February 10, 2012

You guys know we're crazy about YA books & music coming together—so this mashup of the Hunger Games with Lana Del Rey's "Video Games" is a most welcome spoof! Click below to hear the song, and to see the original too. If you ever feel like re-reading all seven Harry Potter books or re-watching all eight movies again, but you've only got a few minutes, not to worry! Now you can re-live the highlights in under sixty seconds, courtesy of this silly video. And speaking of the Harry Potter movies, this ultra scientific hotness flowchart over the course of the series is spot-on. You'll notice Neville "Nails For Breakfast" Longbottom is off the charts..... Get ready to revisit your childhood—Lemony Snicket is back with a new series! We might be done with the Baudelaires, but the mysterious Snicket couldn't stay away for long. His new series, All the Wrong Questions, kicks of this October with book one, Who Could That Be At This Hour?" The series chronicles Snicket's life in a "fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted" and documents his experiences as "an apprentice in an organization nobody knows about." Snicket gives us fair warning about the series: "These books are questionable and contain questions. I, for one, question why anyone would be interested in reading them."  Oh, how I've missed this kind of nonsensical Snicketism..... Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe.   But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans—and Colby—to start college in the fall.   But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?   Nina Lacour's The Disenchantments has all the ingredients that make this a must read contemporary: rocking music, wonderfully vibrant characters, electrifying romantic tension, and a "we're on the verge of the rest of our lives" roadtrip.  Click here to read the rest of our review, including our 5 Reasons to Get Disenchanted. Check out the Month of Love, brought to you by Epic Reads, where you can play lovely bookish games and enter to win heart-pounding romances from Harper Teen!  Lauren Oliver is offering fans the chance to read Hana, her e-short story based on Lena's best friend Hana, for free on Valentine's Day. If pre-orders for Pandemonium reach 5,000, we get to read it for free, so if you're planning on heading to the Wilds with Lena, pre-order now to get the best Valentine's day present ever (aside from amor deliria nervosa, of course). Head to Lauren's blog for the details. In Grave Mercy, book one in the His Fair Assassin trilogy, a powerful girl assassin attempts to reconcile her murderous duties with her heart. This trailer packs the butt-kicking punch you'd expect from a heroine who is rumored to rival Katsa from Graceling. Another role has been cast for the Beautiful Creatures movie! Emma Thompson (Harry Potter) will take on the role of Mrs. Lincoln, the religious zealot, and Sarafine, the dark witch who ultimately possesses her. I can't wait to see what Emma will do with the role! Billy Connolly (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) has been announced as a late addition to the cast of The Hobbit. Connolly will play Dain Ironfoot, a great dwarf warrior and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield. Peter Jackson says of the casting, "We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of Dwarves, than Billy Connolly, the Big Yin himself. With Billy stepping into this role, the cast of The Hobbit is now complete. We can't wait to see him on the Battlefield!"   Ever wonder which Hunger Games character Josh Hutcherson would dress up as for a Hunger Games party? Hint: it ain't Peeta. Click here to find out! Check out these new faux Hunger Games ads for Capitol cosmetics. So far there's one featuring Cinna sporting his signature gold guyliner, Caesar Flickerman's blindingly bright smile, and Seneca Crane's maze-like facial hair. Wow, the Capitol is just SO fancy (too bad it comes at the expense of most of Panem). Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) and Lea Seydoux (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) are set to star in a new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, to be directed by Christopher Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf). Yes, I know, this is the umpteenth fairy tale movie remake to come to our attention, but I'm kind of excited to see Cassel and Seydoux take on this classic. DreamWorks is working on a remake of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, according to Variety. Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things) has signed on to re-adapt the original book, which was famously adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940. I think it's about time we had an ultra-creepy, modern take on this classic. Now to find an appropriately sinister Mrs. Danvers..... Another reason to lose your everloving mind on March 23rd—not only do you get to see Katniss wield her bow and arrow in the Hunger Games, you get to see the premiere of the Breaking Dawn: Part 2 trailer! Since Summit and Lionsgate are bedfellows now, it's no surprise that they're cross-promoting, hoping for a large intersection between these mega-fandoms.   Not all movie news is good today, so let's just rip the bandaid off all at once.  1) Warm Bodies has been pushed back to a February 2013 release (previously it was slotted for August 2012), so we'll have to stave off our craving for a hot zombie flick a bit longer. 2) Screen Gems just dropped The Mortal Instruments, and director Scott Stewart has removed himself from the project. The film is now in the dreaded "turnaround" phase; meaning they need to find financing fast, or it could go into the never never land of book-to-film development. BOO! HISS!

That is one bedraggled Khaleesi! This pic accompanies a flood of other sneak peek pics from the upcoming season of HBO's Game of Thrones. Things are looking grim in the Seven Kingdoms.  <