A Word From ~ Aldous Huxley

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"In fact," said Mustapha Mond, "you're claiming the right to be unhappy." 

"All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy." 

Page To Film :: Brave New World

Welcome once more bibliophiles and film buffs alike to the latest installment in my ongoing and completely irrelevant project, Page To Film!

Today's adaptation casting is for none other than the classic Dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley, "Brave New World" (only took five years ...).

I remember reading BNW my senior year in high-school and just being blown away by what I still believe to be Huxley's prophetic vision of the future.

The struggle of the main characters to choose between the pain and complexities of a life of meaning or else sacrifice their humanity for a counterfeit existence of stability captivated my naturally cynical heart. 

The foreboding conclusion still haunts me with each re-read and it remains in the top 10 of my most favorite books of all time.

While I am aware that a potential re-make is on the table and those currently rumored to be attached are Ridley Scott(!) and Leonardo DiCaprio (meh...), I will construct this casting as if no such project exists and will reflect only my own casting opinions and not that which I think would be most appealing to Hollywood.

<<>> Cast <<>>
{warning: mild spoilers below}

(Reservation and Post-Reservation)

John the Savage

Tom Hardy

If there's one word to describe John, it's intensity.
You need an actor who could really swing from John's highs to lows convincingly - whether whipping himself in moral self-cleansing, whispering Shakespearean sonnets in admiration, or verbally warring with Mond, there has to be always a slow burning fire behind John's eyes, a restrained passion waiting to be provoked into a fierce blaze.
Were either Kenneth Branagh or Christian Bale a bit younger, they would have been my first choices. As it is though, I settled on Hardy because he seems to be the most easily believable in the role, more than able to convincingly portray the wide spectrum of emotions John feels as the tormented advocate of humanity.
Plus Hardy cleans up real nice even while maintaining a rough, restrained countenance that I imagine a "savage" such as John would have. 

Lenina Crowe

Emily Blunt

Two Reasons why Emily Blunt should be Lenina:
1. She's gorgeous 2. She can act
Longer explanation: Emily has always struck me as someone who can really sell a complex female character. Lenina is not an especially likable character but with such abnormal "quirks" such as dating only one man at a time, you sympathize with her and pity her life of shallow pleasures and self-inflicted ignorance. That being said, I hate the idea of a helpless, victim Lenina; she has to be played as being powerful, but with a power of seduction which she uses not out of ambition, but of fear/defense.
I think Ms. Blunt would be the best choice and would ground the character who too easily could be (badly) played by a swoony, doe-eyed broad with immpressive measurements but no acting chops.

 Bernard Marx

Giovanni Ribisi

Bernard's character always was the hardest for me to reconcile as a reader.
Maybe it was because I identified with him more than I liked - a restless outsider in the beginning who questions the status quo, and later as a man who, as his 15 minutes of fame dial down to nothingness, desperately courts the favor of a society he once felt mistreated him.
I felt almost betrayed by his about-face - duped by the superficial questioning that so quickly turned to pandering when he had the prestige and accolades to satisfy his ego.
Ribisi seems a good choice to work that angle of fluctuating sense of inferiority/superiority. I also wanted Bernard to be more slight in stature and less intimidating - playing off the rumor in the book that he was actually a mistake, an Alpha with the physical characteristics of Beta due to some chemical-conditioning oversight before his "decanting" or birth.

 Helmholtz Watson

Henry Cavill

"Did you ever feel as though you had something inside you that was only waiting for you to give it a chance to come out? Some sort of extra power that you aren’t using..."
 Helmholtz Watson is the Man's Man of BNW society and yet, like Bernard, he has begun to question its validity.
Unlike Bernard however, Helmholtz's convictions are not tied up in the conditions of his acceptance - while Bernard questions a society that has ignored him, Helmholtz questions a society that has welcomed him with open arms, indulged his every pleasure, and yet left him empty.
I like the idea of Cavill as Helmholtz because he is very much an "Alpha" in looks and presence (amirite ladies? ^-^) but he also has an intelligent air about him and would be believable as an inhumanly perfect, dogmatically resistant, budding intellectual.

