Love Your Antagonist via Loki

So how many of you are going to see the new Thor movie this weekend?

(raises hand)

Did you know that they added extra filming after it was finished, just to add more Loki scenes? There was such an outcry for the character (And Tom Hiddleston) that they added more of him to make the fans happy.

I admit, as much as I like Thor, I LOVED Loki. A good part of it was the actor. But also, the character himself. He is a villain with baggage. He's not evil, just for the sake of being evil. He found out he was adopted and not like everyone else. He was lied to. He lived under the shadow of his brother. And even though he was the antagonist, you felt for him. (And Tom's voice doesn't hurt either.)

So I have a few questions for you. Ready?

1. Is your antagonist sympathetic? Can you see a reason that he/she is bad, or did you just make them bad/evil?

2.  Who are your favorite sympathetic villains. Books. Movies. I don't care.

3. Team Loki or Team Thor. :o)

Here is something to tide you over while you wait for the movie to come out:

BREAKING DAWN PART 2: On The Final Twilight Movie And Closure

 

You may or may not have heard about this indie project called THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2, which comes out on November 15th. It's just this obscure, limited release film with some unknown actors. The studio distributing it isn't expecting ginormous box office numbers at all. Like, not even close.

Oh, and these dudes? I don't squee at the sight of them.

 

Nope.

Not squeeing.

*squees*

*coughs*

Okay, okay. This post might as well be titled Lies I Tell Myself. 

I'm not huge on Stephenie Meyer's books (except for the Volturi. Me likes the Volturi. *hugs the Volturi*), BUT I do like watching the movie versions because: 1) Robert Pattinson; 2) Taylor Lautner. Yes, I shall see these two actors in other movies, but probably never in the same movie ever again. That, more than anything else, gives me the sadsies--I think these two gentledudes are rather good at hating each other and fighting over a human dudette. Which is what I believe most TWILIGHT fans seem to enjoy most, along with Bella and Edward's relationship.

But alas, the end is nigh. I'm already coping by watching interviews with both actors (score if they're in the same interview together). This is my attempt at closure, but I know for sure it'll be achieved the minute the end credits roll and I walk out of the movie theater. I shall raise an imaginary glass of lemonade and yell "FAREWELL, MY DARLING DEARS!" at the screen. Because obviously.

So I ask y'all this: if you're looking forward to THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2, what are you struggling with most in terms of closure? Bella/Edward? Jacob/Reneesme? The Cullens? My beloved Volturis? All of it? Let me know in the comments! 

Happy Monday! :)

Monsters University And The Problem With Crossover Appeal

So. There's this movie from Pixar I really like. Well, there's a lot of movies from Pixar I really like--and love--but this post is about one in particular. It's called Monsters, Inc. Maybe you've seen it. Maybe you haven't. Either way, there's a sequel (which is really a prequel) coming next year. That one's called Monsters University. 

Here's the trailer:

You have your usual suspects (Wazowski and Sully) dealing with their usual stuff (mastering the fine art of creeping kids out). So far, so good. 

But now they're in college.

Studying like crazy for exams. Throwing parties in their dorms. With disco lights. 

And this is a movie for children. 

Or is it a movie for children?

That's the thing--Monsters, Inc. (along with plenty of other animated films) has huge crossover appeal. But at its core, that first film in the franchise stayed true to what it was about: kids getting scared, and the kindhearted monsters who do the scaring. Adults and young adults loved the movie because it was funny, heartwarming, and unlike anything they'd ever seen in animated films (that's what I'm assuming, anyway).

But how do kids--the real audience for these films--relate to college students? Sure, they're still dealing with monster-ly things like mastering the fine art of creeping kids out, BUT this movie isn't about the kids anymore. It's about the monsters and their shenanigans while obtaining a higher education. 

I am not saying Monsters University is going to suck. I'm actually looking forward to seeing it. What I'm saying is this: crossover appeal is a consequence, not a goal. If you try to please too many audiences, you'll end up losing sight of what your story is truly about. Of course, some authors set out to write something that catches everyone's attention and knocks their socks off, but most of the time? Total accident. They wrote a story for someone, and they wrote it well (or super passionately). 

My advice? Know who you're writing for, and write the best book you can for that someone. They deserve your best. You deserve your best.   

Now tell me: which books/movies have you read/seen that have crossover appeal, but don't seem to try hard in achieving it? 

Breaking Dawn Part 2: Full Trailer

I know people either love it or hate it, but the final Twilight movie is out this November. There was a (ten second) sneak peak of more footage yesterday, but here is the full trailer for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2.

Enjoy.



