*It's several mornings after the long night of reading in the Lair. Bandita Nancy and Bandita Jeanne have convened in the Lair's cavernous, but immaculate kitchen, seeking coffee and a snack. As usual, the conversation starts with books.....*Jeanne, contemplating Kathy Reichs' latest Temperance Brennan book: Why is it that it's so hard to cast people for books-to-movies or books-to-TV who actually
resemble the characters? I mean, seriously. I look at who gets cast for stuff sometimes and just wince. Temperance Brennan on TV isn't at ALL like she's described in the book. And we won't even mention the comic-book heroes....
(Nancy rolls her eyes, having heard Jeanne's complaint that Karl Urban should have been chosen for
Thor, rather than Chris Hemsworth.)
Nancy, stirring cream into her coffee and contemplating the tray of pastries Sven left out for the Banditas: Well, they got
Iron Man right. Not too many people could play Iron Man any better than Robert Downey Jr. And Christopher Reeve was
Superman to the life. Brandon Routh was fine but could've been better if he'd had a good script. And then there's Hugh Jackman as
Wolverine.
Jeanne: *grudging concession* That's true. Bad choices aside, there are some books and comic books that are incredibly difficult to cast. Take the
In Death series.
*Jeanne points to the copy in Nancy's "To Be Shelved - Keeper" cubby, over by the door.*
I noticed you caught up with all the J.D. Robb books, when you finished
Fantasy in Death.
Nancy: Of all the Eve Dallas books, this is the one most perfect for me. It's got gaming, for cryin' out loud. And a convention. And
Star Wars references. Right up my street, as Anna Sugden would say.
Jeanne: Now THERE's a series that would be fun to cast. I hear our own Romance Champion, Nora, thinks that would be one of the hardest casting jobs of all time. I think I'd agree with her on that. What do you think, Nancy?
(Long, thoughtful, coffee-drinking pause)
Nancy: Bet we could come up with something.
Jeanne: *Grins* Ah, the gauntlet is cast. Let's do it. Starting at the top....Who would play Eve?
Nancy: Ohhhh, no, let's start with the minor characters first. That's easier!
Jeanne: Good plan. Okay, Summerset, the butler, factotem, and what the historical authors might have called the Reeve, for the most gorgeous Irish-American hero ever (barring Aunty Cindy's boys), Roarke. Who gets to play Summerset and sneer at Eve?
Nancy: Ralph Richardson would be perfect for Summerset, but alas, he's dead.
Jeanne: Let's do cast LIVE people, yes. *Grins* What about Michael Caine for Summerset. No one can do disdainful like Michael Caine. He was fabulous at it in
Miss Congeniality.
Nancy: Either Michael Caine or perhaps David McCallum (
NCIS Coroner) would be good for that. But I think Caine has the edge. You know, I think Dennis Haysbert from
The Unit would be perfect for Tibble. And possibly my pal Teal'C of
Stargate (Christopher Judge) would be perfect for Mavis's beau, Leonardo.
Jeanne: Oh, he would!! What about Samuel L. Jackson for Whitney? He'd be great as Whitney. And perhaps Michael Clarke Duncan for Crack, from the Down and Dirty Club.
Nancy: Samuel L. Jackson is perfect as pretty much anything. I can see Michael Clarke Duncan for Crack.
Jeanne: What about Mavis?
Nancy: Katherine Heigel or Amy Adams might do for Mavis, or maybe Helena Bonham Carter, she's got that curly hair and sort of flighty sensibility that Mavis has.
Jeanne: Excellent. I think James Marsden (
27 Dresses) would be great for Baxter, and maybe Eddie Cibrian from
CSI Miami for Webster.
Nancy: You know James Marsden was fabulous as my favorite guy
X-Man, Cyclops, just as an aside, and he can sing, too. I can see Cibrian as Webster. I think Ewan McGregor has to play McNabb. Or maybe Michael Cera from
Juno.
Jeanne: Good ones!! I've got the perfect actor for Troy Trueheart. He's on Disney Channel's
Aaron Stone, and his name is Kelly Blatz. He's just that "perfect" all-American boy-type. Or maybe Casper Van Dein, from
Starship Troopers. He's got that "Lettered-in-every-sport" kind of Troy-Trueheart look too.
Nancy: Good choices there, either one. On the female side, I think Sasha Alexander (
NCIS) or maybe Emily Proctor (
CSI - Miami), who's a North Carolina native, just to confess my bias, for Assistant ADA Cher Rio. That would be good.
Jeanne: It would! And I'm partial to those NC actors too, as you know! Now for the harder ones...Delia Peabody. She's going to be a toughie.
Nancy: *hmmmm* Zoey Deschanel? Pauley Perrette (
NCIS)?
Jeanne, munching a pastry to buy thinking time: Perrette's got the chuzpah for it. May be Leighton Meester from
Gossip Girl. Body-type wise, she's more the Peabody type.
Nancy: Hmmm, yes, but it's all about the attitude. That's what makes it hard to consider casting Eve. She's not classically beautiful, she's interesting. She's tall. She's whipcord rather than brawn, and she's no lightweight in terms of her abilities. Not just any frou-frou actress can pull that off.
Jeanne: Okay brainstorming for Eve....Jessica Alba has the chops (too pretty?)
