The second installment in author Andrew Lane’s Young Sherlock Holmes series, Rebel Fire, is being released in an audiobook version by Macmillan Audio. The audiobook is narrated by Daniel Weyman, who has received glowing reviews for his emotional readings such as his work on the first novel in the series. The audiobook program provides listeners with a delightful combination of emotion and action, and is a brilliant way to introduce younger fans to Sherlock Holmes and his legendary sleuthing.
Young Sherlock Holmes, a teen series is the first ever endorsed by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Estate.
Readers follow fourteen-year-old Sherlock as he discovered that Amyus Crow, his American tutor, is hiding some dark secrets. However, he doesn’t anticipate how deeply entangled those secrets are and that Crow is omehow mixed up in the incredible reappearance of John Wilkes Booth, the notorious American assassin supposedly killed by the U.S. Army.
This second novel takes our hero across the Atlantic to The United States where a horrendous fiend awaits and a defeated army threatens to rise again.
This teen series has received glowing reviews from all over the world.
This adventure with a 14-year old Sherlock Holmes is as fascinating as Doyle’s brilliant original stories. Stage actor Weyman is able to convey both the emotion and the action adding to the sheer pleasure of the yarn itself.” – Parade
Author Andrew Lane works for the British government but has been a fan of Sherlock Holmes since he was ten giving him to ability to infuse his writing with knowledge and passion.
Congratulations to author Sara Grant who’s novel, Dark Parties has come out on top as the winner for the 6th Annual BSC Book Tournament!
We started the contest out with 32 entries into the March Madness style competition. We called this years tournament “A Taste of the Hunger Games” given that all the novels were ones that fans of the Hunger Games trilogy would enjoy. Each novel in the tournament took a look at dystopian futures.
After weeks of voting by our readers, Dark Parties has come out as the winner of it all.
Dark Parties follows Sixteen-year-old Neva who has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield “protects” them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But according to the government, there’s nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a “dark party” to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she’s ever known, including the people she loves the most.
Grant’s dystopian novel has caught the attention and love of readers all over the world making it this year’s winner!
I would also like to thank everyone who participated in the tournament this year as well. They were truly all fabulous books. You can see the list of novels included in this years tournament here.
MIPTV has announced a new development deal. If all things go according to plan, Allan Quatermain will grace television screens in a new 10 part series. For those of you not familiar with adventures of Quatermain, he’s the 1880s literary character that inspired Indiana Jones; the creation of, not mentor. The series is currently clocked at $30 million in order for this action-adventure to be produced in a team up between Sonar Entertainment and Ecosse Films.
When’s the last time you might have heard of this character? Back in 2003 when Sean Connery played the crotchety, bearded adventurer in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Created by H. Rider Haggard in 1885; on a bet; Allan Quatermain is the action hero of King Solomon’s Mines and the subsequent prequels and sequels. Yeah, this was written on a bet between brothers, namely whether or not Haggard could write a novel half as good as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, released in 1883. What resulted was a book that became the year’s best seller.
In fact, due to the success of King Solomon’s Mines, a new genre of storytelling was created called the, “Lost World.” This was the Twilight of its time, and soon writers were coming out of the woodwork with their own teeny romance equivalent. Okay, maybe Jules Verne was responsible for the genre back in 1863 with Journey to the Center of the Earth, but Haggard must have had a better publicist. The Lost World genre stuck and soon other books appeared which were compared to Haggard’s works. Such works included Edgar Rice Burroughs’s The Land That Time Forgot, and Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World.
Haggard couldn’t stop there though. Soon the sequels and prequels were cranked out. Allan Quatermain would appear as the protagonist of stories ranging from his younger days at the age of 18, to his older and experienced years at 68. 50 years is a lot of grist for a television series to work with. In fact, I’m pretty sure that they did the same with the Indiana Jones franchise.
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles was a television series that went on from 1992 to 1993. The official synopsis seems similar to what the Allan Quatermain storytelling went though.
“The now legendary, almost mythical character of Indiana Jones once had a childhood. Every episode starts out with the elderly man that he is in the 1990’s getting into a specific situation where he has to tell a story from his past. The stories go back to when he was ten years old and on a world tour with his father, and to his late-teens when he fought in World War I.”
