Frances Fisher Joins The Host

Frances Fisher joins the cast of Andrew Niccol’s The Host. The project which is being helmed by Open Road Films is based on the 2008 novel of the same name, written by author Stephenie Meyer, of The Twilight Saga fame.

I was crestfallen too when I realized this wasn’t a Hollywood adaptation of Joon-Ho Bong’s 2006 cult classic film, The Host.

Here is a synopsis of The Host from the official Stephenie Meyer website:

“Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining “wild” humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie’s thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer’s mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.”

Touted by Meyer’s as ‘Science fiction for people who don’t like science fiction’ it again tries to blend in genres from different walks of life. This time turning science-fiction horror into a romance story. It’s the romantic version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Here the parasites in your head will fight with you over the man you love. A far stretch from supernatural creatures fighting over a girl.

So that’s another nerd area of interest that’s been co-opted into teeny romance. First it was vampires, then it was zombies, now it’s science-fiction in general. What’s next? Chainsaw for hands action heroes that treat women with respect? Where will the sub-genre of blood obsessed nerds; which I dub Dark Nerd; take us next? What used to be the realm of socially inept males with no future romantic prospects has slowly turned into the goldmine for the romance infusion. The target demographic of teenage girls. Are these the girls that were raised by their single parent dads? The ones that manned up and took care of their daughters, only to infect them with their nerd values? Somehow I picture a D&D based romance coming on the horizon.

You know what would really bother me? A production company making a romantic bastardization of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. I can picture it now, teenage girls swooning over goth pretty boys with a unholy preference for knives.

Fisher will play the role of Maggie Stryder, Melanie’s aunt. Included in this film are Jake Abel, Max Irons, Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger and William Hurt. The movie is expected to hit theaters a few months after the end of the Vampire era, March 29, 2013.

ABC’s Beauty and the Beast Casts Darius Campbell

The Scottish platinum-selling, award winning singer and stage performer Darius Campbell lands his biggest gig yet as a lead. The role is for the part of Shiro, a mysterious “beastly” bodyguard in ABC’s upcoming adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Shiro will join forces with the war ready Princess Grace and her fiance Gorrick. While the leading lady role has not yet been casted, Gorrick however will be played by Australian actor Christopher Egan reports Deadline.

ABC’s version of Beauty and the Beast promises “a fantastical reimagining of the classic fairy tale set in a mythical, dangerous world wherein a beautiful and tough Princess discovers an unlikely connection with a mysterious beast.” Yves Simoneau is directing the show, from a script by Jonathan Steinberg; Jericho.

Yay! Another retelling of the classic fairy tale. In additional to the many literary remixes and reboots, I’m surprised that we haven’t felt the toxic effects of this over saturation yet. Since the hit comic book series Fables debuted and made waves, the entire market has been flooded with novels, television shows and movies. All clamoring to get their piece of the public domain money making venture.

The CW is also making a version of Beauty and the Beast as well. This one will be the remake of Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman’s cat faced beast; he really did look more impressive with the makeup; a series that was on the air from 1987 to 1990. Back when Fox made more compelling fiction than they air now.  It’s weird looking at Sarah Conner and Hellboy beside each other like that.  They don’t seem to be the loving type.

While this pilot for the show is the biggest gig that Campbell has landed in the states, he’s basically an unknown. While on the other side of the pond in the U.K. Campbell already has a reputation that has grown with him over the years. Campbell started out in entertainment notably as a finalist on the English version of Popstars and Pop Idol over ten years ago; he’s a karaoke star! This may have been the low point of his career as there are still some chuckles online about his debut. Over the years he’s transitioned more into theater, starring in a number of West End musicals, such as Chicago, Gone with the Wind, and Guys And Dolls. Campbell’s most recent stint was on a TV drama series in the U.K. This has marked his rise to this new role based on his merit and not the product of karaoke super-stardom. Hopefully this will be the mark of bigger and better things to come for him. Wait… Actually getting married to Natasha Henstridge was the moment things got good for Campbell. It seems his life is just a giant growing snowball of success. Bah!

