Buzz Worthy News: October 15, 2016

Welcome to Buzz Worthy News where the stories are awesome. Need your book industry news? Never fear, Kate Copeseeley is here to give it to you straight.

In this week’s Buzz Worthy News: #FantasticBeasts and #BlackPanther  News, Wonder Woman Is Awesome, and Dr. Seuss Coloring Books. All this and more!

Buzz Worthy News is Cuddlebuggery’s weekly news post bringing you all the best information about the book and blogging world, particularly for the venn diagram of people who overlap between the two.

Another Awesome Luke Cage Trailer

(For those of you that haven’t started watching it yet!) Okay, technically it’s not a trailer, but it’s pretty funny anyway, if you watched Family Matters like I did when I was a kid. 😀

Eddie Redmayne Discovers His Patronus

Okay, this video is just adorable, and not very long. Definitely brought a smile to my face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tENJ2BIu03A

JK Rowling Changes Her Mind

First it was 1, then 3, now 5!! I’m not complaining, Rowling, but my head keeps spinning with each announcement, so please be kind.

J K Rowling has said there will now be five Fantastic Beasts films, rather than three as previously announced.

The author announced the news at a live fan event Yesterday (13th October), held for the first film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She later confirmed the five films on Twitter, saying: “I’m the screenwriter. Currently putting the finishing touches to the second one.”

When asked on Twitter how excited she was on a scale of one to five, Rowling responded: “4.95 (0.05 is nerves).”

Me too, JK, me too!

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Forest Whitaker to Star In The Black Panther

Well, holy hannah. This movie shot to the top of the comic book adaptions I must see(After Wonder Woman, come on). I love Forest Whitaker.

Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker has joined the cast of Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther.” The film, directed by Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station,” “Creed”), has also added Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, and Florence Kasumba to an all-star lineup that includes Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, ruler of Wakanda, and Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, plus Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia and Danai Gurira as Okoye, members of the fierce Dora Milaje.

Whitaker (“Roots,” Lee Daniels’ “The Butler,” “The Last King of Scotland”) will play the role of Zuri, an elder stateman in Wakanda. Whitaker appears in this year’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” as fringe Rebel leader Saw Gerrera, and he’ll be seen in “The Forgiven” as famed activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Head of the Turth and Reconciliation Commission in post-apartheid South Africa.

Black Panther comes to theaters February 16, 2018.
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Mary Poppins Returns Casting News

OMG THIS CAST IS SHAPING UP SO NICELY!!!! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED. And obviously, the original with Julie Andrews is beyond compare, but how lovely to get another version with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Emily Blunt.  Anyways, more casting news!

Emily Mortimer will play Jane Banks, who along with her brother Michael (who will be played by Ben Whishaw in the pic), was one of the children the magical titular nanny looked after in the original 1964 film, and is now all-grown-up in this installment. The movie is set 25 years after the original.

The movie also stars Meryl Streep as a cousin of Poppins’. Blunt will be playing the title character, with “Hamilton” star Miranda playing a street lamplighter named Jack.

The film will be directed by Rob Marshall and produced by Marshall, John DeLuca, and Marc Platt.

The screenplay will be written by Oscar nominee David Magee and is based on “The Mary Poppins Stories” by P.L. Travers, with Marc Shaiman composing an all-new score. Scott Wittman will be writing original songs.

This film is set to release Christmas of 2018. Squeeeeeee!  Can’t be soon enough!

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Madaya Mom Comic Series

This idea intrigues me. I’m not sure how often Marvel does comics like this, but I think they should continue, if for no other reason than to get us outside our own viewpoints.

ABC News and Marvel today announced MADAYA MOM, an original digital comic detailing the harrowing true story of one family’s struggle to survive in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya. An extraordinary tale of courage and resilience, the heroic MADAYA MOM shows strength in the midst of tragedy, turning an incredibly difficult situation into an opportunity to give a voice to her people.

