Episode 318 || Casting Call, Vol. 4

Annie is joined by her casting experts, Courtney Kinsey, FTFP royals correspondent and co-host of the podcast I Do Declare; and Julie Anna Helms, @julieannareads on Instagram and creator of Who Would You Cast? polls. The three are casting One to Watch this week.

One to Watch is available for purchase at The Bookshelf, and you can cast your votes on our castings on Julie Anna’s Instagram stories on Sunday.

From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com.

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found below.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, Annie is reading Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian. Julie Anna is reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and Courtney Kinsey is reading Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld.

If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.

episode transcript

Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South.

“I'm afraid that you're looking for your next chapter, and I'm looking for the whole rest of the book.” - Kate Stayman-London, One to Watch

I’m Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and today, I’m joined by regular guests Julie Anna Helms and Courtney Kinsey for another edition of Casting Call. If you’re new here, our Casting Call episodes are inspired by friend, fellow book club member, and bookstagrammer Julie Anna (you might know her best as @julieannareads on Instagram). Julie Anna regularly casts her favorite books in polls on her Instagram stories in a feature she calls “Who Would You Cast?”, and Courtney and I often make our casting contributions via DM and text. Julie Anna has graciously allowed us to take that idea and turn them into a series of episodes on From the Front Porch; together, we’ve previously cast Mexican Gothic, Beach Read, and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. Today, we’re tackling Kate Stayman-London’s One to Watch, and you can cast your votes on our casting this Sunday.

Julie Anna and Courtney, welcome back to the show!

Courtney Kinsey: [00:01:45] Hello. Thanks for having us.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:01:47] Hi Annie.

Annie: [00:01:48] Yay. I'm so glad you guys are here. Julie Anna. You want to give us a synopsis of One to Watch?

Julie Anna Helms: [00:01:53] Absolutely. 30 something year old plus size fashion blogger, Bea Shoemaker has always been unlucky in love, [00:02:00] but a recent heartbreak has left her reeling. When she's asked to be the next star of Main Squeeze, a Bacheolar-esque reality show where in contestants fight for the heart of one lucky gal, she agrees for the sake of possibly furthering her career, but only under one condition. Under no circumstances, will she actually fall in love, or will she?

Courtney Kinsey: [00:02:19] Beautiful.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:02:21] Thank you. Pretty proud of it.

Annie: [00:02:25] Okay. So I read this book a year ago. I looked at my previous review and I read it a year ago. Courtney, I think you did too, right. Did you read it a while ago?

Courtney Kinsey: [00:02:34] No, I think I actually, well, I read it when it came out. Okay. So if it came out last year then sure. But I didn't read it like early or anything.

Annie: [00:02:43] Okay. Yeah. I didn't either. I read it. I read it when it released last summer. Um, Laura at the, on the bookshelf staff, she, and I read it kind of at the same time, but Julie Anna, you read it recently?

Julie Anna Helms: [00:02:53] Yes. I just finished it last weekend, actually, as of this recording, um, I got it from the library.

Annie: [00:02:59] Yeah. [00:03:00] Okay. So why don't you Julie Anna, tell us what you thought of One to Watch?

Julie Anna Helms: [00:03:04] I enjoyed it. I, I really like romcoms, especially for a pallet cleanser after reading something super deep and so I enjoyed it, but it, it did have really deep themes to it as well, which I think more and more romcoms nowadays do kind of have that in the background. Um, and this one, definitely. I mean, we, we get a lot of discussion around, you know, especially the bad side of the current bachelor franchise, which I think we, we all watch a little bit of, you know, in a cringey way of knowing that there are definitely some things that need to be addressed.

Um, and hopefully we'll be now that, you know, a lot of things have come to light. And I think that it did a good job of tackling those head on and not really shying away from them um, without it being too much, I mean, it still had the fun element of her finding love and we do still get a happy ending at the end of it.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:03:54] Yeah, I would agree. I love the show, Unreal. I don't think it's on [00:04:00] anymore, but the show based on the bachelor on lifetime and this kind of felt like a mix of that and then like a lighter romcom. Um, so I really liked that kind of juxtaposition of The Unreal, like here's all the dirty behind the scenes stuff of these types of shows, but then here's the love story and the comedy and the things that I enjoy to read as Julie Anna said, as a palate cleanser. Yeah.

Annie: [00:04:25] Yeah. I thought it was the best bachelor season I'd ever read. I just would prefer, I would prefer. For to watch Bea's love story, come to life. Then I would probably watch another season of the bachelor or bachelorette and I've watched a lot of those

Julie Anna Helms: [00:04:40] Absolutely. I enjoyed in the book that all of the contestants were so drastically different from each other. I feel like, I mean, they, they kind of did a nod to the whole, I think Chad was the name. There were like five Chads in the book and she doesn't even remember, like they all go, you know, by Chad Y, Chad X. [00:05:00] Um, and she can't even remember any of them. And so they do still kind of do a nod to yeah on the regular bachelor, you know, they all start to kind of run together in a group of Chads.

But, um, in this one, the, especially the final contestants were all so different from each other and it was very easy to keep them separate in your head. Um, you, you weren't constantly trying to remember, Oh, was that this character who had done this, it was very clear. I think she did a great job with that, which can get overwhelming when there's a huge cast.

Annie: [00:05:26] Yeah. Yeah, I liked how all the guys were different and it made for an interesting casting, like looking at the actors for the, for the imaginary movie or show we're creating.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:05:36] Right. Absolutely. I definitely think it's going to come through in, in our picks. Um, with that said, do you want me to dive in to the character list? Um, so how this works with the podcast is I will give a character description. Um, if the author gives any type of physical descriptors, I'll also include that in. Luckily in this book, the author does a great job of giving physical descriptors [00:06:00] of the characters and even, you know, some personality traits as well.

So most of what I'm going to say here is directly quoted from the book so I'll give her some credit on that, but I will read the character description and then we will pick snake draft style. So Annie is going to go first, Courtney is going to get stuck in the middle and then I'll go at the end. And then the next round it'll be me then courtney then Annie.

So we will start with Annie doing her first pick, but I will read the description of the first. So, as I said earlier, Bea is a plus size fashion blogger. She is broken hearted and has some trust issues and insecurities. Physical descriptors are that she has dark hair and blue eyes and lovely curves. So Annie, who did you pick for Bea?

Annie: [00:06:40] Okay. I decided to cast actress, Melanie Field. Melanie is kind of an up and coming actress. Have you guys, do you guys know her?

Julie Anna Helms: [00:06:49] Yes.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:06:49] I'm looking at her picture now and I am loving her in this role.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:06:54] Yes, very stylish.

Annie: [00:06:56] Right. It's so good and she is, she [00:07:00] played a minor role on the show Shrill with Aidy Bryant, but did you guys know? I did not. They're doing A League of Their Own reboot and she's in it. She, so Melanie Field is in that show. And so I feel like she's kind of this up and coming actress. I feel like she would definitely take a role like this and it could kind of cement her career or like move her forward, propel her forward in her career.

Plus I just think she has the look. She doesn't have blue eyes, but she's got this really striking hair. She has great eyebrows. I feel like Bea is a beauty blogger, right? So to me, this kind of, this face of makeup, like the hot new looks. I feel like that would be perfect for Bea.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:07:39] Oh, definitely. She could, she could totally pull that off and one of my favorite parts of the book too, was the fashion. Um, we're not going to cast the fashion director of the show because we just have so many people to get through, but she was, she was one of my favorite characters just because she didn't shy away from, from using color and using patterns.

And, you know, I think in plus fashion, they either tend to go way too [00:08:00] far with that or to not go far enough and, you know, just all sad colors and so I really liked that. That she embraced, I guess, that fashion blocker side for, for the, the Main Squeeze that year, which was Bea um, I thought she did a great job with that. So I think he could pull that off. Uh, Courtney, who is your pick?

Courtney Kinsey: [00:08:18] Okay. So speaking of shrill, my selection was Aidy Bryant. Um, I feel like she is obviously very funny and in looking at pictures of her, I feel like she does glam very well. Um, the picture I chose in my little character description, I was like, Oh, she looks like she knows yeah, like all the labels, the trends, and what I liked about Bea, in what kind of gets her into this whole situation is she has a really popular Twitter account and she tweets about the show Main Squeeze.

And I feel like that is something that Aidy Bryant would really bring to this role. Someone who's really quick and [00:09:00] witty because that's really what gets her noticed by the producers is like her, you know, banter on Twitter and her like popular blog and all of that stuff that sometimes kind of behind the scenes and I just think she has a really likable quality that you root for so I'd love to see her in more romantic comedy kind of work. Um, apart from like silly, you know, Saturday night live skits, or even in the shows, uh, Shrill.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:09:25] Yeah. Yeah. I think as the fake producers of this fake movie, we would just have a delightful time working with her because of her experience on SNL, like her quick wit for it, because you're right. Bea has some fingers that she kind of aims at some of the characters they were being super nasty to her and I definitely think Aidy could, could pull off that attitude piece of it. I love it. Okay. So next up is my pick for Bea and might be tiny bit controversial because she is not a traditional actress. Um, but it is Ashley Graham.

