Movie News: One for the Money

Ta-da! The new movie poster of Katherine Heigel as Stephanie Plum is out for the movie adaptation of Janet Evanovich's One for the Money. I always thought Stephanie to not be so svelte but of course this is Hollywood and why stick to the book?!

Now, if you follow our blog you know that we aren't too excited for Katherine Heigel to play Stephanie Plum. And I, Julie, typically like her but she's not whom I pictured. I am intrigued by the rest of the cast though. I can't believe that Debbie Reynolds is playing Grandma Mazur!

According to IMDB.com it is set to be released on January 27, 2012.

I barely have time to see movies in theaters these days, so more than likely I'll wait until it's on pay-per-view.

What do you guys think? Yay, nay, or waiting to see?

Amanda Hocking: Publishing Contracts & Movie Rights

This was a big week for news from Amanda Hocking, a wildly successful, self-published YA author that I, and many other bloggers have been raving about.  On Thursday the NY Times reported that she had signed a deal with St. Martin's Press for a new four-book series called Watersong.  The first book, Wake, is planned to be released in the fall of 2012.  I was thoroughly excited for Ms. Hocking (read her comments here) because I could only imagine that she was on the road to even bigger things.

Then yesterday, I read even more exciting news for Ms. Hocking and fans alike.  The Hollwood Reporter reported Media Rights Capital has purchased the movie rights for the Trylle Trilogy!  They intend to make two movies of the three books and I can't wait!!!

I promised myself I wouldn't think about casting, as long as they stay away from Kristen Stewart, but I can't help thinking Helena Bonham Carter would make a great Elora... and for Willa, I'm going out on a limb here, but what do you think about Molly Quinn?  Feel free to jump in anytime, guys... I didn't promise myself that you couldn't think about casting.  *wink*

 

Movie News: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo II

Finally, a decision has been made on who will play Lisbeth Salander. It is.....Rooney Mara. Did you say "who?" Yeah so did I. Apparently she's in Fincher's The Social Network and he was so impressed on her performance, he hired her for this film. Good thing it looks like she can pull it off.


Click here for the article and to see a picture of her.

Thoughts??

Movie News: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

According to MSN.com, Daniel Craig, better known as the most recent James Bond, has been cast to play Mikael Bloomkvist in the US Adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I'm on board with this casting decision. It sure is better than Brad Pitt.
I know who I want to play Lisbeth but I won't tell here until the final decision is made. I hope that's soon.

Anyone else have thoughts??

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer Official HD

Sent chills down my spine and brought tears to my eyes at the same time!

Can't wait!

Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Sneak Peek from MTV Movie Awards

Did you see this last night? (Some of us were watching Stanley Cup hockey instead of te MTV Awards...)





Wow. I've got chills. You?

Movie News: One for the Money Casting II

So, Morelli and Ranger have been cast.
Per EW.com: "Jason O’Mara, the star of ABC’s Life on Mars, has been cast as Joe Morelli in Lionsgate’s big-screen adaptation of One For the Money, the first novel in Janet Evanovich’s bestselling Stephanie Plum series, Variety reports. He joins Katherine Heigl, who’s set to play Plum, a newly-divorced, recently laid-off 30-year-old in New Jersey who becomes a bounty hunter. Her first assignment is bringing in Morelli, a former vice cop now wanted for murder. The two have a history — Stephanie lost her virginity to him in high school — so look for sparks to fly in more ways than one. Rescue Me‘s Daniel Sunjata has also been cast as Ranger, the veteran bounty hunter who’ll show her the ropes.

Stephanie Plum fans, do you approve? Evanovich once told EW, “If you want to cry, you’re not going to like my books. If you want a really good plot, you’re not going to like my plots. My books have pizza and cussing and sexy guys.” I therefore accept O’Mara and Sunjata.

I also think they’ve proven they have the right delivery for a comic crime thriller."

Well, O'Mara isn't Jeffrey Donovan but that's ok, IMHO. I did watch him in Life on Mars and he can play a cop, plus he's pretty witty. He is pretty sexy as well.

I remember Daniel Sunjata from The Ghost of Girlfriends Past and thought he was pretty sexy in that movie. Is he Ranger sexy? TBD but he can more than likely pull it off. Lisa thinks he's too girly. LOL

What do GJR readers think?

Movie News: The Help

The Help is being adapted to a movie. *Deep breath* Okay, it's okay I can take it. It's a fantastic book and if adapted, cast and directed properly this could be a really really good movie.  Hmm...The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of it, because I want Jill Scott to be in it and I want her to play Abileen.  I guess I'm too late, because Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Viola Davis is in talks to play Abileen. That's some good casting and I can dig it. I mean Jill Scott can just play Minnie - I'm cool with that too... 

