Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Witherspoon! That's an inspiration!

Or Renee. I'd be way happy with Renee.

(Since Mary can't talk casting, we can just speculate all over the
place!!  Hmm, the professor's boyfriend - who d'ya think? I can see
George Clooney, 'cept he's a bit too glamorous.)
  

    
He can tone it down.  ;-)
  

    
Vincent D'Onofrio! 
  

    
John Cusack for the screenwriter boyfriend.
  

    

Hello to Goddess595. It's great to have someone from outside the Well
contribute to the conversation. First, thanks for saying "The Stand In" is
"exceptionally funny." That's just the sort of thing an author loves to
hear. As for the dialogue, "The Stand In" is somewhat an exception when it
comes to adapting novels to film. Often the dialogue in novels is too formal
or too complex to be put directly into a film script (plays are better in
this respect).

I intentionally crafted the dialogue in "The Stand In" to be contemporary
and colloquial-that is to sound exactly like spoken speech. Much of it
involves fast-paced, funny comebacks and one-liners. This meant that a lot
of the words spoken by Jayne and Mary Lynn in the novel could simply be
translated into dialogue on the screen without having to rewrite. The main
thing Renee and I had to do was cut the novel dialogue (1)for pacing, (2)
because a film script is so much shorter than a novel, and (3) because some
of the verbal comedy of the novel is replaced by visual comedy in the film.
We also created new dialogue, equally funny-in fact so funny it had us
laughing so hard we could barely breathe.
  

    
Ohh, now I really can't wait!


(BTW, <54> is definitely inspired!)
  

    
And on the "can't wait" matter, do you have an idea yet of a time
frame for the movie to start shooting, or are there still too many
variables in the mix?
  

    

I'm wondering about that too, but also Mary (wink, nudge), where do you 
get your ideas?
  

    

while Mary ponders this question, I'm off to Chicago. Will check in 
Thursday evening from there with more...
  

    

Goddess595 writes:

> I'm curious who might be a likely casting match up in light of younger
> males for the two boyfriends...
  

    
And I'm wondering about your next novel, "Sweet Revenge," which you
mentioned earlier in this discussion. Have you started it yet? What's it
about? And since you said you planned on writing more under the Kate Clemens
nom du plume, are you abandoning "Mary Mackey" as an author?
  

    

No way I am abandoning "Mary Mackey"! I plan to publish several comic novels
under "Kate Clemens" (perhaps an entire series) and continue to publish
other novels and poetry under Mary Mackey. (Fortunately with multiple
personalities and pen names one does not need to get a kennel license.)

As for "Sweet Revenge", I have not only started it, I've finished it. Last
week I went over the copyedited manuscript and sent it back to my editor at
Kensington Books. "Sweet Revenge"  is about a woman who runs a revenge
consulting service. It was incredibly fun to write (I loved thinking up
scores wickedly ingenious, hilarious ways to get revenge). The novel will be
available in May 2004. (My husband, who read part of it in manuscript, says
he is never, never going to cross me . . . )
  

    

Back to "The Stand In": I don't know what the time frame is for the movie to
start principle photography (that is to "start shooting"). There are too
many imponderables at this stage. Of course, as far as I'm concerned, the
sooner the better.

Kathi asked where I "get my ideas." I know she did this because she too is a
novelist and this is one of the most common questions an author on tour is
asked. It's impossible to answer, so sometimes I just say "I subscribe to a
service." Or at least I used to say that before I realized that some people
don't understand that it's a joke. More than one person has said: 'what
service? what's the URL?' The truth is, I don't "get" my ideas. They get me.
I more or less get mugged by them when I least expect it. I keep a running
list of ideas, some of which I take time to develop, some of which I don't.
But in the end, I don't have as much choice as you might imagine. I can only
write about something that I love writing about, something that turns me on,
something that-for some irrational reason that I can't pinpoint-makes me
want to sit down in front of a computer in the morning and work all day and
get high on the pure fun of it. This means that, no matter how good other
people's stories are, I can't use them; it means I can't decide to write a
story about air-brush tanning or Iraq because they're in the news. My ideas
are gifts from somewhere, perhaps my own unconscious; mysterious gifts for
which I am grateful.
  

    

As for Goddess595's question: "who might be a likely casting match up in
light of younger males for the two boyfriends," I'd like to turn it over to
everyone who's posted in this conference. My lips are sealed about the whole
casting issue, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. In fact, post about it,
and then go over to the genx conference and tell people to come over here
and cast the movie for me!
  

    
Boy oh boy, two weeks have zoomed right by! I'm so enjoying this discussion,
Mary and Kathi, and I want to thank both of your for joining us here in
Inkwell. Though we've turned our virtual spotlight onto another interview,
there's no reason this one must stop now. The topic will remain open for
further conversation, and you're welcome to stay as long as you want.
  

    

thanks for making this happen, Cynthia

and thanks, kathi, for the great questions
  

    
It's really been two weeks?  I can't believe it!  Thanks, Mary/Kate,
Cynthia, and Kathi, for a fun interview.  And Kate/Mary, thanks for a
fun book!  I look forward to your next one.
  

    

"Sweet Revenge" will be ready for you next May, tinymonster
  

    
i'm looking forward to it.

btw, after "stand in" becomes a smash hit, is it likely that "horses"
will get more interest?

is that the way hollywood tends to work?
  

    

Possibly, flash, but not necessarily since "The Stand In" is so different
from the "Horses" series. I think all three novels in the "Horses" triology
would make one (or maybe three) great movies, so we'll have to see.
  

    
Mary, I noticed that the copy of the book I got was in paperback. 
Does a book like this normally go straight to paperback with no
hardback release?  
  

    

That didn't used to be the case, but now many books come out in paperback,
skipping the hardback stage completely (the publishers realized a few years
back that hardly anyone bought hardback books and so they instituted this as
a cost-cutting measure). I like it, actually, because more of my friends are
in the mood to pay $7 for a book than $25.
  

    
It definitely made it easier to carry around on the train!
  

    

Checking in late (I was in Chicago where I could not get my computer to 
stay online--and where the "network was down" at 2 different hotels as 
well as the Public Library!!!!) to thank Mary for participating, and 
sharing the fun of The Stand In. It's been an honor to participate.
  

    

thanks for interviewing me, Kathi. This has indeed been a hellish month for
computers. I'm glad you're up and running again.