Director Gary Ross Talks Hunger Games And Catching Fire

The Hunger Games has finally hit theaters over the weekends, and most fans seems to be pleased with the adaptation. But this is only the first book in the trilogy that has definite plans to be adapted for the big screen as well.

The director, Gary Ross, answered questions about the film and its sequel during a Los Angeles press junket.

Ross explained the idea behind the aesthetic look of the film, and why he planned on shooting it the way he did. He also described what the studio thought of his filming the project.

Well it’s also very handheld. There’s also a lot of vérité in it; that was really intentional. I’m trying to capture what was visceral in the books, which is your first-person present tense narrative, and that’s gonna require a certain amount of subjectivity. In order to be in Katniss’ point of view and in her shoes—what being in a character’s point of view is, is restricting the information that the audience has to what that character has, and not being writer omniscient. I’m not cutting from place-to-place, I’m moving in this serpentine, destabilized path as Katniss wanders through this world. That’s not only true in the shooting style, it’s also true in the editing style. My editors are Stephen Mirrione who cut Babel andBiutiful and Juliette Welfling who cut The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and all the Jacques Audiard films, The Beat That My Heart Skipped and A Prophet and stuff like that. This was a very conscious decision to create a very subjective style because the books are so subjective, they’re first-person and they’re urgent and you see the world as she sees the world, so that was the reason for it.

As far as the studio’s concerned, I made a little short film with some references in the beginning when I got the gig, and I was very clear what I was gonna do. Part of it was to get the job, but the other thing was if I was gonna get the job, I wanted them to know what this movie was going to be. I wasn’t going to make a slick, glossy over-produced piece of entertainment because then I would be doing what the Capitol did. Then I’m actually putting on the Hunger Games and not making a movie of the Hunger Games. Especially with this premise, it had to feel very, very real and it had to feel urgent, so it was a true use of the word vérité, it had to feel true.

Obviously, it will be quite a while before the DVD is even thought of, let alone the reveals of what deleted scenes fans can expect. But Ross says there were actually only a few scenes that were cut from the film.

No, there weren’t many scenes that I shot that were cut. There were some things from the book that I wanted to put in that I couldn’t, like the Avox subplot, where they came from, things like that. There weren’t many scenes [that I cut], there were a few scenes, but I don’t kind of believe in the whole ‘Director’s Cut’ thing, because this is the director’s cut, the thing I’m doing. There isn’t another version of the movie that I would’ve done, this is my version of the movie that I really intended to do. I think there’ll be a lot of cool supplemental materials on the DVD, but I don’t think I’ll be putting in other scenes that got dropped.

He also confirmed that he will be working on the next film, Catching Fire, the second novel in the trilogy.

I am attached to the next film and I’m intending to do it, I haven’t had a chance to think about it yet. […] It’s not like I’ve had a chance to think about Catching Fire but yeah it’s my intention to do the next one. They’ve asked me to do so.

In case you are worried about the second film having a different feel than the first, Ross says there will be differences but nothing is set in stone yet.

I think that there may be some aesthetic departures from what I did here, but I don’t wanna talk about them yet not because I’m being evasive, but just because they’re so half-baked I wouldn’t be doing myself justice in the process if I talked about them prematurely, but I think there may be some differences, yeah.

Ross also took time to explain the problems with the editing process. What scenes were the most difficult and which were the easiest when it came down to the editing.

Some things that I thought were going to be really, really difficult I had prepped so much for that they fell in so nicely, like the Tracker Jacker sequence or even The Reaping. They’re so unimaginably difficult with the number of axes you’re shooting and what the storytelling is, like The Reaping is eight pages and you need to cover it so specifically. The Tracker Jacker scene is basically vertically configured over 80 feet in a tree and we’re really in the trees and Jen’s really climbing the tree with harnesses on, and the crew’s hanging out of trees and scaffolding and stuff like that, so they were very, very daunting in the run-up to them, in the prep, but they actually fell in very easy—and the fire sequence—‘cause we were ready for them.

