the front runner

so tim and i just read the front runner by patricia nell warren. i saw elsewhere that it was a very well-written book. whoever said that was W-R-O-N-G. it is bad. as tim said, it's a gay harlequin romance. also, despite the fact that it was written by a woman, boy is this book down on women. that being said, it was a fun read and the story itself is good. it would make a great movie, but we are finding it awfully hard to cast.

billy has been a stumbling block. it's hard to think of a young actor who has the charisma and smoldering good looks that billy needs. plus, he's got to be a good actor. River Phoenix would have been perfect 15 years ago. also, harlan has proven problematic. tim came up with an all british cast that i liked:

Harlan - Daniel Craig
Vince - Dominic Cooper
Jacques - Jamie Bell
Billy - Charlie Hunnam

I am in favor of casting Charlie Hunnam in everything. And Johnny Depp. but i didnt cast him this time.

I had 2 casts, one with younger actors as the principals and the other with older actors. the boys in the book are all supposed to be 20 or 21 and Harlan has his 40th birthday during the story. here's what i came up with:

Harlan Brown - Josh Lucas/Brad Pitt
Billy Sive - Jamie Bell/Taylor Kitsch
Vince Matti - Emile Hirsch/Adrian Grenier
Jacques LaFont - Lou Taylor Pucci/Milo Ventimiglia
John Sive - Robert DeNiro/Jeff Goldblum
Dauphine - Gary Dourdan/Jesse Martin
Betsy - Kristen Bell/Katherine Moennig
Steve Goodnight - SPACEY/David Thewlis
Angel - Rory Culkin, no alternate.

in my mind, adrian grenier IS vince. but he may be too old. tim has suggested robert downey, jr and matt dillon as harlan and i like both of those suggestions. hopefully he will send me his final cast soon and i will update this.

here's a bonus--this is the cover of the copy tim read.