To feel better about my lot in life, I’m going to watch Campbell in a clip from U.K.’s Popstars. This should at least give me some kind of relief to my jealousy.

The Walking Dead Governor: David Morrissey

With AMC’s hit television show “The Walking Dead”, the development for season three is well underway. As the mid-season premiere for season two broke cable records as most watched show, it’d be a shame not to capitalize on the momentum. I’m more surprised a season four hasn’t been guaranteed yet; then I remember how “Heroes” turned to dung in the second season before my very eyes. I could have written a better storyline on a napkin while drunk.

So for fans of the comic who’ve been reading ahead in the series, we already have a general idea of what to expect; we’re just really hoping that certain storylines are followed over others. So it turns out we’re not going to be seeing the Governor until season three. That’s okay, they still have to find the prison first. What is awesome though for those hardcore into geek lore is who will play the Governor.

The part will be played by British actor, David Morrissey according to Deadline. Hmmm… British actor you say? If he’s worth his salt in anything, he’d have been in some kind of awesome British television show, right? His IMDB photo didn’t spark any recognition in my old brain matter, but it might be because he wasn’t wearing the costume. In the right set of clothes, Morrissey turns into the Next Doctor!

Hit with a Cyberman InfoStamp; patent pending; Jackson Lake in his fugue state is imprinted with all the factual events and collected observations of the Cyberman enemy known as the Doctor, simply the Doctor. The one, the only and the best!

That right there is all I need to know to be happy with the selection for the Governor. Mostly because I’m a biased because he was in the Doctor Who Christmas Special back in 2008.

Originally the speculation on who would be the Governor was John Hawkes, based on the words of Tom Savini; who really wanted the role. Sorry Sex Machine. You can read about it here in the article The Rise of the Walking Dead Governor.

As Hawkes has the acting chops and Savini had the looks for the part; when compared to the comic book version of the Governor; I’m surprised a third person wasn’t considered who could satisfy both acting and looks. Maybe even some slicing actions for cutting off the hands of the enemy? That’s right, I mean Danny Trejo, the Machete! Oh well.

Savini didn't make the cut.

The Governor who appears in The Walking Dead graphic novel series, written and created by Robert Kirkman, is a twisted man who rules over a fortified township in a zombie plagued world. Not only is the character created as a returning antagonist, rapist and sadist, but has his own novel also penned by Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga as well in, “The Walking Dead: The Rise of the Governor.” The Governor will meet up with Rick Grimes and the rest of the Walking Dead in season three. If the television show remains true to the comic books, it won’t be pretty.

Either way, I’m happy to see David Morrissey get the part. Even if he has to play the despicable Gov.  Allons-y!

Top 3 Scenes From The Hunger Games I Am Most Excited To See

With the massively anticipated film, The Hunger Games, little less then a month away from hitting theaters, my personal anticipation for the film is growing. Yes, I preordered midnight showing tickets, and yes I read all three books in less than three days, and most certainly, yes, I am team Peeta (and no I can’t believe I just said that…) Either way, the point is, we are all excited for this film.

After reading the novel and considering the film, I have decided these are the three scenes from the book that I am most excited to see in the big screen adaptation. Unfortunately, we know that when it comes to movie adaptation of books, often things are left out for time purposes (although director Gary Ross maintains this is a very faithful adaptation) so hopefully these three scenes will remain intact for our viewing pleasure.

:::::Caution: there are a few tiny spoilers if you haven’t read the novel:::::

The Interview With Caesar Flickerman

I had to put this one, because I am girl who can’t resist a good proclamation of love. And I would be lying if I said my heart didn’t melt when Peeta professed his love for Katniss. I mean what girl didn’t enjoy that (even albeit slightly). It was a sweet moment, even if at the time you weren’t sure if it was a true revelation or manipulation. Thankfully, we all know it was a revelation of true love. When I read it, I read into its sincerity and thats something that Peeta isn’t able to fake during the games or even afterward. I hope Josh Hutcherson (who plays Peeta) will be able to pull off the sincere admission of love in the movie.

