BITCH POSSE by Martha O'Connor

Today I'm thrilled to be doing my Hollywood blog on Martha O'Connor's dark and haunting The Bitch Posse. Here's Martha's fast pitch to our fictional producer:

Three high school seniors form The Bitch Posse and encounter various smalltime trouble. Eventually, they’re swept into a violent crime. Fifteen years later, one’s an alcoholic, one’s a sex addict and frustrated writer, and one’s in a mental hospital. What event in their past destroyed them? Can they ever recover?

Those characters sound intense. I think I'd love this movie. Here's what Martha has to say about casting it:

Casting this movie presents a challenge since the story exists in two timeframes fifteen years apart. The actresses would need to play both seventeen-year-olds and thirty-two-year olds. This rules out some younger actresses (Amanda Bynes) as well as some older ones (Winona Ryder) who I think would do well in some of the roles.


As Cherry Winters, the girls’ leader whose tough veneer masks a heartbreaking vulnerability, I would cast Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay has played the America’s sweetheart long enough, and she’s not fooling anyone. Now, it is time for her to show what she’s really made of and take a role where she can be the badass that she is.

For Rennie Taylor, the wide-eyed, vulnerable, and brainy beauty who falls into a relationship with her high school teacher, I would cast Christina Ricci. When you look at Christina, there’s a certain mystery behind her. She is absolutely mesmerizing. Also, she could pull off a role like Rennie’s which requires a tiny, girl-like build.


I think Rob Schafer, Rennie’s high school teacher, would be ideally cast as Sean Penn. That’s because Sean has that sinister sexuality which is irresistible. You could just imagine him in this Big Bad Wolf kind of a role. Also, he lives near me, so if he was in my movie, maybe I could take him to lunch and we could hang out.

Then there’s Puck, the young, vain “literati” author, much younger than the adult Rennie, with whom she embarks on a mad, cocaine-laced relationship. For Puck, I would cast Cody Linley. OK, he is only 17 and I would be accused of cradle-robbing. But, Rennie felt like she was cradle-robbing when she was sleeping with him, so it kind of fits. Besides, he would be 18 by the time the movie was filmed and so he’d be able to do the sex scenes.

I love the way Martha describes these characters, and am dying to read this book. Fortunately, it's in stores now. It's also available online. For more information, visit Martha's website at marthaoconnor.com.