Author Archives: Sarah Sommer

About Sarah Sommer

Sarah is a journalist and an artist who lives in the city. She loves movies and television. She reads early and often. Sarah also helps out over at BSCkids.com and our other sites!

Ron Weasley: The Boy Who Almost Wasn’t

Can you imagine a world where Ron died half way through the series? Where he doesn’t end up with Hermione and they don’t live happily ever after? Well it was almost a reality and fans everywhere feel relief about what could have been (but never was).

You might be surprised to know that J.K Rowling had planned on killing off one of the most beloved characters of the Harry Potter series. According to an interview from MTV.com, Rowling revealed she had initially intended to send Ron Weasley to the grave instead of having him end up with Hermione.

Continue reading →

Upcoming Book Remakes for November

It seems like everywhere you look a new book is being remade into a movie (or a show) and you might not always hear about them, even the good ones. So because every month there are new and exciting remakes of books into movies and television, we will try to keep you updated.

Starting with the month of November! Continue reading →

A Girl’s Read of City of Bones – Part 1

I, as a young woman, love romantic stories (and yes, even supernatural romantic stories) so I spent my summer reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. It is book 1 of The Mortal Instruments book series and it is currently being made into a movie. The book is separated into three major sections so that is what sections I chose to break up my thoughts on the novel.

::::Spoilers Ahead::::

My first thoughts were, why the hell is a 15 year old going to club called, Pandemonium. That just seems dangerous and scary. I get it, there are bouncers and security measures, but she’s only 15 going to a dance club filled with ravers, goth kids, and the like.  I know city life is a little different for teenagers but clubs seem like the something they should wait on. Right?
Continue reading →

Matheson’s “Steel” By Terry Persun

I just saw “Real Steel” (http://www.dreamworksstudios.com/films/real-steel) in the theater and enjoyed the special effects quite a bit. As an engineer, I’m interested in how the robots were made, how much of the movie was CGI, and how the directors and editors mixed the two. After working on an article that will be featured in www.EntertainmentEngineering.com magazine soon, I had a more acute knowledge of what went on behind the scenes.
Continue reading →

The Ten Best Movies (That Were Also Books)

Ok, so not every book to movie remake is going to be great, or even good yet they keep happening. Now I love to see my favorite books being made in a new medium but only if it isn’t shamed in the process (The Time Travelers Wife I’m talking to you).  Either way, there are many great remakes in the world of books to film and you can’t overlook their magic. In my opinion, a good remake is one that takes a story you know and presents it to you in a way that makes you feel as if you are watching a whole new thing. You get emotional at parts you are supposed to and you laugh at parts that are funny even if they are things you’ve seen and heard before. Those are the reasons I picked the films below.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Not only is this one of my favorite films ever but it was also remade by my favorite director, Wes Anderson. The story was actually a children’s book written by British author Roald Dahl. He also wrote “Charlie and Chocolate Factory” but this, in my opinion, is his better story. Wes did a fantastic job adding to the story in appropriate ways to make it a feature length film and brought life to a story meant for children. I love this movie in every way and is my favorite book to film feature. It is heartwarmingly hilarious.

“Mrs. Fox: [to Ash] We’re all different.

[Points to Mr.Fox]
Continue reading →

Welcome to Optionated!

We see movies all the time that were based on novels, and you may think “The book was waaaayyy better,” or you may think, “This is great! They didn’t mess my favorite book up at all!” (or some of us think, “What? That was based on a book?”) Whichever you are thinking, you’ve come to the right place!

Here at Optionated we are going to focus on the world of books that have been optioned to be movies (and television shows or games even). We will give you interviews with authors who have been optioned, and authors who know a bit about the process. We will also be including tons of original content, from optioned opinion pieces to reviews of books to movies.
Continue reading →