This can only be explained through the magic of public domain stories and characters. The only good thing that came from that show was a young Sean Patrick Flannery, who would grow up and kill criminals as a Boondock Saint.
Stewart Till, the CEO of Sonar Entertainment told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s an incredible character from a range of best-selling books. I read all the books as a child and it is something that many Brits have grown up with. It’s also the kind of high-concept adventure that broadcasters are looking for.”
Though no talent has signed on yet, Till says he has some actors in mind. “There are many British male actors in their early 30s who could play this rugged adventurer.” The only problem I see is how the world may perceive the story and it’s hero. Who’s going to take the chance that they’ll be typecast as an imitation Indiana Jones? Not that it’s true, but it’s all a matter of perception.
Till expects that scripts will be ready in the next few months, while the projected budget for each one hour episode is roughly $3 million dollars. Already there are plans to shoot in Africa. “It is in exotic settings with lost tribes and treasures and African superstitions and big adventures, so its got everything,” said Till.
Like most Joss Whedon fans, I love Fran Kranz. He is one of my favorite veterans of Joss Whedon projects. (Dollhouse anyone!) Finally, we get to see him again in this Friday’s opening of The Cabin in the Woods.
While he does have the new film opening he is also going to be appearing WITH Whedon (as well as Amy Acker, his costar from Cabin in the Woods) in Much Ado About Nothing, a new low-budget adaptation of the William Shakespeare play. It was filmed last year as a “mystery project” and in only 12 days.
Kranz said regarding the secret project,
He shot that while he was on vacation,” says Kranz. “I remember he said he was going to go to Italy with his wife and kids, then all of a sudden he started to shoot a movie, which is crazy… He does a lot of readings at his house, he’s a great host. He always has people over, but he likes to have something to do, something specific. Sometimes he’ll read plays. One night we all read ‘A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream’. He called me one day and said he was thinking about doing ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, but filming it this time. That struck me as doing something handheld, with a Flipcam or something. Not something big with grip trucks, all of this equipment and stuff. But that’s what it turned into.”
Even better for Whedon fans is that it will also include other familiar faces such as Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, and Reed Diamond.
He turned his home into a movie set,” Kranz continues. “He had extras and all of that. We had no idea. But I think that’s what he wanted. He wanted us to go into it with a casual feel and to do Shakespeare like you’re not used to seeing. He didn’t want big production value or it to be over-rehearsed. I think he wanted it to be natural. It might be a bizarre benefit to it that we didn’t master the language. The other actors all came from different places so it was an eclectic group. It’s Shakespeare, the language is rich and dense… I think it could be this wonderful blessing that it feels intimate, alive and casual and fun. I hope that bleeds off the screen and will be refreshing for audiences. I haven’t seen it yet, but I trust Joss always and I think it’s going to be awesome.”
Unfortunately there is no specific release date yet for Much Ado About Nothing, we do get our Fran Kranz fix with The Cabin in the Woods this friday, April 13th, which was written by Whedon and Drew Goddard.
Whedon is also releasing his Marvel’s The Avengers on May 4th.
Fran Kranz also took time to answer recent questions about The Cabin In The Woods.
Early critics of the film have said that this is a film that will deconstruct the horror genre. Kranz gave his thoughts on the genre over the last few years and the effect his new film will have on it.
I loved the first Saw movie, I thought it was awesome and it had a great concept. I like Eli Roth and thought the first Hostel was kind of fun. Cabin Fever, too. But I know the Saw and Hostel franchises were definitely under scrutiny by Drew and Joss, I know they were disappointed by where horror films were headed or where they were presently. I know Cabin Fever isn’t recent, but can’t think of any “cabin” movies that were made recently. The “cabin” reminds me of the glory days of horror in the ’70s and ’80s. The Evil Dead and the original Friday the 13th. The Cabin in the Woods pays homage to those classics. When we started shooting, Drew gave us those movies to watch – The Evil Dead, the original Friday the 13th,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead – he wanted to get us into the mindset of the classics. At the end of the day, Joss and Drew could speak better of this than I can. I just see Cabin in the Woods as a very fun movie. Great adventure movie. When I finished the script, “horror film” did not come to mind, or even “funny horror film.” I just thought it was a fun, crazy, action, adventure movie. It steps outside of the genre and is so hybrid genre and unique. There are so many movie kidnapping and killing movies – torture porn – I just don’t see any value in those. Cabin is needed and wanted and I think audiences will understand why we’re getting it now. And, I just drew a blank… “
He also talked about the camaraderie that comes with fellow actors in films together.
