Heh. According to THR, Anne Rice is not a fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Ms. Rice recently wrote:
"[My characters] feel sorry for vampires that sparkle in the sun... They would never hurt immortals who choose to spend eternity going to high school over and over again in a small town--anymore than they would hurt the physically disabled or the mentally challenged. My vampires possess gravitas. They can afford to be merciful."
Pot? Meet kettle. Anyone who willingly sold the rights to the 1994 film adaptation of Interview With the Vampire has no room to be talking about gravitas.
Also, I'm pretty sure Ms. Meyer can dry any tears she might be shedding over Ms. Rice's comments with her massive pile of money. Y'know... in case you were worried about her delicate feelings.
Yen Press and Anne Rice are planning a single-volume graphic novel adaptation of Rice's 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire, due out in fall 2012. Rather to my surprise, I really like this first image (even though there's no chance I'll actually read the book—I'm not a Rice fan). I'm assuming that's supposed to be Claudia, and who better to embrace the whole Gothic Lolita vibe?
Meg and I went to the bookstore last night and encountered this:
According to Lynsay Sands's promotional blurb, this novel is an "absolute delight". I don't know about that, but Meg and I certainly agreed that the cover is an absolute delight. It looks like a fantasy-themed 90s anime re-imagined as low-budget porn.
I was hoping this trend would be beyond tired by 2012.
Twentieth Century Fox has purchased the film rights for Seth Grahame-Smith's novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. (Grahame-Smith also wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and is therefore the dude I hold responsible for the "classic book/famous person + monster" trend.) Details for the movie are already pouring out: it's due in 2012, it has a budget of $69 million, Grahame-Smith is doing the screenplay adaptation, and Timur Bekmambetov (of Wanted fame) will direct.
Meg Cabot's new novel Insatiable is full of nods to the current vampire craze (love triangles, seemingly ordinary heroines with mysterious abilities, broody-yet-hot dudes with weird dietary habits, etc.), but Cabot's irrepressible sense of humor guarantees that her book is anything but a Twilight ripoff.
Cabot's heroine is Meena Harper, a soap opera writer with a highly undesirable power: she can tell when and how someone is going to die. Meena's “gift” and her under-qualified new boss have made life difficult, but she's coping—at least until she gets caught up in a struggle between a modern-day vampire prince and the vampire hunter determined to take him down.
Insatiable is reminiscent of The Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You, Cabot's early series for teens. Like those titles, it balances its far-fetched fantasy storyline with a refreshingly sane heroine. (Meena is strongly attracted to both of her suitors, but she's not about to give up her job, her apartment, or her dog for just anyone, you know?) The book is left open-ended, and we're looking forward to seeing where Cabot takes her heroine next. Will Meena end up with the vampire bigwig or the human warrior? Can she nix the stupid vampire storyline she's been forced to write into her soap opera? Will her unemployed brother ever get a real job and move back out? Only time—and the inevitable sequel—will tell....
If you're looking for a genuinely creepy take on the vampire genre (versus, say, a mopey, dopey, heavy-on-the-sixpack-abs one), check out the trailer for Let Me In, the upcoming film remake of the 2008 Swedish movie Let The Right One In, which was based on a 2004 novel by horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. I've never had the stomach to read the book (there's more horror in it than just the vampire stuff, apparently), but I hear it's very good.
I staring out the window yesterday, wondering what Meg Cabot has been up to. (Apart from finishing up her body-swapping Airhead series, which we're way behind on reviewing, even though her publisher very kindly sent us copies of both the second and third books. Sorry, Meg! We'll get to it sooner or later!) Anyway, a little internet research gave me an answer: she's jumping on the vampire bandwagon. Behold the cover art for her upcoming adult novel Insatiable, due out in early June:
Cabot has a good track record with supernatural stuff (both her 1-800-Where-R-U books and her Mediator books are great), so here's hoping this will be just as fun.
Slate has set out to answer a question I've been wondering about myself: what's with all the recent articles proclaiming vampires some kind of "new craze"? Haven't they been a consistent craze? (There's certainly been a steady vampire-story presence throughout my lifetime.) Anyway, two Slate writers have mapped the ebb and flow of vamp popularity since the 1960s in their Garlic Years Timeline.
AnimeNewsNetwork is reporting that Tomu Ohmi is planning a one-shot follow-up to her hugely popular Midnight Secretary* manga, which ended this month. This 36-page story, entitled "Midnight Butler", will feature Marika, the icy blond lady-vampire who played a minor role in Midnight Secretary.
GYAH! British actor Michael Sheen has signed on to play one of the Volturi vampires in the upcoming adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's New Moon.
Do you guys realize how I feel about one of the stars of a ridiculous-in-a-fun-way vampire series (like the Underworld movies!) starring in a ridiculous-in-a-bad-way vampire series (like Twilight)?
Sadly, the pilot was written by Kevin Williamson, creator of the dread Dawson's Creek, which does cause considerable concern, but we'll hope for the best.
Myriad Pictures and comic book publisher Studio 407 are joining forces to produce a feature film version of the indie comic book miniseries The Night Projectionist. The story takes place on Halloween Eve in the town of Crosstown Falls, where a bunch of unlucky film-goers are enjoying an all-night Dracula-themed film festival. Unfortunately for them, the projectionist is (shocker!) a vampire, and he's planning on celebrating his holiday with a locked-down theater's worth of yummy human munchies....
I have no idea when the movie will be out (but smart money's on October 30th), but the first issue of "The Night Projectionist" miniseries will hit shelves in February, and you can view an 8-page-long preview here.
Catherine Jinks (Evil Genius, Genius Squad) is offering readers a fresh take on teen vampire literature, and I for one am super excited about it. The Reformed Vampire Support Group is due out in May, and the publisher's description sounds awesome:
"Think vampires are romantic, sexy, and powerful? Think again. Vampires are dead. And unless they want to end up staked, they have to give up fanging people, admit their addiction, join a support group, and reform themselves.
Nina Harrison, fanged at fifteen and still living with her mother, hates the Reformed Vampire Support Group meetings every Tuesday night. Even if she does appreciate Dave, who was in a punk band when he was alive, nothing exciting ever happens. That is, until one of group members is mysteriously destroyed by a silver bullet. With Nina (determined to prove that vamps aren't useless or weak) and Dave (secretly in love with Nina) at the helm, the misfit vampires soon band together to track down the hunter, save a werewolf, and keep the world safe from the likes of themselves.
MTV has posted a short essay comparing modern interpretations of the vampire myth in books and movies--everything from Buffy to Twilight. They don't say anything earth-shattering, but the article does suggest a couple of vampire titles I'm unfamiliar with. (Should I look up Mary Lambert's Dark Path Chronicles?) Sadly, they don't include my favorite, the deliciously atmospheric Companions of the Night, but it's a pretty solid list.
Heh. According to THR, Anne Rice is not a fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Ms. Rice recently wrote:
