Monday, April 30, 2012

Jake Abel Wraps on 'The Host'

On the heels of Frances Fisher, Host star Jake Abel (Ian O'Shea) tweeted his completion on the project.


Follow Jake Abel on twitter @MrJakeAbel.

Hopefully the next trailer will have a little Ian (and Jared) action.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Production Coming to an End in New Mexico

The New Mexico Film Office says movie crews are wrapping up production this week of a movie called "The Host."

The movie stars Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons and others.

Shooting took place in and around Albuquerque, Farmington and Shiprock. And the film office says the production employed some 45 New Mexico crew members and 10 New Mexico actors.

The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer. It's a story about earth being taken over by peaceful aliens.

Source/Via

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Re-read: Chapter Eleven- Dehydrated

"Okay! You were right, you were right!"

After running out of gas, Wanderer is forced to abandon the car and continue on foot. Packing the remaining food and water, Melanie instructs her to camouflage the car before following the wash. Wander hesitates to leave the wash's path, but Melanie asks her to have a little faith.


Continuing on, the scorching heat gets to Wanderer and she goes through her water supply too quickly for comfort. After resting for the night, they move further into the desert and come upon a dirt road. Melanie would prefer to not deviate from their path, but Wanderer presses on, promising to leave the road when it goes the wrong way. Wanderer spots a something in the distance and as they move closer, it appears to be an abandoned building.


Once inside, Wanderer begins to examine the contents of the shack. Coming across a sink, she attempts to turn on the faucet despite Melanie's warning. When that is of no avail, she moves onto cupboards. While the first is empty, the next contains old newspapers. One headline reads: "Man Burns Three-Year-Old Daughter To Death." The humans knew something was wrong when positive news stories became the norm and criminals were surrendering on their own. The other articles she comes across are no less painful, but Melanie reminds her that these situations were the exception, not the norm. 


While Wanderer scarfs down some stale food she found in another cupboard, Melanie's attention is drawn to three bottles of bleach and relays what her father taught her about storing water. When she finishes off another sleeve of stale crumbs, Wanderer begins to drink down the stagnant water. After discovering the last cupboard to be empty, Wanderer loads up her spoils and heads back out onto the path.

From Stephenie Meyer's playlist: "Walking After You"- Foo Fighters (Chapter 11, page 101)

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Filming Updates from Frances Fisher

Frances Fisher (Maggie) recently tweeted that she has wrapped on The Host, but production will continue until April 30th.

She also shared this photo of her chair from the set.


Anyone else looking forward to getting a glimpse of Frances Fisher as Maggie?


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Behind the Scenes in Louisiana

The Host shared a picture from their first day on the set in Louisiana. Filming has since moved to New Mexico and will be wrapping soon. 



Fans have already had a glimpse of this image earlier in May when it made its way through other fan sites.

Monday, April 23, 2012

'The Host' Passes 45,000 Fans on Facebook

The Host reached 45,000 likes on Facebook earlier this afternoon and they had this message to the fans:
Thank you to all of our fans!

The page previously reached 30,000 likes on March 23rd and 40,000 earlier this month on the 5th. If you haven't already, head over to Facebook, "like" The Hostand help the movie reach 50,000 fans! 


Source

Sunday, April 22, 2012

'Host' Banner Spotted at CinemaCon

Collider caught a glimpse of The Host banner at CinemaCon, a convention for theater owners. The banner is essentially the poster, but with a horizontal orientation.


Source

Friday, April 20, 2012

Stephenie Meyer Updates Site-- Filming Coming to an End

After discussing her latest movie venture with Down a Dark Hall, Stephenie Meyer took a moment to mention The Host:
In the meantime, shooting on The Host is going awesomely--and quickly. I can't believe we're almost done. Things are looking fairly extraordinary and I cannot wait to see what Andrew Niccol will do with all this amazing footage. However, I am not ready to be done because I am not ready to give up Saoirse, who I would happily adopt by force if I didn't like her parents so much, and if she wasn't legally an adult. (By the way, for those who have asked about pronunciation, Saoirse rhymes with "inertia.")
Source

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Entertainment Weekly Visits the Set--Reveals the Difference Between Wanda & Melanie's Voices



