Stephenie Meyer Updates Her Site with Exciting 'Host' Updates- Including Casting News

After a long period of radio silence, Host author Stephenie Meyer brings exciting news for all us fans on her site.

Meyer on the start of production:

The Host begins filming this coming Monday the thirteenth, and I am so excited. It's somewhat of a dream to have the creator and director of my favorite sci-fi film (Gattaca) helming this movie. I love the script he's written, I love his beautiful vision, and I love working with him.

On William Hurt's Jeb beard:

Just the other day I got to meet William Hurt (!!) in full Jeb beard and hair, and it kind of choked me up. He looks amazing—they all look amazing!—and I can't wait to see them in action next week.

Titanic star Frances Fisher joins the cast:

Welcome, Frances, I couldn't be happier that you've chosen to join us!

Meyer on the sets:

It's massive and beautiful, and walking around inside is like walking around inside my imagination.

A little tease for fans:

Check back to this page soonish, as I will have some very exciting news to share about upcoming chance for you to get involved with The Host. Stay tuned!

Read the entire update here.

Can I get a collective "OMG!!"?

Melanie and Ian Find Their Siblings

Variety reports actors Chandler Canterbury and Boyd Holbrook are in final negotiations for The Host. Canterbury, who appeared in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Knowing, would join the cast as Melanie's younger brother Jamie. Holbrook (Milk, The Big C) is up for the role of Kyle, Ian's older brother.

Diane Kruger was announced yesterday as The Seeker, joining stars Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, and William Hurt.

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Inglourious Basterds' Star Diane Kruger Seeks 'The Host'

Deadline has revealed that Diane Kruger will be joining the cast of The Host as the Seeker. The Seeker "is charged with overseeing the conversion of a young rebel soldier (Ronan) whose consciousness has been infiltrated by Wanderer, a soul that has taken control of bodies and minds but who is daunted by the young human’s spirit, and obsessed with the memories of her boyfriend and her brother, and sets out to track them down. The Seeker pursues her, knowing that the conversion of the rebel will lead to the discovery and eradication of the rebel movement."

Kruger is best known for her roles in Inglourious Basterds, National Treasure, and Troy. 

What do you think about this latest bit of casting news?

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Oscar Winner William Hurt in Talks for Uncle Jeb

From Entertainment Weekly:

Oscar-winning actor William Hurt is in talks to join Andrew Niccol’s film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s sci-fi novel The Host, according to a source close to the production. Hurt would play the pivotal role of Jeb, eccentric uncle to Saoirse Ronan’s Melanie Stryder, whose brain is hijacked by the soul of an alien being known as Wanderer. Jeb is one of the grizzled leaders of the human survivalists fighting the alien invasion.

Do you think Hurt Uncle Jeb material?

UPDATE: Tweet from Producer Nick Wechsler

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Introducing the Trio

Jake Abel (Ian), Saoirse Ronan (Mel/Wanda), and Max Irons (Jared)

Now that the three main characters are set, who else would you like to see in The Host?

Below are my picks (before the male leads were announced):

As you can see, I thought of Max Irons as more of an O'Shea, but I'm happy to see him in any capacity.

'Red Riding Hood' Star Max Irons Set to Play Jared Howe

From Entertainment Weekly:

The fifth and final Twilight film may be scheduled to release next November, but Stephenie Meyer ain’t done with you yet. Her best-selling 2008 science-fiction novel The Host — her only non-Twilight work to date — is in the process of being turned into a film, so expect to hear plenty of news about it between now and its March 29, 2013 release date. In fact, here’s some right now: The important role of Jared Howe will be played by 26-year-old actor Max Irons, EW has learned.

Irons, son of Oscar-winning and golden-throated actor Jeremy Irons, was last seen in this year’s Red Riding Hood. For this project, he joins director Andrew Niccol (In Time, Gattaca) and the long-attached Saoirse Ronan, who will play Melanie Stryder, a young woman who shares her body with an alien force known as Wanderer. Since no Meyer novel is complete without some complicated relationship geometry, Jake Abel has been cast in the role of Ian, a man who falls in love with Wanderer despite the fact that she is in the body of Melanie who is in love with Jared. Fans of the book, may I suggest you start preparing your visual aids and PowerPoint explanations now.

The film will begin shooting in February in Louisiana and then New Mexico and will mark one of the first productions for Open Road Films, a young distribution company backed by AMC and Regal theater chains.

Thoughts? 