Drew was saying how the young people in horror films…he doesn’t get the sense that the characters in these movies don’t like each other anymore. In current horror films, one person is killed and the rest of the characters don’t even care. They don’t seem to have real relationships. That’s something we stressed in our movie. Drew wanted us to be believable as friends and love each other. He said, don’t pay attention to turning the conventions on their heads, that’s my job. He wanted us to focus on being real and making the performances honest. So, in terms of camaraderie, that informed us to actually being friends. We all loved each other. We were up in Vancouver and had our own Cabin in the Woods thing going. It was just us in a hotel, having dinner, getting drinks. We grew tight and I’m still very close with everyone and I have a special man crush on Chris Hemsworth.”
Be sure to go see Cabin in the Woods this friday or at least watch the trailer below:
A few weeks ago toy maker and mega company, Mattel announced they were turning The Hunger Games into Barbies. Specifically, the heroine of the tale, Katniss Everdeen. And now we have a first look of what they Barbie doll looks like. The doll does not show Katniss wearing her reaping dress, or the dress that is on fire, but a more natural look for the character: her arena wear complete with a miniature mockingjay pin, bow and arrow, forest-tromping boots, and that one, plump braid.
The doll’s designer, Bill Greening said,
I chose to dress her in the outfit she wears during the games, since this is where all the non-stop action takes place and is instantly recognizable by fans. Of course, she wears her mockingjay pin proudly on her lapel.”
Designers made sure to get the look correct by examining the actual outfit worn by Jennifer Lawrence, who played Katniss in the film adaptation. Greening added,
“Hopefully Hunger Games fans can appreciate the attention to detail. The doll’s minimalistic style and details — such as her loosely braided hair and makeup-free look — also really embody the heroic character Katniss.”
He claims it is a make-up free look, but she sure does look polished to me. Aside from that, I do agree that they did a good job bringing the look from the movie to the doll.
Greening also mentioned that he was a huge fan of the book and the film allowing him to pay tribute to Katniss and the novels.
“I am a huge Hunger Games fan and loved all three books, so it was truly an amazing experience for me to be able to design the Katniss Barbie doll,” Greening says. “I think it really pays tribute to Katniss and The Hunger Games.”
The Hunger Games Katniss Barbie will be available everywhere in August and for pre-order starting today at 12 p.m. ET at BarbieCollector.com and various other online retail outlets.
Today begins our championship of the 6th Annual BSC Book Tournament: A Taste of the Hunger Games. We have featured 32 different dystopian novels, and over the last few weeks our readers have voted it down to the remaining two books.
We have Dark Parties written by Sara Grant who was originally featured in the Female Lead Bracket VS The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch who was originally featured in the Global Catastrophe Bracket. These two will square off in our final championship and one will be crowned the winner of Optionated’s 6th Annual BSC Book Tournament.
First, Ill give you a little background of each novel, and you can vote for which one you want to win at the bottom. Voting will continue through till April 10th, with the winner announced April 11th.
Dark Parties written by Sara Grant
Publication Date: August 3, 2011
Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield “protects” them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there’s nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says…
Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a “dark party” to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she’s ever known, including the people she loves the most.
About the Author
Sara Grant is an American living in the UK. Born and raised in Washington, Indiana, Sara graduated from Indiana University with degrees in journalism and psychology. She now works as a freelance writer and editor for Working Partners, a London-based company creating series fiction for children. She lives in London with her husband. This is her first novel.
The Eleventh Plague written by Jeff Hirsch
Publication Date: September 1, 2011
In an America devastated by war and plague, the only way to survive is to keep moving.
In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing–and their lives–forever.
