Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike heading to Puerto Rico for The Deep Blue Good-By

Photo Source: Transparent with Myself

A bit of news for The Deep Blue Good-By adaptation as production on the John D. MacDonald classic ramps up with at least some of the movie being shot in Puerto Rico. I wish I could join them! We lived in San Juan in 1967/68 when I was in the 9th grade, an endless summer of a year between my girlhood spent largely in Canada and our move to Los Angeles where I came of age. The Los Angeles Times published Beach Music, the piece I wrote about my transition from island life, in their Sunday magazine. If you're interested you can read it over at my memoir site. 

Okay, okay, what was I talking about? Oh, right ... The Deep Blue Good-By*.  The mystery over who Rosamund Pike is playing has been cleared up, she's playing Lois Atkinson, not Chookie, and not Cathy, as I initially thought. Lois is Junior Allen's latest victim. Basically the guy's a brutal rapist masquerading as a seductive charmer who disarms his women before pulling out all the sadistic stops, taking what he wants—in this storyline that includes not just sexual intimacies but hidden treasure—before leaving them, broken and ruined. He's a big, grinning, good-looking jock of a guy and has yet to be cast. Channing Tatum comes to my mind, if he's ready to go that dark.

*That's the correct spelling, by the way. I know you're dying to plug in an 'e' at the end but I've checked and double checked, both are correct and good-by, no e is how MacDonald wrote it. 

Cathy, in fact is being portrayed by Nicola Peltz who you might know from The Bates Motel or Transformers: Age of Extinction. She's won both a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress and a Rising Star award from CinemaCon, and that my friend, is showbiz.  

Almost as exciting as Rosamund Pike as Lois is the casting of Peter Dinklage as Meyer. While MacDonald didn't write Meyer as a character with dwarfism, I think we all recognize that Dinklage's condition doesn't define him. He's funny, smart, endearing and surprisingly sexy —not that Meyer needs to be sexy! 

Now about a big clue I got from a casting notice. I was hoping—assuming, really—that The Deep Blue Good-By was going to be set in the sixties; the same time period the novel is set in, which is when John D. MacDonald wrote the book, the first in the Travis McGee series written circa 1964. Frankly, a time period we love to see on film; all the groovy clothes, the vibe, the free love ...

BUT this Puerto Rican location casting call for extras and their automobiles tells a very different story. 

Wanted:

Look Americans Miami 

Cuban Fisherman

American Fisherman / Marina People (Sunburned, Beach, etc)

Military Men & Women (mostly men) All ethnicities

Gorgeous Girls – (American & Latino)

A curvey attractive 32 year old woman

and many BG with cars. We need extras who want to use their car for filming. All manufacturers. BRIGHT COLORS NOTHING, NO WHITE

CARS with the following PALETTE:

– GREY

– BLACK

– BURGUNDY / WINE

– DARK GREEN

– DARK BLUE

Do you notice anything odd? Like the fact that the call for cars makes no mention of The Deep Blue Good-By being a period piece!
If you were making a film set in the 1960's you'd want VW buses or vintage Ford mustangs. 

Is director James Mangold putting Travis McGee in a modern day setting? Because that makes no sense at all; Trav is a lovable dinosaur with a prehistoric over-protective attitude toward women who would be ripped to shreds if he were functioning in today's twitterverseworld. At the same time you can't erase those crusty notions from the zeitgeist of being McGee; it's a major part of his charm. Is that dilemma the reason there are 5 writers attached to the project? Imdb lists Kario Salem, Scott Frank, Dana Stevens, Dennis Lehane and David James Kelly. 

Is Puerto Rico playing itself or Florida? Florida, if the movie is staying true at all to the book. The first description gives us our clue: Look Americans Miami
Translation: To work background in the movie you need to look like a typical American found in Miami —where the book is partially set. Since Miami is made up of a mix of Caucasians and Cuban-Americans, there will be plenty of Anglo and Puertorriqueños who fit the specs.

Now, about Junior Allen...