Casting Call: Nathan Fillion or Chris Pratt?

Who will play the Jack of Spades? 

Honestly, probably neither of these guys, but that’s the fun of a fancast, right?  Today I’m going to cast the would-be movie of my new book, One-Eyed Jacks. (Which you can still pre-order at a reduced price until Halloween…)

Here’s the book description:

Rails End, California. 1980s. As a former Vegas magician, Jack knows the world is full of shallow illusions. That’s why he’s grinding out a new life for himself as a smuggler, counterfeiter and debt collector for a local crime boss, and trying to stay off of everyone else’s radar.

Unfortunately, keeping a low profile just isn’t in the cards for the Jack of Spades. After a little trouble in Chinatown, Jack’s employer decides to send him on a working vacation. He’s to retrieve some stolen museum pieces on the island of Saipan. But Jack’s not the only person on the job and the other interested parties are more than they appear.  Hell, they may even be more than human…

Urban fantasy, crime-noir, and Asian myth merge in this darkly entertaining novel of pulp adventure.

The story takes place sometime in the 1980s, and Edgar casts Steve McQueen and Tom Selleck in the two top roles.  (McQueen passed away in 1980, but Edgar refuses to accept that.)  If this book were being made into a movie today, here’s how I see it breaking down…

(Images omitted, unfortunately, because I’m not sure where the world stands on copyright and the internet at this point.)

JACK:  Our hero and narrator, the Jack of Spades.  He’s calm and collected with a sense of humor and sense of adventure.  He’s also the Wanderer, the Dark Stranger.

My top two picks would be Chris Pratt of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Magnificent Seven (although their names were different, as far as I’m concerned, Pratt played Steve McQueen’s character from the original movie).  He’s funny and charming and has a good disposition for this role.  Though, honestly, he may be a little too beefy for Jack’s part.

Not that Nathan Fillion is out of shape either, but I think he’s got more wisdom and subtly.  I can definitely see Jack being more akin to Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly than Star Lord on Guardians of the Galaxy.  I think Fillion might be the better pick for this role.

EDGAR:  Eddie is Jack’s partner in crime (literally) and the comic relief of the book.  He’s also a Mexican American who thinks he’s Magnum, P. I.  Therefore, Edgar would like to see Tom Selleck play his part, but…  He’s giving himself too much credit.  I’m thinking Michael Peña, who provided great comic relief in Ant-Man.  I can definitely see him as the tough but not tough looking sidekick to the Jack of Spades.

FELIX:  Felix Caterina, also known as Felix the Cat on the street, is Jack and Eddie’s employer.  He’s a relatively small crime boss, an older guy with a fast temper but a good heart underneath.  Let’s put Clint Eastwood in that part.  That would go great with one of his lines and make it very ironic: “You think you’re Clint Fucking Eastwood, Jack?”

I can’t tell you much about the rest of the characters without ruining the surprise, so these will be quickies.

ALMA:  Just a casino girl or more than meets the eye?  I have to admit that I don’t know any Filipina actresses off the top of my head, so I asked Google for help.  And they gave me many choices, but I picked the lovely Angel Locsin.  (I hope she speaks English…)

NAGASHI:  The mysterious Japanese man who seems to be watching everybody.  There are only a few Japanese actors I can think of, one of whom has that eerie quiet down to a science.  Hiroyuki Sanada, from SyFy’s Helix series.

PETEY JACKSON:  I wrote this story before I knew director Peter Jackson was a person, okay?  Just so you know.  And this casting is overkill for the role, but who cares?  We have an infinite budget!  Forest Whitaker of the up-coming Rogue One would make a cool cigar-smoking scoundrel!

MING & POH: Felix’s underworld contact from Hong Kong and her bodyguard. Lucy Liu can be both tough and sexy.  And Ken Wantanabe, from The Last Samurai and Batman Begins, has a nice, threatening presence.

All right, get those agents on the phone and let's get this thing moving!

In the meantime, here are some places you can find One-Eyed Jacks.  Give it a read and let me know who you would cast in the movie!

Amazon

B&N

iBooks

Kobo

Smashwords

200 Word Movie Reviews: Tarzan and Independence Day: Resurgence

We see a lot of movies here on-base in Japan.  For one thing, we’re married with children, so it’s about as much excitement as we get.  And we desperately need a reason to escape from the house every other week or so.  It’s also cheap as hell: $3 for most movies, $5 for 3D shows.  One of the amenities for being far-flung from home.

