Shadows Cast
In CoS contest #6 I asked you to cast the film version of Cast of Shadows based on Kevin's descriptions of his characters. Frankly, I'd have been thrilled to have even one entry for such a tricky contest, but I got three, and all of them were excellent. In fact, I'm designating a runner-up to receive a book if there are any left over.
First, here's the winning entry from Jenni Byrne, complete with her explanations and Kevin's responses.
Dr. Davis Moore:
I think Peter Krause would make a great Davis -- anyone with HBO knows he can act, he hasn't had the proper high-profile vehicle to make his name as well known as it should be. He's the right age, he comes across as smart and sexy, and I think he could play driven and tormented to the right degree. He could add the whole, "will this movie let him really jump from tv to big screen?" edge to the marketing.
Kevin's comment: Right on. He looks like a guy who will age well, too. Like Davis, he'll still be an attractive man well into his fifties.
Jackie Moore:
My first reaction was Julianne Moore, but she just came off that one movie where she's a crazy mother, so that might be overkill. You need an actress who is petite, not cloying, and can do crazy without annoying her audience. And Jackie seems kind of cold from the excerpt. I think it would be interesting to see Ashley Judd give the role a shot. Physically, she's the right type -- petite and small-boned -- and she's around the right age. Plus, she was pretty decent in her previous thrillers. She's done mostly romantic comedy/biopic type films since. And she can go on Oprah and talk about cloning and get all the middle aged ladies wanting to see the film and discuss the issue.
Kevin's comment: Ashley can do unbalanced without losing the sympathy of the audience. Yep.
Dr. Joan Burton:
I say Kate Winslet, mostly because I love her, but also because she's hott, can play intelligent, and just came off a successful year of films. She needs an opportunity to show that she can have a role in a big budget film that doesn't suck like "The Life of David Gale." She could totally rock that Miranda Otto in "Human Nature" type role without being a total slut about it - not that I didn't love Miranda in "Human Nature," but you know what I mean. She'd be a classy potential extramarital distraction. (I'd have said Angelina Jolie, but that's way too easy.)
Kevin's comment: Kate isn't at all how I imagined Joan, but this is a movie. Who cares what the author was thinking? She'd be terrific.
Mickey "The Gerund" Fanning:
Gary Busey, because the man is batshit crazy.
Kevin's comment: Q.E.D.
Sally Barwick:
Zooey Deschanel. She was witty and clever in "The Good Girl," appropriately vulnerable and emotionally torn in "All The Real Girls," and all the sci-fi nerds will develop a collective boner for her after "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" this summer. Sure, this story has vestiges of sci-fi-ness about it, but not so much that she'll have to worry about typecasting. She'll bring a variety of demographics, she's pretty, and she can act.
Kevin's comment: Entrants would have had no way of knowing this because Daniel and I decided to make the proposal colorblind, but in the book Sally is actually African-American. Having said that, since hearing Zooey Deschanel sing on the Elf soundtrack, I have been totally smitten.
Big Rob:
This was the first one I came up with, actually - Jon Favreau. We all know he's been bigger, and we can see he's heading there (check out the BloatWatch at www.gofugyourself.typepad.com for photos). He's definitely verging on Gandolfini-esque these days, he worked with Zooey Deschanel on "Elf," so they'd have some chemistry, presumably, and he definitely showed a talent for banter in "Swingers." (Don't all cops have to have the banter gene? Or is it just the ones on "Law & Order"?) If Big Rob's supposed to be older, switch it to Tony Soprano.
Kevin's comment: In the original manuscript Big Rob provides much more comic relief than he does in the book. I still think of him as a fast-talking wise-acre, though. Favreau it is.
Justin Finn:
This one took some looking for, because I couldn't really think of any young actors... but what about, for the 17-year-old Justin, Haley Joel Osment? Hear me out on this one. He started out doing creepy type roles, but then did a bunch of weird sappy pap. It would be like his early, Oscar-nominated, decent movie days, and he could make his film debut as a proper adult. It's been a while since he did something, so he could sort of erase all that bad shit from everyone's memory and give another heartwrenching performance as a kid with a troubled
history. Or, we could clone River Phoenix, wait for him to grow up, and film as we go along.
Kevin's comment: Because the image on the cover of the book is so reminiscent of the A.I. teaser trailer, I think this would be an inevitability.
Martha Finn:
Hmmm. I'm kind of spent here, so I'll just give this role to Lohanboobies and call it a day.
Kevin's comment: Another entrant suggested Claire Danes, which I actually like better but LL is never a bad answer to any question.
Thanks, Kevin and Jenni. And speaking of comic relief, here's runner-up Joe Gatti:
DR. DAVIS MOORE:
Davis Love III (With his golf game waning, Davis takes a few acting classes at the Y and discovers his true calling. He proclaims, "A part like this only comes around once in a lifetime and you gotta 'stick it close' when opportunity strikes. Besides, if someone calls out, 'Davis!' on or off the set, I'll always be 'in character'. That's actor-talk.")
JACKIE MOORE:
Kirstie Alley (Hollywood could just explain her role as a former, FORMER gymnast with emotional troubles when leaving a buffet line.)
DR. JOAN BURTON:
Jenna Jameson (Leaves possibility of sequel a no-brainer for Hollywood. Davis clones Jenna. Jenna has cat-fight with herself. For 43 minutes. Kevin retires to Bali.)
MICKEY "THE GERUND" FANNING:
Steven Tyler (Highly believable as THE poster child for a non-cloning world.)
SALLY BARWICK:
Scarlett Johansen (Stipulated in her contract that she must don the pink panties from "Lost in Translation" in at least two scenes involving clever introspection.)
BIG ROB:
Who else?...William "Refrigerator" Perry. (Or...if she doesn't land role as Jackie Moore...Kirstie Alley).
JUSTIN FINN:
Infant Justin: Ralph Macchio
Toddler Justin: Ralph Macchio
17 year old Justin: Ralph Macchio
MARTHA FINN:
Twenty-something Martha: Tara Reid (New breasts = fun feeding for little Justin)
Forty-something Martha: Courtney Love (Casting "against-type" proves a coup as portrayal of 'mother concerned with son's odd behavior' garners Oscar.)