Many of you probably know her [00:10:00] from her plus size modeling, especially of bathing suits. She is probably one of the most gorgeous human beings that I've ever seen. Um, she just has this look about her, that you want to keep looking at her. Isn't she? Um, so she has, she has some hosting gigs under her belt.

She's done a lot of like entertainment tonight, hosting on the Billy Bush show, CBS this morning. And also if you will remember, she was on that Joe Jonas toothbrush music video. I would argue that that didn't take a whole lot of acting to have some chemistry with Joe Jonas, but she still pulled it off pretty well, rolling around in that bed. Um, she was my pick for, for Bea. All right. I think we're off to a great start.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:10:42] I like that.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:10:44] All right. Up next is Lauren. So Lauren is the new producer of Main Squeeze. She is ambitious and a pusher. Her physical descriptors from the book is that she has rail thin, has glossy straight Auburn hair, freckles, and Hazel eyes. [00:11:00] So. I guess I'm going first on this one. Um, my pick for Lauren is Jessica Chastain. You would probably know her from Zero Dark 30. She was also in Molly's Game and in the horror movie IT, she has got excellent bone structure and she can pull off a suit like nobody's business.

Um, in the Google docs that we send to each other. Um, I have a picture of her actually in a suit and she just looks like all business. Um, so I think that, that she could pull off the show runner, gonna get everybody in line, this is how we're doing this. And she also plays a pretty pivotal role in convincing Bea to really embrace the show. Um, Bea is very hesitant when she first joined the cast and, and like I said, she's very hesitant to actually fall in love with anyone. And Lauren kind of pushes her towards that. So that was my Lauren. All right. What about you, Courtney? Who was your Lauren?

Courtney Kinsey: [00:11:58] Okay. My Lauren [00:12:00] is Jenna Malone. Um, I, when I saw the descriptor of her being so thin and having the red hair sort of, um, I have thought about Jenna Malone in the hunger games. Yeah. And I forget her character, but in that she's obviously very intense and then, um, even in one of my favorite movies Saved.

Annie: [00:12:24] I don't know. Kinda a deep cut It's a good movie. Good movie.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:12:28] Yeah. Just how, like, she kind of. And, you know, she has that arc of sort of wanting to like fit in with the, like the, who are viewed as like the nice kids and then kind of gets into trouble and so I feel like she does have the ability to be, um, like, Hey, I'm on your side, like it's us against them, but then when she needs to turn it on, she can be really, almost hateful and like a little bit vindictive and yeah, then just her facial expressions. I feel like she is, uh, someone who looks like a master [00:13:00] manipulator so I really liked her for this role.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:13:03] Yeah, I guess that's a good one. I feel like we haven't seen her recently either. Yeah.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:13:08] And I don't know that she's ever done like a romantic comedy like this. I feel like she is usually in more like indie or like intense kind of films. So I feel like this would be a good difference departure from that.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:13:19] Yeah. That's a great pick. All right, Annie, who is yours?

Annie: [00:13:23] Okay. Mine is actress Willa Holland. So she has been in The OC and gossip girl, but I guess she right now is known for Arrow, which is like a show on the CW. But I picked her for some of the reasons Courtney mentioned she picked Jenna. Like I wanted somebody who was going to be super like friendly and win Bea over and then who could like turn on a dime and when I looked up pictures of Willa on Google images, because now my Google image search is a real fun place to be.

But when I was looking at pictures of Willa, she [00:14:00] changes so drastically depending on like her hair cut and color and her facial expressions and so I felt like, Oh, she looks like somebody who could make you think she was going to be your new best friend, but then in reality could turn on you on a dime. And I thought this picture kind of showed that, but there's also some pictures of her with like a bobbed haircut that I really liked. Like I almost put that instead and so I just feel like she could easily play both sides of that character. I find that character to be really interesting in the book and I, I think it'd be fun to have her kind of play that.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:14:36] Yeah. Is she had the little sister on the OC, is she Marissa sister?

Annie: [00:14:41] I think that's right.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:14:43] Youtuber. They look similar.

Annie: [00:14:45] She's all grown up now.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:14:46] Yeah, they do look, they do look similar and I think being a little sister on a dramatic show, like that is probably good practice for being in this role, for sure.

