Movie Monday- We’ve got some exciting adaptation news and updates for you this week! Two new books are making their way to the big screen; “Red Rising”, by Pierce Brown and “Noggin”, by John Corey Whaley. Lionsgate announced directors to helm their next YA project, “Nerve”, by Jeanne Ryan, while “Pride, Prejudice and Zombies” nears production. Be sure and check out the latest (and final) Divergent trailer below, which aired last week on Jimmy Kimmel!! It’s pretty amazing!
Vampire Academy- As most of you know, Vampire Academy hit the theaters last weekend, with dismal box office results. Stay tuned for our take on the film, along with some yummy pictures, on Wednesday! But if you’re debating on whether or not to see it before then, we say go! Fans of the book will enjoy it and the box office isn’t really a good reflection on the movie! It’s no Hunger Games but much better than TMI and Beautiful Creatures!
Nerve- Lionsgate has hired Catfish duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman to helm the film adaptation of Jeanne Ryan’s young-adult novel “Nerve”. The book, which was published in 2012, is about a high school student named Vee, who gets involved in an intense and provocative online game of truth or dare, where watchers get to vote and comment. The story quickly escalates and becomes dangerous as her online popularity rises, and she ends up finding herself in a life or death situation. Jessica Sharzer, a writer and exec producer on American Horror Story, has written a screenplay.
Red Rising- After a huge 7 figure bidding war for the movie rights to series debut Red Rising, Universal Studios prevailed. The first book in The Red Rising Trilogy hit shelves late January, but it seems that the studio is moving full steam ahead with the project- an obvious attempt to get a piece of the Dystopian pie. The story, by newbie author Pierce Brown, is a futuristic-dystopian piece, set in a desolate world on Mars where people must survive a rigorous class system that thrives on oppression and secrecy. Earth is uninhabitable and Darrow, the main character, is a Helldiver- one of a thousand men and women who have lived for generations in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars mining a precious resource in hopes of terraforming the planet. Then Darrow learns that the whole thing is all a lie- Mars is habitable and has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, AKA “Reds”, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. Overseeing production is Joe Roth, Palak Patel and Renee Wolfe who have already brought World War Z director, Marc Forster, on board to helm the film. Author Pierce Brown will adapt the script.
Noggin- Summit Entertainment has landed the movie rights for upcoming YA novel Noggin, by John Corey Whaley, which will hit shelves this April. According to Deadline, the story is about 16 year old Travis Coates, who agrees to be cryogenically frozen, Ted Williams style, for as long as it takes for medical science to be able to cure the disease that is killing him. He wakes up just five years later and finds his head grafted onto the body of someone else. He’s still 16, but discovers life has moved on without him. Seeing that his friends have grown up and his life love is engaged to someone else, he tries to find a way to build a new life, even if new scars are inevitable. Jamie Linden, known for scripting We Are Marshall, adapting the Nicholas Sparks novel Dear John, and made his directing debut with Ten Years, starring Channing Tatum, will both write the script and direct this project! Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen’s Temple Hill Entertainment will produce.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies- To be honest, I thought this Seth Grahame-Smith mash up was a dead project (especially after the disaster that was Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter). This adaptation has been in development limbo- first option five years ago and then passed around from one semi-interested person to the next. Then last May, when the David O. Russell-penned script (American Hustle) landed with director Burr Steers (Charlie St. Cloud), with actress Lily Collins on board to star- but given the pass, we weren’t holding our breath. Seems like we were needlessly doubtful because the project is in fact now moving full steam ahead and apparently gearing up to start production! Darko Entertainment, Natalie Portman’s Handsomecharlie Films, and producer Allison Shearmur are already on board with the project, which was originally set up at Lionsgate. The story is a retelling of Jane Austen‘s classic. It’s set in an alternate universe wherein a zombie epidemic has taken over. The heroine is Elizabeth Bennet, an independent young woman finding love and fighting the undead in the English countryside. The news, from Slashfilm, that the cast is falling into place and that they are close to starting production, is pretty vague, but at least more of a promise than we’ve had up until this point!
Divergent- The world premier of the new and final trailer was revealed last week on Jimmy Kimmel! FINALLY!! This trailer should clear things up for those who haven’t read the book! I’ve heard lots of complaints from people who haven’t read Divergent, groaning “what this movie all about? And why should I care”? I’ve even been with friends watching the trailer in theaters whose eyes just glaze over. I sorta got it, if I hadn’t read the books, I’m not sure if I’d get what the movie was supposed to be about from the trailers I’ve seen so far— but no more! Now everyone else can get excited about this movie with us!! I think this trailer is fab and I can’t wait wait wait for March 21st!! (Click refresh if the videos don’t appear at first).
But First they ziplined in-
And they rest of that interview for your enjoyment-
Insurgent- With all of the excitement of the “Divergent” premier, just around the corner, movie makers are gearing up for the next installment of what they’re hoping will be the next big franchise! Lionsgate announced production on Insurgent will begin this May. They also announced that oscar winning screenwriter, Akiva Goldsman is coming on board to rewrite/work on the script, initially written by Brian Duffield. They have yet to name the director for the film, after announcing in December that Neil Burger had scheduling conflicts and would be moving to the role of producer. “Insurgent” is scheduled to come out on March 20, 2015, and “Allegiant” on March 18, 2016. Following the successes of Summit’s five “Twilight” films and Lionsgate’s first two “Hunger Games” pics, the now joint studios seem to have nailed a strategy to lead in the young-adult genre.
The Giver- Check out this article by the Christian Science Monitor, where they discuss how the movie will be different from the book!
The Maze Runner- Check out these new movie stills! And these as well! Are you getting excited!?
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