Other stuff, it’s always like a three-page dialogue scene where you just kind of get in there, and I don’t remember anything in particular, but none of this was actually that hard. We were so prepped, it wasn’t like I ever got in the weeds and felt buried on any particular day. Any director, if you really ask them, will tell you that the toughest thing to do is like a dinner table or a dialogue scene because you need to keep that electricity maintained throughout the course of the film. But to be actually honest with you, this thing was a blast to shoot and it wasn’t bad. It was very difficult physically, but I felt pretty clear. I mean I had a great time doing it, I really did. I didn’t ever feel in the weeds, and I have felt in the weeds before, and I didn’t on this one.

The sequel, Catching Fire, has been given a release date on November 22, 2013.

Official Production Blog For Ender’s Game Begins

Production and filming has begun on the adaptation of Ender’s Game written by Orson Scott Card and with the production beginning, the production blog has also begun.

It seems after years of rumors, and hopeful fans, the science-fiction cornerstone novel is finally making it to the big screen. 

Even though production has begun, we do have to wait a while till se see any trailers or official images. However, the film’s producer Roberto Orci has at least given us a new production blog that fans of the novel and adaptation can follow in the meantime.

At the Tumblr Ender’s Game blog you’ll be able to follow updates from the set, from both Orci and guest bloggers, and presumably photos too. Right now there’s just one image up, and while it’s not especially thrilling, it’s worth sharing anyway.

Right now, the blog hasn’t revealed anything incredibly tantilizing but be sure to keep an eye on the blog to see everything they release over the course of the production.

Ender’s Game is set hit theaters on March 15th, 2013.

The cast that include several award winners is as follows:

  • Asa Butterfield – Ender Wiggin
  • Harrison Ford – Colonel Hyrum Graff
  • Abigail Breslin – Valentine Wiggin
  • Hailee Steinfeld – Petra
  • Aramis Knight – Bean
  • Moises Arias – Bonzo
  • Jimmy Pinchak – Peter Wiggin
  • Suraj Parthasarathy – Alai
  • Conor Carroll – Bernard
  • Khylin Rhambo – Dink
  • Brandon Soo Hoo – Fly Molo
  • Ben Kingsley – Mazer Rackham
  • Viola Davis – Major Anderson
  • Caleb J. Thaggard – Stilson
  • Stevie Ray Dallimore – John Wiggin
  • Andrea Powell – Theresa Wiggin
  • Nonso Anozie – Sergeant Dap

Showrunner Glen Mazzara Teases Season 3 of “The Walking Dead”

Most fans are probably already counting the days till season 3 begins for AMC’s mega-hit series, “The Walking Dead”. After the amazing season finale last week, we are all ready to see Michonne kick some ass next season.

Showrunner Glen Mazzara has already begun teasing the new season that kicks off next October. He recently did a conference call interview with a handful of journalists and explained what we can expect out of Season 3.

When asked about what we can expect from the band of survivors in new season, Mazzara spoke about the new character of Michonne.

Michonne is one of the lead characters in the graphic novel so we’re excited to finally introduce her. She is a loner, she’s a kick ass character and she’s very dynamic so we really see her as a very, very important addition to the cast. She’s a significant character and she’ll be carrying a lot of story so we’re excited about her.

We’re also excited about (Danai Gurira) who is the young actress who is going to play this role, so we’re lucky to have her and look forward to seeing what she does with it.

As we have discussed here at the site before, T-Dog’s lack of character development, well actually a lack of anything remotely resembling a storyline, and Mazzara has admitted to having the character left to the side. But he promises to develop the character more fully in Season 3.

You know what? The T-Dog question, I’m glad you’re asking that. I’ve been surprised at this because I’ve worked on shows before that have had characters in the background and have been on a slow burn. If you look at Dave Rees Snell’s character Ronnie from the Shield, that was a character that we brought along throughout that series and he had a very significant role at the end.

