Fan Casting Some Beloved Novels
And one musical.
When I think of fan casts, I think of all the Harry Potter fans who spent hours on tumblr in the 2000s deciding who they would cast in a Marauders sequel film (I was always partial to Andrew Garfield as James and Ezra Miller as Sirius). A quick google tells me that people still do this, and many people would like the Sprouse Twins and/or Harry Styles to be involved. Sure.
Anyway, those 2000s tumblr teens were right: coming up with casting ideas for things rules. And sometimes it actually comes true! Gwendoline Christie first heard about the role of Brienne on Game of Thrones because fans kept suggesting her for the part. Fans of the romance novel The Hating Game long wanted Lucy Hale to play the lead in a movie adaptation (which uh….I don't know who cares about Lucy Hale like that, but sure), and she started filming it in the fall. Dreams come true.
So here are some of my fan casts, for movies based on books and one based on a musical:
I have spent so much time during in the last year imaging a new Guys & Dolls movie because the original is very bad! Aidy Bryant would be Adelaide and Chris Evans would be Sky. Please watch this clip of Max Greenfield singing Fiddler on the Roof, then accept into your heart that he will be our Nathan Detroit. This leaves us with Sarah, which is kind of hard because she’s a little boring! But I’m imagining Keke Palmer singing “If I Were A Bell” and bringing a lot of joy to the role. The other important piece of casting is that Daniel Radcliffe would be Nicely Nicely Johnson so he could do “Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat.” If you’re like, “Victoria, who cares this much about Guys & Dolls?” I deeply recommend the 1951 episode of My Little Tonys, which is mostly about Guys & Dolls and helped me fall in love with the musical forever.
The last Pride & Prejudice movie was 16 years ago, so I feel comfortable casting a new one! Friend of the newsletter Julia Piper suggested Gemma Chan as Jane in a “Brandy’s Cinderella”-style film, which I love, though she is maybe a little too old. (This is making me realize that Gemma and Rosamund Pike have a very similar energy, and I would like them to play girlfriends in a movie.) I feel strongly that Lana Condor should be Lydia, so she had the chance to play against type a little, though I think she would probably be a wonderful Elizabeth as well. Game of Thrones’ Jacob Anderson would absolutely crush it as Darcy. It seems wrong Emma Thompson has never played Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and I think that should be righted.
Taylor Jenkins Reid has two big splashy novels I’m interested in: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six. Daisy Jones is already in production for Amazon, but Daisy should have been Eva Noblezada from Hadestown. Instead Riley Keough (Elvis’s granddaughter) will be Daisy, which is fine I guess. Which leaves Evelyn Hugo. Rita Moreno should clearly be the oldest Evelyn, telling her life story to Monique, played by Wandavision’s Teyonah Parris. Evelyn is supposed to be Cuban, so I’m sure people are thinking Ana de Armas, but if they wanted to cast multiple Evelyns of different ages, I would love Cameron Diaz to come out of retirement for this. Bella Thorne is also Cuban, and there’s something very interesting to me about the thought of her in this role. Hugh Skinner (young Harry in Mamma Mia) is the only person that comes to mind to play Evelyn’s husband Harry, which would add to his legacy of only playing guys named Harry. From my research, most fans agree with me that Saoirse Ronan would be an ideal Celia St. James.
As I’ve mentioned in previous issues, Jasmine Guillory’s romance novels have been optioned by Reese Witherspoon, and I’m hoping we get some sort of Netflix film series of them. Danielle Brooks would crush as Alexa in The Wedding Date. For The Proposal, I would love Susie Wokoma from Chewing Gum as Nikole; she is lowkey a comedic genius. I think Jasmine herself has said that William Jackson Harper is who she pictures for the romantic lead in The Wedding Party, which is exactly right.
Two more beloved romance novels to think about: Evvie Drake Starts Over and Red, White & Royal Blue. I’ve heard Alison Tolman for Evvie, but I prefer to imagine Merritt Weaver. Glen Powell would be great as struggling baseball pitcher Dean. Almost all fan castings of RWRB are lowkey funny to me (John Boyega is not going to be in a supporting role, my dudes. Neither is Emma Watson.), but when I think of Prince Henry all I can think of is Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn. I wonder if they will change the plot for the planned movie because of Megxit.
My book club recently read Nora Ephron’s Heartburn and it is my dream to make a new movie, since the first one, starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson, is a big letdown. I think Jenny Slate would be the obvious choice for the lead, a slightly neurotic Jewish woman with a public access cooking show. Casting her philandering, Carl Bernstein-inspired husband is a little trickier. My book club pointed out that Sasha Baron Cohen has the right energy, but he’s about a decade too old. If Joseph Gordon-Levitt wants to act again, I could see this for him. If I was the director, I would also want to screen test Jonah Hill.
Please leave angry comments if you disagree about these. If you have more ideas for these, please help me fill them out. If you are a movie producer looking for a genius to consult on your film, please email!! I do not have a lot going on!!
I love both Alison Tolman and Merritt Weaver so I can't decide whether to leave an angry comment or agree with you.