Beautiful Creatures: How Can A Film Be So Good Yet Get The Story Adaption So Wrong? A Rant by Mike CCD

Last night was Valentines Day, and my fiance and I do not like to get caught up in all the schmoes that go out to dinner on that night. Everyplace is packed and uncomfortable, and we hate it. So we decided to take a short drive into New Jersey to attend a movie at an AMC Dine IN Theater. This is a movie theater with super comfy leather recliners, a full on dinner menu, and alcoholic beverages... basically it is heaven on earth. We decided to see Beautiful Creatures, the book adaption that is set to be the next franchise type event series. It is based on a book series by Kami Garcia & Margret Stohl. There are four books in the series, and since Tara and I like these types of books we decided to grab the set about a month ago in preparation for the upcoming movie. The book revolves around two teenagers, a boy that is native to South Carolina named Ethan and the new girl who just moved into town named Lena. In this small town things don't change often, so when Lena shows up as the relative to the town outcasts she starts a stir. But things are a bit complicated because Ethan knows her... well, actually he has been dreaming of her for the past few months. There is something about this girl... and after they begin to connect Ethan finds out that Lena is a Caster (a sort of witch) who comes from a long line of casters. Not only is he dating a teenage witch, but there are many other things that are not quite right in Gatling, South Carolina. Lets just say things get a bit strange... in a good way. As they couple speeds towards Lena's 16th birthday (the day which she is claimed for The Light or The Dark), things get quite hectic. Tara and I flew threw the first book, and we were super hyped to see how it converted to the screen. We got that chance on Thursday, but the results weren't quite what we had hoped for. But they weren't exactly bad results either. Check out the rest after the jump....

Now like any book adaption, there are going to be differences when it gets adapted to the TV/Movie format. There are some huge differences in adaptions like what occurred when Stanley Kubrick adapted Stephen King's The Shining or when the original Wizard of Oz was adapted from the L. Frank Baum novel.  Sometimes the book to film conversion is spot on, like the Harry Potter books and season 1 of Game of Thrones. There are some differences in HP & GOT, but they are very small. Usually when there are major differences in an adaption the conversion tends to be subpar and disappoints fans of the original work. Especially a series that has as many readers as Beautiful Creatures does. But in the case of BC there are tons of changes that have been made for the film... and changes that don't make a whole lot of sense. This would normally piss me off immensely, but to be honest with you the movie was quite good. How? Why? I am not sure. With the changes that they made, it should have come up way short. But it didn't. How the fuck is this possible?

****Slight Spoilers For The Book & Movie Ahead*****

Lets start with the changes. In a broad stroke, there are massive differences. I mean massive. The timeline of the book is shortened from 7 months to 4 months. There is a major subplot of the story (sort of time traveling) that is completely underplayed in the film. No less than 7 MAJOR characters from the book were completely excised from the film. SEVEN... at a minimum, including the fantastic dog character of Boo Radley (How teh fuck could you leave out this awesome dog???). No less than 10 major plot lines were either abandoned or severely altered, mostly because of the characters that were eliminated for the film. And the whole final problem of the book was completely altered. With all of that and more being changed (I am sure I have forgot a ton of stuff that I didn't catch as changed on first viewing) how could it still end up going well?

Well, first of all, the cast is fantastic. Jeremy Irons is fantastic as recluse Macon Ravenswood, Viola Davis is fantastic as Amma, and Emma Thompson was very good (as per usual) in the role as the evil Sarafine. Emmy Rossum is also FANTASTIC as Lena's dark caster cousin Ridley.

In the book she is a Siren caster, which means she uses her sexuality to persuade people to do stuff. In the book she is hot as shit and dripping sexuality... and Rossum is PERFECT. Cause she is perfect. But I digress. Even with all these great cast members, the real stars of the show are the proverbial stars of the show. Newcomers Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert shine as Ethan and Lena. Shine. Like perfect representations of their book counterparts. With all the chemistry and teen angst that the book characters had. This is quite impressive for two newcomers with relatively no experience. And this cast overcomes most of the things that are left out of the book. Most... not all.