But as one movie franchise closes, I know a lot of us are looking forward to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire next year (which I can't wait to see *fidgets*). There are also film adaptations of Beautiful Creatures and The Mortal Instruments to look forward to watching.

Back to Breaking Dawn. What do you think about the trailer? Are there any other books you'd love to see turned into movies?

We Need To Talk About Kevin... And Kindness

A few days ago, I finally got the chance to watch We Need To Talk About Kevin, the film adaptation of  Lionel Shriver's novel. Confession: I haven't read the novel. When I first saw the trailer, I was unsettled without really knowing why. All I knew was that I had to see the movie.  

If you haven't read or seen We Need To Talk About Kevin, no worries. I won't spoil a single thing. 

Other than the fact that it devastated me.

Yesterday, Kelly blogged about the Victorians and their take on difficult topics in their work. We Need To Talk About Kevin deals with messy, messy things, too. But here's the thing: I wasn't super affected by the ugly parts. I rarely am, actually. Books, movies, TV, real life. I've grown accustomed to expect the ugly. 

What really affects me, what catches me off guard and devastates me in the strongest way, is kindness.

Heart is what gets me every time. People doing good things. That makes me cry.

We Need To Talk About Kevin shows glimpses of kindness, and they got to me. They push me to be a better person. The film's characterization and plotting push me to be a better writer. My advice to you? Find what wrecks you, and harness it into whatever your passion might be. I have a lot of passions, but one is certainly writing. I only hope I can pull off something as wreck-y to whoever reads my work. 

Now tell me: how do you incorporate what wrecks you into your work?? Have you read/seen We Need To Talk About Kevin? If so, what did you think? 

The Sirius Black Problem

So. Yesterday, I watched two super awesome movies. One of them was ze following:

Yes, that's Sir Gary Oldman. I typically adore Gary's performances in everything, so I decided to check Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy out. Obviously, Gary was amazeballs. But there was one moment where I FLIPPED OUT and screamed at my TV: during one scene, Gary's character (an agent working for British Secret Intelligence in the 70s) is speaking to someone else. He starts by saying "If Witchcraft is genuine..."

And I went all, "OF COURSE IT'S GENUINE, SIRIUS!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW!!!!"

Then I realized two things.

1) I wasn't seeing Gary Oldman as Agent Dude From British Secret Intelligence. I was seeing him as Sirius Black, super awesome wizard badass from the Harry Potter series. 

2) I have issues (this is a recurring realization, actually...).

But the most important thing that dawned on me is this: sometimes I have trouble setting aside a writer's/actor's previous work, and blur the lines between that and the current one. I blend both projects together. Don't know why, but I tend to do so. In Gary's case, when he mentions "Witchcraft," he's referring to an operation, not magic. And yet, BOOM. I thought magic. 

The Sirius Black Problem, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, how it haunts me...

So now I'm wondering: has this ever happened to you?? If so, which two (or three...) projects have you blurred into one?

On Batman And Letting Go

Confession: The first time I saw this poster for The Dark Knight Rises, I cried. I also cried the first time I saw the teaser trailer. And I also cried the first time I saw the two trailers after that one.

But back to that poster. You see how the words "The Legend Ends" sit at the top? Yep. Those did me in, folks. I read the stupid words and bawled.

Why?

Well, I'm a h-u-g-e Batman fan. Christopher Nolan, director/screenwriter extraordinaire, has re-envisioned my childhood superhero into someone I don't want to say goodbye to. Of course, I'm aware that even after Nolan's trilogy wraps up, more Batman films will be greenlit in the future. 

But Nolan won't direct or write them.

Christian Bale won't be Batman anymore, either. Some new dude will take over and re-envision the man/mythology all over again. 

That's one reason I don't want to let go.

The other? I suck at letting go of my favorite characters. Big time. I can convince myself that it's for the greater good and that it's not a real person I'm saying goodbye to, but in the end, those pesky tears always come back. Something tells me I'm never going to change. I'm destined to be a sort of character hoarder, unwilling to part ways with the fake people ruling my heart, and eventually burying myself underneath their awesomeness. 

*suffocates*

Which leads me to today's questions: how do you let go of your favorite characters? Which character proved the hardest to let go of for you? They can be from books/movies/TV shows you love, or they can be from your very own WIPs!!!

Also, for the Batman lovers out there, here's the latest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises: *sobs*

Writer Movies

Whisper of the Heart, 1995

Friday movie night with my daughters is always fun, but the entertainment isn't always great (avoid Chipwrecked and Air Buddies if you possibly can) but this past week we picked a winner: Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo sumaseba), a 1995 Studio Ghibli film written by the great Hideo Miyazaki.

