CARVED IN DARKNESS ~ Fantasy Cast

By: Maegan Beaumont

    I've had more than a few people email me and post on my FB author page, to tell me that the CARVED "reads like a movie" and ask, "when is the movie coming out?"

    My reply is always, "thank you!" and "just soon as someone Hollywood deems important cuts me a check."

    Sigh.

    Still, it's fun to play pretend... so, here are my fantasy cast picks, ya know--just in case :



Sabrina--Jessica Biel. I'll admit of all my characters, Sabrina was the hardest to pin down. I didn't want someone too obvious (Angelina Jolie) but she still has to have the physicality necessary to pull it off. I think Mrs. Timberlake offers a good balance of vulnerability and toughness. If you doubt me, watch Blade: Trinity... What? I'm an action movie junkie. Don't judge me.











Michael--Sam Worthington. Okay... Worthington and Jeremy Renner were neck and neck. Both are great action stars but Worthington is a bit more low key, which I like. He has that vulnerable yet tough thing going on. Besides... look at those eyes!
Movie justification: Terminator: Salvation












Strickland--Damien Lewis. I've been a big fan of Lewis since he starred in a little-watched NBC show called LIFE. Strickland has a razor-sharp, tough-as-nails center, disguised by a slobbish, slightly sarcastic candy-coating. Lewis fits him to a T.
If you can find LIFE on hulu or netflix, give it a watch.



Val--Sarah Shahi. I'm not sure it came through on the page, but Val is tiny.

Tiny but fierce. She's the only person on earth who can go toe-to-toe with Sabrina and feel she might win with any degree of confidence. Shahi portrays that take-no-prisoners attitude beautifully.
Shahi starred opposite Damien Lewis in LIFE, she currently has a re-occurring role on CBS's PERSON OF INTEREST.

Nickels--Ryan Reynolds. Yes, I'm well aware that I now have both feet firmly planted in the Land of the Ridiculous but whatever, it's my movie! Reynolds is all kinds of hot, plus he has that wholesome, boy-next-door thing going on... with just enough hard-ass to keep him interesting.

Lark--Idris Elba. Lark is tricky... he's huge. I mean, huge... when I wrote him I kept picturing Michael Duncan Clarke who was 6'5... At 6'3, Elba comes in a few inches shy but he's got more than enough bad-boy in him to make up for it. He was just about the only thing I liked in PROMETHEUS. I've had more than one person say to me when we discuss the book, "I didn't know Lark is black!"
So... Lark is black. Now you know.




Tommy--Adam Beach. I've had a crush on Beach ever since I saw him in WINDTALKERS and he is exactly who I thought of when I wrote Tommy. Just the right mix of boyish charm and wisdom.








Carson--Warren Cole. Carson is a complicated guy... he's not really a bad, he's just too wounded and entrenched in the past to evolve into something more than what he is--a small town cop with a chip on his

shoulder. Cole plays bad beautifully (Have you seen THE FOLLOWING??) and I think he would do a great job at bring out the complexity in Carson's character.

Wade--Michael Fassbender. This one might seem like a head-scratcher, but hear me out. Like with Sabrina's character, I didn't want obvious. I want someone you'd never see coming. He's charming and handsome but at the same time, if I look hard enough, I can see a hint of cruelty. That's who Wade is to me.

Ben--Chris Hemsworth. My daughter is in love with this guy... me? He's super cute but not at all who I pictured when I wrote Ben's character. The guy I pictured isn't an actor. He's an Irish boxer named John Duddy, with whom I had a brief, yet intense, obsession. All the same, I promised my daughter that if CARVED was ever made into a movie, I'd make sure Hemsworth was in it... and a promise is a promise.

Mandy Black--Kristen Bell. You know, the coroner we see for about five minutes. She's featured prominently in book two and I like her so much that I'm thinking of moving her to the forefront later on in the series. She's witty, sharp and not afraid to put Sabrina in her place, which makes her awesome. Bell, whom I've loved since her Veronica Mars days, fits her like a glove.





And there you have them, my picks for Carved in Darkness: The Movie. If you've read CiD, I'd love to hear your thoughts on who you'd place in the roles, given the chance.