I’m going to start doing quickie movie reviews on here.  I could make them long and in-depth, but I don’t think your average cyber-reader needs all that.  Most just want a quick overview to see if it’s worth their hard-earned dollars.  Should they see it at the theatre, wait for the rental, or just avoid it all together?  I think 200 words are enough to say something worthwhile, while still keeping it brief. 

Of course, everyone’s tastes are different, but if you find over time that our sensibilities align pretty well, then you might just check here before forking over a big wad at the box office.

This past week we saw two movies: 

Independence Day: Resurgence

I didn’t go in expecting much, just a couple-hour escape from the house.  And that’s about all I got.

Basics: Bigger and meaner aliens return to attack an ill-prepared future full of pretty boys and girls. 

In 20 years’ time, you’d think they’d have come up with something better.

One thing that stood out to me was that just about all the main players were young and pretty (especially Liam Hemsworth), which automatically sticks in my craw.  If it looks like 90210, it probably is.  There were a few players from the first movie called back into service, all of whom were probably waiting for this for 20 years, as they haven’t been in much else since. 

There was a little bit of characterization and a redemption storyline, but like just about everything in the movie, it was pretty shallow.  A lot of the science of it seemed wonky to me, too.  It is science fiction, but at least get gravity right! 

On the plus-side, it was a bubblegum summer movie: lots of pew-pew and ‘splosions, with a little romance between beautiful people.  Don’t expect more than that, and you won’t be disappointed.

2.5/5 stars.  “Rent it.”

The Legend of Tarzan

It was good.  Though I wanted this to be more epic than it was.  Even though it pretty much had all the elements and the approach needed, there was still just something missing for me.  (Or maybe I’m just becoming a cold, dry-hearted curmudgeon in my old age.)

Basics: Lord Greystoke, famed Tarzan of the jungle, is called back to the Congo into a trap against some historically-accurate evil-doers. 

I liked that this story takes place after he’s been Tarzan and returned to life as an English lord (which doesn’t appear to agree with him too well).  We still get the Tarzan story but in a series of flashbacks, which is way better than spending the whole movie on something we already know.  And it gives us a more complex story that really is based on the history of Belgium colonial exploitation.  So it mixes true history and social awareness with fantasy and legend (realistically done, as much as swinging like Spiderman and communicating with animals through mating calls can be). Most of the acting is good; Jane’s okay.  And Tarzan mostly naked through the movie is a bonus for the ladies.  (Worked for my wife.)

I’ll round it up to 4/5 stars. “See it.” 

NOTE: This post is being simul-cast on my NEW Chaos Theory website, which will soon be my ONLY ongoing website and blog.  Please take a momentto go there and subscribe by clicking here.

Captain America Civil War Pretty Much Worth Fighting About

I just came from seeing Civil War.  Being in Japan, I'm 13 hours ahead of the U.S. east coast, so it was a late showing here and still probably before most folks in the States could see it.  In fact, I could have gone to a midnight showing last night, which would have been Thursday morning/afternoon back home.  But only getting a few hours of sleep before a training course Friday morning didn't sound like a good idea.

So how was it?  Well... It was good.  I hesitate to say very good, but it WAS very good.  Just not great. Not quite as great as I'd hoped it would be.  I actually liked Winter Soldier better. There was more of a cool conspiracy plot to movie #2.  The main pay off of #3 is the volume of characters and seeing them all together, even if they are fighting each other.  But it was very well done, no one was eager to slug it out.  Very well done, and you could even draw some political overtones from it all if you were so inclined.  It just wasn't GREAT.  I didn't leave as jazzed as I had arrived.  

I hate spoilers.  I'd much rather enjoy the surprises in the theatre than get them ruined by someone on the internet, so I'll leave none here.  I will say that one of the aspects I had the most doubts about going in--Spider-man--was all very pleasantly surprising.  Really, really nice the way it all turned out, and way more screen time than expected. 

The movie blended both the original comic series (which I have stashed somewhere, probably stored away with most of my other possessions) and the new Cinematic Universe very well.  And the movie left off in a similar way: with irrevocable changes to the Marvel Universe. They broke it, but that's good!  

Certainly a worthy, emotional, fan-satisfying superhero flick, but it didn't quite the meet the hype for me. But I guess they rarely do.

So go see for yourself!