In the movie, 14-year-old Shizuku lives to read fairy tales and write new lyrics to her favorite songs. When she finds all of her favorite books have been checked out of the library by the same boy, she imagines a romantic ideal of her "Prince of Books." When she meets the real Seiji, she finds him infuriating and but more complicated than she imagined. Seiji longs to become an apprentice violin maker, and when he leaves for Italy, Shizuku vows to write a story of her own to become an artist with the same dedication by the time he returns.

The movie was a funny, touching portrayal of awkward adolescent love, but also a realistic portrait of Shizuku as an aspiring writer. Shizuku works tirelessly to finish her first novel, and when she does, she's afraid to show it to Seiji's grandfather. She's crushed when he tells her it needs work, but mostly frustrated because her words fall short of her imagination. But she decides to study and revise until the story until it matches her vision.

I loved this portrayal of the life of a young writer. I don't usually enjoy books about aspiring writers, but the translation to another medium made the theme less solipsistic. So I've been thinking about some iconic film portrayals of writers -- Adaptation, Barton Fink, The Shining, Misery, Romancing the Stone, and more recently, Young Adult. I decided that of all them, Shizuku's experience is most like my own, and for that, I'm grateful. Only Kathleen Turner seems to be having fun in any of those other movies.

What movies do you think best portray your life as a writer or reader? Which are most or least realistic?

We Need More Girls... Right?

So. There's this movie opening in a few weeks. You may or may not have heard about it.

Confession: I am beyond excited to see The Avengers. I am. Really. Joss Whedon directing? A handful of Marvel's best superheroes? I'm so in. 

But I've been thinking about something one of the film's actors said in an interview. You see, there's this guy named Chris Hemsworth. He looks like this:

*fans self*

While promoting The Avengers, my future husband Chris Hemsworth was asked about Kristen Stewart. They both star in this summer's upcoming Snow White and The Huntsman.

Huntsman: "Wait... is that guy... sparkling?"

Snow White: "I have no idea what you're talking about. I am too busy freaking out over your gorgeousness." 

The interviewer asked Chris whether Kristen could hang out with The Avengers on a save-the-world mission, to which he replied with high praise for Kristen. He was then asked whether she could "hold her own" alongside the superhero team:

"I think so," smiled Hemsworth. "Why not? We need some more girls."

Chris's answer immediately made me think of the lone woman in The Avengers team.

Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow 

Yes, she's tough. Yes, she can fight. She even carries a gun (???). But while her inclusion is a step in a good direction for female characters in films, I can't help myself in taking Chris's answer to the next level. Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk have their own origin stories on film. The Black Widow doesn't. Her origin story is glossed over in Iron Man 2, where she first appears onscreen. Which leads me to wonder: is representation enough? 

To me, it isn't. I want to know more about The Black Widow. I don't want her to be in a movie surrounded by a bunch of guys who can protect themselves just fine without her. I want to see her serve a purpose. These are my expectations for the movie. Maybe they'll be met. Maybe they won't. 

Either way, Chris Hemsworth is on to something. 

We need more richly developed, purposeful female characters in all genres of fiction. Don't write a story about a girl if she isn't someone worth exploring further. Don't settle for less than what she deserves. Same goes for male characters, of course, but that's for another post :)

Now tell me: what do you think of the need for more girls in fiction/film/TV? Which are some of your fave female characters? 

A Writer-Who-Isn't-Going-To-BEA's Guide To Not Cry About It

BEA, or Book Expo America, is awesome.

Well, that's what people tell me. Because I've never been to BEA. And I won't be going this year, either. 

*wails*

Today's post is for all you writers/bloggers/readers out there who, like me, are super jealous of everyone going to BEA. We will NOT be defeated by jealousy, people! We will throw parties and eat chocolate and dance and not cry. At least that's what I'm aiming for.

Here's a list of things I'm going to do while everyone else is at BEA:

1) Reading some of my most anticipated SEQUELS. Like these ones: 

2) Watching EPISODES of a few TV shows I'm currently obsessed with. Like these ones:

3) Google pictures of BABY PUPPIES, mainly Coton de Tulears. Which look like this:

source

4) Stare endlessly at memes that make me laugh. Like this one:

5) And when I'm not doing all of that, I will write. A lot. *fist pump*

So. If you're not going to BEA like me, I'm curious: what do you plan on doing to deal with ze sadness??  

And if you are going to BEA, I hate you. Deeply.*

*I'm kidding.

