Saoirse Ronan: Trusting Her Killer Instincts

Impact: Played the titular teen assassin in "Hanna"; trekked across India as a Polish orphan in Peter Weir's "The Way Back."

Next: Prepping to play a vampire in Neil Jordan's "Byzantium."

Causes: Ambassador for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; supports animal welfare group, Irish Blue Cross.

At age 17, Saoirse Ronan has already worked with Peter Jackson, Peter Weir and Joe Wright. For her pivotal role as the younger sister in the celebrated period epic "Atonement," Ronan found herself an Oscar and Golden Globe nominee -- and you get the feeling that it's all just a warm-up act for this young Irish actress.

"It's been a little bit of luck that these projects have come along and great directors have been attached to them," Ronan says. "If you're a fan of their work, you can have confidence that you might be part of something special."

The logline for Ronan's latest movie, "Violet & Daisy," may sound an awful lot like "Hanna," and yet this dark comedy, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, takes a very different approach to the concept of an underage assassin. Next, Ronan will join the teen vampire phenomenon, playing a bloodsucker in Neil Jordan's horror story "Byzantium." "There's a bit of romance, but it's definitely not 'Twilight,'" she says.

Not that Ronan has anything against "Twilight" or its creator, Stephenie Meyer. In fact, after finishing "Byzantium," she'll segue straight to "The Host," also written by "Twilight's" Meyer, playing a strong-willed Earth girl in the sci-fi romance. Andrew Niccol will direct, adding to Ronan's list of celebrated collaborators.

For career advice, Ronan looks to her actor father, Paul, a man with a keen eye for good material.

"It's handy to have him, that's for sure," Ronan says. "If I don't feel passionate about something, then obviously I won't do it. But I treasure his opinion."

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Why 'The Host' Is Better Than 'Twilight' - Do You Agree?

From a hypable contributor:

A lot of people have likely given this incredible book a miss simply because of its association with the overly hyped Twilight franchise. But now there’s a movie coming out, and I’m hoping that interest in The Host as an individual story will pick up, as I can honestly say that it is one of my favourite books of all time (an honour which no book in the Twilight saga shares).

Twilight fans, before you light up your torches and sharpen your pitchforks, know that I am not saying that The Twilight Saga is a bad series. I’ve read and enjoyed the books and am anxiously awaiting the Breaking Dawn films. But in my own personal opinion, The Host is a far, far superior piece of literature, and I’ve found most readers not scared off by its gargantuan size tend to agree. And here’s why:

There’s a lot of things I like about Twilight and a lot of things I don’t, but I suppose in a way The Host is everything I do like about Stephenie Meyer’s writing. Sometimes I think that as an author, Meyer is (as strange as it sounds) underrated, her actual talent lost in a sea of screaming Team Jacob/Edward fangirls who care more about R.Patz and co. than the stories she crafts. But in The Host, there are no smoke and mirrors in the form of shirtless werewolves and eternal devotion. There is only the story. And it is layered, beautiful and original, and the depth of themes and characters is mindblowing. This time, Meyer’s true writing talent really shines through, and I am hard pressed to find an “excuse” for why this book is so good, like haters seem to have no shortage of for Twilight. It’s just a good book. And this is despite the fact that is consists of something like 80% inner monologue; it doesn’t get boring, it doesn’t get repetitive, and it captivates you to the very last, 700-somethingth page.

Of course, there are mixed opinions about the quality of this book. Another reason it took me so long to get around to reading The Host was because of how most of the Twilight fans I know have written it off: “It’s dull,” they told me. “It’s slow.” And “After 60 pages you just have to give up” seems to be the most recurring reason I’ve heard not to read the book. Well, all I can assume is that the sheer volume of the tome puts most of them off, while the rest might simply not be inclined to like intense backstory building – which I can’t really fault them for as that’s the nature of our three-second-attention-span-society. But if you are like me and don’t shy away from a little sci-fi, and if the character of Melanie/Wanderer grips you, you’ll forget the length of the book – and even wish it was longer! You’ll forget it has anything to do with Twilight whatsoever, and that it is considered the dark horse of Stephenie Meyer’s creations. You’ll realise that this is her true masterpiece.