SECOND TAKE: Now I've seen it twice, took the wife to see it this time.  I enjoyed it more the second time and appreciated the plotting and characterization more.  I mean, I saw it the first time too, but maybe with my high expectations out of the way I was able to appreciate it more.  The writing and acting were all excellent, but I maintain that there was just a lack of energy to it.  I said before I wasn't as excited coming out as I had been going in, and that remains.  (The Jungle Book is the best movie I've seen this year, with more energetic and emotional payoff.)

Obviously the best of Civil War was the battle between twelve mighty Marvel characters, with humor interjected and the best Spider-Man take yet.  And what I really like about it was how it wove superheroes into the really real world of international politics and spycraft.  (Something I want to do with my own work.)

  

Superhero Movies: Batman V Superman, Avengers, and Hungry Gods?

Superheroes aren't just for nerds anymore.  With spandex entering the mainstream these days, especially in Hollywood, and mega-blockbusters like Avengers and the upcoming Batman V Superman, it's only natural for me to do a fancast for my superheroes v zombies novel Hungry Gods.  

DC zombies by Jophiel Ray Saura

Fancasts are a lot of fun (I did one for my fantasy novel Tarnish too), though my Hollywood knowledge is limited, as you'll see with my first character:

SPITBALL

With the leading role, I again had the problem of being too old to know today's younger actors.  So I went to my good friend Google, and found an article of the “top 25 best actors in their 20s,” or something like that.  And one stuck out to me more than the others, partially because I recognized him—duh!  I like his look and his talent for Spitball, and he already has experience playing a smart-assed superhero: Spider-Man!  (Which is also a good draw for the superhero movie crowd, ya know?)  So my top choice at this point would be Andrew Garfield.

The actor I actually had in mind originally was Seann William Scott, of Role Models, Bullet Proof Monk, and Dude, Where's My Car?...  Yeah, I know.  But he'd work if he were younger, I think.  Turns out he's a month older than I am, so hard to play a 22 year old.  

SILK SPIDER

Filling this role is easy, a no-brainer.  Tough chick in her 30s, preferably blonde, excellent actress who's also a badass: Charlize Theron, most recently of Mad Max: Fury Road fame.  (And let’s face it, she's the star of that movie – Tom Hardy’s Max was more of a bit part next to her.)

Back-up actress: maybe Ronda Rousey who has been generating buzz to play superheroine Ms. Marvel. 

Emily Blunt is also a bit of a badass and a great actress.  Maybe too thin for this role though.

GARGOYLE

awesome art by Lang, found here

Though he’d be mostly costume and make-up (or maybe even CGI), Gargoyle needs a strong casting.  And Spitball (a big movie fan) already cast his part for us in the book: Samuel Jackson.   

FRANKENSTEIN

Speaking of Tom Hardy…  The mysterious, creepy, nameless soldier who massages Spitball’s shoulders before sending him into the Blackout Zone, known only as Frankenstein for now.  He needs a big, tough bastard to play the part.  

Big difference between this role versus Mad Max and Bane from The Dark Knight Rises: I’ll let the audience see his face!  (Even Max had something over his face for half the movie – was that a joke, a reference to the Batman movie, or just coincidence???)

COLONEL BABCOCK

Frankenstein’s boss, though a minor role, might as well have a cool actor in there too, right?  Bruce Willis is one of my faves, and I think he’d make a good secret Army asshole.

ZOMBIES

Maybe we can borrow some of that horde of undead extras from The Walking Dead to fill out our zombie ranks.  And I'd like to do a cameo myself as the convenience store zombie "phil" (all lower-case letters — read the book, you'll see).  That'd be a blast!

What about the rest of the Phen Five?  Well, we’ll have to wait until the movie for Twilight of the Gods comes out…  (Book being written right now.)

Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox

I just watched this 81 minute animated movie and was so surprised by it that I felt compelled to give it a quick review.

Okay, I actually fell asleep the first time with my son lying on top of me, then I woke up and watched it again when he was in bed, but that's not commentary on it being boring.  Quite the contrary!

I had considered renting this before, but seeing it was Flash-based, I thought, "Nah, Flash stinks."  He's quick but boring, his rogues gallery is lame, he is lame.  (Just never got into that character, as you can tell.)  But what I do really like to see is alternate universes and DC Elseworlds, new takes on familiar characters and timelines.  And that's what Flashpoint is all about.  Between the Flash and his enemy the Reverse Flash (see, told ya: lame!), the timeline itself gets distorted and the resulting reality is a very dark one.  This movie is actually ultra-violent with a lot of death in it (almost more than I'd expect on a PG-13 rating).  The characters are fundamentally different from the norm.  For example, there's a war raging between the Atlanteans and the Amazons that's already destroyed most of Europe!  This movie/story not only makes Flash not seem so lame, but even makes Aquaman into a bad ass.  (I often refer to him as Aqua-Pud, another character I' like to see made cool, but he just never gets there.)  The whole thing is apocalyptic in scale and is almost an hour and half of gritty, guilty fun.

