Fans of Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié’s New York Times bestselling Wicked series got a huge surprise on Monday. DreamWorks Studios (known for other book adaptations such as The Kite Runner and forthcoming The Lovely Bones ) bought the movie rights to the five-book saga, which tells the story of Holly Cathers, a descendent of a coven of witches (who falls for a guy from their rival House).
Nancy Holder
Since we know that a call from DreamWorks is a dream-come-true for an author hoping for a movie deal, we had to contact Holder and Viguié for their reactions to the news.
Debbie Viguié
“Once we hit the New York Times bestseller list, the nibbles we’d had on our books became more serious,” said Holder in an e-mail interview. “Then about three months ago, our literary agent, Howard Morhaim, and our film agent, Michael Prevett of Gotham Group, started preparing us that serious negotiations were about to begin, but I kept a lid on my hopes. Once we were in negotiations with DreamWorks, it dawned on me that we’d been writing about the reality of magic for seven years, and something magical was happening to us. I really took a look at the name of the studio…dream/works. A place that creates dreams. And makes them come true. I think every writer daydreams about selling a novel to a place like DreamWorks, but in our case, we stand to sell them five.”
What Wicked scene do you most want to see on the big screen?
Nancy Holder: Well, avoiding any spoilers, I would love to see one of the big battles. I want to see Holly face down Michael Deveraux. And I would really love to see the scene with the birds in the skies of London. A certain song based on a ballad that we used would be lovely to hear on the soundtrack.
Debbie Viguié: Is it cheating if I say “all of them”? Seriously, from the second book, I’d love to see the scene where Nicole meets up with the Spanish coven in Europe.
Are there any actresses you envision as Holly, Amanda or Nicole?
NH: There have been some great fan YouTubes suggesting various actresses. I loved talking to the casting director(s) at “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” about how the show was cast. So much more goes into it than simply figuring out who would make a great Holly or a wonderful Nicole. The actors have to have chemistry with each other as well. Here are some actresses I would hope could have some sort of role in Wicked: Danielle Panabaker, Emily Browning, Zoe Saldana, Bryce Dallas Howard, Eva Green, Emily Blunt, Evan Rachel Wood, Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman. I would love it if Adrien Brody could have a part. BTW, Richard Dean Anderson is my guilty pleasure. I usually watch between five and ten episodes of “Stargate SG-1” a week.
DV: “Who would you cast?” is one of the favorite games my husband and I play. I’ve got ideas for several of the older parts, and I also love all the fan suggestions. I’d love to see Molly C. Quinn as either Nicole or Amanda, Jensen Ackles as Eli and Jackie Earle Haley as Uncle Richard.
What project are you working on right now?
NH: I’m so happy that Debbie and I are still working together! We’re just about to turn in Crusade: Converted, the first book in a new series for Simon and Schuster. It’s similiar in style and tone to Wicked, but it concerns a band of vampire hunters based in Salamanca, Spain, after the “Cursed Ones” have declared war on the human race. I’m in love with it.