Mustapha Mond
Ben Kingsley

In this day and age, only the great Sir Ben Kingsley could do all proper justice to a film portrayal of Mustapha Mond. Although both understanding and sympathetic, it is Mond who is ultimately the enabler of the BNW society, the censor of humanity, and supreme controller of the world.
Having satisfied the masses with diversion and security at the cost of all personal freedoms, Mond acknowledges the shallow and meaningless existence of those who live under the dominion of the caste society of BNW. He argues however that such a sacrifice of individuality must be made to preserve the human race and achieve stability. I'm convinced that Kingsley would be nothing short of brilliant in this role - the role of a benevolently restrictive leader would suit him like a glove.

Fanny Crowe
Amanda Seyfried

Fanny is the archetypal "it" girl within the BNW society.
Beautiful, superficial, and completely satisfied with her role as sexual object, Fanny is concerned for her friend Lenina when she is not promiscuous enough and cautions her against being too "anti-social". Seyfried plays shallow well (see: Mean Girls) and would be a smart choice for a sexy futuristic gal-pal.

Linda
Mia Farrow

Mia was one of the first persons to come to mind when I imagined what Linda might look like. Although I know in the book she is described as fat and ugly, I rather liked the idea of a more fragile Linda - one who, due to her hard life after being lost and abandoned, is considerably older in looks than her former lover back home. I like the idea of her sticking out like a sore thumb not so much because she is unspeakably ugly, but because her looks have degraded in a manner no one in the "non-savage" society would recognize as normal and so would label such proof of natural aging as "disgusting". And of course it goes without saying, Ms. Farrow is an incredibly talented actress and would do excellently.

The Director - aka Thomas "Tomakin"
Liam Neeson

Director of the Hatchery and Conditioning Center in London, Thomas is a bigwig in the BNW society. I can't help but think that Neeson would just nail the rigid, bullying bureaucrat schtick and oh how satisfying would be his downfall when his shameful secret is uncovered for the whole of society. And I love this pick even more when I imagine how he would handle his character in relation to the character of Linda.


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<> Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more! <>

Page to Film :: A Room With A View

Hello there and welcome to the latest installment of my fantasy film casting pet project! If you're new here, I like to imagine and cast for my favorite books if they were to be made (or remade) into a film version.

Today we have a new favorite of mine: E.M. Forester's A Room with a View. 

I first read Forester's A Passage to India and was just mesmerized by how easily I could just completely submerge myself into his written world; the people, the places, descriptions...everything just breathed with authenticity...there was hardly any disbelief to suspend.

So I was quite prepared to enjoy A Room with a View and - not surprisingly - I did so very much. :)

Set in the Edwardian Era, the story follows the travels and romantic misadventures of Lucy Honeychurch as she tries to tread safely into the waters of an adulthood within traditional society while also nursing unconventional ideals and curiosities.

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My Casting choices are as follows:

{p.s. my cast is a tad "old" for the story, but I just can't change it - they're too perfect! ;D)

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 Lucy Honeychurch

A young Englishwomen who is unsure of herself 

and the world she is ever so hesitatingly curious to experience.

Elisabeth Moss

Charlotte Bartlett
Lucy's traditionalist spinster cousin who chaperones 
her on their trip to Italy.

Dame Judi Dench

Vicar Beebe
A friendly neighbor to the Honeychurch, Mr. Beebe leases his cottage to 
the Emerson's and tries to facilitate their acceptance within the community.

Stanley Tucci

Miss Lavish
A mediocre armchair novelist, Miss Lavish makes friends with Lucy and 
Cousin Charlotte while traveling in Italy and yet only adds to the mischief of the trip.

Penelope Wilton 

Mr. Emerson
An old, antisocial freethinker, Mr. Emerson is a rough-around-the-edges Englishman who has no patience for the ridiculous conventions of traditional English life.

Ian McKellen

George Emerson
Meeting Lucy and her cousin while traveling with his father in Italy, George is as deviant as his father in opinion and scandalously honest by conservative English standards.

Mark Duplass

Cecil Vyse
A comically pretentious, yet fashionable young Londoner, Cecil is smitten by Lucy in Rome and follows her back to Surrey where he proposes to her for the third time.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Freddy Honeychurch
Lucy's younger, cheeky brother who makes sport of all 
involved in the awkward situation.

Andrew Garfield

Mrs. Honeychurch
Lucy's loving but cautious mother.

