Frances Osborne's "Park Lane"

Frances Osborne was born in London and studied philosophy and modern languages at Oxford University. She is the author of Lilla’s Feast and The Bolter, a San Francisco Chronicle's Book of the Year and No.1 bestseller in the UK. Her articles have appeared in The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Independent, the Daily Mail, and Vogue. She lives in London with her husband, George Osborne, and their two children.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Park Lane:

If Park Lane is made into a movie, I'd love to see strong, almost dark characters. Gemma Arterton would be great as Grace, the maid new to the job and trying her best as she is forced to weave an ever thicker web of lies around her. Natalie Portman could portray beautifully the complexities of disillusioned debutante Beatrice as she comprises her principles and is drawn into the violent world of militant suffragettes. As for Michael, brooding and magnetic, James Purefoy would absolutely do the trick.

Learn more about the book and author at Frances Osborne's website.

Osborne was born in London and studied philosophy and modern languages at Oxford University. Her other books include Lilla’s Feast and The Bolter, a San Francisco Chronicle's Book of the Year and No.1 bestseller in the UK.

The Page 99 Test: The Bolter.

The Page 69 Test: Park Lane.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Beth McMullen's "Spy Mom"

Beth McMullen graduated from Boston University with a degree in English Literature and received an MLS from Long Island University. After landing a gig with Reader’s Digest, she eventually realized she’d rather write books than condense them.

Here she shares some ideas for casting an adaptation of her latest book, Spy Mom:

I love this question because it’s so fun to play with! Readers email me all the time with suggestions and so many of them are great possibilities I never even thought of.

I have an image of Sally Sin, the main character of the Sin series, in my head but it doesn’t line up nicely with any current Hollywood actors of the appropriate age. And my primary bad guy, Ian Blackford, is a mishmash of all my favorite movie villains over the years with a layer of Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele thrown in for good measure.

But Simon Still, Sally’s boss and handler at The Agency, has been Kevin Spacey since his moment of his creation. Whenever I write Simon Still scenes, I hear Kevin Spacey’s voice in my head and see him walking across my pages. Recently, I watched Margin Call and kept thinking, “Wait a minute! What is Simon Still doing on Wall Street? This doesn’t make any sense.”

I hope these books haven’t ruined Kevin Spacey for me forever but who knows?

Learn more about the book and author at Beth McMullen's website and Facebook page.

The Page 69 Test: Original Sin.

Writers Read: Beth McMullen (July 2011).

The Page 69 Test: Spy Mom.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Elizabeth Crane's "We Only Know So Much"

Elizabeth Crane is the author of the story collections When the Messenger Is Hot, All This Heavenly Glory, and You Must Be This Happy to Enter.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, We Only Know So Much:

Fantasy casting for the movie of my book? Why yes, I’d love to!

The challenge of casting the four generations of the Copeland family, I think, is finding actors who can show us exactly what they’re thinking without doing much ‘acting’ at all. In many ways, though each of the characters has their own issue that they’re dealing with, their conflicts are very much internal, and often this is dealt with in the narrative. So in a perfect world, the actors in the movie of my book will be so brilliant that when they turn their heads a sixteenth of an inch, or blink their eyes almost imperceptibly, the viewer will intuit my exact words from the novel without need of a voice over or any other explanation. I think it could happen.

Thusly, my dream cast:

Philip Seymour Hoffman or Robert Sean Leonard in the role of Gordon, the middle-aged father. Gordon is physically, kind of a stiff, described in the book as attractive in a “small market weatherman” kind of way. He’s also a bit of a know-it-all and at the moment he’s worried that he’s losing his mind.

Catherine Keener or Lili Taylor would be perfect for Jean, Gordon’s wife. Jean is silently suffering the loss of a lover her husband had not known about. There’s also an actress named Amy Landecker who would be fantastic.

Priscilla, their ‘bitchy’ nineteen-year-old fashionista daughter, and her thoughtful little brother Otis, are a tougher ones for me – there aren’t that many younger actors that are on my radar, and since in this universe I’m casting this, I feel like I’d like to discover these two. Physically, Heather Morris from Glee is almost exactly how I see Priscilla in my head (yes, she still plays high school on TV, but we all know that on TV high school it’s almost a requirement that in real life, the actors playing teens are twenty-five). Priscilla goes through a transition as well, though, so the actress playing her needs to play bitchy but also in a sort of quiet way – she’s not so much a tantrum thrower as she is silently hostile. Saiorse Ronan might also be a good choice for Priscilla.

For nine-year-old Otis, a kind of brainy, soulful boy falling in love for the first time, well, I have no idea. So I’m thinking, if he were an actor, I’d cast Caine from the short documentary Caine’s Arcade. He has the kind of creative spirit that Otis needs.

For Vivian, the 98-year-old matriarch and social butterfly, Angela Lansbury would be brilliant. She has the sort of elegance Vivian has, but can also bring the necessary edge to the character. Vivian is not always super nice.

