Do you ever cast book characters in your mind with your favorite actors?
When I was younger i used to create characters solely by description but these days I find myself playing the casting director...and I think I'm getting pretty good...
I did this little excersize for Just Jones (Read Ch. 1 now with Page Chaser exclusive).
Anybody know the actor Sam Elliot? He IS the Noticer! That's to say, he is my Noticer, the man I picture when I read about Jones in Andy Andrews' The Noticer Series.
Apologies to the wonderful author Andy Andrews, but when I started to read these books I didn't think to cast the man smiling on the book flap of the same name, I cast the one and only Nicholas Cage:.
Behold, my mind's Andy:
Back to Jones, the white haired man with endless wisdom and witticisms, the man who misses nothing. The man who calls Andy (at 3am no less!) after we haven't heard form him for seven years! Well Jones is back and Andy Andrews’ is releasing the third installment in his Noticer series and this time Sam Elliot... I mean… the Noticer is back in Orange Beach, Alabama tossing out knowledge nuggets.
A blending of fiction and self-help/inspiration, I highly recommend reading with a highlighter (or just end up highlighting the who book on your kindle app like I did). Just Jones is full of beautiful allegory and sharp wit.
I had no trouble casting the inimitable Sam in my mind's eye. From breaking our hearts as Jackson Maine's brother Bobby on A Star is Born:
to a legendary bar bouncer (look at that hair!) next to Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse:
to Ron's rival on Parks and Recreation:
and the narrator of the Big Lebowski:
It was not hard to imagine Sam Elliot in jail (sorry Sam, you've just got great range!). Which is exactly where Andy finds Jones at the beginning of this book.
A beguiling prankster is bewildering the small coastal town and it’s not to hard to imagine Jones might be the man behind it. Especially since he won’t say much regarding how he ended up behind bars in the first place. Then he’s got this 400 pound table that seems to draw people to his five-and-dime and inevitably to trusting this wry old man. He’s simply the kind of man you can trust, tell your secrets to. Makes you wonder who he really is...
Here's the promised audio clip:
We’re introduced to some new characters; a certain Blair has a proclivity for comic relief which is welcome in between the highlightable-change-your-lifable lines that Andy is known for. With Jones, the man who literally notices everything, he keeps all things in perspective.
I really appreciate Andy harping on this, it’s a lesson I must be taught and reminded of over and over. I get so lost in the weeds of life, the reminders that through the powers of connection the impossible can come true.
I know I’m not the only Andy fan at Page Chaser, we highly recommend reading The Noticer and The Noticer Returns before sinking your teeth into this September release.
Sam Elliot is a decent pick, but my Noticer (yes, I do the same casting director thing in my mind as you do) is Tommy Chong. Mister Laid Back himself.