Friday, February 10, 2012

Amy Hatvany's "Outside the Lines"

Amy Hatvany's books include Best Kept Secret.

Here she shares some ideas for director and main cast members for an adaptation of her new novel, Outside the Lines:
As an author, it is only in the dark, quiet moments of morning that I allow myself to ponder the “what ifs.” What if someone wants to make a movie of this book? What if this particular dream came true?

The story is told from two points of view - David West, a talented artist who slowly deteriorates into mental illness and Eden, the daughter he abandons when she is ten years old. For David, I imagine Robert Downey, Jr. in the role, simply because I believe he could carry off the character’s extremes - the highs and lows, the love he feels for his daughter and the hatred he feels toward himself and his illness. In the book he is described as “whip-thin, but sinewy and strong.”

Eden is a more challenging pick, because the story is told back and forth in time, so the reader gets to know her as a child and an adult. If Abigail Breslin could dye her hair black, her emotional range would make her perfect for the role of young Eden, and as an adult, I picture her Jennifer Connelly - intelligent, compassionate, and strong.

Without a doubt, my dream director for any of my novels would be Nicole Holofcener - I fell in love with her keen eye in Walking & Talking and then Lovely & Amazing came along and she once again blew me away. She is fearless, and I would trust her implicitly to visually translate the story.
Learn more about the book and author at Amy Hatvany's website.

The Page 69 Test: Outside the Lines.

--Marshal Zeringue