The entry begins:This was tremendously fun to think about, though I doubt that The First Rule of Swimming would be easy to adapt (the plot is a bit too twisty and the book cuts back and forth through so many different time periods). That said, my characters are like children I’ve single-handedly created, and I’m more than a bit possessive. I have definite ideas about the “types” of actors I see in the roles.Visit Courtney Angela Brkic's website and learn more about The First Rule of Swimming.
By way of background, the novel is about three generations of siblings in a single Croatian family. Luka and Vinka fight in the Second World War, Marin and Ana must contend with Communism, and Magdalena and Jadranka come of age during the 1991-1995 war. They’re from Rosmarina, a small, remote island in the southern Adriatic Sea.
Most of the plot unfolds in the present, around Magdalena, a Rosmarina schoolteacher who can’t bear the idea of leaving the island, and her younger sister, Jadranka, an artist who can’t wait to leave. I’d love to see someone like Franka Potente play Magdalena (i.e, someone with a lot of character and a certain amount of edge). For Jadranka, Lauren Ambrose (whom I loved in Six Feet Under). And maybe Branka Katic (from Big Love) in the role of Katarina, their cousin. Magdalena’s love interest is Damir, a journalist, and I think...[read on]
Writers Read: Courtney Angela Brkic.
My Book, The Movie: The First Rule of Swimming.
--Marshal Zeringue
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