As we’ve all heard, the folks over at HBO have closed a deal to turn Jennifer Egan’s recent Pulitzer prize-winning novel A Visit From the Goon Squad into an HBO series. No word on what exactly that will mean yet, however – the book spans so many generations and expands in so many directions that they’re going to have a tough time pinning it down to just a series. Or maybe they won’t – that’s the magic of television. After all, Egan has mentioned that she thought about The Sopranos while writing the book, so maybe there’s hope yet. As long as they figure out how to show that Power Point chapter. Regardless, the whole thing has got us thinking about the actors we’d pick to play our beloved characters from Egan’s masterpiece, but since the book spans so many characters at different points in their lives, we thought we’d just pick one of our favorite sections — the safari chapter — and cast that one. If you haven’t read the novel yet and want to play along at home, this chapter is actually available online — it was also published as a standalone short story in The New Yorker. Yep, it’s that good. Click though to see who we’d pick to play some of our favorite characters from A Visit From the Goon Squad, and let us know your own picks in the comments!
David Duchovny as Lou
Maybe we have some outside influence that makes us think David Duchovny is utterly believable as a charismatic guy able to snare girls half his age, but that’s neither here nor there. We think David would be perfect for Lou, the boy’s boy, serial-monogamist record producer, infected with a “restless charm.” That’s him in a nutshell.
Blake Lively as Mindy
The only real refrain on Mindy’s character is how beautiful she is, how lovely, how her figure in a ‘sparkling blue bikini’ transcends everyone’s already high expectations. She’s young and slightly foolish, and allows herself to get caught up in a world for the sheer glamour of it. Blake already plays a girl who is largely renowned for her looks and money alone, so she should have no trouble.
Chloe Moretz as Charlie
Well, we all know Chloe Moretz can do just about anything, but we think she’d be particularly apt at portraying the cast-aside daughter of a wealthy man, somewhat snarky and just coming into her own sexuality and confidence. She has a darkness to her that would suit Charlie well, considering her ultimate fate.
Preston Bailey as Rolph
Look at those deep, searching little eyes! You have to love Preston Bailey, especially as the sweet, if sometimes petulant Rolph, who creates trouble without quite knowing he’s doing it. Though he has a feeling.
Hugh Dancy as Albert
Ah, the alternative to Lou – the sweet faced, young man that tempts Mindy. Egan describes Albert as a ‘surly Englishman,’ so Dancy might have to toughen up those dreamy eyes a bit, but he also has to be believable as someone who would lean over to a girl and whisper, “You’re driving me crazy. You must know that.” So he can keep a little of that softness.