With T-Dog, I’ll admit, T-Dog has been off to the side and has been forgotten and part of my goal as showrunner was to really address developing Rick’s character and some other stuff. So poor T-Dog was left by the side and that’s something that now that he has survived the finale we’re going to correct. I think (IronE Singleton) has done a fantastic job of establishing a character and making people interested in him with just very, very little to say.

But you know, that’s the strength of the show. I think moving forward hopefully we’ll make it a strength and that’s a character we’re looking to develop in a significant way. So that’s a fair question and you know, we haven’t done our work yet with T-Dog but we’re going to roll up our sleeves and get to it.

Do you hate Lori? If so, you are not alone. Many find her irritating, incapable, and frustrating. She can’t seem to keep tabs on her own child, and causes many of the problems within the group. Mazzara addresses her character but says he doesn’t find her as irritating as the fans do.

I think Lori is a compelling and interesting character. I think she is realistic in a lot of ways and she’s certainly a character that people are talking about so I don’t find her irritating.

But I think it’s interesting that people are so focused on her and, you know, I think the work ahead of that is to see where in Season 3 we have to look at the Rick and Lori relationship a little more closely. She’s the one who put Rick and Shane in motion to try to kill each other and so that’s an interesting place for us to start and we’ll certainly examine that character. I just don’t know if we really need to start creating false speeds to make her more likeable. That’s not part of the plan for us.

AMC and the producers have announced several major storyline for the new season such as the casting of David Morrissey as the much-anticipated character of The Governor, as well as the prison as a location in the much of the upcoming season, and Danai Gurira as Michonne. Many are wondering if the prison will be only in season 3 or if it will be something we can expect to see for a while. Mazzara has confirmed that he sees the prison going longer than just the third season.

That’s a great question. Right now I do see that prison as a significant storyline for Season 3 and into Season 4. I do think that’s a major storyline. But as you know, we were on the farm for longer than perhaps people wanted even though there were reasons for that.

But I think what we want to do is make sure that that prison does not become claustrophobic. I think the farm played a little claustrophobic for people. The farm — now that the entire landscape has fallen to the zombie apocalypse and zombies are literally at the gate of the prison — if you see the graphic novel, that prison is really a very, very small safe corner and there’s a lot of danger around. So it won’t feel like we are bottled up in the same way that we were on the farm in Season 2.

So I do think that prison is a significant storyline but we’re interested also in opening up the world too. There are other factors out there in the world, other groups so I think that Rick’s group is really stumbling into a much larger world.

Tensions within our band of survivors have been growing throughout the series almost to the point that we wonder whether they will be destroyed by themselves or the zombies. Mazzara assures us that the zombies will not take a backseat and their threat will always be there.

Zombies will never take a back seat, okay. We will always have the human drama and we would like to introduce a significant human threat. We love writing the zombie material and I think those zombies are now fully integrated into the world. We’re not waiting for the zombies anymore to reach us. They are there; they are within our eyesight all the time and part of the landscape. So we expect there to still be a balance of zombie and human threat but the zombies will never take a back seat on this show.

For fans of the comic book series, the introduction of Michonne was about time. Mazzara talked about whether the show will start reflecting the fantastical nature of the graphic novel.

That’s a great question and let’s be honest- the reason that the character is cloaked at the end was because we had not cast the actress yet so that was a cheat there. But it’s interesting because we were thinking about that character during the casting process and we were just wondering how theatrical IS Michonne? That’s quite a theatrical entrance and that was something that we didn’t realize at the time.

But then yesterday we were in the writer’s room talking about her and her back story and a lot of the writers had very heightened pitches and my own sensibility is to keep the show grounded, to keep it gritty. That’s where I’m comfortable as a writer and as a storyteller.

