was nominated for a Hugo Award.

Here she writes about her preference for the director and principal cast of an adaptation of her new novel, Available Dark:

I have a long list of directors, but lately I’ve been leaning toward Quentin Tarantino, because he’s got such great taste in rock and roll. He could just write the screenplay if he wants to — he did the honors for Tony Scott’s True Romance, one of my all-time favorite movies. I think Tarantino could do justice to the twisted romance between Cass and Quinn that’s at the heart of Available Dark — this book is my version of Casablanca.

There are so many terrific women actors who I think could do a great job with Cass Neary: Frances McDormand, Jodie Foster, Daryl Hannah, Annette Bening, Ellen Barkin, even Meg Ryan. Still, as far as dream casting goes, I’d love to see Charlize Theron in the role. She has the right physique — tall, blonde, valkyric — and her remarkable work in Monster proves she can capture a deeply conflicted, flawed character and not lost the viewer’s interest and empathy. Ellen Barkin would be my next choice — she’s definitely got the voice and the New York attitude down cold.

As for Quinn O’Boyle —the inimitable Steve Buscemi. And Galdur, the legendary black metal guitarist holed up in the Icelandic wilderness, is a role tailor-made for Viggo Mortensen, especially considering Mortensen’s Danish background. Like Theron, Mortensen’s an actor who can do beautiful and scary at the same time. Plus I can totally seeing him learn to shred for the role, if he doesn’t already know how to play tremolo guitar.

Learn more about the book and author at Elizabeth Hand's website.

Read about Elizabeth Hand's six favorite books.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Elly Griffiths’s "The House at Sea’s End"

Elly Griffiths’s Ruth Galloway novels have been praised as “highly atmospheric” (New York Times Book Review), “remarkable” (Richmond Times-Dispatch), and “gripping” (Louise Penny). Now, in The House at Sea’s End, the beloved forensic archeologist returns, called in to investigate when human bones surface on a remote Norfolk beach.

Here Griffiths shares some ideas about casting a cinematic adaptation of the novel:

In The House at Sea’s End six bodies are found buried at the foot of a cliff in a remote Norfolk village. Dr Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate and is once more in contact with DCI Harry Nelson, the father of her child. The bodies date from the Second World War but someone is still alive who would kill to protect their secret.

People have said that Ruth is an unusual heroine – she’s overweight, untidy and rather shy. I’d hate her to be played by a skinny glamour model but I can’t think of anyone who’d be quite right. I’d love to see Michael Fassbender as Nelson (well, I can dream, can’t I?). He has Irish roots, just like Nelson, and he did gritty Northern hero beautifully in Jane Eyre. I can see David Tennant or Russell Brand as Cathbad, Ruth’s druid friend. I’m sure there are many actors who could do justice to beautiful Shona, oafish Clough and clever Judy. Maybe I’ll just have to play Ruth myself....

Learn more about the book and author at Elly Griffiths's website.

The Ruth Galloway novels include The Crossing Places and The Janus Stone.

The Page 69 Test: The Crossing Places.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Thomas A. Robinson & Lanette Ruff's "Out of the Mouths of Babes"

Thomas A. Robinson  is Professor of Religious Studies at The University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, and Lanette D. Ruff teaches Criminology at Eastern College in New Brunswick, Canada.

Here they dreamcast a big screen adaptation of their new book, Out of the Mouths of Babes: Girl Evangelists in the Flapper Era:

Our book is about girl preachers in the 1920s, the decade that represented one of the most radical changes in the perception of the feminine, with the rude and risqué flapper providing the new image, and girl evangelists standing for traditional manners and morals. This was the age of the child star, and children had a welcoming stage, whether promoting Hollywood or heaven. The most famous of these girl evangelists, Uldine Utley, was actually called “the Garbo of the Pulpit,” and both Utley and Garbo had superstar quality, each on their own stage. At least one movie was made at the time that reflected the clash of cultures experienced during the roaring twenties: Cecil B. deMille’s last silent movie, The Godless Girl.

Any of the sets of a Hollywood movie featuring the 1920s would work just fine in converting our book to a movie. It was the age of Prohibition on the one hand, and of illegal alcohol and speakeasies on the other. It was the age of fiery evangelists, such as Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson on the one hand, and of Al Capone and Bugs Moran on the other.

Casting for the girl evangelists would open the door for anyone from age three to their twenties, for some of the girls were three when they started and many were well into adulthood before they dropped the “Girl Evangelist” moniker. For the star girl evangelist, Uldine Utley, Miley Cyrus could play that role. Not only has she experienced being a child star, she can sing, and many of the girl evangelists were singers as well as preachers. Whether Miley could be made up to appear to be eleven might stretch the role, for Uldine hit the stage at that age and quickly gained national fame. Perhaps Chloë Moretz (of Hugo) could play the earliest years.

For the host of other girl evangelists, many actors could fill the role, but they would need to be white and American, for that was, with few exceptions, what the girl evangelists were.

For flappers, almost any Hollywood actress would do for they are now what the flappers started—independent young women flaunting their freedom and their sexuality, and often challenging convention.

But one older woman would need to be in the cast. The hottest American revivalist turned 30 as the “roaring twenties” began. Her name was Aimee Semple McPherson, and she planted her flag (and built her 5300-seat church—with a Hollywood-like stage) just five miles from Hollywood. She became a role model for the young girl preachers, and she featured many of them on her stage. Maybe Molly Parker (of Deadwood, Swingtown, The Firm) could play that role, since she sings as well as acts, and she is Canadian, as Aimee Semple McPherson was.

Learn more about the golden age of girl evangelists at Thomas A. Robinson’s website.

--Marshal Zeringue

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