Nancy: Lena Headey from the Terminator TV series (too short?) Maybe Mary MacCormack from
West Wing and
In Plain Sight. She's got an interesting face and is a take-no-prisoners kind of actress no matter what she's wearing. Heeeeeey, Stana Katic from
Castle would be excellent!
Jeanne: Ooh, good one. I'm considering Daniela Ruah, from
NCIS - LA. She's got that same attitude as Mary, with a little more interest in the face. Grins.
Nancy: I haven't seen that show yet. I'm still not satisfied with the choices here, and we forgot one of the most important people! Charlotte Mira! Oh, and Head Lab Tech, Dickie "Dickhead" Berenski, and of all things, YOU forgot the lead Coroner, Morris! Maybe the Bandita Buddies who've read the series can help.
Jeanne: Capital idea! (Can't believe I forgot Mira AND Morris...gotta think on that!) I think we're going to need help for Roarke too. He's got so many well-described attributes that you have to be verrrrry picky. I thought about Dermot Mulrooney (
The Wedding Date), or Eddie Cahill (
CSI-NY) But neither have that certain
Je nais ce quoi that Roarke needs.
Nancy: So true! I did the same thing. Roarke is an action hero, but he has lots and lots of layers, darkness and light. Doing him justice requires real acting chops. Eve, too, for that matter.
Returning to Roarke, though, Milo Ventimiglia's too short, but otherwise has the right looks. Brandon Routh doesn't have blue eyes. Clive Owen is too greyhound lean, and Hugh Grant's too associated with Romantic Comedy. Matt Bomer from the new series
White Collar is good, looks-wise, but he's too short and too young.
Jeanne: Yep, gotta have some acting chops to do Roarke. Christian Bale? David Conrad from
Ghost Whisperer? Pierce Brosnan from 25 years ago would be good, but we can't regress him in time. Too bad about that. Charles Durning's a bit too old now, but he would have made a great Feeney.
Nancy: You're digressing again! Focus! Neeson's also too old for Roarke, and Colin Farrell's too short and too...something. Karl Urban and Hugh Jackman could do it, but they're so famous. Deservedly because they're so good, but it's sometimes hard to overlook who they are when they're onscreen. Though I have to say Urban did a great job of disappearing into Dr. McCoy in
Star Trek. And Jackman was great in a role very different for him in
Australia. Did I tell you how many times I watched
Australia on HBO?
Jeanne (snorking): Yes! Yes you did. *grins* (About as many times as I've watched
Star Trek, I'll bet.) Getting back to the point,
as much as I perv over Karl Urban, you're right there. One of my other favorites, Adrian Paul is too short, too old, and doesn't have blue eyes. He's got the smoldering, smirky capacity, but not the other stuff. I'm going to digress again and say that Jon Voight would make an absolutely perfect Senator DeBlass from the first book, with Kevin Bacon as his smarmy aide-de-camp.
Nancy: Darn it, we need to get the main characters, not go haring off into side trips. Remember, we still don't have Morris or Mira! On balance, among our current choices, I'd go with Jackman for Roarke and Katic for Eve. She's just a shade on the young side, but I think she'd be good.
Jeanne: Okay, okay! *Grins* Not that we're taking this seriously or anything. I guess I'd go Christian Bale for Roarke and Daniella Ruah for Eve.
Nancy: Way too early in the morning for serious. I can see Bale, though, and I'll take your word that Ruah'd be good. But I think it's time to get some help from people who watch either more TV and Movies that you and I do, or who watch different shows than you and I do. There's a lot of BOOM movies and Crime shows represented in our lists. Maybe something else?
Jeanne: You know Anna Campbell's going to suggest Richard Armitage, don't you?
Nancy: Yep. She's like you are with Karl Urban.
Jeanne: Heehee. Well, we all have our favorites....
So what about it, Banditas and Bandit Buddies? Who would you cast as Eve, Roarke, and Co. from J.D. Robb's famous In Death series?Do you have a favorite series or book (not bandita books this time, please, 'cause we're doing those on June 19) for which you'd like to cast the characters? Let's talk CASTING, People!! 
by Jeanne Adams
immersed, but it's the morning after that's a killer. I have two sons and they, like most young boys, go to school. That means they need to be awake, fed and ready to go at an unholy hour of the morning. Which means I have to be up earlier than they are so that I can actually be human before I wake them up. Ugh.
Mercedes Lackey does this to me too, as do every single one of our Banditas. Kate Carlisle, drat her, has kept me up with both her Brooklyn Wainright mysteries and her Silhouette Desire. I won't even START on Anna Campbell. I was smart enough to take Christine, Donna and Christie on various plane rides, which made the travel effortless and painless. Thankfully, I was smart enough to start Trish, AC, and Kirsten's books when I had time to read straight through, although I confess to reading Kirsten's book in the carpool lane, while stirring spagetti sauce, and while doing laundry. None of the laundry got folded until I was done, however. Grins.
I got three books last weekend when I went to Nora's husband's bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland, about an hour north of DC. Turn the Page (http://www.ttpbooks.com/) books is a fabulous little store, and when there's a booksigning, the population of the town seemingly doubles, sometimes even triples. I bought three of her books, and one of Mariah Stewart's books, and another wonderful book by Camille DeAngelis.
reading a fabulous book!
