After writing my post for last week's Fairy Tale Fun Blog Hop, I had Anne Hathaway on the brain. I was suddenly reminded of a post I'd written for the launch of the second book in my French Twist series, French Toast. I was asked to write about my dream cast for the movie version of French Fry. Read on for my magical selections!
Truth be told, it has been a fantasy of mine to see my books
made into movies. What author wouldn’t enjoy seeing her brilliant tome turned
into a work of art on the big screen! I have no doubt many of you have
read books that you just fell in love with and played a fun game of “Who would
you have play the title roles in the movie version?” This game is especially entertaining
with a nice glass of wine and a bowl of chocolate!
When it comes to my books, the casting selections are a
little more personal since these stories are based on my real life French
fairy tale. I met my husband while he was in the US on a business trip and we
were engaged five weeks later. He picked up his life and moved for me! ME! That
in itself would make an incredibly romantic movie. Add to this the fact that he
is gorgeous, intelligent, charming and funny and you have a winner! Twelve
years and two kids later and we're still like giddy teenagers. (When we're
not fighting, that is.)
Now that you have the necessary background, let’s get back to
the task at hand. I've given it a lot of thought and if I had to cast my role
of Sydney Bennett, I would choose Anne Hathaway. She's admittedly FAR more gorgeous
than I am, but this is a fantasy, right? She would need to sport long flowing
tresses, so I guess we would need to supply her with a wig since her hair is
now in a pixie cut. But she has the height, the beautiful brown eyes
and the charm I'm able to project to the rest of the world. (At least I think I do...)
She would be perfect for this role since she's intelligent
and funny, but also very adept at playing awkward. Believe me when I tell you I'm awkward with a capital “A.” She wouldn't be fazed by the babbling,
pratfalls and absolute lunacy I tend to showcase. You would have to be a
talented actress indeed to make those traits appear endearing, as I hope I
have in French Toast.
You'll have to be the judge!
To make things a little more fun, I let each of my “characters”
choose their own actor/actress for our movie. My husband went with the gorgeous
Jason Statham to play his alter ego, Louis Durand. I heartily approve of this
choice. Mr. Statham is charming, funny and extremely engaging, just like my
husband. And he has just the right amount of attitude! Though he may not be
from France, I'm sure he could do a wonderful approximation of my
husband’s accent – which is actually not a classic French accent, but more of a
European mix. People often have trouble placing where he's from when they hear
him speak. Germany is the most popular guess!
My friend whom I modeled the rather snarky Maya after
chose Archie Panjabi to play her in our big screen adaptation. I know what you’re
thinking – the actress who plays a character as intense as Kalinda Sharma on
The Good Wife is going to be convincing as a shallow, impatient and apathetic
wiseacre? Have a little faith! Did you happen to see a little movie called Bend it Like Beckham? I think that Ms.
Panjabi was very convincing as the flighty Pinky
Bhamra. That’s right! THAT was her. She can totally pull this off.
My sister has chosen the lovely Emily Blunt to play Kate
Bennett. She insisted on finding an actress who was witty and charismatic, but
also very good at being “bitchy.” This gave me a quite a chuckle since though
my sister can turn a nasty phrase when necessary, her character in French Toast is the very image of
perfection. I believe Ms. Blunt would be able to capture just the right
combination of candor and compassion – with a dash of acerbity.
My brother and I have discussed his resemblance to Robert
Downey, Jr. for many years. A favorite actor of both of ours, he was the
obvious choice for Charlie Bennett. My brother is the most honest, funny and
tender-hearted person you'll ever come across. His scope of knowledge is
astounding and his laugh is contagious. Just thinking about him makes me smile!
That's the same feeling that I get when I see Robert Downey, Jr. on screen.
There's a certain magic about him which I find both captivating and endearing,
just like my brother.
As my parents have both passed away, I have no option but to
choose their actors for them. My mother would most definitely by played by
Sally Field. I've always been impressed with her work and my mother was a
huge fan of hers. Murphy’s Romance was
her favorite movie of all time. Ms. Field would easily be able to capture my
mother’s kindness, determination and sassy sense of humor. She sacrificed
everything for us, putting her needs absolutely last on her list, and she did
it with such incredible grace. Growing up, she was the mom that all my
friends could relate to and I never tired of hearing how lucky I was to have
her.
Casting my father’s role is a total conundrum. My dad was a
truly unique soul – part teddy bear and part pit bull. He was incredibly
intelligent, was full of sarcasm and had a very unusual sense of humor. (I'm
convinced I inherited my great love of puns from him.) To make things even
more interesting, he was Jewish, but was the spitting image of Santa Clause.
How can you find an actor to encompass all of that? The only one I can
think of is Sir Anthony Hopkins. We've seen him play a wide range of characters,
from the truly frightening Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs to the very kind and loyal James Stevens in The Remains of the Day. I suppose if he
can capture all those emotions in different roles, he can combine them into
one character. It would be the role of a lifetime!
Perhaps one day I'll be lucky enough to see the French
Twist series made into a movie, but for now, I'm fully content with the
fantasy. Happy Reading!
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