Friday, August 10, 2007

Karen E. Olson's "Annie Seymour" mysteries

Karen E. Olson writes the Annie Seymour mystery series: Sacred Cows, Secondhand Smoke, and the upcoming Dead of the Day. Annie Seymour is a crime reporter in New Haven, Connecticut.

Here Olson speculates about which actors might best portray her characters in a film adaptation of the novels:
When the character of Annie Seymour popped into my head, she was tough, sarcastic and funny and litters her sentences with four-letter words. She is like a lot of newspaper reporters and editors I’ve met through my 20-year career. But I have never actually “seen” her in my head and never describe her physically except that she has wild hair and thinks she’s taller than she is.

Because of that, I never pictured one particular actress, since I would cast less on physical appearance and more on how the actress could capture Annie’s personality. I’ve thought Parker Posey would probably be the best bet. She’s portrayed a variety of characters, so the audience wouldn’t have any expectations one way or the other.

Vinny DeLucia, the private eye who catches Annie’s eye, is described as looking remarkably like a young Frank Sinatra. However, if the movie were to be made today, I’d choose Dominic West. For Detective Tom Behr, I see Daniel Craig.

Any director who tackles Annie’s story would have to know a newsroom. There are so few journalism movies that capture what working at a newspaper is really like. The Paper with Michael Keaton did that pretty well, and a great older movie –30 with Jack Webb is good, too. I’d love to see David Simon as director and writer, because he’s been in the trenches and produces such great work.

And the soundtrack? Definitely the Rolling Stones. Early Stones. It’s all Annie listens to.
Visit Karen E. Olson's website to learn more about her and her books.

--Marshal Zeringue