Bookish (Movie) Fun: Young Adult, Snow White and Paradise Lost

I posted a little while ago about how I was cautiously excited about Diablo Cody's upcoming flick Young Adult, because it sounded like an interesting comedy about a YA author, plus it had an awesome poster. Well, the trailer has been released, and I have to say I'm no longer excited at all. I think I'll give this one a miss. It doesn't even look craptastic - it just looks crap.

One movie that I am getting increasingly excited about is Snow White, starring Lily Collins and Armie Hammer. There's no trailer yet, but there is a bunch of pretty stills:

In other (kinda old, but new to me) movie news, I was surprised to find out that John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost is being adapted for the big screen. As an action movie. In 3D. Starring The Hangover's Bradley Cooper as Lucifer, unknown Benjamin Walker as Michael, Ben's little brother, Casey Affleck, as Gabriel, I Am Number Four's Callan McAuliffe as Uriel, Pretty Little Liars' Diego Boneta as Adam and... wait for it... the girl Joe Jonas dumped Taylor Swift for, Camilla Belle, as Eve. I don't know how I feel about this. I'm curious, that's for sure. I guess angels really are the new vampires, huh?

Bookish Fun: Young Adult, The Movie

I don't know how I feel about Diablo Cody. Sometimes I think I love her, other times I want her to crawl back to the stripper hole she bounced from. When she first hit the scene with Juno, I loved her - and the movie - in theory. The concept appealed to me, and some of the lines were hilarious - but the delivery was just so forced and it was so self-consciously clever that, after I got over not being one of the cool kids obsessing over it, I had to admit I didn't actually like it that much. Then along came Jennifer's Body, and I LOVED the concept and loved the stars (except Megan Fox - but she was playing a demon so that worked for me), and was disappointed to find that it, too, felt way too forced and self-conscious. On the other hand, I think The United States of Tara is nothing short of amazeballs.

So it's with some trepidation that I'm getting excited about Cody's next project: Young Adult, directed by Jason Reitman and starring Charlize Theron (who I love), Patrick Wilson (who is cute) and Patton Oswalt (who is hilarious). It's about a Young Adult author (natch) who gets divorced, has a breakdown, heads back to her hometown, tries to get back with her (now married) high school sweetheart and forms an "unusual" bond with another former classmate. It sounds kinda fun... and how cool is the poster?!

Here is what some real YA authors told MTV about the film (or, at least, about the first still that's been released):

"That is pretty much what I look like RIGHT NOW. Minus the dog." — Ally Carter

"I'd say that while a lot of the YA authors I know work at home in an outfit like Charlize is wearing there (sweatpants and a ratty shirt) most of us wouldn't go out in public like that, not even to fly! YA authors are a pretty stylish group—you have to be when you're always interacting with teens. However I really can't judge her for the Hello Kitty shirt. I have a Hello Kitty toaster. And I would definitely see this movie just because I can't think of another film or TV show where my profession is depicted at all!" — Cassandra Clare

"Interestingly enough, it would not be unusual to see me in an airport wearing sweats and looking generally disheveled. Though I don't carry a pocket dog and know few YA authors who do. I would also be more likely to have a bag from Mrs. Field's, not Victoria's Secret. I like the premise of the film and I love Charlize Theron, so it will be interesting to see how the filmmakers portray a 'YA novelist.' Hopefully, it will include inside track details, like the fact that most of us wear our pajamas all day." — Kami Garcia