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Jake Abel Appears to Be the Frontrunner for Ian O'Shea

From Deadline:

Actor Jake Abel is frontrunner to play one of the two male lead roles in The Host, the adaptation of the science fiction novel by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer that will star Saoirse Ronan and be directed by Andrew Niccol, who wrote the script. Negotiations are expected to begin soon. Abel was chosen from among a group of young thesps and he is negotiating for the role of Ian. The other male lead role of Jake is down to a small circle of actors including Liam Hemsworth (also a finalist to play Bruce Willis’s son in A Good Day To Die Hard), Max Irons, Kit Harington and Jai Courtney. Abel has starred alongside Ronan in The Lovely Bones, and his other recent credits include I Am Number Four and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Open Road acquired the film for domestic distribution. Abel’s repped by UTA and Anthem Entertainment.

You can check out his filmography here. Do you think he's O'Shea material?

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A Slew of Young Actors Test for 'The Host'

With the beginning of the end in sight for "The Twilight Saga," author Stephenie Meyer is turning her attention to the casting search for "The Host," Andrew Niccol's feature adaptation of her sci-fi novel.

Saoirse Ronan ("Hanna") is attached to star as protag Melanie Stryder, whose body is invaded by an alien named Wanderer, who will also be played by Ronan. In the coming days, producers will begin testing actors for the pic's two male leads.

 

Liam Hemsworth ("The Hunger Games"), Kit Harington ("Game of Thrones"), Jai Courtney ("One Shot") and Max Irons ("Red Riding Hood") will test for the role of Jared, Melanie's boyfriend. Dane DeHaan ("In Treatment"), Thomas McDonnell ("Prom"), Augustus Prew ("The Borgias") and Ronan's "Lovely Bones" co-star Jake Abel will test for the role of Ian, a menacing young man who brutalizes Wanderer before falling in love with her.
 
Chockstone Pictures principals Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz are producing with Nick Wechsler and Meyer. Inferno's Marc Butan, Jim Seibel and Bill Johnson will exec produce, while Roger Schwartz will co-produce. "The Host" is being financed by the producers and Inferno, which is handling sales.

Yay or nay? Sound off below.

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Your Cast for The Host?

I was a little bored this morning and got to thinking who I would like to see in The Host. Many of these choices are spur of the moment and not based on the look of the character, but the actor's abilities (and taking Saoirse Ronan into account). There were also a few roles I couldn't quite figure out.

Who would you like to see in The Host? I think it's interesting to see the spectrum of actors readers put into the same roles.

Here's What We Know So Far...

From MTV:
Star: In May, we learned "Hanna" actress Saoirse Ronan would assume the dual role of Melanie/Wanderer, an interesting casting choice seeing as Melanie is described as a brunette in her 20s. Though Saoirse certainly isn't the first fair-haired actress to undergo a makeover for a sure-to-be huge literary adaptation...

Melanie/Wanderer is the only role filled to date, so we're dying to know who will play her love interest Jared. When the film was first announced way back in 2009, we cast Chris Pine in the pivotal role, but with producers casting a younger Melanie, we think someone like Steven R. McQueen would be a perfect fit for the part.

Director: The director's chair has seen plenty of back and forth over the past two years. Originally, screenwriter Andrew Niccol was attached to direct his script but backed out to helm the Justin Timberlake-starring "In Time" instead. Susanna White ("Nanny McPhee Returns") took over the reins briefly, but now Andrew is back behind the camera.

Filming date/location: The adaptation is scheduled to begin filming in February 2012 in Louisiana and New Mexico, meaning Andrew has a little more than seven months to round out his cast of scrappy survivors.

The Host's Jared Howe is One of MTV's Most Anticipated Casting Announcements

Character: Jared in "The Host"

Who is he? Kick-ass survivor of an alien invasion, love interest to human/extra-terrestrial Melanie/Wanderer (Saoirse Ronan)

Latest buzz: This film adaptation hasn't been hosting much casting speculation of late, but with a February 2012 filming date (and a March 2013 release date), it's likely news will invade within the next few months. (Sadly, after suggesting Steven R. McQueen for the role yesterday, I realized it would likely conflict with his "Vampire Diaries" schedule. Boo.)

Check out the other nine here.

Director and Star in Place for The Host

Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan has landed the role of Melanie Stryder in the film adaptation of The Host.

Earlier this year it was reported that Emmy nominee Susanna White would helm the film, but Andrew Niccol has since taken over the reins as director/screenwriter.

“Having Andrew at the helm for us is incredibly invigorating as he truly shares Stephenie’s vision on this film,” said Kimberly Fox, Inferno’s President of International Sales.

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