My Book the Movie
I am so pleased to present another edition of My Book, The Movie; a Guest Blog Post where I invite authors to imagine Hollywood came calling and wanted to turn their book into a film.
Yesterday, I posted my review on What the Dog Ate, a terrific book, by Jackie Bouchard. Today I'm really happy to share Jackie's thoughts on her dream cast. I'd love to hear what Jackie's readers think about her choices—can you say Bradley Cooper—yum!
To purchase a copy or more info about Jackie visit
My Book, The Movie: What the Dog Ate by Jackie Bouchard
“I was so excited to hear about Sim’s blog (what a great topic for a blog!), and was even more excited when she asked me to write a guest post revealing my dream cast for What the Dog Ate.
I can’t imagine there’s an author out there who didn’t, at some point along the slow journey toward a finished book, imagine which actors would best embody his/her characters. It’s such a fun fantasy. However, for What the Dog Ate, I imagine it will remain a fantasy, since the main character, Maggie, is north of 40, and Hollywood doesn’t seem very keen on movies with 40-something heroines. But, hey, maybe Lifetime will come calling… A girl can dream.
So, while I’m dreaming, here’s my dream cast:
For Maggie, a 5’9”, 41-year-old redhead, I have always pictured Debra Messing. She’s lovely and funny and seems like a nice person, and she’d be fabulous at pulling off Maggie’s vulnerability. And, at 5’8”, she’s practically even the perfect height!
(I noticed while looking up her picture and height that Ms. Messing is 44, so, hey, Hollywood – call me! We need to get going on this project!)
It looks as though she’s a dog lover as well, which is definitely important when playing the part of a woman who puts her life back together with the help of her chocolate Lab.
She’ll be getting a lot of kisses on set . . . mainly from her canine co-star.
For Maggie’s best friend, Helen, I’ve pictured Holly Hunter from day one, but with a silky, blonde bob haircut. Helen is in her early fifties and in killer shape, just like Ms. Hunter. I never mention in the book that Helen just might have a Southern accent like Ms. Hunter, but in my head, I always heard Helen’s lines being said with a slight twang.
For the gentlemen in Maggie’s life, let’s start with Brian. This was the hardest role to cast! Brian is thirty, but looks much older due to his thinning hair. It seems as though it’s next to impossible to find an actor that looks older than they really are. In fact, when I tried—out of desperation—to run a Google search on “actors who look older than they are,” Google assumed (rightly?) that I was an idiot and returned a list of “actors who look younger than they are.” Thanks for helping out, Google.
The only actor I could think of who sometimes looks his age is Joel McHale (from Community) because his hair is thinning a bit.
But… he’s skinnier and funnier than I picture Brian being, so instead, I think I’ll go with Ryan McPartlin, Dr. Devon “Captain Awesome” Woodcomb of Chuck fame. I think he could pull off playing a thirty-year-old (he’s 37) and if necessary, they could age him a little with some premature gray streaks. Besides, who wouldn’t want to share the set with this handsome man?! I know I’d like to. (I get to be on set while they’re filming right? I mean, this is my fantasy after all.) And just so Joel doesn’t feel left out, I’ll put him in the role of Maggie’s brother, Kevin.
That leaves Russell. While I was writing the part of Russell, I pictured a younger, fitter Russell Crowe—which is where I came up with his name. I hate to say it Mr. Crowe, but you are ten years too old and ten pounds too paunchy to be Russell anymore. (Please forgive me. At least I didn’t say twenty pounds . . .)
So, now, my perfect Russell would be (drum roll please because this man needs a drum roll . . .): Bradley Cooper. Just the right mix of funny and sexy to pull off Russell!
(Can we get a casting couch in here, please!?)
Now, if we could just lock in Betty White for Maggie’s Gram, I’d think I died and went to heaven!
If you’ve read What the Dog Ate, what do you think? Did you picture someone completely different in any of the roles? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Thank you so much to Sim for letting me indulge in this fantasy on her blog!’’
Thanks, Jackie! It was fun having you.
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