So I do think that that’s an interesting character and that she feels like she stepped off those pages right into the show. I think that’s exciting. That’s a challenge for us but I think we know how to keep it real and keep it grounded because if it doesn’t feel real, I think the audience will not be able to put themselves in the immediate circumstances of the story.

Season 3 is set to begin in October and has been given an extended episode order of 16 full episodes.

New “Ninteen Eighty-Four” Adaptation In The Works

One of the fathers of dystopian novels is preparing for a new film adaptation. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four has been green-lit for a new big screen reboot. Imagine Entertainment is planning to bring back the famous science fiction dystopian tale.

The novel was written in 1948 by Orwell and tells a tale of the world in the future, now known as Oceania where big brother has taken over every aspect of the world. Individuality and privacy are forbidden and citizens can not escape the overwhelming government of Big Brother. The story follows the events of Winston Smith as he realizes there is more to the world than he initially thinks, and quickly ensues in a passionate love affair with a woman named Julia. But Big Brother doesn’t take this rebellion lightly and he is forced into a world he never thought he would see.

Imagine Entertainment has also teamed up with artist Shepard Fairey, who is most known for his iconic “Hope” poster for President Barack Obama. Fairey may also serve as producer when bringing the novel back to film.

Many might remember that the novel was previously adapted for the big screen in its titular year of 1984. It starred John Hurt as the lead character, Winston Smith. Nineteen Eighty-Four has also had several made for television movies as well.

Fans may remember that Imagine Entertainment is also working on bringing Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series to the silver screen. 

There is no word yet on who will star in the adaptation, or when the projected release date is expected.

I think there is a good chance the film will look amazing, but I have a feeling Hollywood will change the book that I grew up loving when translating it to the big screen.

Paramount to Reinvent Mark Twain with ‘Huck’

 

Paramount Studios has recently picked up some work by Andy Burg titled Huck.  While the script is under wraps at the moment, the story will be based on the 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Written originally by Mark Twain, the novel is mainly known for the mischievous teenagers Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.  Originally Sawyer was presented as an all American boy who tends to dream big and scheme.  Finn on the other hand is more of an social outcast who’s stuck with making tough moral choices.  While the duo first meet in their youths, the project itself has been touted as a re-imagining, focusing on Sawyer and Finn as young adults.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, there will also be an element of the supernatural involved.

So here is where I get a bit thrown for a loop.  Some sites have been saying that the whole project will be a 21st century makeover, while others say this is a re-imagining closer to Snow White and the Huntsman.  There are a few ways to take this.

One: The story is turned into a contemporary update like Jules Verne’s works have been recently turned to.  See Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.  In this scenario, I see Sawyer constructed out of a high school football quarterback who’s trying to make it big in life; lots of bad choices and poorly made commercial endorsements down by the car lot.  While I see Finn as an emo misfit who tries to solve the world’s problems via blogging and hacking.

Two: The script which is likened to the style of Snow White and the Huntsman, turns the duo into story character slayers.  Both banded together in face of a common foe.  To speak to the rampant slavery that Finn has faced, the story will go the way of True Blood and substitute a supernatural critter in place of the oppressed.

Three: More believable is if this movie is cast from the same mould that brought us Sherlock Holmes.  The adventures become the start of a bromance, so they’ll be in the beginning stages of bro-puppy love.  A  lot of bullet time will be used in fight scenes, while Huck and Finn utilize the most advanced technology known to brass and steam.

From Boomtron, Mina Kelly’s reaction went, “Again, I blame Twilight for this nonsense!”

I don’t think we can actually blame Twilight, but more a cross between the success of the Journey movies and the hype surrounding Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  For those not familiar, these are literary remixes and re-imaginings.  What makes them valuable to studios is two things.  1) How familiar audiences already are with the stories for the nostalgia factor. 2) If the stories are in public domain which means they don’t have to pay for the intellectual property.  It’s now just a matter of who gets to what first.  Look at the Snow White movies that are being cranked out.