In summary, this one made me reconsider my biases against some long-standing DC heroes.  It takes place in the New 52 Universe, so Cyborg and Captain Marvel (is he even called that anymore?) are in there too (another old man gripe I'll save for another time) and are used in new and exciting ways.  The animation has a definite Anime style to it, to the point where some characters are so muscled that you expect their tiny heads to pop off, but it still looks and moves great.  If I were to offer a tagline, I guess it'd be this: Ultra-Violent Bad-Assery in the DC Universe.  I plan to read the source material now as well.

Okay, "gotta run."

Summer Movie Fantasy

Since my sword and sorcery novel Tarnish is making its last discount round on Amazon this week, I thought I'd repost this fan-casting I did for the eventual Hollywood blockbuster that will be made from the book...

* * *

Let's plan a blockbuster movie for summer of 2015, shall we? This is a "fan cast," which is where people who day dream about a movie being made from their favorite book, TV show, comic book, etc, come up with who they'd like to see play the roles of the characters involved. I haven't gotten the call from Hollywood quite yet for Tarnish (hint-hint, Hollywood), but I thought it would be fun to do a casting call to fill the roles of the main characters of this fantasy novel.

My thinking is not restricted by time and space, and I'm not even limiting this casting by talent -- one of these guys isn't even an actor! But here's my thinking...

Billy Cole/Wil Thunderstrike - 1st choice: I don't know any teenage actors - in fact, I generally don't care for teenage actors. They fill teenaged roles and probably get to thinking they are hot shit even though they can barely shave or drive. So I'm thinking a good actor for Wil would be a 16 to 18 year old Henry Cavill from Man of Steel and Immortals (I didn't even realize he was in Immortals till I started doing this blog post). Tall, strong, dark hair, intense. I think a younger Cavill would fit the bill nicely for our hero. (Though I think he told Jay Leno that he was a chubby loser when he was young -- hey, weren't we all?) In this pictures he's even wielding a spear -- perfect!

Billy Cole/Wil Thunderstrike - 2nd choice: Well, I suppose I should try to pick a teen actor too, barring time travel and fountains of youth. Browsing the internet for candidates... I kinda like Shia LeBeouf as an actor but i don't think he's got the physique to be Wil Thunderstrike, son of Ian the Black. So I picked this dude named Robbie Amell based solely on this picture from some fan-chick's website. But to be honest... I don't like his attitude.

Leon Shimmerskin - 1st choice: We need a guy who can pull off powerful and arrogant and nigh unstoppable. I think Mickey Rourke's big comeback in recent years with The Wrestler, Ironman 2, and Immortals shows he can be that big, muscular badass. He might be a shy bit older for the part now, but since we're not limited by the barriers of time, let's shade him back a few years but keep all the power and intimidating glare.

Leon Shimmerskin - 2nd choice: I suppose Chris Hemsworth does have some experience as a charming yet powerful, blond-haired fantasy superhero...

Ian Cole - 1st choice:  I have rewritten this a year after its original post.  In a flash of wisdom, I realized that Liam Neeson would make an awesome Ian Cole.  Though his talents might largely go to waste, since Ian isn't very talkative.

Ian Cole - 2nd choice:  This close up of writer Alan Moore, who penned the graphic novels  Watchmen and V For Vendetta, looks pretty dead on for Ian Cole.  And while in real life I think he is very tall, he's also very thin, so he might need a body double.

Trevor LeRouge: The aging and balding bard whose whit was as fast as his blade -- Paul Giamatti seems a perfect fit! A real actor who looks like a real person. (That's a compliment.)

Jade: Cunning yet cute, Jade is a thief and Wil's love interest. Again, I don't know any raven-haired teenaged actresses I would trust with playing my characters. Fortunately the internet is full of folks who do, so... Let's see here... Okay, one young lady who is now twenty and I have actually heard of is Nickelodeon actress Victoria Justice. She's got the look for sure, so let's give her a shot. Get her agent on the phone...