Sinead Cusack

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I know there are many who would cry foul to this casting round up (especially since a much younger yet still brilliant Judi Dench held the role of Miss Lavish in the 1985 film adaption ) but flawed as it might be, these were the faces that fit when I read the book.
Anywho, there be my dream cast. Care to share yours? :)

The Better Ones & An Ending

As it has been nearly forever and a day since I have last visited here with intention to post, I thought I should finish the year out responsibly. Thankfully, a few rolls of recently developed film from my summer pet project {actual film photography via my vintage/refurbished minolta XG 1 camera}, I have a bit more meat this time than the typical literary blurb and corresponding image. 

Be gently dear reader...I am still as of yet a freshling to this film venture...

 

Here are the better of my first fruits:

{be sure to click on the images for full resolution}

'Til next year, friends...❤ 

Page To Film :: Bram Stoker's "Dracula"

Hello again!
Been ages since I did one of these {see here for some previous P2F goodness}, and I confess that this time I went through quite a few casts before I settled on the one to follow below {my first round of pickings were perhaps a bit too mature (i.e. Ralph Fiennes as Jack Seward), and my seconds were a bit too "pretty"(i.e. Alice Eve as Lucy)}. 

Eventually though, I puzzled through the many options and have now settled on a cast that I believe would best represent the characters as they were in Stoker's original story.

And so, without any more blibber-blabber, please enjoy my latest casting conjecture for Bram Stoker's "Dracula".

_____△△△ Beware - Mild Spoilers Below △△△_____

Count Dracula

 A Transylvanian noble who, after purchasing a house in London, asks

Jonathan Harker to visit him in his castle to do business with him.

 

 Michael Fassbender 

{Pale and icy looking in the beginning, Fassbender's Dracula should look like 

he'd been cut from marble; only slowly taking on color and beauty with each kill}

In Vampire Mode:

{please don't ask me how I found this I really have no idea}

Jonathan Harker

A solicitor sent to do business with Count Dracula; also Mina's fiancé.

Matthew Macfadyen

{Great actor who would nail the whole normal-joe-in-abnormal-situation schtick 

and overall just be incredibly believable as Jonathan}

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker

A schoolteacher and Jonathan Harker's fiancée.

Daniela Denby-Ashe 

{Loved her in "North & South" and think she would be the perfect Mina 

and counterpart to Macfadyen's Jonathan. Liking the idea of her as a brunette Mina too}

Prof. Abraham Van Helsing

 A Dutch professor and vampire hunter. Jack Seward's former teacher.

 Bruno Ganz

 {Fantastic actor. Just add spectacles and bam - 

the best Van Helsing God could ever give us}

Reinfield

 A lawyer whom Dracula turned mad. Mental patient of Dr. Seaward.

Andy Serkis

 {Can't imagine anyone else doing near as great a job as he would portraying Reinfield. 

My favorite "Dracula" character and I just know he would knock it out of the park}

Dr. John "Jack" Seward

 A doctor at a mental asylum; one of Lucy's suitors 

and a former student of Dr Abraham Van Helsing.

 Tom Hiddleston

 {I'm thinking glasses, slicked over black hair, and some sort of thin mustache or goatee.  

Can't have Hiddleston being both brilliant and attractive as the somewhat clueless doctor... ^-^}

 Lucy Westenra

 A 19-year-old aristocrat; Mina's best friend and Arthur's eventual fiancée.

 Imogen Poots

{Loved her sassy self in Jane Eyre and think she would make both a lovely living

 representation of Lucy, as well as a terrifying and beautiful immortal one}

Quincey Morris

An American cowboy and explorer; and one of Lucy's suitors.

  Jason Dohring 

{With slightly longer hair and a touch of southern drawl, Dohring would make a fantastic  

Quincey and provide that much needed comic relief with flair}

 

Arthur Holmwood

Lucy's suitor and later fiancé.

 Rupert Friend

{Enjoyed him in "The Young Victoria" and think he would 

be excellent as Lucy's suitor, fiancé, and later, avenger}

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 Hope you enjoyed the latest "Page to Film". :)

Stay Tuned:  
Next up will be a modern recasting of E.M. Forster's "A Room With a View".  

 

Subconscious Shenanigans

 {via}

Had a dream last night in which I found a book signed by Martin Freeman, Gerorge Eliot, and Tom Selleck. 

