A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I cannot believe I've never read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith before.  Alex, over at Memoirs of a Fanboy, requested that I do a fantasy cast based on this novel, which meant I had to actually read the novel. Thank you Alex, for asking me to read this book. It was a pleasure and I am proud to present my fantasy cast for it.

Before we get into it though, and while we on the subject of Memoirs of a Fanboy, I will be guest posting over there on Wednesday. What will the topic be? You'll have to click over on Wednesday to find out!

Back to ATGiB (I'm told that all the kids use acronyms these days. Just kidding. Sort of. It is easier.)

This book has actually been made into a movie once before, and a TV movie. The TV movie was actually based on the movie, not the novel- figure that. The original movie is subject to all the normal complaints about book-turned-movie: the book covers all of Francie's family history from when her parents met till she leaves at the end, at age 16. It covers in a great deal of depth everything from age 7 onward. The movie covers ages 14-15, and seemed to make Johnny, her father, the main character. The movie studio actually bought the rights to make this movie prior to it being published, with the film hitting theaters less than 18 months after the book was initially printed. Somehow, that tells me they missed the mark a little bit.

It's time for a do-over!

Johnny Nolan is the charismatic father of the Nolan family. He is married with two kids before he's old enough to vote, and he is overwhelmed. He drinks to escape, and becomes a worthless drunk. He had potential as a singer, and until he started falling down instead of walking, people said he belonged on the stage. Francie is the apple of his eye, and you really feel the beautiful relationship between father and daughter, despite his obvious shortcomings. I call for Ryan Gosling! Handsome, but something about his eyes says that he's lost. Bonus: he can totally sing.

Katie Rommely- Nolan is Francie's mother. She marries Johnny when she is just 17, and has two children before she's 20 years old. She's the rock that manages to hold the family together against all odds. She loves her Johnny, despite knowing that he's practically useless. She's faithful, she's hardworking and she's extremely prideful. She understands that her parents immigrated to give her hope; the only hope she has is that her children can be a little better off than she was, so she puts all of her energy into getting her kids educated. I think somebody like Julia Stiles could do this- she's certainly capable, and she has a spark in her eyes that makes you think she really did believe in the fairy tale of true love conquering all, once upon a time.

Sissy Rommely is the sexpot of the family, only they never would utter such a word. She marries at 14 and has a long string of husbands that she calls "Johnny"- never by their real names. She bounces from man to man, but has such a mothering quality about her, that nobody can really look down at her for it. She's described as being beautiful and voluptuous and kind. I picture someone like Estella Warren.

Evy Rommely is the Rommely sister that gets through life with humor and good spirit. She's around less often than Sissy is, and was consequently cut from the film the first time around. However, I think it is important to see the different ways in which these women deal with the harsh world around them, and Evy's character is important, at least in that sense. I picture somebody goofy, like Drew Barrymore.  The scene where Evy is pretending to be the horse that hates her husband? I pictured Drew Barrymore in a polka dot dress, and never looked back!

Now we come to Francie Nolan, the heroine of the story. Alex (the requester of this fantasy cast) suggests Abigail Breslin. I think she is a talented little lady and could pull it off, if a few things happen. First, she needs to be able to look older. She's currently 14, and Francie's story carries her until she's 16. If we know anything about Hollywood, it's that they cast people in parts that are younger than they are in real life. Miss Breslin has such a cute face, that I think it would be tough to convince audiences that she's 16 (and lying about her age and claiming to be 18 and getting away with it). Second, shewouldneedtoloseweight. *Sigh* I said it. She would need to lose weight. She's beautiful. She's healthy. But Francie is the poorest of the poor. She was born sickly. She's not even really wanted. She would be a skinny, skinny little girl, and Abigail Breslin looks so cared for. (Abigail Breslin should look cared for... it's the right way. I hate saying that any actress needs to lose weight, especially a young one. However, this particular part would absolutely require the child to look un-cared for.)  

As a back up, I pick Dakota Fanning, she plays just about every teenager on the planet these days. Hasn't she been 16 for like 12 years now?!?!

Neeley Nolan is Francie's brother. Character analysts call him "streetwise"... I don't know that he does a whole lot other than exist in the novel, but apparently he did something to make people take notice. The most notable thing about Neely (short for Cornelius... just so you don't think it's a dumb name. Cause that nickname totally makes sense) is that his mother loves him more than Francie. He could probably be played by just about anybody, so I vote for Eric Lloyd.

Sissy's "John" Steve is a blue-collar type of guy, and he's the one who finally stands up and tries to "tame" Sissy (I won't tell you if he succeeds or not- go read the book). I think that he's handsome, but doesn't appear to be too refined, and I think an authoritative voice is going to be the clincher. Ryan Phillippe.

Ben is Francie's first crush; he's got a life-plan to make any woman drool. He's solidly middle-class, with upward ambitions. He's smart. He's handsome. I like Ed Westwick.

Lee is Francie's first "love", she falls fast and she falls hard. This guy's most dominant feature is his looks. Handsome guy. Slick guy. Somebody like Steven R. McQueen.

McShane is a older police officer that hovers around the family, working the Brooklyn beat. He's a very kind gentlemanly sort of man. I kind of pictured this type of guy: Kyle Chandler.

Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments?
Images: Google Images

The Great Gatsby

Today's fantasy cast is actually a request from not one, but two readers! Jess, from It is a big deal, it is to me! and Laurie of Little Blue Chairs and Fitzgerald Musings*.

