Hello Hollywood!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Question of the day: Do you envision movie versions of your books as you're writing them? Do you cast your characters with stars as you're writing them, or just allow that flight of fancy post-publication?
Ooh, FUN question! I think there are very few authors who don't drift of to fantasyland, aka, Hollywood adaptations of their novels, while writing, but for me, personally, I don't allow myself to get too far gone into that dream while actually banging out the book. Actually, that's not entirely true: the one time I did - my very first manuscript - not only was that manuscript never sold to a studio, it never even sold to a publisher. :) But that didn't stop me from dreaming! Oh, I'd had it cast, the soundtrack picked out, the location scouted in my mind - the whole shebang. And you already know how well that went. :)
No, when I write, I sincerely just try to write the best book possible. A lot of people later ask me if I write with a movie in mind, I guess because my books are fairly high concept fiction that translate pretty easily to the screen, but I honestly don't. I think that does your book a huge disservice, and let's be honest, for those of you who have ever read an adapted screenplay or even seen an adapted film, you already know that ENORMOUS changes are made, so why bother writing with the movie in mind when the filmmakers are going to do what they want to do with it anyway? (This isn't a slight on filmmakers, rather an acknowledgment that what works in a book doesn't always translate to the screen, which needs bigger, less introspective moments than frequently occur on page.)
That said, after I heard the buzz that Time of My Life was a good film prospect, my daydreaming certainly kicked into high gear. I mean, how could it not? But by then, I'd done the bulk of the work on the manuscript, so it wasn't like I was jeopardizing the writing or the scene-making with the idea of the movie. And what's funny is that my film agent is gearing up to shop around The One That I Want, and I can honestly say that while casting Time of My Life was easy (in my head), I really can't imagine who would play the roles in TWTIW, which only goes to show you how far removed from the film-making idea I was when I wrote it. I mean, I can't even come up with suggestions for the lead.
So that's where I fall. I'd love to hear from you guys: how difficult is it for you to separate the idea of a movie adaptation from your writing?
Reader Comments (7)
I'm never writing with a movie (or TV show) in mind -- like, I don't think about casting or locations or soundtracks -- but I do write with a "movie" of my book playing in my head. That's how I see the scenes and the characters, and that's what I put on the page. I guess, in addition to my word-nerdiness, I've always been a visual person too, and that's how those two parts of me work together. :)
Allison - This may sound crazy, but when you shared your first chapter of The One That I Want, I pictured Jayma Mays (the gal who plays Emma Pillsbury on Glee) playing Tilly.
Some authors say that they first see their stories in their minds as if they were a movie, so I guess this is a natural outgrowth of that idea!
My novels play like a movie in my head - I just have to write it down but my goal is not to make a movie. My goal it to write and be published.
I start by "casting" my characters with headshots of real actors. Then I write their bios. It really helps me with my writing to have people I can see in action. I spend a lot of time on Youtube watching movie clips when I need mannerisms, descriptions, etc.
Okay, it's really all just an excuse to watch Jude Law and call it "research."
Okay, so maybe a different twist to the question. Who would play YOU in a movie? (Not a question for the blog, just curious.)
Mridu - Easy: Keri Russell. :) Hands down.