Help me cast the fantasy movie of Dreamsnake.
Dreamsnake itself is science fiction, but the chance that a movie might be made is in the realm of fantasy.
Some years back I wrote a screenplay for Dreamsnake. It was too long (150 pages rather than the acceptable-unless-it’s-Lawrence-of-Arabia 120), but before I worked on it anymore I thought it would be interesting to hear it read aloud.
Did it make sense?
Was it too episodic? (It’s a quest novel; of course it’s episodic. It would make a better miniseries than movie.)
Was the dialogue I’d written speakable by a human being?
Spoilers below the jump, so stop here if you don’t like spoilers.
I started asking around to find friends and acquaintances with some stage experience. Apparently actors talk among themselves even as writers do, possibly even more, since acting is a more social occupation than writing.
Actors — professional actors, a couple who worked for the Seattle Rep — started calling me to volunteer.
“I would love to have you on the project,” sez I, “but you do understand — there’s no money involved? I’ll feed you really well, but there’s no money involed.”
“No problem,” they said without exception. “Sounds like fun!”
And that’s what happened.
I ended up with several experienced amateurs and several professionals, all extremely talented, plus a professional videographer who taped the whole thing.
Listening to them read it was quite an experience. Once in a while I cringed, but I was astonished to find that I had written far less unspeakable dialogue than I’d feared.
With one scene, the actors soared. The emotional states of two characters start out high and low, and end up low and high. I wasn’t sure the scene could be understood without any narrative; I wasn’t sure it could be played.
Not only could it be played: the actors read it better than I wrote it.
They were all terrific.
And I fed them really well.
Now I have the opportunity to create the fantasy cast of the Dreamsnake movie, and I could use some help.
I have some ideas for Snake, Arevin (you’ll be surprised, but you’ll see I’m right), the Mayor, Jesse, and North.
I haven’t settled on who could play Stavin, Stavin’s three parents, Arevin’s cousin (the leader), Alex, Gabriel, Ras, Silver, Thad, the crazy, or Jesse’s brother.
And who will play Melissa, the scarred child?
Suggestions welcome.
And then there’s Merideth. Merideth presents a problem.
Spoiler alert: don’t read any farther if you don’t like spoilers.
Merideth is a character whose sex you never find out in the book
And I’m never telling.
Why not?
Because I took the Alex/Jesse/Merideth section of the book to a Milford Workshop when I was a pup, and my colleagues trashed it unmercifully, and the thing they trashed the most unmercifully was that they didn’t find out Merideth’s sex till a page or two after the character showed up.
“You have to tell the reader the sex of your character as soon as the character appears,” they declared.
“On the first page.”
“No, the first paragraph!”
“Why, the first sentence!”
I was so pissed off that I rewrote the section without ever mentioning Merideth’s sex.
Amusingly enough, most readers never notice that the character’s sex isn’t specified, but develop a strong opinion about what it is.
(Even more amusingly I did the same thing in another book, with a character of a similar name, and as far as I recall, nobody ever noticed. It was a minor character who appeared offstage, but still.)
Casting Merideth presents challenges. What actor is androgynous enough to play the character realistically so the audience never knows the character’s sex, secure enough to agree to play Merideth in the first place, and physical enough to carry off the part.
You meet Merideth in a headlong emergency horseback ride across a rocky desert.
Not many actors are good riders, and oftentimes the riding is faked. (Never well.) Viggo Mortensen sits a horse beautifully, but can you imagine him playing an androgynous character? No way. And since Westerns barely exist anymore, how often do you even get to see an actor ride?
So I need some help.
Let the suggestions begin.
— Vonda
I blog here every Sunday.
Dreamsnake will be featured soon at Book View Cafe.
You can also find The Moon and the Sun at Book View Cafe, where a new chapter is featured each week. For print copies of The Moon and the Sun and my other SF novels, visit my website’s Basement Full of Books.
No suggestions yet; I’m going to have to go back and re-read Dreamsnake and think about the characters to do this — it’s just been too long since I read it.
However, I am so happy to hear your reaction to the silly advice that we must, must know the character’s gender from first appearance. I heard this phrased most recently as “What is the first question we ask about a baby?”
This assumes that gender is the most important characteristic anyone has. Maybe I’m just touchy about it, because the corollary of that idea has always been “Now stay in your place, girlie.”
But it is quite possible to write a very good story or create a very interesting character without identifying gender. I’ve done it myself (and that story, “Running the Road,” has been published, reprinted, and positively reviewed). And Kelley Eskridge’s “Dangerous Space” — one of several stories in her collection of the same name about the character Mars, whose gender is never revealed — is on this year’s Nebula ballot. When I reviewed the book on SF Revu, I made the following observation: “I defy you to tell me whether Mars is male or female. I also defy you to tell me that it matters whether Mars is male or female.”
