spiderwick Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles
Filed under: Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Paramount », Theatrical Reviews », Family Films »
Thanks in no small part to a certain boy wizard, fantasy movies based on children's book series are hot, hot, hot. The latest to come down the pike, The Spiderwick Chronicles, based on the popular series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, hits the mark on almost all counts. Like a lot of good fantasy films, this one centers around a spooky old house in the middle of nowhere, and opens with the Grace children and their mother pulling into the drive. The Graces have just moved from New York City to this ominous house, left to the mother by an aunt who's in a mental facility. Dad isn't along for the move, creating some nice underlying tension between the sibs and their mom around their fractured family.
The Grace children are twins Jared (the tough, angry kid) and Simon (the dorky, science-geek kid), a dual role played by Freddie Highmore, and older sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger). Jared is not happy to be there; he blames his mother for his parents' marriage falling apart, and wants to move in with his dad. But it isn't long before Jared becomes a bit intrigued by the house ... he discovers the musty office of his great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn) -- and Uncle Spiderwick's life work, a Field Guide to the fantasy world. The book is crammed with knowledge of all the races of creatures unknown to most men, but spoken of in lore: faeries, brownies, boggarts, goblins, trolls, and the big meanie of them all, an ogre named Mulgarath.
Film Clips: The Looking Glass Wars: Thoughts on the Inevitable Movie
Filed under: Action », Classics », Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Games and Game Movies », Columns », Film Clips »
Perhaps it seems a bit premature to speculate about the cinematic future of The Looking Glass Wars. After all, the book was only released two weeks ago in the United States, in spite of being a huge hit over in the UK for nearly two years. But the book's author, Frank Beddor, is a film producer (There's Something About Mary), and the book is so clearly written with a film version in mind that it's impossible, while reading it, not to imagine it on the screen.After all, how many books do you know that have a trailer? And a card game? And a successful comic spin-off? And a soundtrack? And given the enormous success of Harry Potter,and that books like The Golden Compass, Eragon, Inkheart and The Spiderwick Chronicles are being made into films, it doesn't seem much of a reach to think that it's only a matter of time before someone snatches up The Looking Glass Wars.
The book is another in the trend of re-imaginings of classic tales ala Gregory Maguire (Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West). Where Wicked (in the book version, at least) turned The Wizard of Oz stories on their ear, though, giving us full-fledged, conflicting political and philosophical systems, characters with hidden motivations and complex alliances, and a plot with some unpredictable twists and turns, The Looking Glass Wars is more of a one-dimensional tale. The premise is that Beddor, after years of painstaking research, has uncovered the truth about Alice Liddell, to whom Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass were dedicated. Alice, the book posits, was really Alyss Heart, princess of Wonderland. Her mother, Queen Genevieve, was violently overthrown by Redd, her psychotic older sister, in a bloody coup staged on the princess' seventh birthday.
Spiderwick Casting Coming Together
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Paramount », Family Films », Newsstand »
More news about the casting of the upcoming fantasy film The Spiderwick Chronicles from Paramount and Nickelodeon. According to the Hollywood Reporter, a number of big names are in negotiations to round things out, and its shaping up to be quite an eclectic mix. If all goes well Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Martin Short Joan Plowright, Izabella Miko and Andrew McCarthy will be joining the cast. (It was the notion of Martin Short and Nick Nolte appearing together that spurred my use of the word "eclectic.")Currently shooting in Montreal, pic is based on the series of books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi which revolves around twin brothers Jared and Simon (both played by Freddie Highmore who gave a heart-breaking performance in Finding Neverland) who, along with their sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), uncover a world of fairies and other creatures. As I mentioned not long ago when I posted that David Strathairn had joined the cast, the story sounds reminiscent of the Narnia books, but I haven't read The Spiderwick Chronicles, so I won't judge just yet. If everyone signs on the dotted line, Parker and McCarthy will play the children's separated parents and Plowright will be the children's' aunt. Nolte and Short voice two otherworldly (presumably CGI) characters: Mulgrath, a shape-shifting evil lord trying to get his hands on the kids, and Thimbletack/Bogart, a small being that can either protect a household or mischievously throw it in disarray. Miko, whose pixie-like countenance can be seen above, will play the leader of the elves. The movie will be directed by Mark Waters.
[via Sci Fi Wire]
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