Already there’s Sherlock Holmes who’s more action than brains.  Zombies mixed in with Pride and Prejudice.  Honest Abe, the first male Slayer from the Whedonverse.  Then on television we’ll see Detective Edger Allen Poe, macabre crimes unit.  How long will it be before I get to see Hansel and Gretel: Witch Burners?

The movie will be produced by Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark alongside Matt Lopez.  That’s right, the producers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes are doing this.  The same one’s that let Draco Malfoy mishandle animals that would ultimately destroy us.  You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!

Watching The Midnight Premiere For The Hunger Games – A Review

Last night I braved the crowds (full of tweens and despondent parents), the imminent bad weather, and staying up past my self proclaimed bed time for a movie that I have been waiting to see for MONTHS. The Hunger Games finally premiered in theaters last night, and I will go ahead and say this: It was FANTASTIC!

But I am going to take this review in three parts: Pre-movie, the actual film, and the aftermath.

Pre-film:

I have never attended, or wished to attend, a midnight premiere of a film. That is, until The Hunger Games was in the picture. I LOVED the trilogy, I read it in like a three day period and have been anticipating the film since then. So I’ll admit it, I bought tickets to the midnight viewing the day they were available.

I, as a 23 year old adult, totally geeked out for this film. Thanks to our sponsored giveaway from SkinIt, I had a Hunger Games skin on my tablet. While waiting in line, I got tons of compliments for it. Many said they wished they had one like it. The SkinIt skins look seamless. I had it for a Samsung Galaxy Tab, and it fit PERFECTLY.

I also fit in, probably too well, with all the tweens and young kids there, with my District 10 backpack that was custominzed with my name and Capitol citizen number, and my Down With the Capitol t-shirt. That’s right, I wore those things… But it was great.

One of the best things about going to a midnight premiere is the camaraderie. All these people that love a story as much as you do, all experiencing something that you all know is going to be HUGE. I kind of enjoyed that. For once I wasn’t lame for being so excited because everyone else was as excited I was.

The Film:

OH MY. This film was just as good as I thought it was going to be. I had been anticipating this film so much that I was a little worried that I would be disappointed. But I was surprised how closely it actually followed the book.

Honestly, there were a few things they changed that caught my attention, but they changes didn’t detract from the film, or affect the overall story.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss surpassed everything I could have expected from her. She is one of the best actresses I have seen in a long time. Every scene was so full of emotion. During the reaping day scenes I really felt and saw her terror when she volunteered. She knew how to act like she knew she was heading to her death. So much acting chops in one actress. I cried during the goodbye scenes before they left for the Capitol. I was so impressed the way she ran through the forest, dodging fireballs, and was able to pull herself up into trees. She embodied everything that is the character of Katniss Everdeen. I honestly do not think that any other actress would have been able to pull it off like she did.

I have mentioned before my love for Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, and it was reinforced by watching the film. He truly embodied the character I had pictured when reading the novel. He easily slipped between love sick baker boy, to warrior with the careers, to weak almost dying tribute. Hutcherson is a very talented actor who made the perfect Peeta.

The whole movie was an emotional roller-coaster that kept you enticed from beginning to end. I felt the same way about the novel when I read that, and was excited to see that that feeling translated to the big screen.

Rue’s death. Seriously. Tears. My face was a waterfall. They overlayed Katniss’s breakdown from her death with scenes of the riot beginning in District 11. It was just. Beautiful. My very manly boyfriend attended the film with me, despite not reading the books, and even he shed a tear at Rue’s death. If you don’t cry or at least tear up at that scene then you are not human!

There is only one scene that was missing from the film that I really wish had been included. When Peeta is still healing in the cave, instead of being put to sleep by the medicine by Katniss, he merely fell asleep. I loved that scene in the novel, and was a little disappointed that it played out differently in the film.