For Theodore, Gordon’s father (Vivian’s son), who’s suffering from Parkinson’s, I would be beside myself if Anthony Hopkins were available. Theodore’s face has stiffened with his illness, but he still has a twinkle in his eyes and a sense of humor, and he has some important scenes and needs the depth of an Anthony Hopkins.

Learn more about We Only Know So Much and its author at Elizabeth Crane's website.

Writers Read: Elizabeth Crane (April 2008).

The Page 69 Test: We Only Know So Much.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Kim Barnes's "In the Kingdom of Men"

Kim Barnes's books include two memoirs, In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country—a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize—Hungry for the World, and the novels Finding Caruso and A Country Called Home.

Here she shares some ideas for the actors, director, and screenwriter to bring her new novel, In the Kingdom of Men, to the big screen:

If they make my book into a film, here's who I'd like to play the lead role(s):

Virginia (Gin) McPhee (main character—an adventuress young wife from Oklahoma who doesn’t like to obey): Saoirse Ronan.

Mason McPhee (Gin’s handsome, idealistic husband—an oilfield roughneck rising through the ranks): Armie Hammer.

Ruthie Doucet (Gin’s best friend—a woman who has been around and knows the ropes): Tina Fey.

Lucky Doucet (Ruthie’s Cajun husband—a rough veteran of the oilfields): a beefy George Clooney, sporting a sun-bleached crew-cut (maybe because I want to see him canoodling with Tina Fey).

Linda Dalton (Gin and Ruthie’s single friend—a voluptuous platinum-haired nurse): Can we see Christina Hendricks as anything other than a red-head?

Yash Sharma (Gin’s Punjabi houseboy—a middle-aged, educated military man who has self-exiled to Arabia): an older Roger Narayan.

Abdullah (Mason’s driver and translator—a young Arab man, educated in the U.S.): Ben Youcef in a ghutra and plaited hair.

Ross Fullerton (Mason’s district manager—an ambitious and dangerous Texas oil man): A bald, pot-bellied Leonardo DiCaprio with sparse eyebrows, sweating in a Stetson.

Candy Fullerton (Ross’s wife—Houston debutante; never satisfied): I’ve always envisioned my close friend, Kelly Eviston (Mozart and the Whale, The Basket) in this role. She’s from Kentucky, and, as an actor, she’s got that Southern belle ability to turn from saccharin sweet to viperous in the blink of an eye.

Carlo Leoni (Italian expatriate, photographer, lothario, and self-proclaimed pirate): Johnny Depp. Oh, wait. Hasn’t he already played a pirate?

Director: Present tense, Clint Eastwood. Future tense, my twenty-two-year-old son, Jace Wrigley, who’s got the chops.

And should we bring in Tom Perrotta to do the adaptation?

Learn more about the book and author at Kim Barnes's website.

The Page 69 Test: A Country Called Home.

The Page 69 Test: In the Kingdom of Men.

Writers Read: Kim Barnes.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Julia Gregson's "Jasmine Nights"

Julia Gregson has worked as a nanny, a shearer’s cook in Australia, a horse wrangler, and waitress, before becoming a writer in her mid twenties.

She lives in Wales with her husband, and has a daughter and four step-children.

Gregson's last novel, East of the Sun, was an international best seller, translated into over twenty languages.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Jasmine Nights:

Jasmine Nights is set in 1942 in Cairo,Turkey, Wales and London. It would make a fabulous movie. But you are rolling your eyes already and saying she would say that, but hear me out, and help me if you can with the casting.

The two principal characters are Saba Tarcan, a half Turkish half English singer who performs for ENSA (the Entertainment, National Services Association) that sang for the troops. She is fiery, brilliantly talented, a rebel. I need someone tough and tender for her, who also looks a little exotic.

My dream girl for this is a new discovery: Katharine McPhee from Smash, would be perfect, in fact writing this has inspired me to send the book to her. She has a fabulous voice, has the kind of in your face charisma I need, and also high cheekbones--she could easily look like a half Turkish girl. My other candidate would be the Irish Ruth Negga, a classically trained young actress who has come up through the ranks of the Royal Shakespeare Company and who was hugely impressive in Phaedra and a recent television film about Shirley Bassey, a Welsh singer. For Saba’s mother, I want Catherine Zeta-Jones (in fact, if she was in her early twenties, she’d make a terrific Saba). Catherine would get the accent spot on.

Dom Benson, a young, fighter pilot made old before his time by the war and the loss of comrades, needs to be played by an actor who is not just a pretty boy, but who has depth, and an air about him of someone who has suffered. Eddie Redmayne, who played the love lorn boy in Marilyn, would be good. If any readers who can think of other actors who are young, dark, and look complicated and intelligent, do let me know.

I enjoy films where the actors don’t get in the way of their roles by being too well known. If I didn’t feel this, I might consider Robert Pattinson, as he does have the right look of a young man who has suffered.

For the supporting roles of Arleta, the amoral showgirl that Saba goes on tour with I’d cast Michelle Williams, she was great in Marilyn and has the kind of sexy vulnerability I need.

Learn more about the book and author at Julia Gregson's website.

The Page 69 Test: East of the Sun.

