Welcome to the very first ever edition of Casting Call, hosted by Tee @ YA Crush, Sandie @ Teen Lit Rocks, Candice @ The Grown-Up YA, Dixie & Maggie @ Gone Pecan, and of course, me too! Each Friday we’ll take a couple characters from our favorite books and discuss who we’d think would be perfect for the roles! And of course this gives us the opportunity as well to rehash our favorite parts of the story and swoon over all those dream literary crushes of ours.
First up this week, we’re casting for The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith! If you haven’t read the book, here’s a quick summary from Goodreads and a link to my original review:
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. Having missed her flight, she’s stuck at JFK airport and late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.
My original review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight from 9/3/12
This week, we’ll all be casting the complete collection of characters since there are so few characters to choose from. I’ve got a total of five characters I’m casting: Hadley, Oliver, Andrew Sullivan (Hadley’s dad), Charlotte (step-mom-to-be), and Charlotte’s bridesmaid friend:
Bridgit Mendler as Hadley Sullivan
Hadley: Okay, so I know Hadley is supposed to have blue eyes, but when I was reading this book, I pictured a girl like Bridgit Mendler. Sort of a darker blonde, wavy-ish hair, and not a drop-dead gorgeous but more of a girl-next-door look. I thought she would be the perfect Hadley for my cast and okay, maybe we can give her some blue contact lenses if you really want to stick with the exact character description (whatever, I still think Daniel Radcliffe should have had green contacts… that was kind of a big part of story and I’m sorry if I’m still a little sour about that!) 
Dennis Quaid as Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan (Hadley’s father): I’ve been hoping to use Dennis Quaid as a dad in one of these Casting Calls for a while now and once I picked Bridgit as my Hadley, I was like, “Wow, they actually kind of look alike too!” I did some age checking and yep, that’s about right! Plus, he already knows how to play a dad who marries another woman after divorce (The Parent Trap). Ha!
Alex Pettyfer as Oliver
Oliver: Okay, so this one was tough for me. I needed a cute British guy who was young enough to play Oliver. I barely know many British actors much less young much less cute! So I had to go back and do a little research and the more I thought about it, the less I could avoid casting Alex Pettyfer. I mean, look at him! A little bit scruffy, darkish blonde hair, and for some reason I always pictured him in one of those knit caps that are fashionable nowadays. Hm. Anyway…
Sophia Myles as Charlotte
Charlotte (Stepmom): Shame on me for not remembering since I just read this book a month ago, but I can’t really remember the details about Charlotte. I pictured her blonde, somewhat younger than Hadley’s dad (maybe in her 30s) and of course, British. So I came up with Sophia Myles (best known from Tristan & Isolde and Underworld). I actually had a picture more like Christina Cole (the evil stepsister from What a Girl Wants with Amanda Bynes) but she was still a bit too young to be Hadley’s stepmom for me, so Sophia Myles was my next choice!
Sarah Parish as Violet
Violet: I love Sarah Parish! She’s the perfect best friend/supporting actress, she’s got great comedic timing and I absolutely pictured Charlotte’s friend as Sarah Parish. Although I think if we cast her in the movie, she might be a scene-stealer! Violet is Charlotte’s bridesmaid who seems to be some good support for Hadley even though she doesn’t know her and really, just a nice person in a time when Hadley feels alone and needs a helping hand, but refuses to ask for it. I think Sarah Parish would be great for this role!
Now I want to hear your thoughts!
Do you agree with my choices? Who would you have put in these roles? And as for every week, be sure to check out everyone else’s choices! Catch who they picked and show them some comment love too!
Sandie @ Teen Lit Rocks
Candice @ The Grown-Up YA
Tee @ YA Crush
Dixie @ Gone Pecan
And don’t miss us next Friday when we cast one of my favorite reads, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins!
6 thoughts on “Casting Call [4] – The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight”
This is such a cool idea; I had fun reading this post! 🙂
~ Alice
http://aliceinreaderland.wordpress.com/
This is always fun, because you always give so much thought to your picks. Even though I can’t get on board with Alex “Pretty”fer, I understand why you picked him. Obviously he’s hot, but now, I just can’t stomach him unless it’s in a supporting part like “In Time.” So much fun to see everyone’s selections.
Alex Pettyfer is such a dilemma. So, so pretty. So, so douchy. But hey, we don;t have to live with him/work with him/date him, so I’m going with the looks. He’s a good choice! And I love Bridgit Mendler. She’s just right–not an intimidating sort of beauty, just “girl next door”. Also, Dennie Quaid? He’s the perfect dad always!!! I also love that you mentioned the evil stepsister from What A Girl Wants (Colin Firth!!!). Have you seen Lost in Austen? She’s in that as Bingley’s sister and she’s so good as that still sort of evil pretty girl you have to hate.
I am so excited that you guys are casting a book I have read! I love the idea of Dennis Quaid being Hadley’s dad. He can definitely pull off the college professor look.
Haha, I definitely feel your pain regarding Daniel Radcliffe’s blue eyes in HP. I actually heard that he is super allergic to the stuff in contact lenses, which is why he couldn’t wear them. That he tried to, but he had a massive allergic reaction or something. But I still wanted him to have his green eyes. It’s sort of a sore spot for me too.
Speaking of eye color, one of the few things I like about the Twilight movies is that Kristin Stewart used brown contact lenses to make her eyes brown. As a brown-eyed girl, I like to see more brown-eyed heroines. Not that I want to emulate Bella, but I do love that she has brown eyes. I think Elizabeth Bennet has brown eyes, too 🙂
Alex Pettyfer is so cute. I’m not sure if he is who I pictured Oliver as, but if they were to make a movie of this book, and Alex was cast as Oliver, I certainly wouldn’t complain.
once again, i love Bridget Mendler and Dennis Quaid. I understand the trap of Alex Pettyfer, he’s so hot, but such a douche in real life. Sophia Myles is actually pretty perfect as Charlotte, great job all around!
heehee I know, I won’t use him again! It’s just so hard when I get a specific picture in my mind. He’s the closest person I could find. I’m really, really happy with my other choices though 😀