Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Casting Call Character Bloghop



Cool, a good reason to come up with another blog post this week!  I’m lucky if I get in one a week, so this is a nice surprise for me.  It seems my good buddy Lisa Regan and fellow writer/bloggers Carrie Butler and Melodie Wright are hosting a Casting Call Bloghop in which we introduce our characters in whichever form we like best. 

Since I’m a film buff and have often visualized my novel as a movie, I thought I would use the actors I believe best embody the main characters in my book, THE MISTAKEN, a psychological thriller.

First, the pitch:

Vengeance tastes sweet the day Skylar Karras pledges his wife's killer to sex-traffickers in the Russian Mafia.  In exchange for the woman, they’ll let his brother leave the business for good—with his debt wiped clean and his heart still beating.  But when Sky mistakenly targets the wrong woman, deal or no deal, he’s forced to protect them all from the very enemy he's unleashed. 

Now, the casting:

The male lead, Skylar Karras, is really a composite of two people, a friend of mine and an actor, Andy Whitfield.  Sadly, Andy past away on September 11th at the age of 39, a victim of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.



For the role of Skylar’s wife, Jillian, I think actress Jessica Alba would be perfect.



For Skylar’s brother, Nick, I like Michael Graziadei.  Doesn’t he look a lot like Andy Whitfield?



For Hannah Maguire, the woman Sky has mistakenly targeted, I love Mila Jovovich.



For bad guy and Russian mobster, Alexi Batalov, the suave and debonair Ben Gazzara fits like a glove.  



What about you?  Do you have anyone particular in mind for your characters?   


26 comments:

JeffO said...

I have to say, a guy who pledges a woman to sex-traffickers would be quite hard for me to get behind as a hero, no matter what the circumstances, but it sounds like a really interesting premise, and we know that people can change. I'd opt for Vladimir Putin for Batalov, but I guess he's busy these days.

I've thought about who would play various roles in my book (especially since I pledged myself to Casting Call), but have come up empty.

Botanist said...

You've done well to cast real actors into your roles. Like JeffO says, that lead character is gonna be a hard sell but I'm sure we've only got parts of the story here. Sounds intriguing.

Lisa Regan said...

To those who say it's a hard sell--you've got to read the book!!!!! It's so good and Nancy pulls it off perfectly. You would be shocked at how NOT a hard sell it is while you're engrossed in it. Her characters were in my head for months after I read her book. Truly fabulous.

That said, I love this. Jessica Alba as Jillian is so perfect. It's so sad Whitfield passed. The Jovovich for Hannah was kind of surprising--I'm always interested to see who writers would cast in a movie of their book cause it gives you a firmer idea of what the characters look like in the writer's mind.

Carrie Butler said...

Whoa! Those two actors certainly did resemble each other. Who knew?

Great cast you have there, Nancy! Your book sounds very interesting. Thank you for participating! :)

Bkloss said...

Nice!! Um, I have a folder on my desktop with photos of actors/actresses I have in mind for my characters...

That didn't even LOOK like Mila! (ps i love her too!)

M.J. Fifield said...

You're right...those two actors do look like brothers.

It's a great picture of Mila too. I didn't recognize her at first.

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

This is very cool. I haven't tried casting my characters (with head shots and everything), but now I think I will.

Laila Knight said...

Loved your pics...great blue eyes. Would have liked to have seen some more skin on Andy, but completely understand. And the Russian mobster is a way cool choice. :)

Susan Oloier said...

What a great premise!!!! I love the idea of this blogfest, but cannot (as hard as I try) find actors to fit the visual I have in my head of my characters. Sounds like fun nonetheless.

Luanne G. Smith said...

Well isn't that a beautiful cast!! Still so sorry about Andy Whitfield passing away. Such a loss.

And your novel sounds great. What a lot of conflict and nasty goings on.

Unknown said...

Good choices. Your movie would have a good youthful look to it.

Jessica Khoury said...

Thanks for commenting on my cast! You have a star-studded line up here! Love Alba, she is gorgeous, and the resemblance between the guys is uncanny.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Mila! Good choice. I was asked to name actors who fit the role of my main characters in CassaStar and I just had to wing it. Really couldn't think of anyone for either one.

Riley Redgate said...

Wow, Mila Jovovich is so striking. This is a great cast! And your pitch is just bursting at the seams with conflict - the novel sounds fantastic. :]

Empty Nest Insider said...

Your novel sounds amazing and I really like your casting choices! I'm very sorry about Andy Whitfield.

Charity Bradford said...

I love your cast of characters, and I think the story sounds intriguing. Thanks for stopping by my blog too.

Anonymous said...

Hi there,
I am just hopping over from the PIF blogfest, I'm sorry it's taken me so long. So many to get around. Anyway hope you are well. Your blog is great.
Eve :)

Golden Eagle said...

I like the sound of your cast, though the actors are unfamiliar to me. Interesting pitch as well!

Dana E said...

Your story sounds VERY intriguing! What a wonderful way to remember your friend, Andy.

Melodie said...

Great choices for what sounds like a dynamite plot. I'm so glad you found time to join us!! I hope you had fun. :)

Tyrean Martinson said...

Love your casting choices . . .

Unknown said...

Great casting on this one. I've seen this a few times before and it looks fun. I may try. Love your pick of Alba for Jillian.

Peggy Eddleman said...

I haven't come up with any casting for mine, but I really love yours!

klahanie said...

Hey Nancy,
Excellent and what more can I add to all those other fine comments? Superb casting choices and Ben Gazarra...yikes and 'run for your life' :)
Have a wonderful weekend, Nancy and try to take it easy. Happy writing,
Gary

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Ben's looking good. What a great idea for a blog. I like it. My current protagonist is a yummy Adam Beach. He's trying to prove that Kathy Bate's innocent.

I know that makes no sense. But the book will be out in a few years and all will be revealed.

I've had an ear ache all week and I think it's frying my brain.

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