Annie: [00:14:56] Yeah. And I kept thinking about the show, you mentioned Unreal, which I [00:15:00] loved and how that producer on that show, like one minute, like to the main character or the, the main space, like would be super nice and kind, and then behind the scenes was just cut throat and so I really wanted somebody who could do that.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:15:14] Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. So next up, we are going to dive into the male contestants on the show. Um, and just to note about these, one of the main things that Bea harps on when she agrees to join the show is that she wants it to be about body diversity, right? Um, she is a plus size fashion blogger. That's very important to her. And so Lauren, the producer agrees that she will have a very diverse cast of men to choose from but when it comes down to it, that is not what happens.

Um, as far as body shape and body size, um, she has given one contestant who is a plus sized contestant, and then the rest are, you know, traditional thin, very muscular men. So just to note that the [00:16:00] ones that we are going to be casting fall within that, um, and that is discussed in the book that she is very disappointed and frustrated that, you know, the producers kind of I guess misguided her on how it was going to play out. Um, so that is discussed in the book and that she is frustrated and disappointed in that.

Um, but these are the characters that, that end up going through. Um, I don't want to give any spoilers, but mostly to the end so they are who we pick to cast. The first character that we will cast. I misspoke. He's actually not a contestant, but is he, um, is Ray. So Ray, again, no spoilers, but, um, Ray is an attorney, he is a former co-worker and love interest of Bea. He is very sure of himself and self-centered. The physical descriptors are that he has thick dark hair and smoldering Brando eyes. So Annie you're up first, who was your pick for Ray?

[00:17:00] Annie: [00:16:59] Okay. My pick is Robbie Amell. Uh, he is from The Duff, which is one of my favorite movies. It's so good. I love it. He also is on the show Upload, which Jordan and I watched during the pandemic and really liked a lot.

I think it's on Amazon prime. It's fantastic. I cast him because to me, he is very traditionally handsome. Like he falls under my too handsome category. But he also, he can play like almost smarmy attorney. Like I was trying to picture like kind of cocky arrogant attorney, but he also strikes me as somebody Bea could fall in love with like kind of playful and I could see him being like a teasing coworker, kind of like his teasing attitude in The Duff.

And so I feel like he could do both of those things, but he's really traditionally handsome. He's got. Uh, if you recall from the Duff, just lots of abs, so many abs. And so I just think he'd be, he'd be fun. And I really am rooting for his career. I really [00:18:00] liked him a lot. And I feel like this is the kind of movie that he could be in.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:18:04] Yes. He, he definitely falls within that traditionally handsome, you know, dark hair, dark guys, kind of guy. All right. Courtney, who was your pick for Ray?

Courtney Kinsey: [00:18:13] Okay. My pick for Ray is David Walton. He was, I do too. He was in About a Boy, the TV show version and, um, New Girl. I was like, he's kind of been in a lot of different things, but that's mostly what I know him from. Um, I'm just going to read my reasoning because I think it's a great quote, hot jerk with fantastic hair, can be goofy and likable, but also a bit smarmy.

I think that's what we want because like not to give too much away, but you know, obviously Ray has some qualities that Bea liked, so he can't be a total jerk, but they have that friendship and then things happen and so I feel like you need both sides of the guy that can be like your attractive friend or your friend that you're [00:19:00] attracted to, but then also that he's going to have some not so great qualities as well. Um, and I think David is probably a lovely person, but when I was reading this, I pictured him in this role like just kind of aloof that, you know, this person that you've known forever is in love with you.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:19:15] Yeah. That's perfect, Courtney.

Annie: [00:19:17] Can I tell you?

Julie Anna Helms: [00:19:18] Oh, go ahead, Courtney. I need you to write my character descriptors for me because that was perfect.

Annie: [00:19:26] Can I tell you my dream role for David Walton? Because I also want good things for his career. I don't know that I really want this, but I just always picture him as the main character in a reboot of Cheers. Like I feel like he could be Sam Malone.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:19:41] Oh, my gosh. Yes, that's so good.

Annie: [00:19:46] I love him.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:19:46] Yeah. Maybe next time we need to cast the reboot of Cheers man.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:19:51] Yeah let's cast a TV show.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:19:53] Yeah. Okay. So I'm next for my pick for Ray is, uh, Sebastian Stan. [00:20:00] He is getting a lot of buzz right now because of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier which is I think all Disney plus. Um, but he was also in Gossip Girl, way back in the day and then he was on I Tonya, which was about Tonya Harding. And that's why I picked him actually is because he is such a great villain in that movie where you can understand why Tonya was attracted to him and why he was appealing and she would continue going back to him. But then he was just a turd every single time. And so you're like, why are you doing this?

