February 6, 2008
Recent news about the upcoming films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (see the next blog entry down) got me thinking about other books that would make great movies … and the actors and actresses we might choose to star in them.
For example, I recently finished the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen — plus a short story in the collection Across the Wall). This is a terrific, brilliantly original fantasy series about a young girl named Sabriel who must follow in her father’s footsteps — sending the returned Dead back into Death, while contending with Necromancers, treacherous politicians, Free Magic beasts, and evil forces beyond imagining! Any fan of fantasy or horror will not want to miss this series.
Assuming the first book were made into a movie, who would I cast as Sabriel? It’s hard for me to think of a known teenage actress who would be exactly right for the role — I’d prefer to see a talented unknown. But it might be an interesting vehicle for Emma Watson (aka Hermione Granger) — assuming she’d be willing to risk genre typecasting after Harry Potter!
There’s one casting choice that would be very easy for me to make. Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Legend) narrated the audiobook versions of the trilogy, and he would be my only choice for the voice of Mogget, an incredibly powerful Free Magic entity with ambiguous motives, imprisoned in the form of a small, white cat who is forced to serve as Sabriel’s guide and companion.
What books have you read recently that you’d like to see translated to the big screen? And who would you cast in the leading roles?
Entry Filed under: Book, Movie. .