Either way, it was a great scene in the novel and I am looking forward to squealing in girlish delight when the scene plays in the theater.

Tripping of Tracker Jacker Venom

This was definitely one of the more intense moments of the novel. Katniss drops the nest of tracker jackers on the careers camp, killing two of them. However, in the process she gets stung several times and begins to hallucinate. I am very curious on how they are going to film this because basically, she was tripping. Her hallucinations are vivid and bright and incredibly weird.

I am excited to see this scene, because I think watching it will be pretty powerful compared to just reading about her tripping on the acid. I am also curious how the visualization of the weird things she sees will translate on screen.

The Feast

Easily my favorite scene in the novel. (The end with the berries is pretty awesome too, but c’mon you knew they would both live or there wouldn’t be two more books!) While reading, you know there is so much at stake when Katniss drugs Peeta to go to the feast and retrieve precious medicine and materials they need.  It was pretty intense and I couldn’t force myself to stop reading this. I can guess its going to be even more intense of the big screen. The feast scene adds more intensity when Katniss is about to be killed and Thresh saves her life.

While this is easily one of the most brutal scenes in the novel (I mean Thresh does cave in Clove’s skull) I know they will probably lighten it a little bit, however, even if it is a little less bloody, I really hope they retain the immense anxiety and fast paced imagery that the novel employs. Seriously, it was brutal.

I have mentioned before how much I loved this book series, and I still do. And frankly, I haven’t been this excited for a movie since Arrested Development announced chances of a movie. I will be moderately happy with the adaptation if at least these three scenes remain relatively intact. (But hopefully this really is a faithful adaptation and I will love it) I think all three are crucial turning points in the novel and should remain as they are.

The Untold Secrets of The Hunger Games

The people over at The Hollywood Reporter recently did a photo shoot and interviews with the stars and director of the highly anticipated film, The Hunger Games. They also highlighted several “untold secrets” regarding the casting and production of the film adaptation.

The Hunger Games film is the big screen adaptation of the novel written by Suzanne Collins. The film is the first of a four film franchise that will adapt the two sequels to the novel, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. 

“After the trailer launched Nov. 14, we had 8 million views in the first 24 hours,” says Lionsgate Films president Joe Drake. “We were the number one Twitter trend on the planet. Since then, the book sales have jumped 7.5 million copies. That kind of data gives us enormous confidence.”

As you may know the film stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne. The rest of the cast includes Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz and Elizabeth Banks.

Some of the secrets included:

Jennifer Lawrence, the actress who plays Katniss Everdeen, took three days to accept the lead role. While several actresses were considered for the role, Lawrence was ultimately rewarded the spot. Even though she hesitated when it came to accepting the role. Lawrence has stated that she credits her mother for accepting the role.

“I called my mom and she called me a hypocrite, because when I was doing indie movies and everyone was asking why I didn’t do studio movies, I said, ‘The size of the movie doesn’t matter.’ And she said, ‘Here’s a movie you love and you were thinking of turning it down because of its size.’ I thought, ‘I don’t want to miss out because I’m scared. Me being scared, I never want that to stop me fromdoing something.’ But I knew in my heart that I wanted it — it was about working out all the fears.”

It was also revealed that Lionsgate operated on a very tight budget to make the film. It was reported that the film eventually cost a little more than $90 million, reduced to $78 million after subsidies.

They also confirmed that the lead trio are in fact contracted for the entire franchise which includes 4 movies based on the three books of the series. Also that director Gary Ross is committed to working on the sequel as well, which will hopefully begin shooting in September.

