Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Hollywood Treatment

I stole this idea from my friend, Ellen Meister who has a really cool book out right now, entitled Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA (it's a hilarious look at what happens when three suburban housewives conspire to bring George Clooney to their town to film a movie. Check it out.)

Anyway, the idea here is that if you had 30 seconds to pitch your novel to a Hollywood producer, what would you say, and who would you cast as your main characters?

For Dead Girls Are Easy (coming July 2007 from Avon Books, YAY!), I'd probably pitch something like:

A former Goth girl has a near-death experience, and wakes to find herself an unwilling 'ghoulfriend' to the dead.

Who would I cast? Hm... tougher call than one might think. For my smart-aleck, fashion-conscious heroine Nicki Styx, I think Zooey Deschanel would work. She's got the right attitude, gorgeous eyes, and a fashion sense all her own. (Her real-life sister, Emily Deschanel, plays the no-nonsense Temperance Brennan on Bones, so she'd be perfect for Nicki's not-so-twin sister, Kelly.)

For the lovable and sexy Dr. Joe Bascombe, the man who brought Nicki back to life (in more ways than one *g*), I'd have to choose Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy. I still have to struggle with my memories of him as Will's gay boyfriend on Will & Grace (one of my favorite shows, btw), but I can suspend disbelief long enough to see him as Joe.

And finally, (and perhaps the easiest of all), would be the irrepressible, outrageous Evan Owenby, Nicki's best friend and business partner. Who better to play the gay co-owner of a vintage clothing store called 'Handbags N' Gladrags' than Carson Kressley, America's favorite Queer Eye for the Straight Guy?

So now I challenge you aspiring writers out there to do your own 'Hollywood Treatment' on your story. Who would you choose to play your main characters, and why?

11 comments:

Ellen said...

I'm so glad you did this, Terri! I love your pitch AND your casting. Your book sounds very cinematic. (I can't quite bring myself to say "filmic.")

Can't wait to read it, btw!

Hope Hollywood is listening, Terri ...

Terri Garey said...

Thanks, Ellen! This was a great idea - and it was fun!

Anonymous said...

Love your choices for casting, Terri!

I've flip flopped so many times on who my characters would be, I'd have to do some research to figure it out. Jessica Biel definitely for my heroine, not sure on the hero. I'll have to post about it sometime on my blog after I get it figured out. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Holy Smoke!!! That is sooo the same person I pictured for Nikki!! She was my favorite character in Failure to Launch--I kept thinking she'd be PERFECT for DEAD GIRLS! She so stole the show in FTL--I was like, "Yeah yeah, enough of what's-her-name and Mathew--go back to the COOL couple!" *ggg*

I so want to see DEAD GIRLS the movie :)

Stacey

Terri Garey said...

DEAD GIRLS the movie... ah... has a lovely sound, doesn't it? LOL

Zooey did steal the show in Failure To Launch, didn't she? She'd be so perfect for Nicki Styx!

Janice Lynn said...

Stacey--bite your tongue. No movie could ever show too much Matthew. Okay, so Zooey was cool in FTL, but Matthew...ahhhhhhh! Matthew. Enough said. ;)

& Terri, reading your post makes me glad I don't watch television. I've never seen Patrick play a gay & I'm glad. I think of him as the sexy dude from Sweet Home Alabama or in Lucky Seven. He was great in those, but gay???? Now that would be a waste of a gorgeous man.

Anonymous said...

Terri - just in case you don't read the comments over on mine. Two words - Dominic Purcell. Yummy.

Terri Garey said...

Dominic Purcell -- John Doe! Oh, yeah. :-) Thought he looked yummily familiar!

Anonymous said...

Don't ya just LOVE him in that? I've been watching the reruns. I hate it that they cancelled it before we ever really found out what was going on. And now that have that no belly button guy show that's nearly the same thing - only a kid. Haven't seen much of it yet though. Oh well. At least I have Prison Break. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Patrick's perfect as Joe! Although I can't help but think of him as the geeky kid in the movie Can't Buy Me Love. I'm really showing my age :-)

Terri Garey said...

Thanks, Beth! I didn't see him in that movie, but he sure fits Joe's character.