There's some other casting news that I should probably be paying attention to, but right now I am all about getting Jill Scott hired for this movie.  Does anyone know who I can call? Seriously though, I know Julie and I both adored this book and speaking for only myself I would hate for that reading experience to be tainted by a bad movie adaptation (See: My Sister's Keeper).

What do you think? Will you join me on my mission to get Jill Scott hired for this movie? Who else would you cast? Kristen Chenoweth as Ms Celia isn't a half bad idea either....

The Help: Our Book Reviews

Movie News: Something Borrowed Casting

I have to say I'm pretty excited about Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed becoming a movie. I think the casting is spot on. I think people think this will be a standard rom-com but I disagree. The books are a bit more serious than your standard chick-lit fare. What do you guys think? Are you happy with the casting so far?

Rachel = Ginnifer Goodwin
Ethan = John Krasinski
Darcy = Kate Hudson
Dex = Colin Egglesfield

Do you think they'll combine Something Borrowed and Something Blue; kind of like they did with Confessions of a Shopaholic?

Movie News: One For the Money Casting

As you know, the 3 of us here are/were pretty big Stephanie Plum fans. It's been announced who will be playing Stephanie in the upcoming theatrical release of One For the Money....Katherine Heigl. Now, I like her, I do, but do I think she's right for Stephanie...Um NO!! I think this is where the 3 of us agree. It's not that I think she's flat out the wrong choice, I mean they could have gone with Britney Spears Ya'll but I think there are better suited actresses for the role.

Jenn thinks that Zooey Deschanel or Caroline Dhavernas (Wonderfalls: Fox TV show) are good picks. I tend to agree with her.

I think that Sandra Bullock was a shoo-in for the part but maybe she's 1) too old (don't get me started on this) or 2) Stephanie is a little to close to Gracie Lou Freebush from Miss Congeniality. I also think Jennifer Garner would have made a great Stephanie, but she's probably too tall. Before her untimely death I actually think Brittany Murphy would have been a good Stephanie.

Who would you like to see as Stephanie? What are your thoughts about Ms. Heigl. Of course this leads to who should play Morelli and Ranger?

My votes:

Morelli = Jeffrey Donovan (YUM!!)
Ranger = Dwayne Johnson aka The ROCK (Double YUM!!)

Movie News: Sweet Valley High

Yes, I am probably dating myself but today in my EW magazine, I read Diablo Cody's column and got extremely excited. You know why? She's adapting the 80s book series Sweet Valley High. Apparently, she's already met with the creator/author Francine Pascal!

I'm just hoping that Ms. Cody does the series justice! Plus she's a Chicago Suburbs girl and I've got to support her.

Article 1
Article 2

Which Wakefield twin did you want to be: Jessica or Elizabeth?

Am I the only geek that is excited for this?

As soon as Diablo's column is posted I'll link it here.

Movie News: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This really shouldn't come as a surprise for us fans of Harry Potter, but the newest movie in the series has blown away all records for a single day opening. According to MSN.com, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince took in a whopping $58.4M domestically!!

Here is the link to the full article.

Any guesses for it's first weekend total take? Mine is $175M.

Time Traveler's Wife

Jenn posted the trailer for Harry Potter and now it's my turn. The Time Traveler's Wife starting Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams hits theatres on August 14th. This is one FANTASTIC book if you haven't read it. I'm anxious to see how it plays out on film. I think it was brilliantly cast.



A little shout to Stephanie at The Written Word for putting it up there.
What are your thoughts? Excited? Dismayed? Apprehensive?

The Half Blood Prince

The official WB website is up with the longest trailer I've seen yet! It's awesome.


Check it out here: http://www.harrypotter.com/

I am so excited!!!

Time for me to re-read, anyone want to join me?

To Re-Read or Not to Re-Read? That Is The Question.

I went to see a movie Friday night and I saw two trailers for movie adaptaions of popular novels. I have a love hate relationship with movie adaptions, as I am sure most avid readers do, and I struggle with whether to see a movie that's been adapted from a novel. I often struggle with something else - whether to re-read the book before going to see a movie, or not. It's a big investment of time to re-read a book and lately I haven't a lot of time to keep up with and read the things I usually want to (I still have no idea what Stephanie was up to in Fearless Fourteen). With 5 major adaptations coming to the theatre this year, I am seriously wondering whether to invest the time. For some I already know the answer to this question, but for others, I still really don't know. Perhaps you all could offer up an opinion?

The Books/Movies

Angels & Demons
(May 15) - I vaguely remember the plot of this book. Yeah, I remember the big themes, the ending and I absolutely remember this book being really good, however the details completely escape me. Knowing what I know about adaptations in general and remembering how extremely pissed off I was at the cop-out that was The DaVinci Code movie, I wonder if a re-read is warranted?