Something I liked that they changed was the way Thresh kills Clove near the end. It was incredibly brutal in the novel, but they tamed it down in the movie. I don’t think I could have handled seeing it the other way.

Every scene with the cornucopia was perfect. Just how I imagined it reading it all those times.

Aftermath:

Gary Ross is a surperb director. He was able to translate the novel almost flawlessly to the big screen. Fans of novel will not be disappointed with this adaptation. Once you get into the film, you stop thinking about the things that are different from the novel and you just fall in love with the characters from the novel all over again.

A big part of why this adaptation is so great, is truly the actors. They were so incredibly talented that they became their characters totally.

As we were leaving, I didn’t hear anyone saying anything other than praises for the film. Even those who had obviously gotten drugged their with their friends, family, and significant others, left the film as a fan.

This is one of the best book to film adaptations I have ever encountered. I don’t think any fan of the book will be disappointed with the way the film played out. It also will make new fans out of those who haven’t read the book.

So, go see it! It is totally worth it.

The Hunger Games Was Almost a Television Series?

Can you imagine The Hunger Games television series? No, I don’t mean they are thinking of creating one (although they might I don’t know) but rather, fans almost got a television series INSTEAD of the mega blockbuster hit film hitting theaters tonight at midnight (of which I will be in attendance).

According the NYDailyNews, Producer Joe Drake supposedly revealed at the Cinema Society’s post-premiere party for the picture on Monday night, that the project was almost adapted into a series for the small screen. Apparently this was a big reason on why the 2008 novel took so long to become a major motion film.

Although there was no reason given for why the switch was made from television to film, I’m pretty sure most people are probably happy with the decision.

The film hasn’t even premiered yet and it has already begun breaking records at the box office. It seems it will be one of the biggest pictures of the year.

The Hunger Games is the movie adaptation of the bestselling novel by Suzanne Collins. It is followed by the sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay. 

The plot for the film is as follows:

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the governing body, the Capitol, of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Katniss Everdeen volunteers as a tribute to save her sister from going in to the ghastly arena. She is joined by Peeta Mellark, a boy she knew who once saved her life.

You can see the official cast below:

  • Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen
  • Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark
  • Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy
  • Willow Shields as Primrose “Prim” Everdeen
  • Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne
  • Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket
  • Lenny Kravitz as Cinna
  • Paula Malcomson as Mrs. Everdeen
  • Amandla Stenberg as Rue
  • Alexander Ludwig as Cato
  • Dayo Okeniyi as Thresh
  • Isabelle Fuhrman as Clove
  • Jacqueline Emerson as Foxface
  • Leven Rambin as Glimmer
  • Jack Quaid as Marvel
  • Donald Sutherland as President Snow
  • Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman
  • Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane
  • Latarsha Rose as Portia

BSC Book Tournament Semi Finals Match Up: Legend vs The Eleventh Plague

Round 3, The SemiFinals of the 6th Annual BSC Book Tournament begins with match-ups between the Global Catastrophe and Future Apocalypse brackets. If you missed it, you can see our announcement of the brackets here as well as the unveiling of the full tournament schedule here. But now it is time for the voting to start!

We are keeping each round in its own post, but don’t worry! They will all be linked together to make it easier for you.

1: Legend by Marie Lu vs The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

 

Be sure to check back next week for the results of round 2 of our book tournament. If you experience any technical issues with the polling, please email Sarah@boomtron.com with the problem. Polls will be open until March 25th, and results will be announced on Tuesday, March 26th.

You can continue to the next one here!

BSC Book Tournament Semi Finals Match Up: Birthmarked vs Ashes

Round 3, The SemiFinals of the 6th Annual BSC Book Tournament begins with match-ups between the Global Catastrophe and Future Apocalypse brackets. If you missed it, you can see our announcement of the brackets here as well as the unveiling of the full tournament schedule here. But now it is time for the voting to start!

