This morning, I asked a couple of fellow writers the following question for an upcoming interview:
Assume you have just won the equivalent of the literary lottery and a major film studio wants to turn your work into a big-budget motion picture. Which of your stories would you like to see as a film, and who would you want to be involved (actors, director, etc.)? Also, CGI or no CGI?
I decided I wanted to be the first to answer my own question.
Without further ado, here are the cast and main players in the film adaptation of Lucifera’s Pet:
Director:
Guillermo Del Toro
He has proven that he can do amazing things within a budget. He also can stay faithful to source material and bring even the most absurd characters to life in such a way that you forget about the prosthetics and just see the character. He can also pepper horror with a healthy dose of comedy. GDT is my guy.
Cast:
The Werewolf
Robert Downey Jr.
The lead player has to be able to chew up entire chunks of every scene in which he appears. He also has to be simultaneously psychotic and sympathetic. Who better than “the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude?”
Emil Vladu – Master Vampire
Cary Elwes
Let’s turn back the clock and have Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride, circa 1987 play the villain. He already has the air of condescension down to a science.
Robert Marrick – Emil’s henchman
Steve Buscemi
Marrick is creepy and he talks with an exaggerated lisp that makes him sound like a snake. I can think of no one better to play him than my favorite creepy actor.
Nash – Lucifera’s consigliore
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Nash is big, brooding, and never speaks a word. He probably has a little too much charisma for the part, but The Rock will have no trouble filling the role physically.
Christopher Johnson – Newly turned vampire
Justin Long
The awkward, brainy kid from Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, will be perfect as the awkward, brainy vampire.
William O’Connell – werewolf
Daniel Day Lewis
O’Connell is big and boisterous with a mustache as big as all outdoors. He also has two knives: one in his hand and one in your back. Daniel Day Lewis is a lock for the role.
Now for the tough part: casting the title character.
Lucifera Romana – Master Vampire of Los Angeles
Shelly Martinez
Whenever I write Lucifera, Shelly in her former role as “Ariel” is how I picture the character. Would she win an Academy Award? Don't know. Don't care. If I were interested in Academy Awards, I’d rewrite the story about an innocent man on death row that Hollywood usually loves to shower with golden statues.
Supporting cast: Sean Connery as Tarquin. Catherine Zeta Jones as Lucrecia. Sir Anthony Hopkins as Cornelius. David Tennant as James. Valerie Bertinelli as Mary. Christian Slater as “The Mugger.”
Special Effects:
The team from Hellboy and Hellboy 2.
In both films, they bring monsters to life that I never believed would work on the big screen. These guys blend makeup, animatronics, and computer graphics in such a way that you forget you are watching something impossible. I would love to see what they could do with a pack of seven-foot-tall werewolves.
There you have it. That’s my film.
Now for the fun part. Tell me about your movie. You can post your thoughts here or we can make it really fun: Add pictures and put it in your blog, then post the link here. Either way, I want to hear about what your vision will look like on the big screen.
M.T. Murphy is the author of Lucifera’s Pet, a violent and sexy dark fiction tale of werewolves and vampires. Connect with him below:
Website: http://www.luciferaspet.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/WerewolfMike
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/luciferaspet
Smashwords (Free eBooks): http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mtmurphy
Just put my dream up on my blog. I had fun putting mine together. http://www.mariminiatt.com/2010/05/movie-of-my-book-why-not.html
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to my cast list! Yours is really well conceived. I agree that Steve Buscemi is the stuff of fevered dreams. *L*
ReplyDeletehttp://monicamarier.blogspot.com/
I am glad you guys enjoyed the question. I spend way too much time thinking about this sort of thing. It is always fun to cast the characters in a novel, whether it is my own or the one I am currently reading.
ReplyDeleteSee you all on the red carpet! ;)
Okay as I have told you off the record, I loved this topic and stole the idea as well. I would see this movie even if I hadn't read the book. Great casting! ;)
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to mine, special credit at the end to you for the idea!
http://thexdevilsxangel.blogspot.com/2010/05/casting-call.html