AQATSA: Pretty pictures to offset the doom and gloom

[inverarity]

I have been accused of baiting and switching! I have been accused of promising a happy ending and then using my poor characters as a stick to poke you with. I have been accused of being Joss Whedon!



Now, in all seriousness... I never promised a J.K. Rowling ending.

I am not George R. R. Martin, but I am not J.K. Rowling either.

Here's a poll, though, 'cause I'm curious (and am too fond of polls).

Disclaimer: I don't care what you think. Seriously, I ain't changing anything.

[Poll #1791832]

The frustrations of endings

Speaking of endings... AQATSA's ending is still messy. My betas have mostly caught up to me, and I am flailing a bit while I try to polish the next few chapters up because I've hit some of the spots that I was whining about earlier during the writing process, the parts that I thought were full of crap and roadkill and would need to be rewritten.

Okay, maybe it's not complete crap, but there's some stuff here that doesn't work, and some other stuff I am puzzling over because it's going to tie me down in terms of certain things that happen in the future, and I've talked before about how I don't actually have the rest of the series planned out in detail. So I am worried about leaving those dreaded unfired Chekhov's Guns lying around, as well as Flints, and becoming too attached to an earlier plan even after it no longer makes sense, to the point that the story bends unnaturally around it.

So far, betaing has gone pretty well, which is to say, my betas have had plenty of helpful, critical comments and many changes have been made as a result, but nothing of the "OMG this chapter needs a complete rewrite and this subplot needs to die!" variety. But the next six chapters or so still have problems and plot holes and they are giving me a headache.

I am currently revising chapter 35 out of 41. The draft stands at 257,697 words right now.

Who should play Alexandra in the movie?

One of my betas, swissmarg, has made a couple of beautiful banners for Alexandra Quick and the Deathly Regiment.

While making them, she asked me what actors and actresses I think would make good images for some of my characters, and I couldn't think of any. I'm really pretty bad about remembering actors. The only one who's ever come to mind is young Natalie Portman in The Professional, who looks a little bit like how I picture Alexandra at about age twelve, although Portman is too pretty.



I also named Darla Dearborn after Darla Hood of Little Rascals fame, and always imagined her taking after Darla in appearance:



swissmarg made a second picture which I love, based on AQATDR, Chapter Fifteen: The Historicist:



Ellen Page makes a decent Alexandra. Emmy Rossum is meant to be Valeria, but I think she looks very like Julia. (Valeria is rather more stout, and blonde.)

So, consider this an Alexandra Quick Casting Call: who should be cast in the roles of AQ characters? I need to practice my Photoshop skills too.

Comments

[shinygobonkers.livejournal.com]

maybe its partly a personality thing too, but i kinda agree with your call of The Professional Natalie Portman for Alex...
Although on principal I prefer to imagine characters in books I read than have actors/actresses fill that role (but that's another [vehement] grumble of mine on the stupid movie-fication of so many good books...)

[crinklebat.livejournal.com]

If you could find a photo of Clea Duvall as a teenager that would jibe with my mental picture - I've always pictured Alex with kind of intense eyebrows.

[kerneyhead.livejournal.com]

Julia or Darla: How about Interview with a Vampire era Kirsten Dunst.

[rheymus.livejournal.com]

Alex either Young Amy from Doctor Who, or Jodelle Ferland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeJd2EpkbWA

Darla Shay Astar http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Shay_Astar

Innocence Scarlett Pomers http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Naomi_Wildman

Grimm twins Majel Barrett

Thorn Daniel Craig or Rodney from Stargate

[(Anonymous)]

I always seen Alex as a sort of Masie Williams from the game of thrones idea. Fits the boy-ish role perfectly, thinks only her way is right and being a hard little bugger ;)

[rheymus.livejournal.com]

Governor Hucksteen - Harry Williams, Mayor of Sunnydale in Buffy.

Max - would Draco Malfoy, Tom Fenton be too ,uch of a cliche?

[lunacorva.livejournal.com]

Well I'm afraid I can't help you with the actors, but I can say that I think your ruthlessness is one of your best qualities as a writer. I think an author's duty is to put their characters through as much torture as they possibly can, in order to milk every last drop of Emotional Torque from them.

[rheymus.livejournal.com]

Yey Maisie Williams!

We have a very small pool of actors to choose from. Alex has GOTTA have attitude. And she gotta be ordinary, not pretty. Amelia, Harmony and Maisie fulfill the criteria.

The only Notable actors that Hollywood accepts are either Very pretty or are Very attitudinous. If that is not a word, you know what I mean by "attitudinous".

[anyareine.livejournal.com]

Darla... a young Jodie Foster. I always pictured Darla blond, even though IIRC she has dark hair. (?)

[tealterror0.livejournal.com]

I couldn't vote in the poll because you didn't include the option I wanted: "Bittersweet Ending." (Also acceptable is Earn Your Happy Ending.)

I am worse with actors than you are. So I'm just going to say I'd want the main characters to be played by unknowns who were discovered solely for the part, like how they chose the kids for the Harry Potter movies IIRC.

[(Anonymous)]

Christina Ricci, Wednesday Adams. 'Nuff said.

:3

~DarkSov

http://www.taxdocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/christina_ricci.jpg

RDJ is Thorn.

[ambikai.livejournal.com]

Can I just say the entire time I've been reading this Alexandra Quick (yeah, now I'm no longer a lurker), I can say I see Robert Downey Jnr (as Tony Stark) as Abraham Thorn ... it's just how I picture him ... every time ...

http://www.moviescribes.com/actordb/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Robert-Downey-Jr..jpg - this picture sums up my thoughts.

[ambikai.livejournal.com]

And while I'm at it - Jeff Bridges is who I imagine as Hucksteen - or Jim Beaver also works.

[swissmarg]

Ariel Lin for Anna, like in these images:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hJVox6-vy_4/TRC7KdHOjII/AAAAAAAABMI/EkuVNNuJxeI/s1600/Ariel+Lin+%2839%29.jpg

http://i.dramacrazy.net/ariellin.jpg

When making a (Photoshop) graphic, it's not always just about finding someone with the right look, but also getting large, HQ images. Which makes it like 10 times as hard.

[kerneyhead.livejournal.com]

Hugo Weaving Either Govenor General Huckstien or Abraham Thorne.