October 17, 2014 by EM Castellan

Movies About Writers

Hello gentle reader,

Happy Friday! How about a few movie recommendations to start the weekend? I’m over at The Great Noveling Adventure sharing my favourite movies about writers today.

Take a look, maybe?

August 15, 2014 by EM Castellan

Film recommendations – YA books turned into films

Hello gentle reader,

Happy Friday! Are you looking to watch a film based on a YA book this weekend? There are many excellent ones. However it has recently struck me that when the media mention YA books turned into films, they always give the same titles: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Divergent or The Fault In Our Stars. Since I don’t think those films – although very good – need any more publicity, I decided to list a few titles you may have overlooked…

A Series Of Unfortunate Events

Book by Lemony Snicket published in 1999

Film directed by Brad Silberling in 2004 starring Jim Carrey and Emily Browning

The Eagle

Book by Rosemary Sutcliff published in 1954

Film directed by Kevin Macdonald in 2011 and starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland

Stardust

Book by Neil Gaiman published in 1999

Film directed by Matthew Vaughn in 2004 starring Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett, Robert De Niro, Henry Cavill and Ian McKellen among others.

The Secret Life of Bees

Book by Sue Monk Kidd published in 2002

Film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood in 2008 and starring Dakota Fanning, Paul Bettany, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys.

Which films based on YA books would you recommend?

Feel free to leave me a comment below!

January 10, 2013 by EM Castellan

The Lovely Blog Award

Hello gentle reader,

three days ago the ever-awesome Karen Rought passed the Lovely Blog Award on to me! Thank you so much Karen! I am now supposed to: thank the person who gave it to me, list 7 things about myself and pass it along to 7 others. I have already shared 7 random things about myself on this blog when I received the Very Inspiring Blog Award. So today I thought I would do something a little bit different. Instead of talking about myself per se, I’m going to talk about 7 reasons why I cannot wait for the UK release of the movie Les Miserables tomorrow.

1- I read Les Miserables for the first time when I was 10. It was an abridged version for children and I remember loving it, although at the time I had no idea why it was such a compelling story.

2- I finally read the full version of Les Miserables when I was 15 and it blew me away. I still know some quotes by heart. It was epic and moving, historical and timeless, incredibly well written and yet easy to read. It is one of the first books that made me want to be a writer.

3- My teenage years were also the time when I fell in love with musicals. And I read every single book by Victor Hugo (and yes, he wrote many, including poetry, political essays and plays). If you have a question about this French author’s work, I’m the one to ask 😉

4- By the time I was 20, I had also watched every possible movie rendition of Les Miserables. And let me tell you, some of them are bad. And weird.

4- Ten years ago I found out there was a musical based on Les Miserables (I know, a bit late to this party…). Two of my favourite things in the world! I saw it, and loved it.

5- Ten years ago, I also watched Gladiator for the first time and thought Russell Crowe was an awesome actor. I know he is way older than me, but I still have an odd crush on him.

6- But you may know if you read this blog that my biggest love when it comes to actors is Eddie Redmayne. Just watch The Pillars of the Eearth: I dare you not to love him.

7- January 2013: a movie based on the musical Les Miserables is released. Russell Crowe and Eddie Redmayne star in it.

Now you understand why I CAN’T WAIT FOR TOMORROW?

Now on to my list of 7 lovely bloogers:

The Feather and the Rose

Kate Michael

Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Go and visit their blogs, they are all worth a read!

July 13, 2012 by EM Castellan

Friday Film – Frozen

This week, I would like to mention a film that I cannot wait to see: Frozen (Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 2013 animated feature holiday film). Based on The Snow Queen by Hans C. Andersen, the movie will be “an epic tale of adventure and comedy”.

According to the official press release from 11^th June 2012, the film is set to be released on 27th November 2013.

“In Frozen, a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, so Anna (voice of film/TV/stage star Kristen Bell), a young dreamer about to take the adventure of a lifetime, must team up with Kristoff, a daring mountain man, on the grandest of journeys to find Elsa the Snow Queen (voice of Tony Award ®-winning actress Idina Menzel) and put an end to the icy spell. Encountering Everest-like extremes, mystical creatures and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.

Directed by Chris Buck (“Tarzan,” “Surf’s Up”) and produced by Peter Del Vecho (“Winnie the Pooh,” “The Princess and the Frog”) and by Pixar’s John Lasseter, “Frozen” will feature original songs by Broadway greats Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.”

So, not only is this film based on an amazing fairy tale, but it will also include the voices of two of my favourite actresses in the world?