**Or AM I?

On Reading While Drafting

Last week, YA author/book reviewer extraordinaire Phoebe North shared her thoughts on reading other novels while drafting. I agree 100% with the idea of embracing stories while working on your own, mainly because it fuels me to write deeper, richer books. I've seen my creativity dip when I'm not reading other books, or watching TV shows/movies. In fact, I'm going to show you three examples that have recently fed my creativity and have lit a fire on my current WIP. 

Le examples:

A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness

Awesome Character Development + Awesome Voice + It Made Me Sob = EPIC WIN

GAME OF THRONES on HBO (based on the series by G.R.R. Martin)

Awesome Characters + Awesome Worldbuilding + Political Intrigue + WTF Moments Galore = SUPER EPIC WIN

THE IDES OF MARCH

Political Intrigue + Awesome Performances + Seamless Plotting + RYAN GOSLING = *dies*

So there you go--some of my never ending sources of inspiration. Each and every one of them makes me want to write better. And I can't thank them enough :)

Now tell me: do you read/watch TV or movies while drafting?? If so, share your three examples in the comments!

THE HUNGER GAMES Movie: What Did YOU Think???

So. The Hunger Games finally premiered last Friday, and as of today, has rounded up a whopping 155 million dollars at the box office (holy bananas...). Which means a lot of you went to see it. And, of course, this leads me to ask y'all the following question: 

If you saw The Hunger Games this weekend, what did you think of the movie?? 

Whether you loved it or hated it, squealed or cried or yawned, today's post is about your voice. Leave your awesomeness in the comments, and I'll be back throughout the day to read your reactions! :) 

THE HUNGER GAMES Full-Length Trailer!

The trailer. Is. Finally. Here.

What do you think? Is it what you hoped it would be or not? Let's discuss in the comments!

New THE HUNGER GAMES Cast Photos: What Do You Think?

So. There's this movie coming out in March 2012. It's called The Hunger Games.


Maybe you've heard of it.


*winks*


Anyway, Vanity Fair magazine has released brand new pics with the cast! 


Le pics:

Now tell me: what do you think? Do they look like the Tributes you imagined? Are the pics getting you pumped up for the movie release?? (confession: Despite a few actors not looking like I thought they would, I. Cannot. Wait.)

Inspire Me

People often ask me where I come up with ideas for my stories. The answer...everywhere. Seriously, watch what you say to me (no worries if you are a writer and start out by saying "this is my idea for a new story" - I'm not going to steal it from you) :D But in every day conversation....yeah, something you say to me may end up in my next book :D

I once showed my husband a scene from my my last book - and he burst out laughing because it was a pretty close rendition of a conversation we'd had once.

For me, inspiration is everywhere, in music, art, people, movies, books (have you ever wanted to write a retelling of a fairy tale or a cool twist on an old story?) When it comes right down to it, I suppose I’m inspired by life in general. Events of the past, my own life experiences, the experiences of others expressed through music, theater, art (a really great painting can get all kind of creative juices flowing – the walls of my house are plastered with historical romance inspiring art), movies, books, etc, watching the world around me, experiencing that world, living in other worlds through vivid dreams….all of this combines to create the stories that run through my head at all hours of the day or night.


A few of my favorite inspirations are:

- Music. Some songs just really hit me hard and make me want to write. For one of the stories I am working on, I pretty much have Apocalyptica's "Not Strong Enough" on repeat. And Ke$ha's "Take it Off" :D A few other bands that always inspire me are Coldplay, Everlast, Rob Dougan, Evanescence….those haunting melodies are just great inspiration for the drama needed for some good fiction.

- Art. My walls are plastered with art. Everything from Renaissance artists to abstracts to photographs. My husband teases me about it because there is not one blank wall in our house. I also troll the internet…photobucket.com is a great place for inspiration.

- Movies. Certain movies just really hit home and tweak emotions that are hard to contain. A big favorite is P.S. I Love You. I’ve watched it I don’t know how many times, because it makes me laugh and cry and drool (Gerard Butler…ummm gorgeous!). It makes me want to write something that will make people feel the way I feel when I watch it.

- Books. I read. A lot. And I mean A LOT. If you are going to be a good writer, I think it’s a necessary part of the process to read. I call it research. It gets me an eye roll from my non-reader husband, but it really is research. Most of the time I get lost in the story, but now, as a writer, I can never really shut off the edit mode. Sometimes I’ll come across a passage or a really good (or bad) dialogue sequence and think, “wow, I love how she did this,” or “ooo, I never would have worded this like this, it just doesn’t work.” Reading other’s work makes it easier to spot both the good and the bad things in my own work. And, like the movies and the music, sometimes I’ll read a book that just inspires me to write, inspires me to create something that will invoke the emotions that I felt while reading.

So tell me...What inspires you?