In honor of the impending release of RED, an expanded adaptation of a graphic novella by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer, I'm going to cast another obscure book from Ellis and Hammer, which is also pretty short and also has the potential to for a great movie.
Down is a four issue series published by Image comics in late 2005-early 2006, and was written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Tony Harris in the first issue and Cully Hammer in the subsequent three.
Its style is similar to RED; its stars a particularly anti-heroic lead, follows a simple plot, and has an emphasis on high-octane action and explicit but realistic violence. Like RED it is also rather short, and a panel-by-panel translation would result in a movie that is twenty minutes long at most. But it has the potential to serve as the basis for a great full length feature.
Down follows Deanna Ransome, a violent police officer who to redeem herself following a botched undercover , infiltrates the city's largest crime organization to assassinate its boss, who himself is a former undercover police officer who went rogue.
Deanna Ransome
A bitter, violent undercover narcotics cop. Following a routine operation which saw one of the city's mobs wiped out and two of her fellow officers killed, she is offered a chance to keep her job by taking part in a highly illegal, highly risky undercover operation.
Maybe it’s the hair, but I can’t think or any actress that resembles Dee. Rosario Dawson doesn’t look like her, but there’s something about her general attitude that says to me ‘Why yes, I will play a violent undercover cop, now f*** off ‘fore you get on my last nerve’
Lt. Lou Price
Det. Ransome's direct superior. A somewhat unhinged policeman willing to break all the rules to get the results he wants.
Fitchner looks less like Lt. Price than Dawson looks like Det. Ransome. He’s great at playing intense, unnerved characters, though, which is why I chose him. If we were going to pick someone based purely on looks, I would go with either Stanley Tucci or Richard Schiff.
Nick River
Before becoming boss of the Mendoza mob, River was an undercover cop sent by Lt. Price to gather evidence. Somewhere along the way he stopped being a cop and became what he pretended to be.
My original pick was Aaron Eckhart, but then I thought he could play a cop, but as a street criminal that was River’s identity? I don’t know about that, he looks too dignified to me. If you’ve been following my fan casts you will recognize Jane as one of those actors I love to pick. He’s my choice for Frank Castle, Max Payne, Sgt. Fury and Milo ‘The Bastard’ Garret. He could play a cop, a petty crook and an honorable mobster; he also has an instant likeability that aids the plot of how Deanna starts to grow fond of her cover story.
Paul Sorrell
Nick River's right hand man who handles the day to day running of his interest.
My initial choice was Idris Elba, but upon some consideration I have come to realize he tends to phone it in (which many Wire alum tend to do) ever since his days as Stringer Bell. Michael Jai White impressed me in The Dark Knight and Black Dynamite, I wouldn’t go so far as calling him a great actor, but he has the range and the charisma to depict the seductive aspect of organized crime that Deanna becomes exposed to.
Tommy Silk
Sorrell's chief enforcer, who has an instant mistrust of Ransome.
Josie
River’s mistress. A small, but ultimately pivotal role.
Chet
Another of River’s men. He’s of no real importance and he completely drops out of the story after his first appearance, but seven characters is my personal minimum for a fan cast.