Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Deborah E. Kennedy's "Tornado Weather"

Deborah E. Kennedy is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana and a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She has worked as both a reporter and editor, and also holds a Master's in Fiction Writing and English Literature from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Here Kennedy dreamcasts an adaptation of Tornado Weather, her debut novel:
Tornado Weather is teeming with characters – casting the whole thing would be like casting Game of Thrones before the Red Wedding. So I'm going to focus on three pivotal ones. Love triangles, amiright? The triangle is the strongest geometric shape out there, which could explain the timeless appeal of love stories that take that particular form. Who could forget Humphrey Bogart versus William Holden in Sabrina? Or Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story? And, of course, there was Pearl Harbor, which gave Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett a chance to fight over Kate Beckinsale while I guess a war of some sort raged in the background?

A teenage love triangle looms large in my book, Tornado Weather, pitting the brittle but brilliant Renee Seaver against Marissa “the Italian Slut” Marino in a battle for the affections of Benny Bradenton, a handsome and charming boy whose dad operates a chain of gas stations and convenience stores around northern Indiana. I started this book back in 2009 and originally thought Kristen Stewart would be perfect as Renee, with Vanessa Hudgens stepping into the role of Marissa. Taylor Kitsch would be a convincing as the two-timing Benny. Or maybe Milo Ventimiglia. Now that the book and those stars have aged, it's time to rethink the triangle. Sophie Turner as Renee. Zendaya as Marissa. Ellar Coltrane as Benny. Or better yet, Donald Glover. Let's see those nice boys play bad.

Maybe, if I begged them, the Duffer Brothers would direct? Stranger things have happened...
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--Marshal Zeringue