# American Gods coming to HBO-are we happy about this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212 "2011-06-12T12:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/41 "2011-06-13T23:56:01Z")
> [@](#): > > I always thought that the drink he ordered was a clue, but don’t remember what it was off hand. Well, of course you don’t. Duh! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/42 "2011-06-13T23:59:04Z")
I’m really hoping that they _True Blood_ this one by taking the names of the characters and some key concepts and then running with it and never looking back. They almost have to if they’re going to do 6 seasons because that book isn’t going to sustain years worth of interest. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/43 "2011-06-14T04:58:40Z")
For Anansi I pictured Scatman Crothers when reading it but I suspect he might not be willing to rise from the dead for the money they’d offer. It needs to be somebody with charm and charisma who’s old but at the same time virile. Somebody you can easily imagine hustling pool in a run down bar or partying on a luxury yacht. I like Michelle Pfeiffer for Eostre- a regal beauty but a tad past her seductive peak (like Eostre). [Sendhil Ramamurthy](http://cdn1.hunkdujour.com/530/sendhil_ramamurthy_200906_4.jpg) for Siva Imelda Staunton, Joanne Lumley and Lili Taylor as the Zorya. Lily Tomlin as Bast (though I might be thinking only of the way she was portrayed in _Sandman_). ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/44 "2011-06-14T05:02:02Z")
Bast was a sexy thing in a leopard-print miniskirt that Shadow had dream-sex with. I don’t think that’s a Lily Tomlin part. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/45 "2011-06-14T05:04:00Z")
> [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](#): > > Bast was a sexy thing in a leopard-print miniskirt that Shadow had dream-sex with. I don’t think that’s a Lily Tomlin part. Ah yes. In _Sandman_ she has that persona but then her real one is a worn out old crone/cat. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/46 "2011-06-14T07:02:32Z")
Almost sounds like a sequel to the\* Carnivàle\* series\*. \*(I know, it’s not) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/47 "2011-06-14T12:23:39Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > For Anansi I pictured Scatman Crothers when reading it but I suspect he might not be willing to rise from the dead for the money they’d offer. It needs to be somebody with charm and charisma who’s old but at the same time virile. Somebody you can easily imagine hustling pool in a run down bar or partying on a luxury yacht. Scatman Crothers was in my head as Anansi, too. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/48 "2011-06-15T00:26:05Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I like [Alexander Skarsgard](http://www.google.com/search?q=Alexander+skarsgard&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1440&bih=742)for Low Key. Eh. I’m hoping that True Blood keeps him busy for a good long while. But maybe one of his little brothers, they’re fairly good looking guys as well. I could easily see Stellan as one of the Norse gods too. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/49 "2011-06-15T00:46:15Z")
IIRC, the classical Greek/Roman gods weren’t in _American Gods_. I wondered why at the time. There was also a tiny town in Kansas where they mentioned a cult of E. European immigrants who performed ritual sacrifices to Czernobog. I wondered if that was based (however) loosely on any events in U.S. history. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/50 "2011-06-15T00:59:47Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > IIRC, the classical Greek/Roman gods weren’t in _American Gods_. I wondered why at the time. Because at the time when America was being settled, none of the immigrants believed in those old Roman gods anymore. Only the gods who were still believed in/worshiped could be transported across the seas. Hence you have American native gods (they’ve always been there), and a mixture of imported ethnic Gods from Africa, Europe, Caribbean etc. Hmm, that gets me thinking, were there any Chinese gods? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/51 "2011-06-15T10:23:27Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Because at the time when America was being settled, none of the immigrants believed in those old Roman gods anymore. Only the gods who were still believed in/worshiped could be transported across the seas. Hence you have American native gods (they’ve always been there), and a mixture of imported ethnic Gods from Africa, Europe, Caribbean etc. Also gods that developed after Europeans came to the New World, such as Johnny Appleseed. I kept expecting the most powerful god of them all, but I don’t think he (it?) ever showed up. It’s possible he’s the unnamed god in Vegas, but the more likely habitat for him is Wall Street. Then again, the book was all about loser gods, and that god is anything but a loser. > [@](#): > > Hmm, that gets me thinking, were there any Chinese gods? Don’t recall any, but I think I’m due to reread the book. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/52 "2011-06-15T11:14:13Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Scatman Crothers was in my head as Anansi, too. I got Sherman Helmsley. My imagination is low rent. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/53 "2011-06-15T20:29:24Z")
The Unnamed god is Mammon, or similar, I think. While the J-C God is not depicted AFAIR, the Jewish Rabbi-and-Golem pairing is. There were definitely Chinese gods - in a Previa, with their weapons in golf bags. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/54 "2011-06-15T21:12:58Z")
There’s a brief mention of Jesus ("that lucky son-of-a-virgin… He could fall in a cesspool and come out smelling like roses), but he never shows up “on stage”. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/55 "2011-06-17T04:22:08Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The Unnamed god is Mammon, or similar, I think. That’s who I meant by the most powerful god of them all. Except I’d probably use the the name Almighty Buck. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/56 "2011-06-19T01:00:55Z")
Due to this thread, I just listened to the audio book (which I recommend - Guidall is great, even if his female characters always sound a bit vague). I’m really excited about this prospect - I agree that the book has some great elements, but doesn’t quite hang together beautifully in the way Anansi Boys does, and they could do wondrous things with it. The special effects budget would be to cover Shadow’s dreams, Backstage, Laura’s situation, and the final battle, I imagine. There were a lot of elaborate descriptions that made me wonder exactly how they would depict it in film. As for casting, I’d say it’s very strongly implied that Shadow’s mom was at least part black. Early on someone asks him if he’s Gypsy or American Indian, or if he has black blood. His mom suffered from sickle cell anemia. He describes the Icelandic girls as pale and thin, just like Wednesday would like - then muses that his mother was the opposite. So as someone so eloquently put it earlier, a “dusky” actor is called for - and definitely big and strapping. Now ever since I first read it, I’ve pictured [Charles Dance](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001097/) as Wednesday. I admit it was probably because of his one-eyed character in Last Action Hero, but I think he would rock the part. This time around I was picturing [Jackie Earle Haley](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355097/)as Low Key. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/57 "2011-06-20T03:13:03Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > This time around I was picturing [Jackie Earle Haley](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355097/)as Low Key. I was thinking Paul Bettany for Low Key. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0079273/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0079273/) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212/58 "2011-06-20T03:38:02Z")
It occurs to me that including both _American Gods_ and _Anansi Boys_ in the same series would be somewhat problematic at the transition, due to having no major characters in common (the only common character being at best the third-biggest character in each). It’s going to be hard to keep watching the show they’ve come to enjoy with that kind of cast turnover. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-gods-coming-to-hbo-are-we-happy-about-this/585212.md?page=2)