Care to hazard a guess at which autograph Dream-Me was most excited about...?

...

It seems all those viewings of "Three Men and a Little Lady" during early childhood had a more profound impact on my psyche than previously imagined. 

 Oy vey...

When One is Uninspired

Hello there...it has been a awhile since I have posted more than a vague sentence or two with corresponding imagery...time is either so completely stagnant or passing me by at such a blistering speed that I have not the presence of mind to stop and take stock of my dwindling supply of inspiration.

And so, today I ramble.

I am sitting here, listening to my recently acquired vinyl recording of the "Charade" soundtrack. Having been brooding over the late-50's/early-60's atheistic and its absence from my life as of late, Mancini's main theme for the film is actually a very effective balm for my misplaced yearnings.
I am also plotting the reconstruction of a vintage dress find. Rest at ease, dear reader...it is not my clumsy, unskilled hands that will be undertaking this deed of beautification; the proper professionals will be consulted. I am thinking a low scooped back, quarter-length cuffed sleeves, skirt hitting at or just below the knee, and perhaps a thin gold braided belt to finish it off.

What say you, hmm? Normally I would not meddle with items of age, but being a sweet homespun frock with such an irresistible pattern, it seemed a shame not to show it off.  I shall be glad to update you when the transformation is complete. :)

Just a 'lil bit a'nothin'

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Fun video that came via my wonderful monthly frankie newsletter. ^-^

Enjoy!

Feline and Sir "So-Fine"

Just Sir Sean Connery inspecting a cat's paw...

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Happy Weekend, folks.

To Procrastinate is Divine

How is a girl supposed to get any schoolwork done when such a thing as Cray Grant .gifs exist on the internet...

"The Awful Truth" ~ 1937

Sigh...I need a screwball movie marathon stat...

Page to Film :: Far From The Madding Crowd

{{It's been awhile since I've done one of these, 

but after catching Masterpiece Theater's 1998 version 

of Thomas Hardy's "Far From The Madding Crowd", 

I was instantly struck with modern casting inspiration. Enjoy!}}

 Bathsheba Everdene 

A young and haughty beauty, Bathsheba Everdene unexpectedly inherits an Estate from her uncle and is suddenly thrust into a world of wealth and responsibility. Though intent to remain independent and solely in control of her fate, Bathsheba finds her life entangled with those of three widely different men as she tries to maneuver in this new and dangerous world. 

My cast choice ~ Jennifer Lawrence

 

 Gabriel Oak 

A kind and honorable shepherd, Gabriel meets Bathsheba before she acquires or is even aware of her inheritance and is struck both by her beauty and vanity.  After his own fortunes are ruined in an accident, he happens upon a barn fire and assists in putting out, unaware that it is was owned by Bathsheba. In need of someone she can trust, Bathsheba hires Gabriel to be her bailiff, and through the course of the story he becomes her unofficial (and yet often ignored and abused) counselor.

My cast choice ~ Gerard Butler

 William Boldwood 

Bathsheba's new neighbor, Boldwood is a middle-aged  gentlemen farmer, wealthy and respected by all. A solitary bachelor his life long, the lonely Boldwood thinks nothing of Bathsheba until a childish prank gone awry and kindles his infatuation. Seeking her as his own, the noble man patiently courts the shrewd young beauty, who is perpetually unsure whether she would marry the eligible gentlemen even if only for practical business reasons.

My cast choice  ~ Jeremy Irons

 Sergeant Francis "Frank" Troy 

Returning to his native land, the handsome Sgt. Frank Tory happens upon Bathsheba as she is out walking one night and (thinking her a servant woman) boldly address' her by brazenly commenting on her looks and straightforward manner. When he at last understands who she is, he is yet unashamed and continues his unwholesome attentions. His caviler advances at first repulse Bathsheba, but before long she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him and his dashing mannerisms (much to the chagrin of both Gabriel and Mr. Boldwood).

My cast choice ~ Jonathan Rhys Meyers

 

 Fanny Robin 

A former servant in Bathsheba's recently deceased Uncle's house, Fanny is the secret lover of Sgt. Frank Tory and runs away to find him shortly after Bathsheba procures the estate.

My cast choice ~ Romola Garai

There's the just of it, hopefully spoiler free. Do read the book or see a film adaption! It's a great story. ;)