Robert Goddard's "The Ways of the World," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: The Ways of the World: A James Maxted Thriller by Robert Goddard.

The entry begins:

As a member of a generation that grew up with television (even if I had to go to
a neighbour’s house to see it in the earliest years) my imagination is fed on pictures. We writers of the TV age see stories unfolding before us as we write them. In that sense, they’re movies even before we start envisaging how they’d look and play out on the big (or small) screen.

Casting the ideal film version of my book is tricky work, because I describe the physical appearance of characters and see them in my mind as I write about them. They’re never identical to a particular actor. But the skill of the casting agent is to see who fits a part for a whole variety of reasons, so here goes.

The two principal characters in The Ways of the World and the books that will follow it, Max and Sam, need to be played by unknowns (soon to become famous, of course) so that their individual personalities are unique from the start. They’re both wonderful acting opportunities.

I have big names in mind for some of the supporting roles, however. As Schools Morahan, towering Irish-American soldier of fortune, there could be no-one better than Liam Neeson. As Travis Ireton, his shady partner, I think Robert...[read on]

Visit Robert Goddard's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Ways of the World.

--Marshal Zeringue