Category Archives: Movie Adaptations

The Avengers 2 Set to Film in the UK in Early 2014

The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues onward. While we know that the finished product of Marvel’s The Avengers 2 is several years away, the studio is about to at least start work on the project. Screen Daily reported that production for the sequel is about to begin in Pinewood-Shepperton at the end of this year with filming expected to begin in early 2014. This will be the third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be filmed in that area with Thor: The Dark World filmed in and around the area and Guardians of the Galaxy is currently in production there. Continue reading →

New World War Z Poster AND Trailer Revealed

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It looks like the film adaptation is moving forward despite doubts by almost everyone. Paramount Pictures revealed the official poster for Marc Forster’s World War Z. The film is barely on the novel written by Max Brooks fully titled, “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.”

The film revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.

The novel is a collection of first person accounts of the zombie apocalypse aptly named Z-Day. The narrator plays the role of an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission, who is set to publish a report detailing the zombie war a decade later. The interviews chart a decade-long war against zombies from the view point of many different people of various nationalities. The personal accounts also describe the religious, geo-political, and environmental changes as a result of the Zombie War.

I will give this film a chance however different from the novel it may be. It may be a great zombie film outside the context of the source material. However, I feel like calling it the same name of the novel is going to lead to several disappointed fans.

The film is opening in theaters in June 21, 2013.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was one of the hottest movies to release last year and the beginning of a much-anticipated trilogy. Optionated is excited to offer a brand new giveaway that will give you the chance to win the Blu-ray combo pack of the film.

About the film:

J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an amazing quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers. From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first of a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

What you get:

One winner will receive a copy of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blu-ray Combo Pack.

How to enter:

Take the Are You 100% Hobbit Quiz below and send an email with you name and results from the Are You 100% Hobbit Quiz to Contest@bsckids.com. Please make the title The Hobbit so we know which contest you are entering. If you follow us on Twitter (@Optionated_) or Facebook you get two chances to win, just make sure you include the name you follow us under in the entry email. We will be announcing winners on April 1st! Good Luck!

*You must be 18 years or older to participate. Giveaway is open to residents of US only.

Casting Update For Brett Ratner’s Hercules

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Brett Ratner is *still* making movies? Really? I am a little surprised this man has not yet managed to ruin his career and alienate everyone in the industry through his various television appearances/ interviews where he displays zero class with his misogynist exploits, douchebaggery, and completely assholic tendencies towards those he has worked with. Nevertheless, he is directing a new adaptation of the classic tale of Hercules and it recently updated its casting list. Continue reading →

The Engagements Eyed By Reese Witherspoon To Produce

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Fox 2000 recently announced their plans to adapt the forthcoming novel, “The Engagements,” written by J. Courtney Sullivan. The novel is set for release on June 11th but it appeares that Reese Witherspoon is already eyeing to produce the big screen adaptation.

The official description of the novel is as follows:

Evelyn has been married to her husband for forty years—forty years since he slipped off her first wedding ring and put his own in its place. Delphine has seen both sides of love—the ecstatic, glorious highs of seduction, and the bitter, spiteful fury that descends when it’s over. James, a paramedic who works the night shift, knows his wife’s family thinks she could have done better; while Kate, partnered with Dan for a decade, has seen every kind of wedding—beach weddings, backyard weddings, castle weddings—and has vowed never, ever, to have one of her own.

As these lives and marriages unfold in surprising ways, we meet Frances Gerety, a young advertising copywriter in 1947. Frances is working on the De Beers campaign and she needs a signature line, so, one night before bed, she scribbles a phrase on a scrap of paper: “A Diamond Is Forever.” And that line changes everything.

Witherspoon will reportedly produce alongside Bruna Papandrea.

