In honor of David Cronenberg publishing his debut novel, you have to wonder if this might be a fruitful art form for a few other filmmakers to tackle. The following is the list of directors who might benefit, both themselves and the general public, by putting pen to page, or at least fingertips to keyboard.

1. Woody Allen: The man has written plays, short stories, and more jokes than possibly any other living human, but he’s never tackled a novel. Maybe such an undertaking would reinvigorate the dean of New York filmmakers.

2. Quentin Tarantino: That he thought Jackie Brown was a let down proves that Tarantino has decided to let his skills as a supremely gifted dialogue writer take a back seat to his imposing directorial skills. While there has not been a frame of his last two films I’d want to alter, maybe some devotion to the written word as an end rather than a means might focus his skills on characters instead of bravura setpieces.

3. Cameron Crowe: Fast Times at Ridgemont High is unjustly out of print, and Conversations with Wilder is one of the most loving pieces of idol worship in the annals of film writing, but Crowe’s films have hit a dead end and a novel might be the best way to right himself. Anyone reading over Crowe’s old Rolling Stone pieces, or even perusing the scripts for Say Anything or Singles, can see he is gifted at capturing people and places, and has empathy to burn. These are powerful tools for a novelist.

4. Richard Linklater: As with Crowe, Linklater has seemingly limitless empathy for his characters, and his screenplays show a keen ear for real conversation. His inquiring intellect indicates a reporter’s desire to understand whatever subject he approaches. All of this seems to show that he might be capable of a book as profoundly touching as his best movies.

5. David O. Russell: Since the infamous leaked footage from the set of I Heart Huckabees, and the stories of pointed off-screen tension between Russell and Three Kings star George Clooney (covered extensively in Sharon Waxman’s Rebels on the Backlot) make it sound as if Russell occasionally has a difficult time diplomatically expressing his point of view to collaborators, perhaps working alone would allow him to use his potent comedic chops and whip up something with as much intelligence, satirical bite, and heart as the best moments in his films.