You might not know that Lawrence had an accident while training for the film that almost halted filming of the adaptation. The actress revealed during the interview:

“I had to do 10 ‘wall runs,’ where you run at the wall as hard as you can to get traction, I ran at it and my foot didn’t go up, so I caught the wall with my stomach. My trainer thought I had burst my spleen. I had to get a CAT scan and go into a tube where they put this fiery liquid in your body. I was still pretty bulked up from X-Men: First Class, So a lot of the training was getting muscle back, heightening the muscles without building them. I loved the archery — well, I have a love-hate relationship with it.”

Probably the most unnerving parts of filming the project was the fact that the set was 100 degrees and included bears. During the interview with THR, Ross related that not only were there bears in the woods they were shooting but also 100-degree heat and rain that was almost daily. He added:

“we’d only get to shoot four or five hours a day,”

Liam Hemsworth also revealed that when he got the role of Gale in the movie, that his brother gave him a little bit of advice regarding his new project.

“My brother Chris texted me before shooting and told me to lose weight. He said, ‘It’s called The Hunger Games, not The Eating Games!’ “

You can read the entire article from The Hollywood Reporter here or watch the behind the scenes video from the photo shoot below:


New Trailer For Game of Thrones Season 2

 

HBO GO recently revealed a new “First Look” at the upcoming second season of “Game of Thrones.” The second season that premieres on April 1st, is said to be focusing primarily on the events of “A Clash of Kings” the second book in the “A Song of Fire of Ice” series.

Game of Thrones is the HBO series based on the book series written by George R.R. Martin. The series was highly anticipated even in the early stages of development. The first season was very well received by both viewers and critics. It was so highly rated that the second season was picked up only two days after its premiere in 2011.  It was nominated for several awards, including Outstanding Drama Series for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards and Best Television Series – Drama at the69th Golden Globe Awards; Peter Dinklage also won both ceremonies’ Best Supporting Actor award (Emmy and Golden Globes). Other accolades include an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series and an Emmy win for Outstanding Main Title Design.

Season 2  had to introduce many new characters into casting for the second season that began in May 2011. Owing to the very large cast of characters in Martin’s novels, the producers had to fill a great number of additional speaking roles.

  • Stephen Dillane was cast as Robert’s younger brother, Stannis Baratheon, one of several pretenders to the Iron Throne.
  • Carice van Houten is set to play Melisandre of Asshai, the “Red Priestess” of the foreign god R’hllor, an influential advisor to King Stannis Baratheon.
  • Liam Cunningham was given the part of the former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth, a bannerman of Stannis.
  • Gwendoline Christie was cast as Brienne of Tarth, a female warrior who joins Renly Baratheon’s guard and becomes a follower of Catelyn Stark.
  • Natalie Dormer appears as Lady Margaery Tyrell, a noblewoman from the Reach promised to be the wife of Renly Baratheon.
  • Gemma Whelan was chosen to play Yara Greyjoy, the Ironborn captain and sister of Theon. Named “Asha” in the novels, the character’s name was changed to avoid confusion with the Wildling Osha, Bran Stark’s companion.
  • Tom Wlaschiha was cast as Jaqen H’ghar, a prisoner and recruit of Yoren, as well as an assassin of the Faceless Men.
  • Rose Leslie will appear as Ygritte, Jon Snow’s love interest among the Wildlings.
  • Daniel Portman took the part of Podrick Payne, the squire to Tyrion Lannister. The 19-year-old Portman plays Podrick as about 16 years old, instead of about 12 as in the novels.
  • Among the other new cast members are Nonso Anozie as Xaro Xhoan Daxos.
  • Kerr Logan as Matthos Seaworth;
  • Oliver Ford Davies as Maester Cressen;
  • Roy Dotrice as Pyromancer Hallyne, an elderly alchemist at King’s Landing;
  • Karl Davies as Alton Lannister, a character who does not appear in the books;
  •  Ben Crompton as ”Dolorous Edd” Tollet,
  • Michael McElhatton as Roose Bolton;
  • Robert Pugh as the Wildling chief Craster;
  •  Hannah Murray as Craster’s daughter Gilly,
  • Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy, lord of the Iron Islands and father of Theon;
  • Ian Hanmore as Pyat Pree;
  • Fintan McKeown as Ser Amory Lorch.