About the Author
Jeff Hirsch graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with an MFA in Dramatic Writing. THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE is his debut novel. He lives in Astoria, New York, with his wife, and you can visit him online at www.jeff-hirsch.com.
Rachel: How does it feel to be back in Westeros? Enjoying a bigger budget and critically acclaimed actors?
Elena: It feels GREAT to be back in Westeros! Damn. I was definitely starting to feel like I could get back into playing the Game of Thrones before the season started, but pretty much from the rundown of the most salient points of last season I was thinking fuck yes. It’s just…so devious! And so dangerous! And there are so many beautiful men; I just don’t know where to look. I feel like Mozart in Amadeus: “They’re all so beautiful! Oh, why don’t I have three heads?” Except that usually there is only one on screen at any given time, so, you know, I get by with just the one. And the costumes are looking sharper, and the scale seems bigger, and we have gotten to see that the pretty excellent dragon effects from last season were not a fluke. Pretty much the first episode was everything I hoped it would be.
This is also the first season I’m watching with no idea where the story is going or who any of the new characters are (other than those I can identify by name or prior reference, such as Asha “Yarra the Pirate” Greyjoy or Stannis Baratheon). I actually think it makes it more fun for me, because then I can discover the story and have the insane reactions to events that all the non-book-readers enjoyed last season.
…If I’m being honest, I have to admit I am enjoying the show more than I enjoyed the part of the first book I read. I think the reading speed I was limited to made a difference—this show just seems to move so much faster than the book did (whereas if I had been reading the books at a normal speed I probably wouldn’t feel like it was THAT big a difference, because I would expect the book to be a 10-12 hour read straight through).
At this point I am planning to just let the series ride and go read the books after the show is done. However…I reserve the right to change my mind if at the end of this (or any future) season I can’t stand not knowing what happens next! I think the lack of a final book in the series will hamper that impulse, though…if I have to wait one way or the other, why not just pace it out with the show?
Rachel: The first episode opened with Joffrey! He’s your favorite! Do you think Sansa is doing well?
Elena: HA! Your assessment of Joffrey in the anticipation post, that he is the one character we are meant to hate unequivocally and as such should be cherished, really helped me with him. Now I can revel in his bastardry (heh—literal AND figurative) and not have to worry about keeping an open mind on him or whether I’ll have my mind changed when I see his point of view the way I’ve heard happens with Cersei/Jaime in later books.
Sansa is…surviving. And for that she gets serious props. She has been thrust into a shit situation (okay, she also thrust herself into it BUT she didn’t really understand it and, while, WELCOME TO REALITY, WHERE ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES, PRINCESS…she is also a sheltered young lady who is being abused, threatened, and is living in fear of her life). And yet she is still alive, and more than that, she is not just looking out for herself or trying to become like her keepers, but in her own way is still exercising her own will. Saving that man? That was ballsy.
Show Sansa is actually kind of admirable. I don’t want to emulate her, but I like what she is doing. My problem with book Sansa was that I got her point of view, not just her actions, and her point of view convinced me she was functionally retarded…some kind of daydream savant or something. If I don’t have to see her FUBAR point of view, I can project some kind of practicality and shrewdness behind her behavior here. Yay, Show Sansa! You might make it to the end alive!
Rachel: Thoughts on new characters? Stannis, Davros, Melisandre, Craster?
Elena: Stannis kind of disappointed me. He was so…uncharismatic. Definitely not like either of his brothers. And we thought Ned Stark was inflexible? Shit. Stannis makes Ned look like an anti-hero of ambiguous morality. “My brother rebels? Kill him for a traitor. Dead Ned Stark’s son rebels? Kill him as a traitor.” Stannis does not play the Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend Game. He only recognizes enemies.
Melisandre is really interesting to me because she is the first female we have met who is gaining power through her own agency (as opposed to who she was born or whom she married). I also reveled in her unspoken Princess Bride reference: “I’ve spent the last three years building up an immunity to iocane powder.” In our Skype discussion Rachel asked me if I thought she had done some subterfuge like that or if she is protected by her god. I vote that she is not touched by the divine but is simply a master manipulator. I think it would be more interesting, narratively speaking, if she DOES have the backing of a god whose power she can call forth at will…but I have yet to see any damn evidence of any god manifesting in the world, and so for now I am taking the cynical view on her.