And you kind of get some of that anger in the book too and Bea where you're like, no, this is not what is best for you. So he is who I picked for Ray. All right. So up next, now we're getting into, um, the different casts from the show. So up first is Asher. He is a history professor in Vermont. He is standoffish and serious. He is physical and otherwise descriptors are that he is Asian-American, has black [00:21:00] glasses and thick salt and pepper hair. So I am up first for Asher.

I had a couple of people mind for Asher, and I actually kind of want you guys to help me pick between these two, because I think both of them have their own merits. So if you want to look at my spreadsheet right now, I said, either Henry Golding from Crazy Rich Asians and Last Christmas, Or Steven Yeun from Minari and also I know him from the Walking Dead.

I think they both could pull it off for different reasons. I think Henry Golding is kind of the more like traditional handsome. He's got that hairspray swoop going. I can see them with a salt and pepper here. Um, but I think Steven is an excellent actor too and so of the two, who would you, who would you pick or had you already picked one of these?

Annie: [00:21:49] No, I have not.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:21:51] I have not picked those two. I think I almost picked Henry Golding cause I was like, but I worried he was [00:22:00] too young. Cause Asher is a dad, right? Like a dad of a teenager, I think and so for me, I was like, uh, I always think of him as kind of that Crazy Rich Asians, like young, I don't know, not that he was young in that, but I pictured him skewing younger and so I picked someone a little more mature looking, but so I would have these two, I think I would go with Steven. Okay.

Annie: [00:22:26] And I like Steven too, cause he's kind of an unusual pick. So Henry Golding was one of my, and I actually had trouble deciding, but I kind of like the idea of Steven, because he's slightly more nerdy looking, I guess that's with Asher too as like slightly nerdy, as nerdy as we get on the bachelor or rightfully bachelor type show. So I kind of like Steven. Okay,

Julie Anna Helms: [00:22:47] perfect. Yeah. It's like, Oh, he wears glasses. That means he must be a nerd. Is that what you call it? Um, okay. So we will go with Steven Yuen. So Courtney, who was your pick for Asher?

[00:23:00] Courtney Kinsey: [00:22:59] Okay. Am I pick for Asher is Simu Liu. He is in, uh, or was on Kim's Convenience and he's actually going to be the first Asian superhero in an upcoming Marvel movie. So he is definitely a hot nerd professor. Like the, I think he's very handsome and because he's in a Marvel movie, he's pretty buff.

Um, but I think that, and I've watched interviews that he's done, um, especially recently, and he is very well-spoken and I feel like he can pull off that professor intellectual vibe, but also be someone who's you know, obviously classically handsome, like being cast on this show. Um, and so I thought that he would make a good, interesting pick, and I don't know that he's done any, um, I know he's done some comedy being in the sitcom world, but I don't know that he's done any sort of comedic movie role so I feel like this would be interesting for him. Yeah.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:23:56] He looks great in that bow tie too. Good hair.

[00:24:00] Courtney Kinsey: [00:23:59] Yeah. I forgot to mention the hair.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:24:02] All right, Annie, who was your pick for Asher?

Annie: [00:24:04] Okay. I picked Harry Shum Jr. And the picture I chose, I specifically was trying to find a guy who looked hot in glasses and so I had narrowed it down to two people and then I decided to Google each of them with glasses following their name, these pictures of Harry Shum, Jr. Plus, okay. My heart broke a little bit because no sequel has come out of the crazy rich Asians movie. Like I thought we were going to get a whole trilogy of those movies and we haven't and his, his role was a little bit diminished in that first movie.

And he was promised like a bigger role in the second movie and nothing has ever happened with that so I'm really bummed for him because I thought he was so charming. And the first movie, some people might recognize him from Glee. Yes. But I just think he's super cute in glasses. And I feel like he could, Courtney I'd forgotten that he is a little bit older, but I think with the [00:25:00] glasses, he could pull off the older look a little bit and I just, again, it comes back to whenever I was kind of at a loss, I was like, whose career am I rooting for? I'm really rooting for his, and I want him to get his time as a romantic lead. So yeah, that's my, yeah.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:25:16] You mentioned this earlier, but God bless our Google search histories. I like that like their progression was searching for people and then their names plus glasses.

