Who Would You Cast if Your Story Was a Movie?

Pick a story. Any story. What could possibly be more fun than writing something people loved? Or getting published? GETTING A MOVIE DEAL! -- And no, that hasn't happened to me. At least not yet. BUT, what if it did? Would you be ready? Do you know exactly who should play the parts in your story?

See, when I read stories, I "SEE" them in my mind. Technically, my mind creates a movie in real time from the words I read and I watch it. If that movie in my mind doesn't manifest, you can bet I will never finish the story or book.

I was reading the story of a fellow creator, a very intriguing action story, and I realized I was literally in a movie going through the story. And I could easily see Matt Damon as his lead on this.

Here is the story that was inspiration for this piece. Be kind, Vega has already admitted there's a bit of wonky editing from where it was pasted from his original word processor into Vocal. Trying to edit from a phone is a bit of a nightmare. But man, this story has GOOD bones. I could truly envision it as a movie. Be sure to click over and read it.

So, that got me thinking about one of my own stories. Like which one would I choose and who would I cast for the parts? So, I decided to choose this one:

The reason I chose this story is because I decided that as a director, or investor or whatever you are that looks for stories to escalate to the big screen, I would need something that had the potential to be a "franchise" is the word I believe they use, as opposed to a "one and done." In actuality, I would think of my The Amazing Ms. Rayven as something that would be commissioned to be 13 episodes for a Netflix Original. Hey, this is my dream, so I'm going to "go big or go home."

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

I think a good place to start on this completely imaginary project would be to choose a location.

Now during this location selection process, I need to keep in mind that as a Netflix Original Season that will get picked up for 6 or 7 MORE seasons (we're thinking positive here and going all out), I need to pick a place I would be happy being for a good long while. I love historic neighborhoods. That is of interest to me, because hmmm, I think Ms. Rayven definitely needs to live in the kind of house "I" would want to have. Of course she would. A nice Victorian of some sort. However, it's one of those things that I would say "I'll know it when I see it." I might truly have some Google Earth shopping to do. LOL

And if I do this right, I'll pit all my potential locations against one another and get some sort of special concessions to choose them over the others. Yeah, now things are cooking in this noggin' of mine.

So a few places came to mind:

New Orleans - well, this is a no brainer choice because it just fits the bill with all the witchery, hoo doo, voo doo, and all. But it also has hurricanes and right now Ida is being a hag and a half. So, I better have back up options. Still, because I have friends in the area, have lived there and LOVED it, there just isn't any way to go wrong with the rich tapestry of magic and mystery that is there. So, this would definitely rank as my top choice.

Salem, Massachusetts - this is also another obvious place since it has connections to the Salem Witch Trials. Never mind that all those people weren't technically witches at all -- just misfortunate people pointed out by a bunch of little girls in histrionics. I am told it is a bit overly commercialized cashing in on their infamous history. But, I've always wanted to go there. And since the rules of this dream are unlimited funds, I can pick the place I want to go just because I want to be there. Hey, it would be a scouting trip so I think it would qualify as a business expense right?

Gulfport, Mississippi - Why on earth here? Because anyplace that has something named: "Witch Of Pungo Haunted Trails" is something that requires my nosey self to get all up in there and see if it has merit for this film. Shush! Don't tell me I can look it up on the internet. I need to be boots on the ground for this venture. I need to meet people and talk business and all that jazz. Tax write off remember? Plus we got bottomless pockets because that's my rules. And even though we already know we're gonna' pick New Orleans, we can still scout options. That's my story and I'm sticking it to it.

CASTING CALL

Ok, now that we've scouted locations and made some choices, we're ready to start reaching out and filling our cast. Who exactly would I choose and why?

Ms. Rayven (real name Matilda Whitehall):

Judy Dench or Maggie Smith. Whichever one of these two isn't cast as Ms. Rayven would play Ed's mother. See, I've always got a plan.

Photo Source: IMDB

Judy Dench has that perky, quirky, assertive personality. I believe she could easily pull off the charm of Ms. Rayven. She would have the majesty and mystery of a magickal matron, with a splash of Sherlock Holmes . She would be perfect.

Photo source: IMDB

Maggie Smith would also be strong prospect for Ms. Rayven. I loved her rolls in Harry Potter. I could easily see her speaking to Edward, charming him to sit a spell and have some cake. And she would have a Columbo type charm. Yes, Maggie Smith would do very nicely.

SARA

Maisie Williams photographed at the 65th Berlinale International Film Festival. Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images (Photo Source)

Maisie Williams would definitely be my choice for Sara. She proved herself a million times over in Game of Thrones. In my opinion, she would be the perfect spitfire sidekick for Ms. Rayven. And we are talking multi-seasons. Hopefully, Ms. Maisie will go for another long term commitment. Wait, of course she will! Remember, the rules of this dream are that nobody can say no. Perfect!

GEORGE EDWARD JR. - "ED"

Tom Holland at the Los Angeles premiere of "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images (photo source)

Tom Holland embodies what I would envision Ed to be. Mama's good son that's gone just a tad off the rails with his obsession with his ex girlfriend. He's clean cut, wholesome. Perfect.

So, far, we've made selections for our three main players, but we still have some minor players to set up for this episode.

Girlfriend Kim

Zendaya at the Australian premiere of "The Greatest Showman." Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images (photo source)

Zendaya brings to the table beauty, brains and musical talent. Which perfectly fits with the musical fiancé she matched to in The Amazing Ms. Rayven and having a baby with. I'm happy with this selection

Kim's Fiancé and Baby Daddy

Ezra Miller dressed up for the Hollywood premiere of "Justice League" in November. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images (photo source)

Ezra Miller would be Kim's boyfriend. He has that look that would be a polar opposite to Tom Holland and make Tom's jealousy gears grind. And Ezra has that perfect boyfriend look for Zendaya as Kim. Think how cute their baby will be. Movie baby, I mean. Well, we will only see it as a baby bump but anyway. Ezra, my boy, you got the part!

And that my friends is the building of a new Netflix Original Series (boy don't I wish LOL) with location and cast. If you stuck with me through this mental exercise in imagination, I thank you.

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I really enjoyed writing this piece. Believe it or not, this is the kind of silly stuff that I think up all the time. I just never had anyone to share it with. So, lucky you, right? Well, how about this.... Here's a book review by Peter S. Beagle that I would make into a movie if I could. "Somebody" needs to make it happen. Pretty please??.....

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If you're wondering just who exactly wrote this piece, you can find more about me here. If you're intrigued to see what else I've written, more stories by me can be found here. (On photos I put with this blurb, I always try to share a different photo of me so that if you read my stuff often (fingers crossed) you'll get to see the many mes.

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