Make it a Movie: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
In our Make it a Movie section we play the role of movie producers and map out the movie production. The Alchemist is a classic Brazilian novel published in 1988 that went on to become an international hit, selling over 100 million copies. It is listed as the #4 book to read before you die, is short, and considered a 7th grade reading level book, in other words perfect for Buddy Book Club. You can check out the Podcast we did on the book or Book Club Questions we put together.
The Alchemist is a whimsical adventure novel that follows Santiago aka ‘the boy’, and his long trek to the pyramids. It may be tough to make it into a movie that translates well to the big screen but, other movies like Big Fish, Benjamin Button, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty have all done this in the past. This movie would have to be similar.
Production Notes: There have been a number of theatrical adaptations, but no television or movies, despite past efforts. The latest info as of July 2021, is that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, purchased the rights to the movie, but things have stalled due to “financing issues“. Hopefully things will get back up and running but in the meantime, we’ll offer up some suggestions for casting.
Based on: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Logline: Big Fish + The Mummy
Proposed Casting for The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Santiago – The lead character, he’s a shepherd, adventure seeker, risk taker, charmer, and oh he has no issue chatting up the wind or the sun. His journey through the desert has us thinking about a similar hero’s journey. That’s right, Star Wars (if you’re not familiar with Buddy Book Club, most things come back to Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Austin Powers). One character who’s story arch didn’t sit well with us, was Finn’s. So we’re bringing John Boyega back to the desert to lead this epic film. Boyega is still a young up and coming actor, but is the type of guy that an carry a movie on his own. He also just seems like a super likeable dude (check out his Hot Ones interview), so we’re casting him as Santiago.
The Alchemist – The title character, actually played a much smaller role than I imagined. Seems like the King of Salem and him could almost have been combined. But nonetheless this character calls for a wise and powerful old man (he’s 200 years old). I initially leaned towards Jeremy Irons, simply because he was the one reading the audiobook, and his deep soothing voice brought this book to life. But instead we went with Javier Bardem. Bardem just seems like an otherworldly person, no matter what role he is in, he instantly commands your attention and respect, which is exactly what we need the Alchemist to do.
The Englishman – I’ll be honest the Englishman isn’t that necessary in the book, but my guess is that when the movie is made he’ll be much more of a companion to Santiago and a much more important character. The Englishman is a scholarly, high-class type, who is seeking out the Alchemist, but is too focused on his studies and his books to open his eyes to what he really needs to be paying attention to. This role was made for Jude Law, who kind of plays this type of role in a lot of movies, but that’s because he’s good at it. Easy casting.
Fatima – Santiago’s love interest, who is another character that doesn’t really play a big part in the book, but likely would be a huge character in the movie. Santiago pretty much stalks her as she’s gathers water from a well, then spits some game at her and they immediately fall in love. Again, this may be changed up a bit in the movie, probably a better ‘meet-cute’ like she saves his life or he pulls a Prince Ali from Aladdin. Speaking of Aladdin… we went with Naomi Scott for Fatima. Naomi Scott crushed it as Jasmine in Aladdin and can run it back for this role. Also, anytime I see the the name Naomi, I think of the Van Wilder quote “Her name’s Naomi. That’s ‘I moan’ backwards.” Maturity wise we haven’t grown much here at the BBC…
That’s it for now, let us know what you thought of our casting or what roles we’re missing, reach out to us. Or Check out our Podcast episode we did on The Alchemist or our Book Club Questions.
