I knew it would happen, sooner or later.
When my critique group finished the third draft of my (then) unpublished romantic suspense novel, The Right Wrong Man, each of them independently concluded their final review with a list of the actors who should play my characters in a movie.
“Guys,” I responded modestly. “I need to get this published first. Then let’s dream about Jennifer Lawrence for Meredith, and Channing Tatum for Parker.”
Gregory?
“No!” They all chimed in. “Channing should be Gregory!” I ignored them, dotted my “i’s” and wrote two more drafts before I hit “Ping.”
Amazon sold 10,000 copies by week 6.
On week 8, I received an e-mail from Julia Robert’s agent.
On week 9, Bradley Cooper phoned me directly.
The bidding war began.
On the first anniversary of my publication date, the movie was optioned, sold, and at my insistence, I had a role as 3rd screenwriter on set, which became larger as each day of shooting progressed.
Meredith?
(credit to:HRC/ WENN.com)
The chosen actress to play Meredith (and I can’t divulge that secret here), knocked on my trailer at 8:10 every morning. “Ms. Wight, the other writer says Meredith belches. Meredith would never belch. Please, please rewrite the rewritten script and fix it!”
I fixed.
Then the actor I hungered over, um, I mean, that Meredith hungered over, joined me for a glass of wine at the end of the day’s shooting. “We have a problem,” he stated in his famous deep growl. “The director is demanding I punch Carlos in the face and break his nose. You and I know that is NOT Parker’s style. Please, fix it!”
I fixed.
I taunted the producer, tweaked the direction, tamed the actors, and a year later, the movie THE RIGHT WRONG MAN was a hit.
And guess who was nominated for Best Screenwriter?
What?
Oh, yes, this is a fantasy. But you do know the definition of “fantasy,” don’t you?
That’s right: “The creative imagination.” Or, “unrestrained fancy.”
A writer should never be restrained, nor lack creativity OR imagination.
Because, my dear readers, as Einstein explained;
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
Now, speaking of coming attractions, who would YOU choose to play Parker and Gregory?
Just so, you know, I’m prepared when that phone call comes in.
“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.” ― Lloyd Alexander
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