The Page 69 Test: Jasmine Nights.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Josephine Angelini's "Dreamless"

Josephine Angelini is a Massachusetts native and the youngest of eight siblings. A real-live farmer's daughter, she graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics.

Here she shares some thoughts on casting a big screen adaptation of Dreamless, the second installment of her debut YA trilogy:

If my books were ever turned into movies, and I actually got some say who to cast, I would pick total unknowns. I have two reasons for this. The first is that when I go see a movie with a really well-known star in it, all I can think is, "Oh. That's so-and-so in Spandex. Isn't she dating the lead guitarist from that band?". It's totally selfish of me, but if my characters ever found their way to the big screen, I'd want the opposite. Years later, I'd want people to see the actress and think, "Oh. That's Helen Hamilton". (my main character) I guess what I'm saying is that I'd want to totally ruin a young actor's life. Evil, but true.

The second motivation for me to choose unknowns is that I've noticed that when a book gets turned into a movie, especially in the YA genre for some strange reason, most the original fans of the book go bananas and openly protest the choices for the male and female lead. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart sent a lot of the fans of the book into fits. Then there's what happened to Josh Hutcherson. The fans of the Hunger Games books lost their minds when he was chosen, and the poor guy had to suffer through interviews about whether or not he was too short to work opposite Jennifer Lawrence and just not buff enough to be Peeta. I want to avoid that if I can. For the young actors, yes, but more importantly, for the fans. After all, they're the ones that loved to book enough, and supported it so fervently, that a studio decided it was worth the huge financial risk to make a movie in the first place. There are always going to be readers that hate it when their books get turned into movies, but I'd like to make the transition as easy as possible for them if I can.

So no stars.

Not that a studio would ever allow that happen, but hey. You can always ask, right?

Learn more about the book and author at Josephine Angelini's website and blog.

Writers Read: Josephine Angelini (June 2011).

--Marshal Zeringue

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Sam Walker's "Presidents and Civil Liberties From Wilson to Obama"

Samuel Walker is Emeritus Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he taught from 1974 to 2005. He is a widely quoted expert on issues of civil liberties, policing and criminal justice policy.

Here he shares some ideas for a cinematic adaptation of his latest book, Presidents and Civil Liberties From Wilson to Obama: A Story of Poor Custodians:

Fox Movietone News! August 8, 1974. President Richard Nixon speaks from the White House: “My fellow Americans, I am a crook. Consequently, I shall resign my office...”

How do you make a movie out of a 510 page book that covers 17 American presidents and a broad range of civil liberties controversies? Do it as one the old newsreels that used to precede the feature film along with the prevues and the cartoon. So Presidents and Civil Liberties: The Movie will appear as highlights from Fox Movietone News.

The script is based on a talk I gave on “The Great Speeches Presidents Never Gave – But Should Have.” Over the last century, several presidents have perpetrated terrible violations of individual rights. Franklin D. Roosevelt put Americans in concentration camps– the only president ever to do so. Woodrow Wilson suppressed all dissent during World War I. And the list goes on. The point of the presentation, and now the movie, is that they could have chosen a different course of action. They could have chosen to respect the Bill of Rights. The movie presents the speeches they could and should have given.

President Nixon famously did say “I am not a crook,” and he never admitted any personal guilt for the Watergate break-in and cover up that drove him from office. He could have admitted his responsibility and left office with at least some shred of honor, but did not.

In the second segment President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers one of his famous “fireside chats” from the White House in February 1942. Following Pearl Harbor, there were demands for evacuating all Japanese Americans from the west coast. Responding to these demands, FDR eloquently declares that “we do not punish people because of their race or national origins. That’s what the Nazis do.” (Of course, he conveniently overlooked American racism and segregation, but that is another long story.) “In this war,” he continues, “we are fighting for democracy and the principles in the Bill of Rights. We do not punish people because of who they are.”

FDR did not give that speech, and the result was one of the greatest legal and moral tragedies in American history, as 117,116 people, most of whom were American citizens were evacuated and detained in concentration camps.

In the third segment President Woodrow Wilson speaks Congress on April 2, 1917, asking for a declaration of war against Germany. Famously, he says “the world must be made safe for democracy.” In this version of the speech, he adds that “in the great struggle ahead we will not sacrifice democracy at home. People who have opposed our entering the European war have a right to voice their dissent, and we will vigilantly protect that right which is protected by the First Amendment.”

President Wilson never uttered those words, however, and his administration perpetrated the worst suppression of freedom of speech and press in American history.

The movie goes on, with many episodes. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in May 1954 delivers a strong endorsement of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, declaring segregated schools unconstitutional (something he never did). President Ronald Reagan tells the country he will respect the new legislative controls over the C.I.A., declaring that he will respect the will of Congress (something he did not do). President Bill Clinton announces that he will take steps to end the war on drugs because it has proven to be ineffective and because of its devastating impact on the African American community (instead, he actually intensified the war on drugs). We could go on, but you get the picture.

Learn more about the book and author at Samuel Walker's website.

Writers Read: Samuel Walker.

--Marshal Zeringue

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