My Sister's Keeper
(June 26) - This was one of the trailers I saw the other night and I can already tell you there are departures from the book. I still believe this will be a major tearjerker, though, that's not my issue. This book was so very good and so heartbreaking that I knew when I was done that I couldn't never read this book again. I want to, but I'm not sure I can.

The Lovely Bones
(December 11) - Umm, I haven't read this yet, so I guess I'll be reading it.

The Time Traveler's Wife
(August 14th) - Have you read this book yet? Seriously, this is a must read. I read it when it first came out, and like Angels and Demons I can't recall a lot of the details. I have some serious love for this novel, so I really won't mind another visit.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
(July 15) - There's no question. Oh wait! Just one - Have you seen the new trailer?

Confessions of a Shopaholic on the "Big Screen"

Well, it's here, the official movie trailer for Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic .

The movie stars Isla Fisher as Becky Bloomwood and Hugh Dancy as Luke Brandon. I'm quite glad they decided on non-American actors for the leading roles (Except they're all speaking with American accents!) ~ the rest of the casting made me do a double take. Becky's parents are being played by Joan Cusack and John Goodman!!! Krysten Ritter is cast as Becky's faithful friend Suze (anyone else have trouble seeing her as anything but Gia from Veronica Mars or Lucy on Gilmore Girls???).

A little out there as casting goes? What do you think?

The movie is currently scheduled to release in February.

Personally, I prefer Kinsella's NON-shopaholic stuff, but I won't mind taking a gander at the film... maybe when it comes out on DVD.

Thoughts from Trashionista: http://www.trashionista.com/2008/12/more-anti-becky.html

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Alert

With a heavy heart I am sad to report that it was announced yesterday that, contrary to all previous press releases, the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie will not be arriving in theatres until July 17th, 2009. Yes, we will all have to wait until next summer. Warner Brothers really doesn't give a concrete reason, but the supposition in this EW article that 'the frog' doesn't need the revenue this year (due to the success of The Dark Knight), but would rather have it figure into next years profits, seems the most logical. (I do however totally disagree with their statement that "the Potter movies have all been quite strong ever since Chris Columbus stopped directing them". I quite prefer the Chris Columbus films...)

Well, I guess my re-reading isn't such a big deal now... I'll just be doing it again next summer. As always, be sure and tell us what you think....

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Alert

Wow! I'm so excited! Lisa found this but I'm posting it for her. The trailer for the Half-Blood Prince is finally here:

Movie Trailer

You can also find some nice stills at the above link too... such as Harry and Professor Slugworth (right). (And is that an allusion to the Quidditch team in those pictures?!? Hooray!)

But now the agonizing question: To re-read or NOT to re-read? I usually re-read the series prior to watching the movie. I promised myself I wouldn't do it this time; that I'll enjoy it more if I'm not counting the things omitted. But I couldn't help it. ABC Family was airing the movies a month ago and it got me all hyped up for another reading. So now I'm up to Prisoner of Azkaban and I'm trying to drag my feet (because I should be reading and writing reviews for our site) and because I promised myself I wouldn't re-read the book prior to the movie. So now I'm in a quandary. What to do? Which do you do? Advice please.

114 Days until the movie's out... *squee*

Book to Movie: The Tenth Circle

If you read the blog with any regularity you know that I'm a huge Jodi Picoult fan. I'm sorry to say that The Tenth Circle: A Novel isn't one of them but I will probably read it in 2008.

Nonetheless, I'm excited that Lifetime has chosen to adapt another one of her novels to the small screen. When I saw Jodi speak in March, she was excited about the movie and how they handled the graphic comic that is key in the book. So, while it airs this weekend The Tenth Cirlce movie, I won't be viewing it. Instead, I'll record it and save it for viewing after I read the book.

It airs on 6/28 at 9pm EST on Lifetime.

Stephenie Meyer & The Twilight Collection

Okay, so I sent the Stephenie Meyer Twilight series to my high school graduate niece for her birthday this winter and now she's more informed about what's going on with the series than I am!

I've been awaiting the release of the third (oops, FOURTH! Thanks, planetbooks, I've read all three but apparently I can't count either!!!) book, Breaking Dawn, on August 2 and I had heard rumblings about the first book becoming a movie but it's way farther along than I realized. The movie is set to be released December 12th and you can catch a trailer here if you haven't already seen it in a theatre: http://www.twilightthemovie.com/. Harry Potter fans will immediately recognize the actor who won the role of the heartbreaking Edward, Robert Pattinson (AKA Cedric). I am truly excited to see how this translates into film and will certainly review it for our site.

Apparently, Ms. Meyer is also rewriting Twilight from Edward's point of view in a novel called Midnight Sun to be completed after she has finished the series.

Many thanks to Crystal for bringing her Aunt up to date...