You can see the set of teaser images from season 2 here, and watch the HBO GO trailer below:

The Hunger Games Teaser # 4 Revealed

We have about a month left till the big screen premiere of The Hunger Games and in case you are like myself, you are probably overly excited for the film. If you need to be satiated till March 23rd, then we have a new teaser you can watch. While it shows pretty much the same stuff that we have already seen in the previous trailers, it is still worth watching.

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
You can watch the new teaser trailer for The Hunger Games below:

Brett Ratner’s Hercules is the Peoples Champion?

Turns out that Dwayne Johnson, The Peoples Champion, the Rock is in talks with MGM about starring in Hercules. The film which is to be directed by Brett Ratner; who directed the comedians version of the Expendables. I believe it was called Tower Heist.

The film is based on the Hercules comic book by Radical Publishing. They have two series which are called, “Hercules: The Thracian Wars” and “Hercules: The Knives of Kush.” The last one just makes me think there are blades made of marijuana. Both series are written by Steve More with artist Cris Bolsin.

The Thracian Wars is described as follows:

“Fourteen-hundred years ago, a tormented soul walked the Earth that was neither man nor god. Hercules, powerful son of the god king Zeus, received nothing but suffering his entire life. After twelve arduous labors and the loss of his family, this dark, world-weary soul turned his back on the gods, finding his only solace in bloody battle. Over the years he warmed to the company of six similar souls, their only bond being their love of fighting and the presence of death. These men and woman never question where, why, or whom they go to fight; only how much they will be paid. Knowing this, the King of Thrace has hired these mercenaries to train his men to become the greatest army of all time. Hercules begins to question King Cotys’ motives when he takes his army out to battle and sees them practice on innocent men, women, and children of their neighbors. Deep in his soul something stirs, but is it enough to stop a mad king and his army of the damned from marching across Greece – or even Olympus itself?!”

So if I’m to understand this correctly, Hercules roamed the earth in seventh century as an emo, laying the smack down for Kings while the Thracians were being wiped out by Goths. It’s okay, I’ll suspend my belief on this because I too have watched Marvel’s Thor film adaptation. I can’t believe I paid to see that either though.

This might be MGM’s bid to find their own Conan movie for reinvention, but I’m skeptical about Ratner more than I am about The Rock; sure it puts the movie at risk for being associated with the Scorpion King, but “you keep what you kill” and man did that movie die horribly.

So what’s wrong with Ratner? He’s done a great job directing Red Dragon and an X-Men movie, but he’s also been the force behind the Rush Hour movies. While the Radical Comics Hercules title does look serious, it’s still a comic. The comedic moments makes me wonder if if any Rush Hour will leak a bit into the film.  Maybe it’ll just have to take a really good script to really tell.

Hey, is it my imagination or does Hercules on these covers look a little like a time lost Judge Dredd?

Free Harley Quinn Update for Batman: Arkham City Lockdown

Today Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC Entertainment announced a new update for the Batman: Arkham City Lockdown App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch is now available. The update will include a brand new level featuring Harley Quinn, a Bruce Wayne skin and achievements, and a Batarang mini-game, all for the low low price of free. It’s strange how consumers will pay top dollar for the latest tech but they’re hesitant for one dollar apps.

As I sat and reviewed the trailer for the new portion of Batman: Arkham City Lockdown I was instantly hit by the realization that Harley Quinn has somehow gone from this cute little thing, to a tarted up sex-pot. Yes, yes, I know that’s what the industry is all about these days but whatever happened to old school costumes and characters? Over the years I’ve watched many comic book characters get the costume overhaul. Some of it just turns way to suggestive. Have you seen the Star Sapphire’s latest costume? When Harley Quinn first debuted, it was in “Batman: The Animated Series”, the costumed started a a modest one piece, traditional harlequin jester outfit, worn by Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel who had some serious nightingale issues.