An hour outside of Albuquerque, N.M., on the rocky edge of a small, picturesque canyon, Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) is squinting into the sun. She’s flanked by two sleek, silver sports cars, and her eyes are ringed with an eerie, iridescent circle. They’re both signs that Kruger is playing The Seeker — a dogged member of the police force of an alien species called Souls, who have successfully invaded our planet by literally invading our bodies. She’s looking for Wanderer (Hanna‘s Saoirse Ronan, pictured with costar Max Irons), a member of her race who, aptly, has wandered off into the desert after the consciousness of her human host, Melanie, cajoled Wanderer into finding what’s left of Melanie’s human family. The Seeker is also keenly set on finding this rag-tag cluster of the remains of humanity, but for very different reasons. “We find her,” Kruger (as The Seeker) mutters to herself, “we find the threat.” 
Fans of Stephenie Meyer’s 600-plus-page novel have likely already gathered from the description above that film interpretation of The Seeker is almost the exact opposite of how she’s described in the book. Instead of small, dark-haired, and clad mostly in black, the very blonde Kruger stands regally on some serious wedge heels, dressed in a futuristic cream-colored pant suit. It’s a change designed by writer-director Andrew Niccol (Gattica, In Time) to reflect the “purity” of the egalitarian Souls, and Meyer told me on the set that she happily embraced it. Gattica is her favorite sci-fi film of all time.
As for the delightful Ronan, although she wasn’t working that day, she came out to the set to speak with EW about the film, one day after the Oscar-nominated Irish actress turned 18. We’ll have video of our interviews with her, Meyer, Kruger, and Irons in the coming months — the movie, which is still shooting, isn’t hitting theaters until March 29, 2013, after all — but I can tell you how Ronan is differentiating the alien Wanderer from the internal voice of Melanie in the film. It’s actually quite simple: The Wanderer speaks with a generic American accent, whereas Melanie’s voice is inflected with a Louisiana twang, another Meyer-approved tweak from the book.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Seth Visits the Set of 'The Host'

Seth, webmaster and brother of author Stephenie Meyer, had the chance to visit the set of The Host this week. He took to SM's site to talk a bit about his time on set.

I had the amazing opportunity to visit the set of The Host this week. Stephenie invited me out to watch the movie being filmed. I had never been on a movie set, and it was a really cool experience. To me, the number of people and the amount of work that went into every take of every scene was staggering. But, all the hard work of every one involved seems to be paying off as the movie that has been filmed so far is of a very high quality. I am very excited about the movie coming out and can't wait until next March. Many of you that have been visiting Stephenie's site for the last few years know that The Host has always been my favorite of Stephenie's novels. It is very thrilling to see the movie being made. It was also a pleasure to be able to meet a couple of the stars of the film, Saoirse Ronan and Max Irons (who play Melanie/Wanda and Jared). They were very skilled and professional actors when the cameras were rolling, and then extremely nice and hilarious people in between takes. 
Thanks Stephenie for a really cool vacation!
--Seth

Source

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Re-read: Chapter Ten- Turned

"Stop acting like a criminal."

Deciding to head into the desert, Wanderer stops at a convince store to stock up on water and other supplies. Melanie is still puzzled by the fact that money is no longer used to purchase goods, but as Wanderer emphasizes, there is no need for money when everyone is so honest. Recognizing the jagged image of Uncle Jeb's in the landscape, Wanderer turns off onto an unpaved road and journeys into the desert. 


Melanie feels more at ease in the seclusion of the desert, naming off the various vegetation as they pass. In the silence of the desert, Wanderer feels Melanie's desire for freedom; the freedom to control her body once more. As they move further from civilization, the pair shares in the satisfaction of imagining the Seeker waiting in Tucson and realizing that Wanderer had pulled one over on her. 


Wanderer asks Melanie to share the rest of the lines with her, but Melanie immediately shuts her down, exclaiming, "I'll do that part my way" (98). As night falls, the absurdity of their travels weighs on Wanderer. She senses Melanie's determination to go on with the task, if only to distance herself from the life they are leaving behind. Not being able to travel in the dark, Wanderer reclines her seat and drifts off to sleep, closing herself off from the worries that plagued her moments before. 

For many readers, The Host's story really picks up when Wanderer and Melanie head out into the desert. Was this the case for you? Up to this point in the novel, what was your impression of Meyer's story?

Questions? Comments? Sound off below.

Re-read: Chapter Nine- Discovered

"Skipper. Quitter. I tested the words in my head, trying to come to terms with them."

Wanderer hurries down the highway, but finds herself constantly pulled into Melanie's dreams. The bombardment of memories with Jamie and Jared weighs on Wanderer, making her long to be separated from the host body. As her travels continue, Wanderer senses recognition from Melanie as Piacho Peak comes into view. To distract Wanderer from this train of thought, Melanie thrusts her into another memory of Jared.

The first memory takes Wanderer back to the eve of Melanie and Jared's separation, before she takes off in search of her cousin Sharon. Melanie quickly recalls another memory from that night, of her saying goodbye to Jamie. The memory of their father and his return as a host, leading the Seekers to the siblings, weighs heavily on both as they prepare for Melanie's departure.

Melanie begins to replay another memory, this time of a note Melanie writes when the Seekers are near. To Jared she writes: "Not fast enough. Love you love Jamie. Don't go home" (85). Unable to handle another memory, Wanderer calls out "Enough!," but Melanie is ready to let her in and reveal that which she has kept hidden- a path back to Jamie and Jared.

"I don't understand. Where does it lead? How does a mountain lead us?" (86)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012