Movie News for John Green Fans!

by Jenny Ramaley


Last night was spent crying through The Fault in Our Stars - again.  Now that the film is on HBO it's way too easy to keep revisiting that super John Green story. The literally-in-the-heart-of-Jesus scenes were filmed in the Episcopalian church at the top of my street so that's extra fun to see.

In case you haven't heard, July will bring another JG story to the big screen - Paper Towns.  Actor Nat Wolff, who played Isaac in Fault (lost his sight and his girlfriend to cancer) will play the young protagonist/John Green-type leading man. A young supermodel-in-real-life will play the mysterious object of his affection. The film's been getting good buzz - thankfully, it's said to be MUCH FUNNIER than Fault. Save the tears for the dark winter months - in the summer, bring on the popcorn and make us fall out of our seats!

From 20th Century Fox:
Adapted from the bestselling novel by author John Green, PAPER TOWNS is a coming-of-age story centering on Quentin and his enigmatic neighbor Margo, who loved mysteries so much she became one. After taking him on an all-night adventure through their hometown, Margo suddenly disappears - leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. The search leads Quentin and his quick-witted friends on an exhilarating adventure that is equal parts hilarious and moving. Ultimately, to track down Margo, Quentin must find a deeper understanding of true friendship - and true love. 

This is all fine and good. Bringing YA books to the screen can encourage readers young and old to check out the YA book that inspired the film, and hopefully other books.

But the news that many of us have been waiting for since 2005 is whether Paramount Pictures is getting anywhere on John Green's Looking for Alaska. Paramount has been sitting on  the rights since the book was published. Entertainment Weekly recently mentioned 'the movie' and supposedly the film is in production. John Green tweeted last year:

"So excited to announce that the brilliant filmmaker Sarah Polley will be writing and directing a film adaptation of Looking for Alaska."

No release date yet. Keep your fingers crossed!

Top 10 YA Books Made into Movies

by Jenny Ramaley

One of the highlights of Thanksgiving break was when our entire family went to see the new Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire. Even though our youngest turned 20 in October, YA books are still bring us together. How cool is that?

Those teen years were tough. If you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about, and if you’re not there yet, accept my sympathies for what’s coming. But no matter how challenging things got at our house, books gave us something to share and to talk about – and the resulting movies gave us something to do together. Being able to ask a teen if they preferred the book or the movie, and the discussion that follows – priceless!

Here are my favorite YA books that have been made into movies. I’d love to hear your favorites!

1.     The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins. The first book made a great movie. The second is even better. Usually I prefer the book, but “Catching Fire” does a great job of capturing the fear and horror that’s driving the people in the Districts to revolution.

2.     The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer – although people seem to have strong ‘love it or hate it’ feelings about the books, the movies are great fun. And what’s not to like about Robert Pattison’s hair?

3.     The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. An oldy but goody made even better when you tell your teens it was written by a 16 year old girl. The movie pales in comparison to the written word, but it’s fun to see how the young cast of characters turned into a who’s who of big name actors.

4.     The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Amazing book, amazing movie with incredible performances. WRITTEN BY A PITTSBURGHER, PLUS THEY FILMED IT HERE! That tunnel where she stands up in the back of the truck? We drive through it all the time.

5.     The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series by Ann Brashares. Loved the books and the movies, too. Deals with some tough topics (like how sex too soon and too young can be awful) but not in a preachy way.

6.     Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Another story that deals with a tough topic (rape). Both the book and movie are well done, but if the writing style doesn’t appeal to your teen, skip the written version and go straight to the film. Just don’t skip this story – it should be read or seen by every young person before they start high school.

7.     To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book, which was required reading in our school district, presents a writing style that’s quite different from today’s often more casual approach. Follow the book with a family movie night – a surefire way to an interesting discussion on race and justice in the U.S.

8.     Holes by Louis Sacher.

9.     The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

10. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. No list of books-to-film would be complete without the story of Harry, Hermione and Ron. Our girls had the joy of reading the books as they were published – and long before the movies came out. I hope today’s families can encourage their sons and daughters to read this series before seeing the movies. But that’s just my two cents.