Read the entire article here. 

Do you agree with their assessment? Which do you prefer?

Saoirse Ronan Talks 'The Host'

“The story is still set in our world but it’s a perfected version of our world, which I think is good becuase it means we’re not going to be completely detached from it.  I think that’s why it might be a bit more touching because it is actually our world.”

When speaking about director Andrew Niccol, Ronan states “he has a very specific vision and it’s a cool concept.”

There hasn't been much noise from The Host, but hopefully that will change when Niccol starts doing press for In Time, which is out later this month.

UPDATE:

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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.

The Host Gets a Release Date

From Deadline.com

Open Road Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “The Host,” the big screen adaptation of Twilight series author Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling novel. As previously announced, “The Host” will be directed by Andrew Niccol (“Gattaca”), who also wrote the screenplay, and will star Saoirse Ronan (“Hanna,” “The Lovely Bones,” “Atonement”). Open Road Films has set a March 29, 2013 release date (Easter weekend) for “The Host.”

Principal photography is scheduled to being in February 2012 in Louisiana and New Mexico, in anticipation of the wide release on March 29, 2013.

Regarding Open Road Films, Stephenie Meyer's stated, "I'm thrilled to be adding another fantastic partner to an already amazing group. Everyone involved has so much passion for the project. It really is a dream team."

“We are privileged to partner with Stephenie Meyer and the rest of the filmmaking team for the release of ‘The Host,” added Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films. “Nick Wechsler is a terrific producer and a long time friend and we are honored to be working with Nick and Stephenie - and the wonderful minds of Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz - to bring this epic story of hope to the big screen.”

Producers Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz commented, “We are excited about the passion that Tom Ortenberg and Open Road Films has shown for ‘The Host,’ and we think this is a great opportunity to be partnered with AMC and Regal at the beginning of their new joint venture.”

Now that all that is settled, hopefully casting will soon be underway.

Merchandise Available from Hobo Skate Company

UPDATE: It looks like the merchandise is no longer available.

The Hobo Skate Company is the only shop with authorized The Host merchandise. You can check out the items here.

Open Road Acquires U.S. Distribution of 'The Host'

From Deadline.com:

Open Road, the upstart distribution company formed by theater chains AMC and Regal, is making its second big acquisition. Tom Ortenberg's company is acquiring domestic distribution rights to The Host, the Andrew Niccol-directed adaptation of Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer's novel. I'm told that the there were at least three other distributors trying to get this and that the deal will be a seven-figure minimum guarantee, a healthy P&A commitment, and gross for participants that include the author.

Stephenie Meyer's Playlist for The Host

Stephenie Meyer, like many authors today, puts together a playlist to compliment her novels. The "soundtrack" for The Host includes songs from Muse, Sting, My Chemical Romance, and more. Below is the complete playlist and samples of the songs.

1. Soul Meets Body — Death Cab for Cutie

2. Papercut — Linkin Park
3. Futurism — Muse
4. I Wasn't Prepared — Eisley
5. Walking After You — Foo Fighters
6. Down In It — Nine Inch Nails
7. Blood — Editors
8. Pts. of Athrty — Linkin Park
9. Fortress Around Your Heart — Sting
10. The Ghost of You — My Chemical Romance

11. Because I Want You — Placebo
12. Stockholm Syndrome — Muse
13. As You Are — Travis
14. Smile Like You Mean It — The Killers
15. Don't Stay — Linkin Park
16. Just Like You — Three Days Grace
17. Consolation Prizes — Phoenix
18. My Name Is Love — Rob Dickinson
19. The Hand That Feeds — Nine Inch Nails
20. My Body is a Cage — Arcade Fire
21. Rescued — Jack's Mannequin
22. Original of the Species — U2
23. The Last Song — All-American Rejects

24. Beautiful Day — U2

What would you like to see on the soundtrack? Do these songs get you into a hosty mood?