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The Characters in Your Mind
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Sometimes the characters are similar to people I know, but most times it's an actor that sticks in my mind. I'm always disappointed when a movie is made and they use the WRONG actor. Damn them.In the book Mystic River, Jimmy Markum looks like the actor Chaz Palminteri in my head: short, squat, brooding, and dark. And they give me Sean Penn in the movie: short, pale, whiny, and ugly.
In Horns, I picture Ig looking just like Paul Rudd: friendly, charming, self-effacing, and kind.
hahahaha I cast all the books I read. I do it at night when I cant sleep. For some reason its more effective then counting sheep. Johnny Depp seems to get a lot of work
Sometimes I imagine how the characters look like but most of the times I don't.But come to think of it, I kinda imagine Judas Coyne from "Hearth Shaped Box" as an older Rob Zombie.
http://www.frontrowking.com/images/ro...
Kinda like that pic.
This is the main reason I can't read a book after I've seen the movie. It has to be book first or the actor from the movie automatically becomes the character for me.
Same for me, Kristy. It's very aggravating to only have the actors face in your mind as you're reading the story.
I usually think of the characters just like the author describes them, usually...Sometimes I imagine them with the wrong hair color though.
It ruins it for me if I cast a famous person as characters in my favorite books. I prefer to paint them as close to the writer's description as much as possible, which means they don't usually resemble anything like the famous actors, but are their own unique people. The only time I would want to use a celebrity is in the PNR novels, when I like to imagine my favorite sexy actor in the role of that werewolf or vampire.
Whenever a character is supposed to be ultra handsome or beautiful, I can easily make them that in my mind. If I see the movie version first, then even though the actor is attractive, there's always something lacking from what my own imagination could have created. Am I the only one who does this certain thing?I can remember reading The Thorn Birds back in the '80s. Meggie is supposed to be so beautiful as a child and adult that she seduced a priest (OK, not that difficult, but bear with me). When I saw the actor who played her--Rachel somebody--she was very pretty but she didn't live up to my own creation.
I guess beauty is subjective. I thought Rachel Ward was stunningly beautiful, and in a complex way.
I guess so. It was probably due to Colleen McCullough's build up to the image of a stunning beauty in this great character that made me expect even more than Rachel Ward, who is very pretty. No reflection on Ward at all.
I freaking hate reading a book after a movie but sometimes I have to do it. I did it with both Pet Sematary and The Exorcist and had the shitty characters from PS in my mind the entire time. It really annoyed me. Not so much with The Exorcist. I just don't see it that way. In the book possessed Regan is way scarier.
I usually come up with my own visualization of the character.But, when Silence of the Lambs came out in theaters, I went out and bought the book before seeing the movie. Knowing the casting, I couldn't help but visualize Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. It totally worked for me :)
Bill wrote: "I usually come up with my own visualization of the character.But, when Silence of the Lambs came out in theaters, I went out and bought the book before seeing the movie. Knowing the casting, I cou..."
Some movie characters are just perfect as visual tools. These two are.
Renee wrote: "hahahaha I cast all the books I read. I do it at night when I cant sleep. For some reason its more effective then counting sheep. Johnny Depp seems to get a lot of work"Many thanks , I`ve been having trouble sleeping recently since I work nightshift and dayshifts , my sleeping patterns can really get to me ,nothing worse than having some total nonsense running through your head that you just can`t shake , now I just try to picture actors as my favourite books characters , so much better ....
My picture of the character in my mind is based on how he or she is described in the book. Sometimes, I will place a familiar face just because there are enough similarities mentioned, but usually it's a whole new individual I am seeing.
F. Paul Wilson's "Repairman Jack" is a supervisor at the factory I work at, Stephen King's "Odetta Walker" is a old woman who used to live down the street from me.
When you build a book character in your mind, does it end up as an imaginary person built from the description in the book, or some face you are familiar with?