Annie: [00:25:31] It is and the other guy, I could find no image with glasses, but then eye doctors started popping up. So I was like, nope thats a nope.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:25:39] Perfect. Perfect. Okay. So we will go on to the next contestant, which is Sam. So Sam is a former Teach for America teacher and current volunteer basketball coach. He is a bit aimless, but incredibly kind and sincere. So physical and otherwise descriptors are it's pointing out that he is very young. He is in [00:26:00] his early twenties whereas other contestants are mid thirties and older, including Bea. Um, he is Black with a broad, muscular frame, a thick mustache and a dazzling smile. So any, who did you pick for Sam?

Annie: [00:26:12] Okay. This I think was my favorite guy to cast. So I picked Alfred Enoch he's from Harry Potter and he's also from How to Get Away with Murder and again, Google him first found his picture was very convinced then Googled him plus mustache, just to make sure we can pull this off. And he definitely can.

He just looks to me, I think. And I don't know if it's because of Harry Potter. I recognize him too, from how to get away with murder, which was a totally different role, but he kind of has this innocence about him. He's got these dimples that make him look really young and he just, he's kind of gangly like he's tall and he's got really long limbs and he just strikes me as somebody who could be like a former basketball player, maybe a little bit aimless, like trying to make good life decisions, but not sure [00:27:00] which way to go yet. Not fully grown up and into himself. I feel like he could pull that off and the guys go Google him yourselves because every picture has got this gorgeous smile, I couldn't Im like I've got to cast him, he's beautiful.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:27:15] That's good reasoning. All right, Courtney, who is your pick for Sam?

Courtney Kinsey: [00:27:19] Okay. Mine is casting. Um, so I think that Matt James, the bachelor, becasue listen, I've got some great reasons. This is maybe my favorite pick of the docket too. I don't know. So I picked him because. He fits the physical descriptors. He is very muscular. He's super tall, which fits in well with being a basketball coach, but in his real life, he does advocate for kids and do like charity work with kids.

And so I feel like he really does have that heart and personality. Like, I feel like this character was written about Matt [00:28:00] James, and he can rock facial hair very well. Roll my eyes back in my head so well, um, his past work is The Bachelor, which some might say requires a little acting skill. We don't really, so I just, I, the whole time I was reading and this was last year when I was reading this, and I only knew that Matt James from Instagram.

I knew him as Tyler Cameron's best friend before, I think he was cast to be the bachelor. Um, but I literally was like, this is like that guy I follow on Instagram. Like this is who I've always pictured in this role and he's younger and, um, I would love to see super tall, Matt James with super short Aidy Bryant personally, I would love to see it.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:28:46] Yeah. Now I feel like if that were to happen, we would have to cast Tyler C as somebody. Right? Like, I mean, surely we'd take a bullet for everybody on that one. I'm sure [00:29:00] I can get behind that. Okay. So my pick for Sam. This is going to take a little bit of justifying possibly, but my pick was Donald Glover because of his character in Community.

I don't know if y'all have watched that show, but he is such a kind of fun, loving likable guy on that show. And I know that that was a little, a little while ago, but to me, Donald Glover still looks very young. He looks like he is still in his early twenties, even though I think he might be in his later twenties now.

Um, Obviously he's incredibly versatile and, and, you know, he was also in Atlanta, which has some of the best episodes of TV that I've ever watched, just because of the range of all the actors on that show but he was my pick for Sam, just because he's got that kind of, you know, genuine, really likable personality and of, of everyone in the book and of all the contestants to me sounds probably the most likable, just from the jump.

From his beginning interaction with B, where he accidentally poked her actually, which was so cute because it was just [00:30:00] such like a personal touch, I guess, that she added in there to make you fill in deer to this character but he was my pick for Sam.

Annie: [00:30:07] Yeah. That's a good lineup guys.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:30:09] Yeah. All right. So next up is Luke. Luke is a chef working in New York city. He is indulgent and complimentary and of all the words to describe him, lush is what came to mind for some reason. Physical and otherwise is that he is French. He is, according to the author, this is probably my favorite description in the whole book. Absolutely devastating, dark hair long enough to brush his neck, crooked nose, full lips, crinkly Brown eyes, incredibly strategic stubble and geometric tattoos. I mean, what a description. So, um, all right. I think you're up first for Luke.

