I was so thrilled to receive a copy of this book- and it was so wonderfully written that I ended up devouring it completely! My review can be found here https://wordpress.com/post/myshelvesarefull.com/6043
I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for Richard Pickard’s debut novel- read on for a brilliant guest post from Richard about casting the characters for the big screen!
If I have a love to rival my passion for literature, it is my love for film. Whilst our home was always filled with books growing up (thanks Mum), as a child I was also never far from the cinema or the huge pile of VHS tapes that overflowed from a cupboard behind the TV. At university, I even studied a joint degree of Film & Literature.
So, it will be of no surprise that I would love to see The Peculiar Tale of the Tentacle Boy on the big screen. There are many different studios who I know would do a stellar job, but one of my dream homes for the story would be LAIKA – the award-winning, stop-motion animation studio known for movies like Kubo and the Two Strings, Coraline and The Boxtrolls. So, if I were to cast it?
Marina
Dafne Keen would be a brilliant choice for our heroine, Marina Minnow. Having played Lyra Belacqua in the BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials, she has great form for taking on feisty, full-blooded fantasists with a thirst for adventure. I’d also love to see Bella Ramsay, who played the gutsy Lyanna Mormont on Game of Thrones, in the role.
William
For the titular tentacled boy, I think Noah Jupe – the young star of A Quiet Place and HBO’s The Undoing – would be wonderful. He’d nail the innocent wonder and bemusement of Marina’s fishy new friend, on dry land for the very first time, as would Amir Wilson or a younger Timothée Chalamet.
Sally
It would be a dream for a British star like Carey Mulligan, Naomie Harris or Gemma Chan to take on Marina’s mother, Sally – who has struggled to keep the family fishmonger’s afloat since the disappearance of her husband. An actor filled with warmth and charisma, but also a fire, which Sally deals out in spades when forced to protect her family.
Granny Minnow
Maggie. Smith.
Harold
The hardest role to cast may well be my favourite one, as well – the horrid villain Harold Mole, who stinks up the town with his fish-oiled hair and unrivalled appetite for seafood. He would need a rich and authoritative voice, which could turn on a dime from pompously proud to spiteful and cruel. Whilst all being rather different actors on paper, I’d be over-the-moon with Bill Nighy, Brendan Gleeson or Stephen Fry.
The Reverential Federation of Fishmongers
It would be so much fun to cast the sprawling host of barmy fishmongers and other townsfolk who populate the village of Merlington. Richard Ayoade, Joanna Lumley, Noel Fielding, Meera Syal, Lee Evans, Jennifer Saunders, Paul Whitehouse and Dawn French are just some of the names on my list to voice the eclectic and eccentric bunch of supporting characters.
Ask me again next week, and no doubt each of these choices will have changed dramatically. But one thing is certain – that seeing these characters brought to life on the big screen would be an absolute treat.
THE PECULIAR TALE OF THE TENTACLE BOY is out now, priced £6.99. Read chapter 1 on the Chicken House website!
My Shelves Are Full 