It’s been a long time since I read DREAMSNAKE, so this is just a shot in the dark. How old is Merideth? I ask because the first person I think of when I think attractive but could be male or female as needed, is actor/NY clothing guy Jaye Davidson. He went back to what he liked best, the fashion industry, and must be at least 40 by now. But he’s attractive whether a man or a woman. He was Dil in The Crying Game.
Tilda Swenson for Merideth: she had her breakthrough role as Orlando, is a remarkable actress, gorgeous in a very severe way, and obviously secure enough to play androgynous. And she played an angel (in some traditions angels are genderless) in the otherwise lackluster Constantine
I have to say that the first time I read Dreamsnake I thought Merideth was female. The second time, male. Somewhere down along the line I got a very strong sense of physical appearance, but stopped worrying about gender.
I’d love to know who you see for Arevin and Snake. And…can we go back in time to cast, since this is all fantasy (for example, I want Joanne Woodward, at 55, to play Barbara McGrath in The Stone War, which, short of a time machine and a movie deal, is never going to happen).
i adore the idea of casting Merideth but would vote NOT to use someone who’s done it already. by which I mean not using proven actors like Jaey D or tilda S who are known for their success in this achievement already. For one thing, it gives it away, so to speak. And after the apparent shock of the discovery in that movie with Jaye D, i think it would color how people look at Merideth.
i have what may be an idiotic suggestion, but i’m going to put it here and flinch. Age may be a factor but Keanu Reeves is one of the most androgynous (and to my eye beautiful) actors. And i do believe he can act. And from what i’ve read, has few inhibitions, or hesitations about trying something on. it’s probably dumb, but then finding an actor who has his look would be my choice. you mention Viggo Mortensen and well, no, I see what you mean, but that brings me to the very pretty Orlando Bloom (he’s so dreamy!) whose look in “Lord of the Rings” was a fey character of great beauty. Yeah, sure the hair helped, but he could “cross over” into androgyny, no?
Hi Vondal. This is one of my favorite games to play with my favorite books. (I still say Leonard Nimoy is the quintessential Iago.) Sadly it’s been so long since I read Dreamsnake I can’t contribute much. However, on last week’s Criminal Minds there was an actor SPOILER WARNING who played a young man who had split personality and his alter ego was female and he was FANTASTIC! His name is Jackson Rathbone and he’s on the far right in this pic
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4025521408/nm1717152
My first comment here. Hi everybody
MKK
Hi folks,
Some great suggestions. Thank you!
Nancy Jane: Absolutely. I grew up being told “girls don’t do that” and “girls shouldn’t do that” and “girls CAN’T do that.”
Madeleine, Kathi — thanks much. (And I love it, Mad, that you read Merideth one way on one reading and another on a second.)
A number of folks have suggested Davidson or Swinton. Andi’s point that they would kind of give away the situation is a good one, but my main problem with both of them (and tv/movie actresses as a general class) is that they’re ethereal, and I think of Merideth as being a lot more solid.
Andi, Mary Kay, welcome. Pull up a pixel and join the universal entropy.
Andi, I hadn’t thought of Keanu Reaves but that’s a really interesting suggestion. Mostly he doesn’t get much chance to act, seems to me. Can you think of anything in which he gets to show his chops? (To give you an idea of where I’m coming from, I found MATRIX to be terminally boring, though to be fair to the actors, that was mostly because of the screenplay, which was predictable from miles away.)
Orlando Bloom, hmm…
My only question there is that they are both so identifiable, so known to be guys, that I wonder if they could pull off androgyny. They might act it great but be so recognizeably male that the audience either didn’t see any feminine qualities or would be confused by them.
But I’m just musing, not rejecting.
Mary Kay — I’ve been away all weekend and haven’t caught up with Criminal Minds, but I’ll definitely check that episode out. I may pillage that cast a couple of times for Dreamsnake.
Thanks, all.
I’ll definitely post the info when the fantasy cast is up & running, so check back occasionally. Or even better give me some other suggestions.
How about Melissa?
Best,
Vonda
Madeleine — For sure, time travel, why not? This is after all the fantasy (or perhaps sf, depending on how you thing about time travel) cast.
Thanks,
Vonda
How about somebody like Parminder Nagra for Merideth? http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3569392384/nm0619406 is a picture of her without a lot of makeup.
What do you think?