So who was your pick? Oh, wait. No, is it me? It is you think? Okay. Okay. Sorry. So my pick is probably not [00:31:00] super well known unless you've seen the shows that he's in, but Stanley Weber is his name. He is in Outlander and also Borgia. He's French, first of all. So he has that kind of genocide about him, but he has got some piercing eyes and he also looks really good with incredibly strategic stubble and I could see him with some tattoos rocking it on the show. Um, so he was my pick for Luke. All right. Court. Yeah. I can see that. Courtney, who was your pick?

Courtney Kinsey: [00:31:28] Um, he was also my pick. Oh no. So I also picked Stanley. And again, I'll just read aloud, my reasoning. Frenchmen comma have you seen this photo? I was like, Oh, that lives on my phone now.

So yeah, I thought he was great. I thought he was really great at Outlander and I do feel like he just has that quality that like you're not finding him in America. This man is not in whole foods. You know what I mean? Like the key [00:32:00] he's the person that they bring on the show that you're like, I can't believe Bea can't find love if he's on Main Squeeze. Like that's right. That's all I can think of.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:32:09] Red flag. Okay. Okay. I have an alternate, but we will let Annie go with hers next, but also I will make sure to include this photo on the casting polls, because it is excellent. That Lacoste jacket is doing him some favors.

Annie: [00:32:28] Okay. Mine is Liz Garrels. He is from Louis Garrel. He played Professor Baer. I find him again too handsome or too French for Annie B Jones, but I think he is perfect for this role. So I thought he was great as professor Baer, but I'd like to see him in a modern. Casting. And I'd like to see him in another American production.

And One to Watch, I think, is solidly in American production. I specifically picked this picture because I wanted you all to get the full effect of his profile and that nose. I just felt like [00:33:00] very French. It seems like very much in line with what Kate might've had in mind when she was writing this character. He can do the stubble pretty well and then that hair, I feel like could grow out and be really impactful.

I, yeah, I really liked him for this role and I kind of liked him leaning into his Frenchness. Whereas I think he had such, you know, he has such a minor role in little women and I think he's very effective in that role. I just, professor Baer is a character that has had to grow on me since I was eight years old so like, so like it takes me a minute to like warm my heart to that characterbut I think he could be very believable as a French chef.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:33:43] I agree.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:33:44] I see it.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:33:45] I agree so much that he was my alternate so we might have to go back to the drawing board on this. So if you're listening to this episode, please feel free to send me a message with who you saw for Luke.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:33:57] We would love to look at more [00:34:00] pictures of attractive Frenchmen, so please just DM us,

Julie Anna Helms: [00:34:03] please even better.

Annie: [00:34:08] I wanna tell you who I thought of and who I just think, okay, I'm going to tell you who I thought of. And then I was like, I just don't think so because he wasn't even good as this person. So the first thing I thought of was, uh, in Emily in Paris, like there's a French chef in that, in that show. And I Googled him and I was like, He is not that attractive.

Like he, and maybe that's me being harsh. He is obviously, I'm sure a very handsome man, but like he's a little bit scrawny and I, I don't know, like I like him. I mean, Emily in Paris is not a good show, first of all. But I immediately was like, wait, who's that French chef, because he plays a chef in that show. So I was like, who is that? So that's why I Googled first. And then just quickly sadly eliminated him from the running.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:34:54] Lucas Bravo. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, because this picture, this picture [00:35:00] with his hair long, like. No,

Julie Anna Helms: [00:35:03] right. Yeah. I'm not sure about that. He doesn't really look French to me. I don't know why, I guess I imagine like the more darker hair kind of like we are, here we go. There we go. So yeah, we'll go back to the drawing table on that. Um, do we have time to do Wyatt? I know this was a special request from you, Annie and I actually feel really good about my pick. So. Do you want to do Wyatt? All right. Annie you're up first then who was-

Oh, I need to read the descriptor though. First so you know who we're talking about. Wyatt is an Oklahoma wheat farmer. He is shy and nervous, gentle, warm, and inquisitive. Physical descriptors are that he looks like an All-American football hero, tall and muscled with blonde hair. So Annie who was your pick?

Annie: [00:35:47] I love this character so much guys. I picked, uh, Wyatt Russell as the, as my character so I just, first of all, he is on the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but he's a former hockey [00:36:00] star. He's the son of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell actually can very much see that. Yeah, look at that face. Um, but I kind of just thought, first of all, I'm sick of Marvel for like capturing all of these great actors before they can do anything else. It just makes me mad.