The Great Gatsby is an interesting Fantasy Cast for me to be putting together for a combination of reasons. One, it's been done before. I've done a couple remakes before, so that in and of itself isn't the complication. Two, it has been done multiple times; once moderately well and once really poorly. But, alas I have conquered stories that have been put to screen multiple times also.

But, combine those two facts with the third: The Great Gatsby is slated for a remake in 2012! So, to all my readers who said the '70s version just wasn't their cup of tea (and I don't blame you!) you are in luck.

So anyway, here is my fantasy cast for The Great Gatsby.

For Jay Gatsby, you need a man that looks like he fits in with the nouveaux riche on Long Island during prohibition times. But, underneath his savvy exterior, there needs to lurk... something. Something that hints at a darker past, a mysterious set of personal secrets. Intelligent, but definitely brooding. And so desperately in love with a woman he can never have. I think Ioan Gruffudd is the man for the job. You may not know his name, but how can you not remember this face:

I'm sorry, what was I talking about again?

Ahem. Moving on.

Daisy Fay-Buchanan is the beautiful, somewhat vacuous object of Mr. Gatsby's affections. She's old money and married, making her forever out of reach for our protagonist. Also, not a great driver. Women of this era were more dependent on their feminine wiles than we are today, and you need a young-ish actress that can pull of the dainty feeling that a lady of standing in that era would have about her. I like someone like Amanda Seyfried.  

Tom Buchanan is Daisy's husband. He's old money and he likes polo. He's a Yale man and kind of a racist. So, all around regular guy... yeaaaahhhhh, right. I don't know why, but Aaron Eckhart is the guy I picture in this part. Come on, look, isn't he all swagger:

OK, Jordan Baker is Daisy's friend. She is a professional golfer and a bit of a, um, well, she's shady. Let's put it that way. Someone like Missy Peregrym, with the athleticism and provocativeness to pull this off.

Lastly, for our narrator, Nick Carraway, the neighbor of Gatsby and, incidentally, Daisy's cousin. We need somebody in their late twenties, believable as a moneyed Yale man from the prohibition era and capable of handling a big, bulky voice-over job. A good voice that fits that bill is hard to come by. I pick Chris Evans. Seriously, not a lot of guys his age have the voice credits he does. Also, he did all the voice-overs in Push (love or hate the movie, he is able to monologue and tell a story without it sounding trite). And he's not a bad looking fella.

* I had poked around at Little Blue Chairs prior to making this cast. I had not, however, realized that Laurie is an avid F. Scott Fitzgerald fan. I now feel strangely self-conscious of my choices...

Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments?
Images: Google Images

Read It or Watch It: Legends of the Fall

I'm going to start doing some side-by-side comparisons of books that have already been made into movies. Mostly because I just cannot read fast enough to churn out 4 new fantasy casts every week. I also had a virus on my computer this week, thus the lack of posting on Thursday. Boo for that. Anyway, here's this week's Read It or Watch it comparison for Legends of the Fall. 

The book: Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison

I have to say that this was one of the most disappointing stories I have ever read. I don't know that it even qualifies as a "book" or "novel", it's so short. The fact that Amazon has at least one copy being sold for one penny, says something.


The story of three brothers who all, to some degree, love the same woman, gets told in a very meandering sort of way. Harrison rambles on about unrelated subplots and stories. More than once, I would get to the end of a paragraph- which had lasted for more than a full page- and wonder, "What the heck was he talking about? What does this have to do with Tristan (or whoever was the focus at the time)?"


Harrison has been lauded as one of the great story tellers of his generation, and I cannot for the life of me fathom why. Maybe because he wrote about sex, drugs, suicide, infidelity and crime? Maybe because he set his story in a time when those things weren't in fashion, and he lived in a time when they were in fashion? The literature of the 1970s seemed to enjoy force-placing their morals on simpler times: it was deemed "enlightened" to pretend that the debauchery of the day had always been in place... maybe that is why Harrison was so highly regarded.


Another theory is that there was tremendous potential in this story. Three brothers, one beautiful woman, the affection of one stubborn father, a picturesque setting and a forgotten era between wars. If only someone had taught Harrison about punctuation. Or staying focused on a topic.

The movie:  Legends of the Fall starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins released in 1994
Rated R for violence, language and sexuality






This film is one of those that stays with you long after the end credits roll. If you ask me to name my five favorite movies, this one probably doesn't make the list. Yet, if I see it on TV, I sit and watch it all the way through to the end. Or, as was the case last time, watch it back to back all the way through, twice (My husband came home 5 minutes before the first showing ended, at least I have a decent excuse for watching the same movie twice in a row).
 
The characters that seem so wooden on Harrison's pages are brought to vivid life by one of the most extraordinary casts ever assembled. Anytime that somebody like Aiden Quinn plays a supporting role, you know it's got to be great. The love stories are greatly embellished, breathing life and emotion into a triangle (rectangle?) that is otherwise sordid and gross.


The director, Edward Zwick, takes full advantage of the setting in northern Montana and plays up the freedom, the beauty, the harshness, the unadulterated possibilities of living on the northernmost edge of America's frontier. The Natives are treated respectfully, One Stab becomes our narrator (as opposed to Harrison's story which is surprisingly racist for a man educated in the arts during the 60s).


Susanna's emotional distress and psychological disorders are more fully explored, as are the emotions behind the Tristan's wanderings. You feel the pain from both of them- helped in large part by the fact that they are played by some of the most talented actors of their generation, Julia Ormond and Brad Pitt, respectively. And, yet, despite their atrocious behavior, you grieve with them, you pray for their happiness.


The bottom line:







Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments? 
Images: Google Images