Mum Picklebriar: Mysterious stranger in the black hat, a storyteller with a gravelly voice and grit. I can see Russell Crowe in this role. In this pic he even comes with his own black hat.

Morlock: Even though Morlock the archer is about the closest of Shimmerskin's trio to Wil, I had a terrible time trying to envision an actor to play his part. Then someone struck me as perfect: David Wenham, who's cool scratchy voice was Dilios (the narator) in 300 and played the ranger Faramir in the Lord of the Rings movies (so he's got some bow experience too).

Crow: As I was writing I envisioned a thinner version of Danny Trejo with a long ponytail, covered in tattoos, and swinging a huge mallet around. Machete is more than qualified to be Crow!

Lockheed: General scumbag and scruffy waste of space: Lockheed. Let me take you back to Heat with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer. There was one lesser character who made an impact as a villainous creep that the audience really wanted to see dead. I'm talking about Waingro, played by Kevin Gage. "The grim reaper is visiting with you."

Brother Fabien: The "Boy Preacher," a young man who is both doubtful and a leader of the community. He's actually a more complex character than may be let on in this first novel. To fill his holy shoes I'm picking Jay Baruchel, who voiced the hero of How To Train Your Dragon. Young Mr. Baruchel would bring Fabien a great awkward dorkiness (no offense), a young guy who would like to break certain social barriers and "get the girl" but can't. Actually, thinking of him in this role gives greater depth to Fabien for me, which is amazing!

Jenna Knox: The musical heart of Redfield, and a lovely brunette, I can't think of anyone better suited to play the part and draw a crowd than Katy Perry herself.

Mad Dog McCray: This one image struck me as great for the weathered and wild face under the dog cowl of Mad Dog McCray: William Fichtner as bad guy Butch Cavendish in this summer's Lone Ranger. Fichtner is a fantastic actor, almost always playing smaller strong character parts, and it'd be awesome to have him as part of a Tarnish movie. Pull him right out of this picture, slap a dead dog on his head, and we're ready to shoot!

The Swamp Man: The mysterious cloaked master of Blood Marsh. The first thing that actually comes to mind is the Crypt Keeper, but we're not going for comedy here. And though it's not quite right either, I always liked the cloaked and cow-skulled creatures from Time Bandits too. So somewhere in between there...

Gromlins: Maybe we can borrow the Gremlins and spray paint them in appropriate colors for the film.

Redfield, Hobb's Turn, and Fellwater are all towns chocked full of characters, but the above castings cover all the biggest parts for sure. There's also a lot of actors I really like who don't appear here -- you can't just stuff all your favorites into one movie if they aren't right for the part, right?

Just another $100,000,000 and maybe we can convince some producer to go with this! I hope everyone will come out and see it -- and bring your 3D glasses!

If anyone else has any ideas on actors for these characters, I'd love to hear them!

Summer Blockbuster: Let's Make a Movie!

Let's plan a blockbuster movie for summer of 2015, shall we? This is a "fan cast," which is where people who day dream about a movie being made from their favorite book, TV show, comic book, etc, come up with who they'd like to see play the roles of the characters involved. I haven't gotten the call from Hollywood quite yet for Tarnish (hint-hint, Hollywood), but I thought it would be fun to do a casting call to fill the roles of the main characters of this fantasy novel.

My thinking is not restricted by time and space, and I'm not even limiting this casting by talent -- one of these guys isn't even an actor! But here's my thinking...

Billy Cole/Wil Thunderstrike - 1st choice: I don't know any teenage actors - in fact, I generally don't care for teenage actors. They fill teenaged roles and probably get to thinking they are hot shit even though they can barely shave or drive. So I'm thinking a good actor for Wil would be a 16 to 18 year old Henry Cavill from Man of Steel and Immortals (I didn't even realize he was in Immortals till I started doing this blog post). Tall, strong, dark hair, intense. I think a younger Cavill would fit the bill nicely for our hero. (Though I think he told Jay Leno that he was a chubby loser when he was young -- hey, weren't we all?) In this pictures he's even wielding a spear -- perfect!

Billy Cole/Wil Thunderstrike - 2nd choice: Well, I suppose I should try to pick a teen actor too, barring time travel and fountains of youth. Browsing the internet for candidates... I kinda like Shia LeBeouf as an actor but i don't think he's got the physique to be Wil Thunderstrike, son of Ian the Black. So I picked this dude named Robbie Amell based solely on this picture from some fan-chick's website. But to be honest... I don't like his attitude.

