CASTING OPEN



Genre:
Teen drama
Mystery

Themes:
Coming-of-Age

Based On:
"Looking For Alaska" by John Green

Starring
TBA

Release:
TBA (2017/2018)

Distributor:
Netflix

Themes:
Friends
Intimacy
Sex
Love
Lies
Deceit
Suffering
Mortality
Choices
Alcohol
Drugs
Experimentation
Coming Of Age

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BACKGROUND

Looking For Alaska is an American drama-mystery web television series based on the novel Looking For Alaska by John Green and adapted by Tom Kitt for Netflix. The series revolved around teenager Miles "Pudge" Halter, who is the new student at the prestigious Culver Creek Preparatory School in Birmingham, Alabama boarding for his junior year to try to gain a deeper perspective on life.

Unpopular at his old school, Pudge is nervous about making new friends, but he is immediately taken in by his roommate, Chip “the Colonel” Martin and introduced to his rag-tag group of friends, including Takumi Hikohito, Lara Buterskaya, and the beautiful, mysterious Alaska Young.

Each of them have a special talent—memorizing facts about other countries, quoting poetry, and freestyle rapping, respectively. Miles is obsessed with famous people’s last words, and Alaska introduces him to the last words of Simón Bolívar, who died wondering how to “escape the labyrinth.” Alaska is often exciting and wild, but she can also be moody and withdrawn. For the first time, Pudge seems to have friends, though he is still shy to speak in front of them. In due time, Miles learns to drink, smoke, escape punishment, and understand people.

Not everything about Culver Creek is easy for Pudge. The classes are very difficult, though Pudge appreciates his world religions class particularly because the teacher, Dr. Hyde, exclusively lectures. However, the real difficult comes when a group of boys—rich “Weekday Warriors”—haze Pudge. They take him outside in just his underpants, use duct tape to “mummify” him, and throw him into the lake.

The normal hazing routine does not only involve duct tape, and when Alaska and the Colonel find out, they promise to get revenge. Alaska and the Colonel are talented prank artists, though all pranks must be pulled off without alerting Mr. Starnes, or “The Eagle,” who is constantly on the lookout for illicit behavior that will justify expulsion.

It is not until Thanksgiving break, when only Pudge and Alaska stay behind at school, that they discover the way to get revenge. Alaska sets up a pre-prank on the Weekday Warriors, they hacked a computer and sent progress reports home to Weekday Warriors' parents, telling them they were failing. This was only the start to what is to come in the series.

A few days following a major, adrenaline-pumping prank, Alaska mysteriously dies. And suddenly, everything changes.

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CAST

Miles Halter [Casted] - The protagonist of the novel, Miles is a new junior at Culver Creek Preparatory School with a penchant for memorizing the last words of famous individuals. His friend and roommate, the Colonel affectionately nicknames Miles Pudge despite Miles’s tall and lanky appearance. Miles finds himself falling for Alaska while seeking the “Great Perhaps.”(better opportunities for a big break in life). Miles wants his Great Perhaps, but we never really know what he envisions as his Great Perhaps and whether the boarding school of Culver Creek lives up to his expectations. Keep in mind, he's a junior in high school who is obsessed with the last words of dead people and has enough self-awareness to know that he won't find his Great Perhaps at home in Florida. This is our first big clue that there's more to Miles than the average teenager.

Chip “Colonel” Martin - Miles’s roommate and confidant. The Colonel is a strong-willed genius who loves pranking the wealthy day students at Culver Creek. The Colonel is aptly named: although he's short and stocky, he's got a gift for leading others and a charisma that brings the entire social network at the Creek together. The Colonel is also the one in the group of friends to pop in with a couple witty rejoinders. He's pretty quick with the vocabulary, and he's the go-to heckler for the basketball team. (young male, can pass for 15-18 y.o, preferably short and stocky but not required)

Alaska Young[Casted] - Friend and romantic interest to Miles, Alaska is perplexing and alluring. She loves drinking wine, collecting books from yard sales, pranking the wealthy day students at Culver Creek with the Colonel. Wild and unpredictable, Alaska’s mood can change at a moment’s notice as she continues to struggle with her mother’s death. Alaska remains a perpetual mystery in this book, both to Miles and to us as readers. She's also the most complex character, though her life ends in tragedy. (young, can pass for 16-18 y.o)

Takumi Hikohito - Talented rapper and friend to Miles, Chip, and Alaska, Takumi partakes in pranks, but is also left out of some parts of Miles’s, Chip’s, and Alaska’s mutual friendship. Even though he isn't in every scene of the series, Takumi plays a pretty important role in Miles's life and in Alaska's death. (young, east asian male)

