Ginger Adams Otis� "Firefight: The Century-Long Battle to Integrate New York�s Bravest"

Ginger Adams Otis is a newspaper reporter at the NY Daily News in New York City.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her new book, Firefight: The Century-Long Battle to Integrate New York�s Bravest:

It�s hardly a leap for me to imagine my book as a movie because the firefighters I�m writing about -- flesh-and-blood smoke eaters here in New York City �are genuinely larger-than-life. Their drive and charisma would easily translate to the big screen, and firefighting itself is inherently dramatic. Firefight would also adapt well to a period piece, given what it reveals the earliest first black firefighters in NYC and around the country and the discrimination they encountered. Wesley Williams, one of the city�s original pioneers, was a tremendous individual and any actor who got to portray him would be very lucky indeed! Here�s my casting wish list for Firefight the movie:

Young Wesley Williams: this one is easy, it should be his great-grandson, Chris Myers! He�s a Juilliard-trained Broadway actor who could bring his family history to life.

Older Wesley Williams: the perfect man for this role is Hisham Tawfiq, a working (soon-to-be-retired) FDNY firefighter now, Hisham is also a working actor currently starring in Blacklist with James Spader.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg: this actor is a little young but he could bring a lot of the Bloombergian qualities to vivid life, Peter MacNicol, otherwise known as one of the lawyers on Ally McBeal.

Capt. Paul Washington: someone like actor Jeffrey Wright, bringing the drama like he did in Basquiat, would be fantastic.

Lieut. Michael Marshall: one of my long-time favorites, Anthony Andersen, could embody Michael�s unique mix of charm, humor and determination.

Capt. Paul Mannix: The obvious choice would be Denis Leary, of course, because he has firefighting in his blood. But thinking outside the box, maybe Jon Hamm or Daniel Craig.

Regina Wilson: Has to be Viola Davis! She is a little older than the actual character but she�s got the grit to handle this role as one of NYC�s few black women firefighters.

Read more about Firefight: The Century-Long Battle to Integrate New York�s Bravest at Ginger Adams Otis� website.

--Marshal Zeringue