Leon Shimmerskin - 1st choice: We need a guy who can pull off powerful and arrogant and nigh unstoppable. I think Mickey Rourke's big comeback in recent years with The Wrestler, Ironman 2, and Immortals shows he can be that big, muscular badass. He might be a shy bit older for the part now, but since we're not limited by the barriers of time, let's shade him back a few years but keep all the power and intimidating glare.

Leon Shimmerskin - 2nd choice: I suppose Chris Hemsworth does have some experience as a charming yet powerful, blond-haired fantasy superhero...

Ian Cole - 1st choice:  I have rewritten this a year after its original post.  In a flash of wisdom, I realized that Liam Neeson would make an awesome Ian Cole.  Though his talents might largely go to waste, since Ian isn't very talkative.

Ian Cole - 2nd choice:  This close up of writer Alan Moore, who penned the graphic novels  Watchmen and V For Vendetta, looks pretty dead on for Ian Cole.  And while in real life I think he is very tall, he's also very thin, so he might need a body double.

Trevor LeRouge: The aging and balding bard whose whit was as fast as his blade -- Paul Giamatti seems a perfect fit! A real actor who looks like a real person. (That's a compliment.)

Jade: Cunning yet cute, Jade is a thief and Wil's love interest. Again, I don't know any raven-haired teenaged actresses I would trust with playing my characters. Fortunately the internet is full of folks who do, so... Let's see here... Okay, one young lady who is now twenty and I have actually heard of is Nickelodeon actress Victoria Justice. She's got the look for sure, so let's give her a shot. Get her agent on the phone...

Mum Picklebriar: Mysterious stranger in the black hat, a storyteller with a gravelly voice and grit. I can see Russell Crowe in this role. In this pic he even comes with his own black hat.

Morlock: Even though Morlock the archer is about the closest of Shimmerskin's trio to Wil, I had a terrible time trying to envision an actor to play his part. Then someone struck me as perfect: David Wenham, who's cool scratchy voice was Dilios (the narator) in 300 and played the ranger Faramir in the Lord of the Rings movies (so he's got some bow experience too).

Crow: As I was writing I envisioned a thinner version of Danny Trejo with a long ponytail, covered in tattoos, and swinging a huge mallet around. Machete is more than qualified to be Crow!

Lockheed: General scumbag and scruffy waste of space: Lockheed. Let me take you back to Heat with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer. There was one lesser character who made an impact as a villainous creep that the audience really wanted to see dead. I'm talking about Waingro, played by Kevin Gage. "The grim reaper is visiting with you."

Brother Fabien: The "Boy Preacher," a young man who is both doubtful and a leader of the community. He's actually a more complex character than may be let on in this first novel. To fill his holy shoes I'm picking Jay Baruchel, who voiced the hero of How To Train Your Dragon. Young Mr. Baruchel would bring Fabien a great awkward dorkiness (no offense), a young guy who would like to break certain social barriers and "get the girl" but can't. Actually, thinking of him in this role gives greater depth to Fabien for me, which is amazing!

Jenna Knox: The musical heart of Redfield, and a lovely brunette, I can't think of anyone better suited to play the part and draw a crowd than Katy Perry herself.

Mad Dog McCray: This one image struck me as great for the weathered and wild face under the dog cowl of Mad Dog McCray: William Fichtner as bad guy Butch Cavendish in this summer's Lone Ranger. Fichtner is a fantastic actor, almost always playing smaller strong character parts, and it'd be awesome to have him as part of a Tarnish movie. Pull him right out of this picture, slap a dead dog on his head, and we're ready to shoot!

The Swamp Man: The mysterious cloaked master of Blood Marsh. The first thing that actually comes to mind is the Crypt Keeper, but we're not going for comedy here. And though it's not quite right either, I always liked the cloaked and cow-skulled creatures from Time Bandits too. So somewhere in between there...

Gromlins: Maybe we can borrow the Gremlins and spray paint them in appropriate colors for the film.

Redfield, Hobb's Turn, and Fellwater are all towns chocked full of characters, but the above castings cover all the biggest parts for sure. There's also a lot of actors I really like who don't appear here -- you can't just stuff all your favorites into one movie if they aren't right for the part, right?

Just another $100,000,000 and maybe we can convince some producer to go with this! I hope everyone will come out and see it -- and bring your 3D glasses!

If anyone else has any ideas on actors for these characters, I'd love to hear them!