The popularity of the character prompted DC comics to introduce the Harley into their universe. This time the costume wasn’t so modest and over years became more and more… pronounced.

My initial reaction to the visual of Harley Quinn in the video game was that she looks very much like the Malkavian from Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines, right down to the raccoon make-up and blonde pig-tails. Harley Quinn is supposed to have a one piece outfit with a hat, not some leather outfit and pig-tails. Although I can understand the attraction.

Since then, DC comics seems to have updated Harley’s costume with The New 52 reboot. The basis seems to merge the Arkham City video game attire with her traditional costume. Her hair is dyed half-red and half-blue, similar to the jester cap of her original costume, while the rest of the ensemble is still present day skimpy; but just appropriately color coded now.

Aside from the initial realization of Harley looking all wrong, the graphics on the game look very good. If the trailer is any indication of how the game plays on your iWhatever then it looks like the game runs smoothly and is well designed. Harley Quinn’s voice still sounds like a 60’s era chippy, but it’s what I grew up with and still a classic, right next to Mark Hamill voicing the Joker. The scenery is still wrapped in the darkness of Gotham City and at least Batman still looks like he should. The Dark Knight isn’t sporting any nipples on his costume. So that’s a big plus right there.

The Demonologist: Which Came First? The Movie or the Book?

In a bold move, Hollywood is going to make movies based on the potential popularity of unreleased books. The film production companies are no longer content with just adapting movies on popular books, they’re going to go the extra step.

Universal Pictures recently has acquired the rights to the upcoming novel The Demonologist, Deadline reports. The story is was written by Canadian author Andrew Pyper; who’s known for his serial-killer thriller The Killing Circle, wilderness drama The Wildfire Season, and haunted-house horror The Guardians. Pyper won the Arthur Ellis award for one of his first novels, the crime story Lost Girls in 1999.

Robert Zemeckis; director and co-writer of Back to the Future, so I’m already impressed because hey, it’s time travel; and his ImageMovers studio are currently in the planning stages of how they will translate the text for film. Remember, the book is unreleased but quite finished. It’s probably for the best, because if the story is as good as they believe it to be, then it won’t give time for religious sects get involved.

Let’s examine the early description for The Demonologist:

“Professor David Ullman is among the world’s leading authorities on Christian religion and myth. Not that he’s a believer. He sees what he teaches as nothing more than entrenched fiction – the “things that go bump in the mind”. It’s why when he’s offered a trip to Venice to be a consultant on a case study based on his expertise as a “demonologist” he accepts, seeing it as a free vacation for his teenage daughter and himself. But what he witnesses in an attic room at an address amidst the decadent splendour of the old city will change what he believes forever. Terrified, David races back to his hotel. But now he has the unshakable feeling that he is no longer alone. And that the voice that passes from his daughter’s lips before she jumps from the hotel’s roof belongs to a being he has long studied, but until now never thought could ever be real…”

Think of the hype over The DaVinci Code, Passion of the Christ, and the Harry Potter series. Now picture a popular novel that makes everyone all a twitter about Christian religion and myth being added to the mix. We’re talking instant money here. If the freakin’ Pope steps in, then it becomes epic money!

If this book and film is to succeed, it’ll need to focus on the translation of learned fear. So in the story, a skeptical man is exposed to the supernatural world. As he’s the foremost educated authority on the matter; just an unbeliever; he’s able to quickly realize how screwed he is. So how will the reader react? If they’re skeptics, will they be able to identify with Ullman’s pragmatic ways enough to also learn his fear? Pyper and Zemeckis will have their work cut out for them to pull this off. If they do, just think how much a pushover those that ‘want to believe’ will be.