FILM FRIDAY: Book to Movie Adaptations 2014

Morning guys! If today is the day you go back to work, then I'm sorry, if not- then I sincerely hope you've had a lie in and are now cosied up with your computer and a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate. If not, then go and get yourself into that position this instant for maximum happiness. 

I've done this post before twice, and pretty much all of these books have been mentioned at some point or another throughout the course of the past year but this post is as much of a reference for myself as it is a guide for all of you wonderful people. I am incredibly excited for all of these movies and I plan on making this detailed as I am procrastinating maths homework! Enjoy. 

Divergent 

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, 

Release Date: 21st March 

Reason to be (very) Excited: I really am not a fan of saying things like 'this is the next Harry Potter/Twilight/LOTR's etc, but this book has the best chance out of all of these new films of achieving Hunger Games esque success in 2014. The cast looks excellent and they adaptation in general seems brilliant, I loved this book so so so much and the casting of Theo James as Four is pretty much perfect, I can't wait to see the direction they take this series in but I am certain that this film will be worth your cinema fee. 

Mockingjay Part One

Starring: J-Law, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone.  

Release Date: 21st November 

Reason to be (very) Excited: Unless you have a personal reason to dislike this franchise, I find it very hard to believe that any Young Adult enthusiast won't be both very aware and very excited to see the 3rd part of this epic series turned into yet another box office hit. I absolutely adored Catching Fire, I genuinely thought it was one of the best films of the year, and I had very much fallen off the HG bandwagon after the rise of 12 year old fangirls after the first (and slightly SLIGHTLY disappointing) instalment. J-Law is an absolute superstar and no doubt her acting skills will once again be stretched in the upcoming film, however I am particularly interested, if a little terrified, to see how Josh Hutcherson chooses to act a hijacked Peeta Mellark. Promises to be an absolute must see. 

Vampire Academy

Starring: Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Dominic Sherwood, Danila Kozlovsky, Sarah Hyland

Release Date: 14th February

Reason to be (very) Excited: Firstly, THIS BOOK IS NOT TWILIGHT- it's also not Vampire Diaries or True Blood or any of the other blood lust fuelled stories that have risen to prominence over the past few years. This is mainly the case because the plot doesn't consist of 'vampire meets ordinary girl and they fall in love before some raunchy sex scenes and disapproving friends and parents make their life oh so difficult.' Vampire Academy focuses on Rose Hathaway, a half vamp half human kick ass who is charged with protecting her Moroi friend Lissa. Now Zoey Deutch plays Rose, which I am so incredibly happy about and I am 100% sure she will do a good job, and the selection of males (Cameron Monaghan, Danila Kozlovsky and particularly in my opinion Dominic Sherwood) is not too shabby either. Sarah Hyland of Modern Family fame also stars. I. CANNOT. WAIT.

The Fault in Our Stars

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort

Release Date: 6th June 

Reason to be (very) Excited: I completely approve of the casting of this film (yes I know they play siblings in Divergent, who bloody cares.) The storyline of the book completely blew me away and in my humble opinion TFIOS deserved every ounce of hype and recognition it received. John Green seems like a stand up guy and the movie is a guaranteed hit as long as they stick to the book. I'm bound to cry absolute buckets and even thinking about it is making me tear up!

The Maze Runner

Starring: Dylan O Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie Sangster

Release Date: 14th February 

Reason to be (very) Excited: As you can see, Dylan O'Brien plays the main character Thomas, now Dylan is the 'one everyone loves' from Teen Wolf *which I totally recommend for any of you who haven't watched it, just ignore the crappy name!* and as well as being a fabulous actor, Dylan isn't too shabby on the eye. The movie also has Thomas Brodie Sangster of Love Actually fame (little Sam), Will Poulter (We are the Millers) and Kaya Scodelario of Skins fame. Even aside from the excellent cast, the book is wonderful and is one of my absolute favourites and there is a possibility of a continuing series as I know there are at least 2 more books in James Dashner's series!

Gone Girl

Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Ratajkowski

Release Date: 3rd October (USA) 

Reason to be (very) Excited: This book was perhaps one of the most hyped of 2013, and with good reason. However perhaps Ben Affleck (mmm) and Rosamund Pike's casting will excite the cinema audiences more than the plot of the film. I think I am most excited about Neil Patrick Harris starring, but male readers (and female, lets be honest) may want to book a seat at your local cinema to see Emily Ratajkowski. Who? you ask, well Emily will be known either as Gibby's girlfriend in iCarly (don't pretend you didn't watch it) or perhaps to a more discerning reader as the REALLY hot one in Robin Thicke's video for his repulsive hit- Blurred Lines. Thrilling. 

The Book Thief

Starring: Emily Watson, Geoffrey Rush, Sophie Nelisse, Ben Schnetzer
Release Date: 31st January

Reason to be (very) Excited: First off, I have a complaint- this film was released over two months earlier in the USA just to compete for awards, this concerns me greatly as this is a much loved book of mine and if the producers and directors have decided that it should be used as a coup for awards by dulling down the possible drama and emotion this story could evoke then I shall be most displeased. However, despite the concerning Metro article I read which has concerned me, Sophie Nelisse has already had praise for her protrayal of Liesel and this is truly one of the best books of the 21st century. It would be a shame to see this wasted but I shall see it none the less as the trailer looks unbelievable. 

Phew. That was quite the effort, worth it though- and I am once again incredibly excited to head out to the cinema to see all of my favourite books brought to life. I am actually seeing Saving Mr Banks this evening at the cinema with my friends so no doubt that will be excellent, as it tells the story of how Mary Poppins was bought by Walt Disney from the author, but no more spoilers as I will surely write a review for you all for next weeks film friday. Have a wonderful weekend!