New Trailers: The Fault in Our Stars and Divergent!

It's a Shailene Woodley double feature with the trailers of two of her films that were released last month.   These are roles that could launch Woodley into a Jennifer Lawrence-like stratosphere.

First up is the trailer of the YA adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars written by John Green.  The book is funny, sad and deeply poignant and I'm glad the trailer reflects that tone in it.  Directed by Josh Boone, a relative newcomer, the cast features Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell and Willem Dafoe.  Woodley actually cut her long hair to play the part of Hazel Grace Lancaster, a teenager stricken with cancer who falls in love for the first time.  And yes, while that does sound depressing, the characters in the book/film are anything but.  This is definitely on my list of films to catch up with this year.  The Fault in Our Stars releases June 2014.

Up next is another YA adaptation, this time a dystopian thriller by author Veronica Roth, the first of the best-selling trilogy in which society is divided up into five factions that showcases the best of your abilities.  But it also means that everyone looks out for themselves and there are no family loyalties.  Beatrice Prior has a difficult path ahead of her when she is shown to be a Divergent and doesn't belong in any one faction.  She must navigate her life and those of her loved ones and protect them from the plans of the leader of the Erudite, Jeanine Matthews.  The films also stars Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Maggie Q, Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd and no, your eyes did not deceive you, that's actually Kate Winslet as Matthews.   Divergent will release big this March and try to steal a bit of The Hunger Games' thunder as that franchise is midway through its series and their's is just beginning.  Are you ready?

Taking a Page out a YA book

Lately, I've been noticing a lot of projects being launched recently are movie adaptations of Young Adult (YA) books from all genres.  There's the hyped interest in Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games, the current release in theaters now, Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole based on the series of novels Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky and of course, I don't need to tell anyone about Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.  FYI, I still have not read these books.   I know, I know, I'm getting to it.  Eventually.


So, the fact remains that Hollywood is getting mighty impressed with the audience these books bring to the table already and turning these very popular books into movies.  Proof?  Recently, Disney is going to adapt Allyson Condie's Matched, a dystopian tale of society where everyone is matched up by their 18th birthdays.  Condie's debut novel is getting lots of rave reviews and it will be interesting to see how this turns out.  

Universal Pictures is adapting the first book of Melissa Marr's urban/fantasy series Wicked Lovely about a young girl, Aislinn, who gets caught up in the faerie world.  Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don't Cry) is attached to direct. 

Personally, I think this is great.  I myself have been reading some YA novels lately and while they might be labeled YA, they deal with issues and emotions that are quite real and grown-up.  My recent reads include Simone Elkeles' Leaving Paradise about a young man who completes a year in prison for running over his neighbor (and classmate) while drunk and now has to face her when he gets out and Gayle Forman's If I Stay about a girl who the lone survivor of a horrific car crash that takes her whole family.  The novel is told from Mia's viewpoint as she fights to live.  This is long been rumored to be turned into a film as well.  I have no doubt that these stories will translate well onscreen.