Kidsmomo

With all the hype around the Hunger Games movies, it was surely just a matter of time before Hollywood would make a film of Suzanne Collins’ other book series, The Underland Chronicles (aka the Gregor books).

Well, the big announcement has finally come: no word on the release date yet, but an adaptation of the first book in the series, Gregor the Overlander, will definitely be hitting theaters at some point in the future!

But they’d better hurry up and shoot the movie fast because Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence have been cast as the leads, Gregor and Luxa!

It certainly seems like a strange choice because the characters are 11 years old, whereas the actors are both in their 20s. But the movie studio that’s doing the adaptation addressed their casting decision in this way:

“Whenever you cast iconic book characters, there will be some backlash from the fans. It seemed a natural fit to ask Josh and Jennifer to take on the roles of Gregor and Luxa because they’re already a known quantity to Suzanne Collins’ readers. Not only that, they’re two of Hollywood’s brightest young stars who have already proven their acting chops and their appeal in the Hunger Games movies.”

Makes sense, we suppose… And we can only imagine that same logic applied to the rest of the casting, plus a few surprises:

• Woody Harrelson as Ripred
• Elizabeth Banks as Solovet
• Donald Sutherland as Vikus
• Willow Shields as Lizzie
• Sam Claflin as Henry
• Liam Hemsworth as Boots

It is quite puzzling that Liam Hemsworth was cast as Gregor’s 2-year-old sister, Boots… but we’re so excited about the film we’re willing to just go with it.

In addition, how the Underland’s fantastical creatures will be represented will be a fresh new take, a source close to the Art Director stated:

“Well, elaborate state-of-the-art computer generated creatures has already been done in movies like The Hobbit, and while hand puppets were considered, I know for a fact that they started rehearsals on interpretive dance. So, none of the fliers will actually fly, but you’ll really see them fly through the magic of imagination!”

What about you? Do you agree with the casting? Leave a comment and let us know who you would cast if you had the choice. Also, leave a comment and tell us whether you believed a single word that we said because guess what —

April Fools!

(In other words, this is all fake! Did we getcha?)

😀

— Karen and Nancy

P.S. — We do really want to see movies of this series some day. So if you’re like us, well, sorry if we got your hopes up!

If you’re as big a Harry Potter fan as we are, then you probably followed the relatively recent announcement about J.K. Rowling’s next book. And if you’re as big a Harry Potter fan as we are, then you probably curled into a ball and cried when you learned that the book’s going to be for grown-ups — potentially a crime novel set in Edinburgh.

Well, you can stop your weeping now because today, Rowling released more details about the story, and while it’s still for adults, the book should satisfy her existing fans as well, thanks to its main characters: grown-up Harry, Ron, and Hermione!

That’s right, Rowling has re-imagined our favorite wizarding students as adult detectives, solving dark-magic crimes in modern-day Edinburgh!

Harry, of course, is an auror — but he masquerades as a Muggle so that he can also work at Scotland Yard. For reasons obvious to us, he has a reputation among his non-magical co-workers for solving the most mysterious cases in a strangely short time. And if that has them baffled, it’s nothing compared to their confusion over why Harry insists on keeping a somewhat bumbling Ron around as his partner. But his colleagues all understand why Harry maintains a good relationship with Hermione, whom Muggles know as a prominent government lawyer. Little do they know that she also heads up the Department of Magical Law Enforcement!

Will grown-up Neville, Luna, and Ginny play a role in the adventure? Will this be a new series? When does the book come out? Unfortunately, I don’t know the answers to any of those questions. The only other thing I can say is…

GOTCHA!

Happy April Fools’ Day from Kidsmomo! 🙂

— Karen

Karen wishes with all her heart that J.K. Rowling would write this book. But since that’s unlikely, Karen will just have to put on the International Quidditch Association T-shirt that she wears as pajamas, and hope that she dreams about Harry and friends…

More about Karen »

Merlin’s pants! Can it be? YES! The Muggle world is buzzing over the biggest Harry Potter news since we all found out that Harry was a horcrux. Oops, should we have said, “spoiler alert”? Oh, well — that’s NOTHING compared to this bombshell: J.K. Rowling’s top secret notes have been leaked, and they reveal a plethora of the author’s ideas for her next book!

According to internet chatter, a single sheet from Rowling’s notebook was scanned and anonymously posted through a Twitpic account that has since been disabled. Unfortunately for those of us who love Harry more than Hagrid loves dangerous creatures, the scanned image is no longer to be found online.

But luckily, British newspaper The Guardian somehow got ahold of the contents of the notes, and OF COURSE, we’re reproducing it all here for fellow Potterphiles, word for word:

New Harry book – ideas:

From Luna’s perspective – she’s actually a creepy stalker who will stop at nothing to be friends with Harry & co.

Identify wizards who are hiding in plain sight: Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama(?)

Follow-up set in Heaven – Lupin, Tonks, Fred, etc. hang out awkwardly with Voldemort, who ended up in Heaven due to a clerical error. (Note: Would have to be a comedy!)

Follow-up holiday story – Christmas with Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione & family. Hermione’s parents cause a scene when it finally comes out they’re angry none of their grandkids are named after their side.

Songbook from Peeves, with accompanying music album – U2 Weird Al Yankovic!!!

How to overcome book banning problem? Re-do the whole series with no magic? (Note: This may not work.)

And there you have it — potential plots for a new Harry Potter book, straight from J.K. Rowling’s private notes!

Unfortunately for Karen’s subconscious, it looks like Rowling isn’t planning any Dramione storylines. But who knows what other ideas are documented in the rest of Rowling’s notebook? A romance for the usually stern Professor McGonagall? A whole new series set at Beauxbatons or Durmstrang? Or perhaps an idea for… APRIL FOOL’S! 🙂

— Happy Humor Month from Karen and Nancy