And I mean, I guess good for Marvel, but I I'm a big proponent of the romcom and so before he gets too enmeshed and wrapped up in the Marvel universe, I would like him to be in this romcom because like Chris Evans, he's never going to be in a romcom again. You know what I'm saying? Like Marvel stole him from us. So anyway, that's why I picked Wyatt Russell plus he's handsome. Like when you Google, he's obviously a handsome man, although I am anti blonde men, but you know what I'm saying? Like he is a handsome guy, but he also just looks like a good old boy football player who could be from middle America.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:36:51] Yeah. Have y'all have, y'all seen the movie Table 19 with Anna Kendrick or she goes to the [00:37:00] wedding and it's her ex-boyfriend's sister's wedding and she goes anyways, even though like they've broken up because she's trying to, she's still in love with him, basically.

Annie: [00:37:12] No, not really not

Courtney Kinsey: [00:37:15] Wyatt Russell. I'm not either and I'm that, this is what I'm about to tell you is Wyatt Russell is the best part of that movie and, and it is sort of a romcom. So I feel like that is speaking to his. Uh, okay prowess as a romcom King, if he can make that happen. So

Julie Anna Helms: [00:37:33] if he can, he can make me want to watch Anna Kendrick and rom com. But people suggest her all the time for casting stuff and I don't think I've ever used her because I just can't for some reason, I mean, she's one that kind of plays it the same every single time. Like feels like the same character in every single role that she is in, and that works for a time and then it just gets a little old to me. But if there's an [00:38:00] Anna Kendrick movie that's going to do it. Maybe that one, maybe that one's it.

Annie: [00:38:04] Yeah, I kind of am intrigued. I might like to try that because I started that HBO show with Anna Kendrick, despite my own Anna Kendrick misgivings. But the HBO shows pretty good so far, but I'm kind of intrigued by Table 19. I'm always looking for a romcom I haven't seen, so maybe I'll yeah.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:38:19] Let me know.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:38:20] All right, Courtney, who is your pick for Wyatt?

Courtney Kinsey: [00:38:21] Okay. My pick is, uh, Chris Carmac from the OC and recently he was in Grey's Anatomy. Yeah. Um, I just feel like he has that quintessential blonde Midwestern All-American look. Yeah, he, yeah. Again, sorry to quote myself, but he always looks like he just walked in from stacking up bales of hay in a good way.

Annie: [00:38:47] That's true.

Courtney Kinsey: [00:38:48] He's Brawny. Yeah, but he is like, he looks like soft and thoughtful. And I just, whenever I think of a blonde man that I feel like I could trust because there aren't many, I think of Chris [00:39:00] for sure.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:39:01] Yeah, I like it. I like it. Okay. My pick for Wyatt is, um, Jared Padalecki from Gilmore Girls. Um, also in supernatural, the photo that I put in here to justify it, he has a cowboy hat on, um, and I feel like he can pull that in the, you know, duster jacket off pretty well. But yeah, he, to be honest, he's kind of a jerk in Gossip Girl, but he also has just that smile, that kind of disarming smile that just makes you want to fall in love with them and so maybe he could get a little bit of redemption in this movie as being a likable nice guy. So he's my pick.

Annie: [00:39:40] Okay. I'm here for a redemption story. I cannot stand Dean from Gilmore girls. I'm very biased, but you might've won me over because Jared Padalecki, he is a real person and maybe he needs a redemption story, so might be it.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:39:54] Yep. Call us up, Jared. All right. Well, I'm, I'm pretty proud of that. I'm also proud that [00:40:00] we didn't have any repeats other than the one for Luke. Yeah. Pretty proud of us.

Annie: [00:40:06] Yeah. Well, I just want to say, I love doing this so much because it really is a journey and Googling and like I, and then I have all these pictures on my desktop and then like, I highlight my final choices and pull them up in a collage on preview and like, see how do these people look together and I got to tell you, it's very fun. It's a very fun exercise.

Julie Anna Helms: [00:40:26] I think maybe you should share that with all us.

Annie: [00:40:33] Well, thank you guys so much, and don't forget if you're listening and you want to cast your own votes for our casting choices.,You can follow Julie Anna Reads on Instagram and she will have these polls up on Sunday

A full transcript of today’s episode can be found at www.fromthefrontporchpodcast.com.

Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.

This week, I’m reading Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian. Julia Anne, what are you reading?

Julie Anna Helms: I’m reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

Annie: Courtney, what are you reading?

Courtney Kinsey: I’m reading Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Annie: If you liked what you heard on today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on iTunes. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter, follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic, and receive free media mail shipping on all your online book orders. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.

casting call, episodesAnnie JonesApril 29, 2021