Vonda
I’ve always thought she was terrific, although I don’t think of her as particularly androgynous. And she’s fairly delicate, but has some physical presence (she looked like a soccer player in Bend it Like Beckham).
If we can go back in time, I’d actually suggest Joanne Woodward, who has a very sturdy kind of beauty that, properly handled, could read as masculine as well as feminine (I know–another very Caucasian woman–but most of the women of color who I admire as actors are so very firmly female it’s hard to cast them in an androgynous role…although Angela Bassett, upon whom I have a huge actors-crush, might do).
Wasn’t Keanu Reeves in As You Like It? One of the movie Shakespeares? Emma Thompson was in it?
Back to Taxes, AIEEEE!
Hmm..this is going to take some thought. I just re-read Dreamsnake a few weeks ago (which brought me to Vonda’s Twitter).
Forget movies, it’s such a robust world, I’m seeing an MMORG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game).
Hi Madeleine — Usually you’re right about Parminder Nagra. When she’s in glamor mode she’s intensely feminine. But I’ve seen her (particularly in the soccer movie) do a good tomboy.
It is counterintuitive for me to say in one paragraph that I want somebody not ethereal, but solid, and in the next to suggest someone quite small, but I had the same impression of her as you did, of considerable physicality and strength.
Joanne Woodward and Angela Bassett are also intriguing suggestions.
Kathi — “Much Ado about Nothing” — http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107616/ — and if I remember right, he pretty well held his own. Thanks! He was also in Siddhartha, playing the Buddha. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107426/
Tiffany — I don’t know much about MMORGs, can you tell me more?
I think of a miniseries, myself.
Vonda
It’s astonishing how many actors (using the term gender-neutrally) can play indeterminate gender. I’m with Andi; I’d pick someone who isn’t known for it. (Think about Hillary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry.)
I have the opposite problem from everyone else: I know Dreamsnake so well that I can’t cast it (I’m actually not particularly good at this game, but I also know exactly what everyone looks like).
Good luck with it!
Hi Vonda,
I can’t remember the ages of everyone, but here is my fantasy cast of main Dreamsnake.
Snake == Summer Glau
Staven = Garrett Ryan
Staven’s mother = Yaani King
Staven’s younger father = Terrell Tilford
Staven’s older father = Shashawnee Hall
Arevin = Rainbow Francks or James McAvoy or Manolo Cardona
Mayor = Edward James Olmos
Melissa == Dakota Fanning (if young) or Anna Paquin (if older)
Meradith == Ayush Mahesh Khedekar
North = Nick Nolte
I think I have everyone correctly in mind.
Marilyn
Hi Debbie — Thanks! Yes, it would be good to have somebody for Merideth who didn’t instantly give people the “Oh, an actor of one sex playing a character of the other” vibe.
Hi Marilyn,
Edward James Olmos, what a great idea!
Merideth is maybe 30, so would need an older actor. Ayush Mahesh Khedekar might be a good Stavin, though.
Thanks!
Vonda
My first thought for Merideth was Katherine Moennig, but I think the Keanu Reeves idea is kind of cool.
And the MMORPG idea is awesome.
Oh no!! You guys have totally crushed a 25+ year vision I had of Merideth as a woman!! I LOVE Dreamsnake and have read it several times over the years. It’s definitley one of the books I would choose to be stranded with on a desert Island, however in all the times that I’ve read it, I’ve never even once considered Merideth as anything but a woman. I know this is a bit melodramatic, but I’m in total shock right now, lol!!
(I love Angela Bassett as Merideth even though Merideth’s been blonde in my mind’s eye all these years).
I’ve ALWAYS wanted to see Dreamsnake as a movie, though concerned about Hollywood totally screwing it up. Vonda, I say drive on with the screenplay – if it’s a 3 hour movie, then it’s a three hour movie. Presedence has been set on quality movies being three hours long.
Karen — I wasn’t familiar with Katherine Moennig till you mentioned her. She has a great face!
Paula — Don’t be upset — you can think of Merideth as whatever sex you want. That’s the point of the character. Please don’t worry that other people have other opinions.
It would be a cool movie or (even better) a miniseries. From HBO or Showtime, not the SciFi channel, which has a track record of screwing stories up.
Thanks,
Vonda
When you say androgynous two actors come to mind: Johnny Depp (think how pretty he was in Charlie and the CC) and Cilliam Murphy, who’s just lovely.
Or, heck, Elijah Wood and he’s got that soft, soft voice.
And I meant Cillian Murphy and slipped….