Goosebumps Film Adaptation Is One Step Closer With New Director

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“Goosebumps,” the popular horror book series from R.L. Stine looks to be one step closer for its next adaptation. The film project was first announced that it was in development wayyyy back in 2008 with Columbia Pictures, but has since stalled. Today it was announced that the project seems to have finally found a director. Deadline reports that Monsters vs. Aliens and Gulliver’s Travels director Rob Letterman is in talks to helm the brand new adaptation. Continue reading →

Oz the Great And Powerful Dominates Weekend box Office

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This past weekend Oz The Great And Powerful effectively dominated the box office despite two films opening for the first time. The film also became the highest grossing film of 2013 with $145 million grossed domestically. It fared well in its 308 domestic IMAX screens, adding another $4 million to its IMAX total. Disney’s movie did even better internationally in its second weekend, bringing in $46.6 million ($2 million from IMAX venues) to bring its international total to $136.8 million and its worldwide total to $281.8 million after just ten days. Continue reading →

Jurassic Park 4 To Be Directed By Safety Not Guaranteed’s Colin Trevorrow

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For a while it seemed like Jurassic Park 4 would never happen, however, in January it was announced that Universal Pictures was finally moving forward with the project. Taking a step forward today, they have officially announced the projects direct: Safety Not Guaranteed’s Colin Trevorrow.

Jurassic Park 4 continues the franchise that was initially based on the 1990 science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton. The novel was adapted by Steven Spielberg and later won 3 Oscars, 19 other awards, and 15 nominations. The book’s sequel, The Lost World (1995), was also adapted by Spielberg into a film in 1997. While the third film in the franchise was not directly adapted from a novel, it utilized both previous novels to create a storyline that had similar thematic elements and overall feel. The third film also used several scenes from both books that had not been adapted into the previous films.

There is no word yet on the plot of the fourth film, but with Treverrow at the helm, there is little to worry about.

The Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment production will be produced by Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley with Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer. The script was written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

The original 1993 Jurassic Park will see a 3D re-release on April 5 of this year, also hitting IMAX 3D theaters. Jurassic Park 4, meanwhile, is scheduled for release on June 13, 2014.

Legendary Pictures Options Soon To Be Published Novel “Brilliance”

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It was recently reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Joe Roth and Palek Patel have bought the film rights to the novel, “Brilliance” by Marcus Sakey. They have bought the rights and set up the film’s development deal with Legendary Pictures.

“Brilliance” has not yet been published but is scheduled to be released this summer. This purchase continues a trend of Hollywood Studios buying unpublished novels that they believe will be a big hit – before another studio gets the chance to cash in on its popularity.

The official description of the novel is as follows:

In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in—and betray his own kind.

Patel and Roth are most known for their recent work on the recently released film, Oz The Great and Powerful. Sakey also appears to have extensive knowledge on the subject of crime. To conduct research for his plots, he has shadowed homicide detectives and gang cops, and interviewed soldiers, among other things. His debut novel, The Blade Itself, was featured as a New York Times Editor’s Pick and named one of Esquire Magazine’s 5 Best Reads of 2007.

Ben Affleck bought the film rights to The Blade Itself in 2008 for his production company. The film rights to his second and third novels, Good People and At the City’s Edge, have also been bought.

There is no word yet on when this project will start production or a projected release date.

Divergent Adaptation Adds Three New Actors To Cast List

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You may remember the novel, “Divergent” from our BSC Book Tournament last year and now it is getting its own big screen adaptation. It was announced a few weeks ago that Shailene Woodley had been cast in the lead role but her costars have finally been revealed. Ansel Elgort (Carrie), Zoe Kravitz (X-Men: First Class) and Maggie Q (Live Free or Die Hard) have joined the cast of Neil Burger’s adaptation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Q will play Tori, a tattoo artist that befriends Tris while Kravitz plays another of Tris’ allies, Christina. Elgort, meanwhile, will play Tris’ twin brother, Caleb.

Here is the synopsis of the dystopian project:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher are producing via their Red Wagon Entertainment banner along with Pouya Shahbazian. The novel was written by Veronica Roth and was released in 2012.

Divergent is planned to hit theaters on March 21, 2014.