Craster is…the fundamentalist who marries his daughters and wants to bang Jon Snow, Who Knows Where to Put It, because Jon is prettier than half his daughter-wives? Yeah, that guy was crazy. I hope his daughter’s riot over Jon Snow when he leaves. Lol.
Rachel: Five kings (ok, 4 and a queen). Place your bets! Stannis or Renly? Is Dany doing it with her bloodriders? Did you like Robb’s decision to send Theon to the Iron Islands?
Elena: Stannis lasts longer than Renly—because Melisandre is going to give him an army of true believers, and that is going to trump gold and political ideology/hero worship.
I think Dany is about to start doing her blood riders…menstrual days give the term a whole new meaning (…I know. ICK. Sorry. Had to!)
Robb is entering a world of pain with that choice. YOU ARE KING IN THE NORTH, SO STAY IN THE NORTH. DUH. I understand Theon’s point that if you want to win the war you have to take King’s Landing. The thing is…Robb doesn’t need to win the war. He needs to not lose the war until the south gets tired of fighting the north. No one can get behind him the way they can in the south thanks to the bottleneck on the continent. Winter is coming, and he and his men know how to survive in the winter better than any of the thin-blooded southerners. They are all about to start infighting. All he has to do is make the conflict with his army last so long and be so costly they give up. Eventually even the Lannisters would if Robb can make the costs outweigh the benefits.
Rachel: Next week will probably be more Ayra and Renly, less King’s Landing. What are you hoping for next episode?
Elena: More of the same! And a Nymeria/Arya reunion!
Tyrion’s Axiom of the Week: If I were capable of tricking father, I’d be emperor of the world.
Elena: What did you think of the new-to-show characters–Melisandra and Stannis & co, and northern hut guy?
Rachel: Seeing as I’ve read the books I’m more interested in seeing side characters that I love hit the small screen (Davros! Dolorous Edd! Gilly! Ser Dontos (that Elena called “that man” LOLZ)), but I’m also really really excited for Team Stannis. Because as Elena has said, Stannis is the wet blanket of Westeros. You can always count on him to come in and ruin your day. He IS worse than Ned. He’s totally and absolutely unforgiving. There’s the right way to do things and the wrong way to do things. Stannis is the arbiter of right. It makes him so interesting to me. You can tell in his intro scene with the burning of the Seven and Melisandre telling him to draw out the burning sword, that he might not give a shit about any of it. When he is finished with the ceremonial duties of Melisandre’s R’hllor show (that is the one true god’s name btw, R’hllor) Stannis just leaves the sword on the beach and marches his uppity butt back up to Dragonstone to write a snippy letter. You get the feeling that Stannis does not put up with any nonsense, and yet he’s putting up with all KINDS of nonsense with this R’hllor business.
Which is exactly why I asked Elena if she thought Melisandre had magic/god on her side. Those of us who have read the book tend to say Melisandre definitely has some magic. She does some crazy shit! We’re hoping she can pull off another piece of magic in the next book (c’mon George!). I can’t wait for that thing that is going to happen just to get Elena’s reaction. I predict lots of fuck words.
Elena: Any changes from the book that you found significant, even if the change itself isn’t that big?
Rachel:I think it is significant that Littlefinger is so confrontational. The Littlefinger in the novels is much slyer, to the point where any commotion he causes makes me think he is trying to distract those he confronts from juicier meat. I LOVE the scene between him and Cersei, but it also comes off (like the monologue with the prostitutes from Season 1) as something Littlefinger just wouldn’t do.
The rest of the episode remains a set up and introduction of new characters. I have no complaints whatsoever. As I say in the podcast – television might actually be a better medium for this story.
Elena:Who’s winning the badass CG/CG enhanced pet war, direwolves or dragons?
Rachel: Definitely the dragons! The direwolves look great, Grey Wind was all huge and wolfy, but he also looked slightly like he’d been pasted over Robb and foreshortened. I was hella impressed with the dragons. Not only do they look like they have weight and leathery texture, but they also look great in the full sunlight of the red waste. That’s hard to do with CGI.
