In a movie of THE GIRL FROM THE GRAND HOTEL what actors should play the leading roles?

Join the conversation I’ve been having with producers and agents about which actors should play the leading roles in a film adaptation of THE GIRL FROM THE GRAND HOTEL.

For those not already in the know, this novel, inspired by true events, is about the summer of 1939 and the first (and doomed) Cannes Film Festival, when dazzling Hollywood movie stars flocked to the Côte d'Azur for all the parties and screenings.

Let's start with the main characters:

A lot of folks think that the wide-eyed heroine of the story, Annabel Faucon, would be a perfect part for Emma Stone. Annabel is a young American who leaves her dead-end job and broken heart behind in New York and heads for the French Riviera to take a summer job at the sumptuous Grand Hotel managed by her French uncle (an Anthony Hopkins type, although people have also suggested Tom Hanks!)

Now for the leading men: Annabel is assigned to assist a mysterious screenwriter working under the pseudonym of John Darcy (who turns out to be someone quite famous) and a sexy maverick movie star named Jack Cabot. People are telling me that either one of these male characters in THE GIRL FROM THE GRAND HOTEL are juicy enough for Ryan Gosling.

But what about the screen siren whom Jack is involved with? Her name is Téa Marlo, and she's a gorgeous, enigmatic Garbo-like German-American actress (stunning and mysterious, like Margot Robbie or Anya Taylor-Joy or Taylor Swift.)

Annabel is also befriended by the great Bride of Frankenstein actress Elsa Lanchester (perfect for Kate McKinnon) who warns Annabel that "we are all just make-believe."

Plus, there are lots of cameo roles of the biggest and brightest 1930s movie stars sent to the French Riviera by the major Hollywood movie studios: Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Norma Shearer, James Cagney, Tyrone Power, Charles Laughton, all mingling with politicians and other celebs like Jack Kennedy's family and Eric Maria Remarque and other movers-and-shakers of the year.

Also, this being 1939 in France, there are fascist spies lurking about the Grand Hotel and ratcheting up the tension! It seems that this summer, everybody is spying on everyone else. Annabel—and the audience—must navigate suspenseful twists and turns to figure out who can be trusted.

And who should direct the movie? The top favorites to direct THE GIRL FROM THE GRAND HOTEL so far are Greta Gerwig, Ridley Scott, George Clooney, and Dan Friedkin.

What do you think? Cast your vote now if you want to weigh in on which actors should star in the movie version of THE GIRL FROM THE GRAND HOTEL. You can email your vote directly at my contact page: http://www.camilleaubray.com/about .

And if you haven't read the book yet, you can order THE GIRL FROM THE GRAND HOTEL at https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Grand-Hotel-Camille-Aubray/dp/B0CGJMNF3G . Or, pick up your signed copy at any of the bookstores where I've been, the list is here: http://www.camilleaubray.com/new-events/2024/7/2/pick-up-your-autographed-copy-of-the-girl-from-the-grand-hotel .

Praise for THE GIRL FROM THE GRAND HOTEL (ISBN# 9798212417235)

“Fun and surprising . . . The Girl from the Grand Hotel follows a 20-year-old American woman [who] hobnobs with the rich and famous . . . but all the while Camille Aubray has set the stage for deeper themes . . . Readers will be swept away.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Camille Aubray's The Girl from the Grand Hotel begins as a beach read—and what a beach!—then evolves into a glossy-fearsome thriller partly based on true events . . . Readers who like the pageantry of galas and the upstairs-downstairs tensions of Downton Abbey should swoon at this breathtakingly imagined novel.”

—Shelf Awareness Pick for “Best Books This Week”

“A story steeped in glamour and espionage . . . The beauty of Aubray’s uncluttered prose [lends] credence to the F. Scott Fitzgerald quote she uses to open the novel’s first part. The numerous real-life luminaries who pepper the story add a comforting gravitas and depth to the narrative, and Aubray hews close to their actual stories and personas…The Girl from the Grand Hotel offers an imaginative glimpse into recent history, one that entertains as it gives perspective.”

—The Washington Independent Review of Books

“Dazzling!”

—Women's World Pick for “Best New Books You Won't Be Able to Put Down”

“With sparkling characters and a riveting plot, Aubray's latest will appeal to fans of old Hollywood and historical fiction in general.”

—Booklist

“This is a great historically based novel that looks at the first Cannes film festival, has well-written characters, and a story you want to keep reading. Historical fiction readers will enjoy this one.”

—Red Carpet Crash

“Camille Aubray's newest novel, The Girl from the Grand Hotel, transports readers to the dazzling Côte d'Azur, just in time for the first Cannes Film Festival in September 1939.”

—Historical Novels Society

“This transportive new read based on a true story has won over Kristin Hannah (“What’s not to love about this delicious novel”) and Fiona Davis (“[I] was swept away by the fast-paced story and canny twists”). A young American checks into the Grand Hotel in the South of France — where the glamorous clientele must soon contend with the arrival of Nazi officials.”

—Bookbub, “Check Out These New Books”

“THE GIRL FROM THE GRAND HOTEL is right up my alley! French history, the Cote d'Azur, and old Hollywood—what's not to love about this delicious novel inspired by true events and set in one of the most beautiful, most romantic places in the world? Camille Aubray captures this era in vivid and memorable detail.”

—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Huge congrats to Camille Aubray for a terrific read! The Girl from the Grand Hotel is a delicious romp through the South of France, filled with a cast of Hollywood legends and wrapped in a tense spy thriller. I loved her dead-on depictions of bold-faced names of the day like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Charles Laughton, and was swept away by the fast-paced story and canny twists. An exhilarating ride!”

—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author

“Hollywood movie stars mingle with Nazi spies in a feverish atmosphere combined with a touching love story. The Girl from the Grand Hotel is an intense page-turner you won’t want to put down!”

—Jacques Pépin, celebrity chef and New York Times bestselling author of Cooking My Way

The French Riviera, Hollywood movie stars, Nazi spies . . . oh, my!