Toby Ball's "Invisible Streets"

Toby Ball was born in Washington, DC, grew up in Syracuse, NY, and attended Trinity College (CT). He has had stints in journalism (Congressional Quarterly), education (one memorable year as a high school social studies teacher), and nonprofits (the Carbon Coalition among others). He is now the Business Manager at the Crimes against Children Research Center and the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. He lives in Durham, NH, with his wife and two children.

Ball's novels include The Vaults, Scorch City, and the newly released Invisible Streets.

Here Ball dreamcasts an adaptation of Invisible Streets:

While I visualize scenes before writing them, I’ve never mentally put specific actors in the place of characters. I have a pretty strong sense of what I think the characters look like and what their demeanor is, and these two factors drove my thinking when casting these parts. So, without further ado:

Phil Dorman – Channing Tatum. This was the hardest one to cast. You need a younger guy, handsome, physically strong, who also conveys intelligence. Nobody seemed perfect, but Tatum seems close.

Torsten Grip – Mark Wahlberg. He’s not a great physical match, but he definitely can project that middle-age tough guy aura mixed with a hint of regret.

Frank Frings – Stanley Tucci. Sixty-ish, smart, charming, and attractive without looking like a model. He also has the right amount of toughness for when the chips are down.

Nathan Canada – Paul Giamatti. I think he could have a lot of fun with this role – similar in a way to what Ben Kingsley did in Sexy Beast. You can intimidate through force of personality rather than physical presence.

Speaking of whom…Panos Dimitropolous – Ben Kingsley. A once-big man, now shrunken and physically weak, but still mentally strong.

Will Ebanks – Johnny Depp. Again, not a great physical match, but he could portray the combination of languor, self-importance, and suppressed rage.

Joss Eastgate – Elizabeth Olson. I really like her as an actress and think she would be great as a child of wealth who is more enthusiastic about than committed to her passing interests.

Stanley Kubrick would have to direct.

Visit Toby Ball's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Vaults.

Writers Read: Toby Ball.

--Marshal Zeringue