I'm not going to bring up all the plot changes or character subtractions because the movie literally JUST came out last night and I don't want to confuse anybody. But I will say this: The books are freaking fantastic. Read these four books (I am only on book 2, but it is great). They are great. But if you are going to do both (read the book and watch the movie), i would do it in reverse order and watch the film first. That way you are not thrown off by all the various changes. I do expect the film will do well, and I do expect a sequel. So will they turn the franchise back towards the road to reconciling with the books plot lines, or will they keep striking down this alternate path established with the movie adaption? I am not sure. But I know one thing... I can't wait to see more Cousin Ridley (Rossum) & Lena (Englert) with their sexy selves....  

 

That Guy Ray Bradbury Seemed To Know What He Was Talking About When he Was Writing Science "Fiction"

Ray Bradbury passed away last week and I am a dick because I never took a second to pay him proper tribute. Bradbury is responsible for a litany of literary classics, most notably in the Sci Fi genre. His best known works would probably be The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and one of my all time favorite books Fahrenheit 451. But after he passed away, lots of other more responsible/respectable sites (we suck here at CCD...sorry!!!) ran cool stories in tribute to Mr. Bradbury. One of the best ones that I saw had to an infographic of all the predictions that Ray Bradbury made in his books that ended up coming true in real life. In sci fi people take chances when they "predict" what technology will come in the future, but it seems like my man Ray had much more than a hope when constructing his ideas of what technology in the future would look like. Well played Mr. Bradbury!!! Take a look at the infographic after the jump and if you have never read a Bradbury book put it onto your to do list ASAP....

Thanks for all the memories Mr. Bradbury.... If you can't see the details on the screen if you click it to enlarge, you can click here to see it in a gigantic version!!!

Thanks to Geeks Are Sexy for a great tribute. Thanks to Ria Novosti for a great infographic.

The Excavation Of Mushroom Island by Logan Zawacki

What if the world of Super Mario Brothers was real? What if those warp zone pipes didn't take our favorite plumbers from Brooklyn to another world, but rather to a deserted island somewhere in the South Pacific? There would have to be some sort of evidence of the existence of these fantastic times... and now there is!!!! Author Logan Zawacki has self published a very interesting book entitled 'The Excavation of Mushroom Island', which details an archaeological excavation that has turned up the skeletal remains of some well known Mario game characters. Bowser, Toad, Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and even the brothers themselves... these X-Ray photos make for a cool book. Right now it is available on Blurb for $50.00 (which seems like a lot but is not that much for a self published book with this many cool full color photos). Check out the official Flickr stream here, and click after the jump for my faves of the bunch....

Check Out Salvador Dali's Take On 'Alice In Wonderland'

This one goes out to all you art geeks out there... yup, you get love here on CCD too! Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists, and I think it has to be because he gave a fuck-all what anybody thought about his ongoing shenanigans and crazy lifestyle. Despite being a lunatic, his art pedigree is amazing. Anywho, apparently Dali was contracted  Random House Publishing back into 1969 to illustrate the Lewis Carroll classic "Alice In Wonderland". He responded by creating 12 visually stunning heliograuves (I guess thats an artsy-fartsy art world word for paintings... WTF do I know!) for each chapter in the book, as well as a front piece for the edition. Thanks to the gang over at Brain Pickings, we have digital images of these beautiful pieces for your viewing pleasure. Click after the jump to see them in all their glory...

Front Piece

Down The Rabbit Hole

The Pool Of Tears

The Caucus Race and a Long Tale

The Rabbit Sends In a Little Bill

Advice From a Caterpillar

Pig & Pepper

Mad Tea Party

The Queen's Croquet Guard

The Mock Turtle Story

The Lobster's Quadrille

Who Stole The Tarts???

Alice's Evidence

As an added bonus, here is a cool Youtube video on what you need to look for if you were buying one of these editions. One just sold for around 13 grand... 

