Breaking Anne

'Breaking Bad' scribe on her 'deeper' take on 'Anne of Green Gables'

CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI, THE CANADIAN PRESS 04.28.2016

Screenwriter Moira Walley Beckett, for the upcoming CBC television show "Anne of Green
Gables", who also a writer for the series "Breaking Bad", poses for a picture in front of studio
in the CBC building in Toronto, Friday April 29, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch

TORONTO - The former "Breaking Bad" writer in charge of CBC-TV's "Anne of Green Gables" adaptation says she's on the hunt for "a 12-year-old female Bryan Cranston."

Emmy Award-winning writer Moira Walley-Beckett notes her version of the Lucy Maud Montgomery classic includes "a very, very demanding role" for a yet-to-be-cast leading lady.

Beckett's spin on the coming-of-age tale will be "deeper" and won't shy away from Montgomery's references to a dark and difficult past.

"Anne is damaged, she never wasn't. I'm not reinventing the wheel here in that regard," Walley-Beckett says of delving into lesser known aspects of Anne's tumultuous life pre-Green Gables.

"There's this one line that she says: 'Am I talking too much? Everybody always tells me that I do. It seems to cause no end of aggravation.' When you look at that, what does that mean? What's happened in the past?

"What's happened in the past ... is that she's been smacked across the face for talking too much or she's been punished. And I want those real aspects to inform this modern Anne."

There will be flashbacks to Anne's younger days, as well as backstories for her elderly sibling caregivers, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

"I'm hoping to bring many, many more layers to the story that we love," says Walley-Beckett, who will executive produce with Miranda de Pencier of Northwood Entertainment.

"That's sort of my mantra for this whole project: Why are these people the way they are? What's happened, what's come before and how does that inform how they're dealing with the situation?"

Walley-Beckett is known for dark and twisted tales, most notably her work on the meth-making odyssey "Breaking Bad," starring Cranston.

She won an Emmy for the devastating "Ozymandias" episode — the third-to-last one in which (spoiler alert!) Hank is killed, Walt Jr. finally learns the truth and Walt kidnaps baby Holly, among other things.

The Vancouver native followed that up with Super Channel's "Flesh and Bone," centred on an emotionally damaged ballet dancer.

Both featured desperate, disturbing characters but neither show is all that dissimilar from Walley-Beckett's plans for "Anne," she insists.

The story will still be set in 1900s Prince Edward Island, but it will explore contemporary issues including sexism, bullying, puberty, empowerment and prejudice.

"What I'm interested in about Anne are the realities of her situation," says Walley-Beckett, who moved to Los Angeles about 15 years ago.

"What's her original wounding and what is the baggage that she's carrying in this situation and how has she been affected by the detriments of her life so far? ... You've got to think of her sort of as a rescue dog — as this pup who's been kicked around for years, been in shelters, been abused, hasn't had a safe place to be, hasn't ever been nurtured, and suddenly has an opportunity to find a forever home."

Producers are embarking on a worldwide search for their star.

Open casting calls will be held in Toronto on May 7 and 8, Vancouver on May 14 and 15, Charlottetown on May 28, and Halifax on May 29 and 30.

More casting calls will take place in the United States and Europe. Production is expected to begin this summer.

On the web: http://www.theannesearch.com

Visit Margaret's Amazon Author Page!

The Glass Character: in person!

Perhaps I should explain.

Almost every author wants their novel made into a movie. It stands to reason. That way, you might earn more than the $1200.00 the average writer makes for their first book.

My current book, The Glass Character, this magnificent horse I'm trotting out (ahem!), this-here project or product or whatever-it-is, is all about the life and times of silent screen comedian Harold Lloyd.

Harold Lloyd was a looker. If he hadn't been a legendary comedian, he might have been a leading man. He had that wonderful jaw, the nicely-shaped (and big) head, the fine eyes that telegraphed emotion, not to mention intelligence. And a direct line to your heart.

So, I've been looking around for actors to play him in "the movie". The movie that will inevitably be made once this thing hits the stands! The fact that this thing is nowhere near hitting anything like a stand does not deter me. (Well, actually, it does, but I've learned to proceed anyway: I'll have to re-run the e.e. cummings quote about that.)

First it was Zachary Quinto, who did a fine job playing Spock in a remake of Star Trek. He too has the handsome jaw, and beautiful eyes and a heart-melting smile.

But he's a little too - I don't know. Ethnic? He'd sure need an eyebrow-pluck. Then I got onto Jake Gyllenhaal.

He was a bit of a hard sell at first - to me, I mean. I saw him in Brokeback Mountain and thought, what a brat, he knows exactly how gorgeous he is. He also had a renegade quality about him, a wild card feeling, almost as if he's an undiagnosed bipolar (as is half of Hollywood, these days). And just a touch of androgyny: not as much as that wretched sooty-eyed Robert Pattinson, whom I don't like at all, but a touch - and a seductive way of eyeballing the camera.

So. . .

Then I started seeking out photos to see if I could get a match. It was fairly easy, and in some cases (those astonishing tux photos!) eerily close. They could be brothers. They both have that three-cornered vulpine smile, and eyes that you're never quite sure of - there's something behind them, but whatever it is, he ain't talking.

So could Jake play Harold? Call his agent, right now! The movie hasn't been cast yet -well, the screenplay, y'see there's a little problem there, too, in that it hasn't been written yet. And the novel, well. . .

It at least exists on paper. And it's burning a hole in my heart. I have huge dreams for this thing. It's called The Glass Character. Directed by Martin Scorsese. (Just because he's my favorite.) And starring. . . Jake Gyllenhaal, Harold Lloyd's mysterious twin.