Lara Buterskaya - Romanian student at Culver Creek, Lara is Miles’s friend and girlfriend briefly. Lara is a cutie, though unfortunately for her she doesn't compare to Alaska in Miles's mind. From Romania and with a cute accent to boot, Lara likes likes Miles. Lara's not as verbose as Alaska, which becomes one of the markers of the pseudo-relationship Miles and Lara have: they don't talk. So that emotional intimacy Miles craves? He and Lara just don't have it. But Miles is willing to experiment sexually with her, and she totally digs that and even initiates some of it. (young, attractive "european" looking female)

Mr. Starnes “Eagle”[Casted] - Dean of students at Culver Creek, Mr. Starnes is nicknamed the Eagle by students. Target of numerous pranks, he is known for his sternness and what Alaska terms the “Look of Death.” The Eagle plays a necessary role at the Creek, namely as the martinet who enforces the rules. He doesn't rule alone, though—a student-run Jury helps him govern the Creek. There is more to the Eagle than a hawkish eye, though. Yes he gets disgusted by the audacity of the students (or perhaps their inability to get away with their mischief), but that doesn't stop him from feeling real affection for them. When his sense of humor and appreciation for quality pranks is paired with his true grief at the news of Alaska's death, the Eagle ceases to be the one-dimensional disciplinarian we initially see him as, and becomes a disciplinarian with a heart of gold. (Adult male)

Dolores Martin - Dolores, the Colonel's mom, never really had an easy life (raising a kid with a deadbeat will do that to a life), but that doesn't stop her from being one of the more optimistic characters in the series. In fact, if anything, it seems to enhance her general level of gratitude. Even though she's poor, works as a "culinary engineer" at the Waffle House, and lives in a trailer park, her life circumstances don't stop her from appreciating what she has. (Older female)

The Jury - The Jury is a faculty-elected body of students that includes three students from each grade, for a total of twelve students. They dispense punishment for non-expellable offenses. The Eagle sits in on the Jury meetings, but he doesn't often overrule their decisions. Miles is brought before the Jury twice in the series. The first time he is terrified, but by the second his fear has dissipated. (Teens aged, or can pass for 15-18 y.o, any gender)

Maxx/Dr. William Morse[Casted] - Maxx is the incredibly handsome stripper that the Colonel hires who poses as a professor of psychology from the University of Central Florida with a specialty in adolescent sexuality. But his real name is Stan, and he works for Bachelorette Parties R Us. Maxx is the key piece in the Alaska Young Memorial Prank. It's a good thing that he loves the prank, because it requires him to get almost naked in front of the whole student body and faculty at the Creek. And even though Maxx is a fairly one-dimensional character and brief, he's still got a pretty good sense of humor. (Attractive, muscular male. Shouldn't look like a teen)

Marya and Paul - Marya is Alaska's ex-roommate and Paul is Marya's boyfriend. They're both Weekday Warriors who got expelled at the end of their sophomore year for drug use, alcohol use, and sexual activity. Alaska was one who snitched on them. (Male and Female, young, can pass for highschoolers aged 15-18. Look "mischievious")

Miles's Parents [Casted] - Miles parents exist mostly off-page, but they and their parenting still echo throughout the novel and Miles's thoughts. Miles's mom is clingier than his dad, probably because his dad also attended Culver Creek when he was in high school. Her reservations don't stop her from supporting Miles as he goes to seek his Great Perhaps, though, which is pretty awesome of her. It might be easier for Miles's dad to be understanding since he remembers his own time at the Creek as a teenager.

The Old Man/Dr. Hyde - Although physically feeble and old, Dr. Hyde is Miles's favorite professor because he lectures and doesn't let his students "stumble on their words and try to phrase things in the vaguest possible way so they wouldn't sound dumb". Dr. Hyde's nickname—the Old Man—is meant to remind readers that he's going to play this character in this novel. The character of the wise old man. (Upper aged male)

The Weekday Warriors - Comprised of several students, but including in particular Kevin Richman[Casted] and Longwell Chase[Casted], the Weekday Warriors are students at the Creek who stay during the week and return to their air-conditioned homes on the weekends. Kevin spearheads Miles's hazing and is one of the recipients of the blue hair dye. Longwell Chase is the junior class president, and one of the integral pieces in the Alaska Young Memorial Prank. (Spots for Kevin Richman and Longwell Chase are young, attractive males who can pass for "bad boys" and high schoolers aged 16-18. There are also several other slots for The Weekday Warriors if you have a character who you would like to have a few cameos as part of series but without a full focus like that of Kevin and Longwell)