Keanu Reeves (oh swoon) Ok, seriously, I thought his work in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING worked (and he was part of a stunning cast where he held is own as an evil guy). He’s apparently done a deent HAMLET on stage, though often is simply discarded as you know, that dude. But I thought that SPEED was well done and POINT BREAK, though totally silly, was convincing. And i think Johnny Depp, who is an amazing chameleon has what it takes.
I can see what you see in Parminder N, though to me she is clearly female. And i admit i don’t recognize most of Marilyn’s suggestions. Are they tv actors mostly?
Of course Merideth is a woman. Ok, ok, that’s the whole point. But Vonda, did i ever tell you about that New Year’s Eve party at the Carrs waaaaayyyyy back? We had a long conversation about DREAMSNAKE at that party, a good handful of bay area fans and it split along gender lines. Every man who’d read the book “knew” that Merideth was male. Every woman was equally sure that Merideth was female.
But I think the only way to bring the story along the way it needs to be brought is to cast a total and complete unknown. (but that doesn’t stop us from having fun here!) In the long run, Merideth needs to surprise the viewer to some extent the way he or she surprised the reader. “Surprise” is the wrong word as each of us came to the realization differently. it wasn’t like a revelation suddenly on page 83. Some folks i know didn’t realize until the book was over. i have always been totally blown away at how skillfully it was done. most of us NEVER noticed the lack of pronoun and that’s not easy to do. But I still remember the fun that came from asking someone “have you read DREAMSNKAE? Yeah? What gender is Merideth” and watching as the person through it through.
sorry for bad/meaningless typing. last line is “thought it through”, and re Keanu, that’s held “his own” and “decent”
I can only think of Lili Taylor for Snake.
Tanya
As for Melissa (and pardon me if I am overriding any existing ideas; I understand you will have your own): I think of Sarah Michelle Gellar, because she is small enough to play a child, and a severely abused child will be mature in some ways (though not in others). She can project a mix of courage and desperation and winging it as she goes like no one else without making it too sophisticated. You need that for Melissa, and she can’t ever become a tearjerking character–she has to be a pain in the butt like any other kid. Plus since her face is half destroyed, you won’t really see how old the actress is.
But who knows, it might be important to have a real kid.
Maya — Cillian Murphy, hmm, yes, possibility.
Andi — no problemo on the typing; this isn’t the world’s most user-friendly interface. My main problem with Keanu Reaves is he’s so identifiable. I’m not sure he could play the role without the reaction being, “Keanu Reaves = Guy.” Same for Johnny Depp.
And, thanks for the report on the Bay Area conversation. (Did Terry tell you he’d rejected “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand,” if telling me he didn’t want to bother with reading the final draft, before I even sent it to him, counts as “rejection”?) Interesting that the choice broke so solidly along gender lines. I don’t doubt it, but I have run into readers who didn’t perceive the character as their same sex.
Tanya, thanks — wasn’t familiar with Lili Taylor; will check her out. I think Sarah Michelle Gellar is too grown-up for Melissa; I really think Melissa has to be played by a very young actor.
Thanks, all!
Vonda
What about Elle Fanning for Melissa?
Hi Karen,
She’s just cuter than a LOLcat.
I think of Melissa as being, I don’t know, a little grittier.
Vonda
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Maybe she looks like Melissa before things went bad…
Hi Karen — that could well be.
Vonda
Hi! I am so delighted to find you on here! I’m not the same tiffany that commented already, wierd coincidence! I’m tiffany in the uk if that helps! I haven’t read Dreamsnake for nearly 20 years, when it was my favourite book, and I was certain Meredith was male! I saw him as old too- Harrison Ford ish! But for androgeny how about James Marsters who played Spike in Buffy? Very pretty I always thought. Anyway I was surfing your name as I just reread Superluminal yesterday, and enjoyed it tremendously, so thank you very much for the pleasure all your books have given me, and I am going to try and work out twitter to find you ( not in a strange stalkerish way I hasten to add). Thank you again! Tiffany
Hi Tiffany, nice to meet you.
My Twitter account is hosed — I can see it but not update to it. Bummed, as I was getting quite fond of it. Apparently people can still sign up to follow it, but till it gets fixed (and this has been going on for weeks) there’s nothing new to follow.
Thanks for the kind words. Dreamsnake just premiered as an ebook on Book View Cafe (see the left sidebar of http://www.bookviewcafe.com). It’s doing quite well, so I’m pleased. I put “Get yours while supplies last” on my Fb account and I hope folks get the joke.
You know, there’s no reason not to see Merideth played by an older actor. Marsters is an interesting idea. He does have a certain eye-candy appeal.
Vonda