I’m sad because it also looks very expensive so I don’t think we’ll be seeing too much of the dragons or all three at once. HOWEVER, we can tell that the budget has been increased. The costumes are richer, there’s more location shooting, the CGI is def. better and most importantly the Wig Budget has been raised! YES!!!! Cersei is free of that horrible contraption they had on her head! It’s amazing! She looks soooo much better!
Elena: Now that Martin’s got 2 books left, any thoughts on what happens when the show catches up to him? Or do you think he can pull off a book every 2 years to stay ahead of the series?
Rachel: Here is where I defend myself with regards to my previous statement.
I was talking about the show with a friend, and they made a very valid point. The show definitely takes advantage of the fact that GRRM is a screenwriter. He is extremely aware of how his work would translate visually. Game of Thrones is great television, period. The New York Times can suck it. It has fewer characters than most soap operas and more drama. There are teams and individuals that viewers can root for. There are vistas and clothing and food and magical animals and bawdy jokes. It’s television! What the show does BETTER than the novels is cut the bloat. It gets rid of all the stuff we don’t need. That stuff might be nice to read, but it would be hell to sit through, and so it gets cut.
We know book 3, A Storm of Swords, is being cut into two seasons. Fine. A very lot happens in that book, plot wise. I don’t think you can say the same for Feast or Dance but it’s arguable due to the amount of characters involved that they too can be cut into multiple seasons. Cool. Let’s say we DO catch up to Dance with the series. If George maintains his 6-year time frame for writing the novels…we might catch up with him for the last novel. This could happen. George has a lot of demands on his time now that the books have gotten so popular and the TV show requires his attention and screenwriting on occasion, plus his other projects and tours and conventions. He could very well take 6 years to write the next book. Will the show then become canon?
He’s told Benioff and Weiss the ending. Presumably because HBO wouldn’t sign on to a project they didn’t have a full outline for. So if they follow that overall plan will George then produce the exact opposite in his novels? JUST TO SCREW WITH US? Who knows!?
Honestly, I don’t think it’s something to actually worry about. But it does make for nice conversation – books vs. the show: what is canon?
Can’t get enough of us? Then listen in on our brainstorming conversation for this episode! The podcast is back…well, like a White Walker it has come back from the dead as a less formal but more lethal version of its former self. No guests. No structure. Just Elena and Rachel discussing the episode over drinks. More wine, sir?
In case you thought the end of the film, The Woman In Black, was the end of the story, you were wrong. It was recently announced by Simon Oakes, Vice-Chairman of Exclusive Media and President & CEO of Hammer and Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, Co-Chairmen of Exclusive Media, Hammer’s parent company, that Hammer and Talisman are developing a new film, The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death, which will continue the story of The Woman in Black 40 years later.
The sequel, is also an adaptation of an original story created by the author, Susan Hill.
If you haven’t seen the film, you can read two reviews we have here, one detailing the horror aspect and the other an overall review. The film and novel are set in the early 1900’s and features a young lawyer, played by Daniel Radcliffe in the film, as he heads to Eel Marsh House to settle paperwork but instead discovers the vengeful ghost known as the titular Woman In Black. The sequel is set forty years later when a couple experiences a haunting in the marsh house.
The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death is set to be brought to the big screen by the same production team behind last years film. It will be produced by Exclusive Media, Talisman, Cross Creek Pictures and Alliance Films, in addition to Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, who will serve as Executive Producer.
Simon Oakes, Vice-Chairman of Exclusive Media and President & CEO of Hammer Films said,
We are proud and honoured to be working with Susan again on ‘The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death,’ a wonderful new tale every bit as atmospheric and terrifying as its predecessor ‘The Woman in Black.’”
Nigel Sinclair Co-Chairman and CEO of Exclusive Media added:
It’s thrilling to be able to work with someone of Susan’s literary calibre on such a fascinating project. It’s also fantastic to have Jon on board again to help bring this new story to life on the big screen.”
There is no word yet regarding the full plot, or an anticipated release date. Normally, I am suspicious of sequels but considering this one is also written by the author of the first, and the same team is returning, it might be pretty good.
