Interview: Gina of the 'Fantasy Casting' Blog

I had the absolute wonderful opportunity to interview one of my new favorite 'bloggers' on the world wide web! She writes a blog where she cast's all kinds of books for movies - it's a fun 'game' called "Fantasy Casting". I do it when I read books and want to see them on the big screen - but Gina took it a bit further. Here is what she had to say...

I've read many of the casting lists you've created on your blog, Fantasy Casting. What inspired you to start your blog and share your book castings with the world?

This all started years ago. My sisters and I read the same books and our conversations would inevitably turn to “Who do you think should play _______ in the movie version?” (because what good is a book if it’s not adapted to a movie you can complain about?) Much arguing and bantering and defending one’s point of view would ensue, and hours later we would have created the perfect dream cast for our favorite books.

Fast forward a bit, I am a stay at home mom with very little adult interaction in my day, and I went out onto fan forums looking for people to discuss this topic with. I noticed there were a lot of forums on IMDb and fansites that talked about fantasy casting, but it was very cumbersome and difficult. And honestly, not very good. I thought, “I can do better. I’ve been doing this for years, just not on my computer.”

So that’s it. A game born out of love, book nerds and boredom, coupled with my insane narcissism and sheer desire to prove that I can do it better than the bucket heads at MSN Entertainment. (Charming, yes?)

When you are working on a new cast list for a book, do you make notes while reading, or do you decide almost immediately as you are reading who you could see in the part? What is your process?

Err… there’s no real process, unfortunately. Here’s how it generally goes, though:

I read a book. The characters take shape in my head. Sometimes I immediately picture an actor (those are the easy ones- hurray!) but usually I have a whole new, never before seen person in my head. Next, I sit down and start poking around on IMDb. Literally. It’s like “Hmmmmm… I need somebody who is in their late thirties and looks like they could be a loving, gentle father figure, but also totally stab you in the back” So I find an actor who is the right age, and I click around in his birth year to find other actors that age. If nobody stands out, I try another year. Or, if nationality is more important, I click on birth cities, or movies made about that area. You get the idea.

The upside of this process is twofold: One, I feel overwhelmingly confident in my choices, and two, I have a strange surge of personal vindication when I find the person that fits the image in my head. It’s like this big game where I’m trying to beat IMDb at keeping secrets from me or something. It’s tragic. And fun. The downside to this process is that it takes FOR.EV.ER. For instance, I have 13 partially completed fantasy casts currently queued up. Each cast takes anywhere from 2-10 hours to complete. So… I have no life.

What genre of books do you prefer to cast? Is there an easier genre? Harder genre?

Ooh, tough one. I think the easiest are the mainstream fiction; The Great Gatsby, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, stuff like that. There are descriptions of the characters, but mostly it’s their personalities that shine. That makes it extremely easy to find the “right” person; looks, height, weight, etc are all irrelevant, and personality and talent become of utmost importance.

There isn’t really a hardest per se, but the book’s audience makes a big difference. A really vast, dedicated audience generally already has somebody that they’ve all rallied around and suggesting that anybody else play their beloved Jace or Mikael Blomkvist is like stepping in front of a firing squad. Also, young audiences tend to be more, um, prejudiced. I guess that’s the right word.

When I put up my fantasy cast for The Host, I received no less than a dozen hate-emails filled with mean comments about how Jessica Biel is old and Mel would certainly be played by _________ (fill in the blank with any 17 year old actress you can think of) Yikes.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? What genre is your personal favorite?

Ah, I have made no secret of this, and it will certainly undermine my authority as a legitimate literary genius (ha!), but JK Rowling is outstanding. I have read the Harry Potter series through about 10 times, and am currently reading it to my boys at bedtime, and I will never stop being amazed at her talent. Her impeccable use of literary devices, character development and plotting is unparalleled. The deep-seeded foreshadowing, used so lightly you almost don’t recognize it is perfection. It’s not to say that they story is without faults; it has at least two gaping plot holes that I can think of, but for a first time writer? WOW.

In general, I prefer fantasy novels. There’s less sex and foul language to combat with, and it really takes escapism to the max. But I will read just about anything, honestly.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging when trying to cast a book, or writing a blog post about it?

My biggest challenge is trying to please everybody. I know that’s impossible, but I can’t help it. Especially with popular books, like the Hunger Games series, or Cassandra Clare’s work, or comic book characters, there are a LOT of opinions out there, and I am bound to make somebody mad, no matter what I do. Handling the backlash is sometimes tough. Or the crickets. You know, you put up an awesome post that you poured your heart into for weeks, and all you hear are virtual crickets. No comments. No email. Ouch.

After that, trying to make it interesting is always a challenge. Or staying on topic. I often re-read my work and see these crazy, incomprehensible tangents. I edit. A lot.

Is there any advice you want to share with bloggers and blog readers who might want to start their own blog to share something they enjoy doing? Do you consider yourself successful?

I consider myself successful in this way: I am writing about something I love. I am meeting and getting to know people with similar interests and ideas. I am creating something that is mine. I have some amazing readers who never cease to amaze me with the funny or thoughtful comments and emails.

My advice is this: write well and write often. Followers and readers will come in time, so long as your content is quality. And, remember, everybody has a different idea of what “quality” means. If gave up every time I got hate mail or negative comments or nasty replies in forums… well, I would have given up a long time ago. Like, the day after I started. If you’re writing opinions and publicizing them, you will encounter opposing opinions. It’s like Star Wars; there’s an up side and a down side to the Force. Wait, maybe that was Spaceballs.