Jane Austen Novels x Harry Potter Houses

This is a really cool mash-up of Jane Austen book titles and the various Houses at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry in Harry Potter. I love this because a person gets placed in a house based on the choice of the sorting hat, and that choice is based on the intangibles that they possess inside their heart. I like the way the artist used the four words from the Austen books to highlight the key characteristics of each house. Click after the jump for the full picture...

I wish I could track down the artist to give proper credit, but I couldn't. if anybody knows who put this piece together, please leave it in the comment section below!!!

2011 NY Comic Con Interviews: Tommy Talks With the Gang Behind 'Jaws: Memories From Martha's Vineyard'

Hello, hello, my fellow CCDers! .Being such a big fan of the classic film 'Jaws', I was very excited to discover a table at the NYCC where Moonrise Media was pushing their new book "'JAWS': MEMORIES FROM MARTHA'S VINEYARD"! This HUGE, beautiful tome is a collection of clippings, set photos, personal islander photos, and studio stills and pieces culled during the making of 'Jaws' on Martha's Vineyard in 1974. Click after the jump to read more and see the interview video...

Publisher CARRIE FYLER, author MATT TAYLOR, and illustrator PAUL McPHEE were kind enough to talk to us about the book and how it came to be. If you're a 'Jaws' fan, you owe it to yourself to pick this massive, fun-filled book up. You also owe it to yourself to watch our interview and learn where you can get your copy! Good shit!




Smile up!
~TL

Win A Copy Of 'Can You Survive A Zombie Apocalypse?'

Ever since I was a kid I have always been a fan of the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' series of books. I recently discovered that the library in Bay Ridge has all the old classics that got me through elementary school. But my good friends over at the awesome blog Zombies and Toys are trying to take us to the next generation of these self propelled stories and I for one can not wait to give it a shot!!!





This is the very cool looking 'Can You Survive A Zombie Apocalypse?' written by Max Brallier. It is in the vein of the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books and is capitalizing on the whole zombie movement going on right now (Zombies are in... Vamps & Werewolves are so last year). You can win a free copy by clicking here and following the prompts at the bottom of the post. Tell them CCD sent you... who knows, maybe they will pick one of our guys to win (wink, wink!!!). 

JD Salinger: American Literary Legend Enters The Great Library In The Sky

Farewell JD Salinger. The reclusive author, most famous for his 1951 novel Catcher in the Rye, died Wednesday at his New Hampshire home. Long out of the spotlight due to the fact that he shunned his super stardom, its not a surprise that information on his death came out a full day after he actually died. He had successfully published a few short stories in the 40's, and one even got optioned for a movie. But Sam Goldwyn destroyed the soul of Salinger's short story "Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut" when he made the film "My Foolish Heart". Salinger hated the movie, and vowed to never allow his work to be adapted again. This was something he never gave in on. His first novel was Catcher In the Rye. Salinger was one of those rare talents that nailed it on the first shot, having a hugely successful novel with his first published book. He recieved offers from the Hollywood elite for over 5 decades to adapt the novel. Billy Wilder and Steven Spielberg, two of the greatest directors ever, both tried unsuccessfully to option the book. He would not budge.

Salinger hated the spotlight, and it is rumored that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the time he spent in the army during World War II. He lead a very sheltered life out of the public eye and with the success of Catcher in the Rye he probably didn't want for much. Catcher has sold over 65 million books worldwide and still, 59 years later, moves 250,000 copies a year. It is the quintessential High School English class book, along with Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Although the book was criticized for its language and sexual content in the 60's and the 70's, it is widely accepted as a literary masterpiece that is close to perfection in most of today's modern literary circles. Holden Caufield is the one of the most recognizable characters in literature, and its a shame that a great actor never got to bring him to life on the silver screen. Hopefully, once Salinger's material enters into public domain sometime in like 70 years, there will be a filmmaker that will get a crack at this classic. Its a shame that I'll probably be gone before that happens. Peace out JD, enjoy the spotlight in heaven that you so rightfully deserved but shunned here on earth...