Wether your liked the big screen adaptation of The Hunger Games or not, if you are a fan of the series you are probably just as excited for the sequel to be made into a film as well. Catching Fire hasn’t begun production yet, but the director Gary Ross has mentioned that there are a few things he is likely to change in the sequel.
But knowing some of the changes they ADDED to the first film, we can surmise that they will have to also change their effect on the second and third novel’s adaptation.
You can see five likely changes below:
SPOILER WARNING: The following article presumes you have read both The Hunger Games and the sequel, Caching Fire Proceed at your own risk.
The Riot in District 11
They showed this scene happening in the film right after Rue’s death. I get the reasoning behind it. It is more moving, stirring and emotional. However in the novel series, District 11 only sends her bread as thanks for her kindness. We do eventually see a riot in the district but it is not until the second novel when Katniss and Peeta head there for the Victory Tour. It ends with an old man whistling and then promptly being shot to death with Katniss and Peeta hustled out.
Because the film had the riot occur during the games of the first movie, there are several ways they could handle the original riot. They could have another riot, but that seems like it would be sending a message that the Capitol isn’t strong, but also a message that the riots are stronger and more driven now. Or they could write out the riot and just mention it, that is a little lazier. Or they could take out the Victory Tour all together.
Either way they will have to adapt the screenplay and story to account for the other riot already occurring.
No introduction of hovercrafts removing bodies from the arena
The film left out the fact that Capitol Hovercrafts came to retrieve bodies of dead tributes. That Peeta and Katniss use this as a way to know where tributes are in the arena. This may seem like a small detail but it is important at the end of the sequel Catching Fire.
At the end of the novel when Katniss breaks the force field, a hovercraft swoops down and picks her up and its important because she initially fears that she is being kidnapped by the Capitol. Those who haven’t read the books, i.e. those who just saw the movie, don’t know about the capabilities of the hovercraft or what their showing up normally who mean for the character.
This should be a relatively easy fix with a little backtracking in explanation of the Capitol, but only if they decide to keep the ending of the move the same as the book. If they don’t fans will be pretty upset but it would be easier than having to reintroduce the hovercraft technology.
A lot of District 12 details were left out
We got to see the district briefly but the inner workings of the district were left out. Such as the relationship between the district people and the peacekeepers, Darius hanging out at the Hob, and even the idea that her hunting at all is somewhat illegal. The hunting issue becomes major when Gale is whipped in public during book two.
Considering much of the second novel takes place in District 12 we can hope that they will spend more time describing the ins and the outs of Katniss’ home. Either that or it will be glossed over even more to get more quickly to the Quarter Quell.
Watching the Gamemakers worked in the first movie, but it won’t in the second
We know from the books and even a bit in the novel that Katniss knows how the gamesmakers think when creating the games. Seeing the gamemakers work in the first one was a nice touch but it will definitely not work the same if incorporated into the second book.
Much of Catching Fire‘s Quarter Quell is left in the dark because our protagonist, Katniss has no idea what they are planning till about halfway into the games. Because the Quell is special consequences, she doesn’t know what they are planning or how they have the arena laid out until halfway through she kind of sorta figures out the clock-work.
If they choose to incorporate the gamemakers scenes into the second film, we will lose the sense of confusion the audience shares with Katniss in the novel. Hopefully since Gary Ross has already stated things will be a little bit different, he will take a note from the novel and let us keep our shared perceptions of the Quell with Katniss.
Katniss and Peeta never have a confrontation about their feelings for each other
One of the things I disliked the most of the movie adaptation of the first book (don’t get me wrong, I still liked the movie) was that Peeta and Katniss don’t have the talk where it is revealed that she may or may not have been faking it for the cameras. The audience learns that his feelings are very clearly real but we are not so sure about Katniss. The film, unfortunately, leaves it without that confrontation.
This means they will either have to include it in the beginning of the film adaptation of Catching Fire or they will have to keep up the less strained more ambivalent relationship between the two. Hopefully the former is what they decide because it is a crucial moment for the characters that sets the tone for their relationship the rest of the series. It also helps set up the love triangle with Gale, without her back and forth feelings for the two we have a less credible love triangle.
Catching Fire is scheduled to hit theaters on November 22, 2013.
