the lightning thief Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Where, o where, will the next Harry Potter come from? Could it be from New York, via Texas? Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, and Sean Bean have signed up for Percy Jackson, according to The Hollywood Reporter, an adaptation of The Lightning Thief, the first book in a series by former Texas schoolteacher Richard Riordan. After the failure of various projects to become "the next Harry Potter," the news prompted Entertainment Weekly to wonder, "Could this finally be the next big family fantasy franchise?"

Based on the premise, Percy Jackson stands a good chance of appealing to a wide market, but much will depend on the script, since Chris Columbus is still on board to direct. As Christopher Campbell wrote two years ago, Columbus "may have been the least inspired director involved with the Harry Potter franchise," so big questions remain. Can he deliver a good-enough movie that won't disappoint fans of the books and whip up enthusiasm among non-readers for seeing a series of movies in the same vein?

The 12-year-old titular hero, to be played by Logan Lerman, appears to be "just another New York kid diagnosed with ADHD, who has good intentions, a nasty stepfather, and a long line of schools that have rejected him" before he discovers that his father is Poseidon (the Greek god, not the doomed ocean liner). He sets off on a cross-country journey to retrieve Zeus' lightning bolt, "the original weapon of mass destruction," which his father has been accused of stealing. Kevin McKidd will play Poseidon, which is inspired casting. Fox is aiming for release in February 2010.

Will you mark your calendars? Will Percy Jackson do better by avoiding comparisons with Harry Potter?

He may have been the least inspired director involved with the Harry Potter franchise, but Chris Columbus was at least sufficient a talent for the task. He adequately set up the series with the first two movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, so that Alfonso Cuarón could come in and comparatively deliver a masterpiece with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While the idea continues to be tossed around regarding Columbus' possibility of returning to the Potter movies, the director, whose last film was Rent in 2005, has also been offered the chance to start up another franchise by directing Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.

The movie will be adapted from the first book in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The plot involves a 12-year old boy who discovers that he is a demigod, the offspring of Poseidon and a mortal woman, and follows him in his adventures through Hades and Olympus in order to save the world from an apocalyptic war among the gods. The most interesting, albeit traditionally unfaithful, thing about the books is that they place the entrance to Hades in Los Angeles and they feature Olympus floating above New York City. As an enthusiast of Greek mythology, I am curiously looking forward to the movies (I'd pick up the first book if it wasn't intended for such young readers). Hopefully once Columbus finishes his set-up duties with this series, either after Lightning or the expected sequel, Percy Jackson and the Sea Monsters, Fox 2000 will hire a filmmaker with more talent and more style in order to continue the franchise.