JAMIE’S BLOG: Thoughts on Casting

Hello Evers and Nevers,

It’s Jamie Trope (https://www.instagram.com/snail_jam.sge/), the Ever Never TV intern and SGE Movie Ambassador once again writing for the SGE website. I’m writing this guest blog to speak about The School for Good and Evil movie – more specifically, its casting!

I’m in awe of the casting decisions made by the Netflix movie team as more and more casting announcements roll out (see: Sofia Wylie, Sophia Anne Caruso, Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh). These are well-established, good and fantastic actors. (Though in the case of the actors playing Evil students and teachers, I suppose it would be better to say that they are evil and fantastic actors.)

When reading (and rereading and rereading) the School for Good and Evil books, I visualize my own version of the SGE characters, and it is no surprise that the Netflix casting team has their own take on what each SGE character looks like. My memories and own experiences influence how I see the SGE characters and locations: one of my friends influenced how I see Hort, and my time spent at summer camp influenced how I see the SGE dorm rooms. What’s fun about a movie is that it’s a group of people’s interpretations of a text!

For example:

This is how I imagine Gavaldon

This is how another SGE fan imagines Gavaldon

And this is how a third SGE fan sees Gavaldon

All three of us chose different images after reading the same book! It’s super cool to see how everyone interprets the same text differently, and the Netflix team will bring to life their own version of the book.

With a whole group of people coming together, combining their imaginations and experiences, the result is something new entirely – a new take on the SGE series that no one has ever seen before. (And if I said I was “just” excited to see the final result, I’d be downplaying my emotions. I CANNOT wait to watch the movie!)

The Netflix casting team has a big and exciting job on their hands: casting many actors all at once for a variety of different roles, actors who can embody their characters’ mannerisms, emotions, and speech patterns.

Once the actors don their makeup, their costumes, and enter the set, it will not matter if an actor has shorter hair/different eyes/is taller than what’s described in the book; what will matter is the performance. And I have complete confidence that each actor chosen by the Netflix casting team will excel in their roles.

I cannot wait to see Agatha and Sophie interact in a live-action format. (And just think about all of the new meme/art content the movie will give us; the possibilities will be as endless as the Endless Woods!)

Warmly,

Jamie