We are keeping each round in its own post, but don’t worry! They will all be linked together to make it easier for you.

1: Birthmarked by Caragh 0’Brien vs Ashes by Ilsa Bick

 

Be sure to check back next week for the results of round 2 of our book tournament. If you experience any technical issues with the polling, please email Sarah@boomtron.com with the problem. Polls will be open until March 25th, and results will be announced on Tuesday, March 26th.

Check back on March 27th to begin voting on the semi finals for the male vs female brackets.

Anthony Head Joins Nathan Fillion in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

A casting changeup has been made to Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters.  It was originally believed that the movie would feature a complete returning cast; at least those alive still.  The movie sequel to the 2010 book adaptation of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief has added Anthony Head to its cast.  The former “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star has been cast in the role of Chiron, originally played by Pierce Brosnan, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Chiron, who’s mortal alias is Mr. Brunner, is the teacher of Peseus “Percy” Jackon, who gives Percy a powerful weapon.  While in the form of Mr. Brunner, he is confined to a motorized wheelchair, with his legs covered in a blanket.   Chiron’s true form however is that of the centaur; the wheelchair magically concealing his horse bits.  Touted as the Wisest of all Centaurs, Chiron is often the tutor to many heroes, such as Heracles, Achilles, and Jason of the Argonauts.

This may prove to be annoying to fans when a significant character is recast, but not as annoying as the first movie’s storyline.  While the movie wasn’t bad from the perspective of the uninitiated, those that read the book were not impressed.

Characters such as Annabeth not being blonde gave fans of the book a facial tic.  While this seems trivial to those not familiar with the story, staying true to the content is often a course of discontent.  According to the book, the character was based on being the antithesis of blonde stereotypes.

Then there’s what appears to be Luke dying; or just ending up in the water.  Though it wouldn’t be hard to bring him back, there would have to be a lot of ret-con flashbacks which shows Kronos influencing his actions.

The movie adaptation also took liberties with the storylines within the separate books.  Percy for example wasn’t suppose to receive his shield until much later on.  Mixing and matching of storylines and plot devices may have been to condense the movie.  I didn’t think Hollywood would make a sequel, they might have thought so too, as it felt more of an all or nothing effort by the screen writers.

Based on the Rick Riordan’s Camp Half-Blood book series, the sequel finds Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), the son of Poseidon, continuing his epic journey to fulfill his destiny, as he teams with his demigod friends (played by Alexandra Daddario and Douglas Smith) to retrieve the Golden Fleece, which has the power to save their home and training ground, Camp Half-Blood.

Wait, three magical children go off on an action filled adventure to save the place where they learn.  The first book was about a kid and a thunderbolt.  Hmmm.  I’ve seen this somewhere.  Lightning thief indeed.

Anthony Stewart Head in any role is great.  I just hope this turns into a career revival rather than a sinkhole for him.  I’ve seen his appearances in BBC shows such as Dr. Who and the Inbetweeners, but what I liked him the best in was his show The Invisibles.  The show which is a comedy-drama was about a couple of urban legend criminals come out of retirement.  In the first episode, Head is trying to muster back his skill and confidence as the world’s best safecracker.  Looking into the cameras, he utters, “I am William Shakespeare, Bobby Moore, and The Beatles, and once, blood ran through my veins!”  Said with such conviction, it really resonated in me how much will the character was pouring into his work.

Head who recently appeared on the big screen in The Iron Lady, will be joined in the Percy Jackson sequel by Mary Birdsong, Yvette Nicole Brown and Missi Pyle.  The former Watcher will also be joined by another star from the Whedonverse, Nathan Fillion, who will play the role of Hermes; whom I’m assuming is fast of mouth as he is of feet.  While I’m not a fan of the movie or the books, I really want the movie to do well just for Anthony Head and Nathan Fillion.  The Thor Freudenthal film is set for release on March 27, 2013.