Archive for Twilight
Best Fantasy Stories: Retelling Twilight
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With the recent announcement of Random House’s paperback division Vintage Books signing up the widely read and popular “Shades of Grey” by E.L. James there has been a lot of speculation about the development of fan fiction into mainstream. Yes, I know that the word on the street (or rather on the web) is that the stories are simply a re-writing of Twilight, with Christian Grey as a stand-in for Edward and Ana Steele for Belle. Except- from what I have heard it has a lot more sex, some are even going so far as to dub it “Mom-porn” although that seems a little far-fetched to me.
But the decision by Random House to take what is in essence fan fiction, something that has been around in fantasy and science fiction for ages, and publish it seems to be a movement made out of desperation. I know that many of the traditional publishing houses are facing grave problems with bookstores dropping out of sight on a regular basis and independent e-publishing rearing its ugly head. But is that any reason to troll for stories over in the “not quite ready for prime time” websites?
At what point does someone decide that a bit of fiction on a website (it first appeared on fanfiction.net) that was done as homage to a professionally published book like Twilight becomes pro literature? If you are a fantasy fan, then you may be aware that fan fiction has been self-published for decades now. Heck, I own some pretty interesting Star Trek fan fiction I picked up at conventions over the years, but I would not consider it to be on par with my science fiction collection.
I saw that the release of the first book from the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy has actually hit #1 on the list on Amazon. Mind you, it is #1 only in the romance division, not for the entire site. There is a part of me that is disturbed by this movement away from publishing houses; we see it too much in the paranormal genre already. When I am looking through books in listings to review, I see way too many that I would consider fan fiction for the writing level. They are released with no editing, often with no proofing either and the writing is sloppy at best. You will not see those written about here. Yes, we all want to read more stories and I am happy when I see some young writers getting a break, but there has to be some kind of standards.
I may have let a few slip by me, but by and large you will not see reviews or recommendations of fan fiction here, unless I say that is what it is. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see it because there is innocence to it, a charm in the pure love of the genre that shines in much of the fan fiction I have seen. There have in fact been some fantasy and science fiction writers that began with fan fiction. But let’s not dress it up as on par with professionally written fiction that has gone through a development stage with an editor, had the work proofread by a pro and been handled by production staff that knows how to set type.
I will admit I haven’t read anything from the Shades of Grey series, just heard of it. So it may well be that although it began as fan fiction it has progressed to a pro level with the handling of the book by someone like Random House. It remains to be seen how this will affect all types of publishing, especially the realms of science fiction and fantasy where fan fiction is such a staple.
Is Pattison Too Old for Any New Twilight Films?
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While we may all look at Robert Pattison who plays Edward in the Twilight Films as a young hunk, it is obvious that the actor has a few thoughts on whether he should be considering any future reprises of his most famous role to date. The net is abuzz with the notion, put forth by the actor himself, that if Stephanie Meyers should decide to write a sequel to the current Twilight series that features the character, he just may have gained too many years to pass as the ageless one.
While there has yet been no firm word from the author that she will indeed write another story that features the character, it is known that Meyer has been toying with the idea of a new series that will at some point include the characters from Twilight as a sort of guest in the story. So – if those books were to themselves be featured in a movie, Pattison feels that he will have aged too much since his first appearance in 2008 to feel ageless.
When asked at a recent Berlin Book Festival what he thought of the possability of Meyer writing some additional books that would feature Edward he indicated he was curious to see what she would write, but that he felt that by the time they would hit the screen he would not be the right one to portray a character who is never supposed to age. Sigh – I guess we will just have to find ourselves a new hunk to moon over!
Twilight’s Pattinson a Reluctant Actor
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If you listen to the interviews, he says he wasn’t even sure he wanted to continue to act. At least, that is what Robert Pattison, star of one of the top vampire films, says in an interview lately that is being covered all across the web. But he did, and now his star is sky high and climbing.
In a recent interview at the Four Seasons Hotel he admitted that the whole process of acting in Twilight is like growing up in public. In fact he likens it to a maze that you are propelled through whether you want to be or not. When talking about the earlier years when he wasn’t sure if he wanted to act, he admits that he now has far more passion for it then he did then.
With the fourth installment of the top vampire film Twilight about to open, plenty of fans are going to be glad he did stay with it. This second to last episode will finally see the marriage of Edward Cullen and his human sweetheart Bella Swan. The film will portray their marriage and honeymoon, something fans have been waiting for eagerly. But the bliss will be short when Bella’s pregnancy shatters the peace of the couple and threatens the precarious relationship they have established with the local werewolf pack, including Jacob.
Pattison says he sees the top vampire film as basically Edward’s journey of finding contentment. He sees this as a classical way that “troubled guys kind of balance themselves out” with the responsibility of a woman he loves and a child.
The film, due to premiere on November 16th still leaves a final second half, which is already filmed, to complete the saga.