In January 2016, ABC News profiled a family trapped inside Madaya, communicating with a mother of five through texts and phone conversations to capture the bleak outlook that she and her family faced every day. ABC News posted daily updates from the mother, detailing her descent into anger and despair as she was reduced to breaking apart their furniture for firewood and boiling leaves for food. Since Madaya has been besieged by forces loyal to the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, the family has been trapped there for over 14 months and has struggled to stay alive as many starve to death in what is effectively an open-air prison.

Using her own words, ABC News and Marvel created a wholly original digital comic book and produced a graphic documentary to bring the story to life. ABC News has concealed the identity of the family for their own protection.

You can find Madaya Mom on ABCNews.com and ABC News’ apps on mobile and OTT.

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Dr. Seuss Coloring Book

Now this looks fun!!! My kids will be totally on board with this coloring book. 🙂

On sale Nov. 1 from Random House Books for Young Readers, The Dr. Seuss Coloring Book will give fans of all ages (but really those of us old enough to remember a world before Jim Carey’s The Grinch) a chance to bring Seuss’ work to full color.

The coloring book contains intricate illustrations from across the good doctor’s canon including The Cat in the Hat; There’s a Wocket in My Pocket!; Yertle the Turtle and Other Storie; And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street!; Oh, the Places You’ll Go! and The Lorax.

MUST. HAVE.

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First Ladies Book

Buyyyyying it!

Penguin Young Readers announced plans to publish What’s the Big Deal About First Ladies. This picture book chronicles the achievements of women who have served as first ladies of the United States.

Here’s more from the press release: “Filled with fun, kid-friendly facts that bring each first lady to life on the page, this picture book written by a member of a former first lady’s staff, shows us just how much our nation’s first ladies have accomplished, from Martha Washington toMichelle Obama. In addition to being hostesses, ambassadors, activists, educators, historians and role-models, each first lady put her own stamp on the White House and her husband’s presidency.”

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Wonder Woman Named UN Girls’ Empowerment Ambassador

Say what now??? HOW COOL IS THIS NEWS???

The United Nations is due to welcome a new honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls: Wonder Woman.

According to website Comic Book Resources, the superhero will officially be given her new title at an event in New York on 21 October – the character’s 75th anniversary – at the United Nations headquarters. The announcement is due to be attended by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson and, said Comic Book Resources, some “surprise guests”, who the comics site speculated would include the actors who have appeared as Wonder Woman over the years, including actor Lynda Carter.

The event will also mark the launch of the UN’s landmark global campaign supporting Sustainable Development Goal #5, which is to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”.

The Mary Sue also hailed the character’s new UN role, saying that she is “a great, easily recognisable symbol of what women can become once freed from a patriarchal society”.

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The End Of Kindle Unlimited?

This story is confusing. First off, if you were a prime member previously, you got one free book a month, so this is a nice change. But isn’t Kindle Unlimited the same thing as this? Although, if KU is $9.99 a month, and Prime is $99 a year, this is definitely the better deal, I think.

The Amazon Prime Reading program now offers members access to more than 1,000 popular e-books. The content ranges from fiction and short essays to comics and magazines. Titles on the list include: The Hobbit; Harry Potter; The Man in the High Castle; as well as travel guides from Lonely Planet.

“This is a new and exciting way for our premium brands to reach and engage with Amazon’s Prime members,” stated Monica Ray, executive vice president of consumer marketing at Condé Nast. “Prime readers can now keep up with all the latest news, trends, tips and so much more with the rotating selection of our magazine brands.”

I think I’ll wait and see how this all shakes out before I form a definitive opinion.

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Iranian Author Jailed for Story About Stoning

I think most authors would admit that they don’t have it so bad, after reading this story.

Iranian judges have ordered a young female writer and activist to serve a six-year jail term for writing an unpublished fictional story about stoning to death in her country.

Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee received a phone call on Tuesday from judicial officials ordering her to Evin prison in Tehran, where her husband, Arash Sadeghi, a prominent student activist, is serving a 19-year sentence.

“The charges against Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee are ludicrous,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s research director for its Middle East and North Africa programme.

“She is facing years behind bars simply for writing a story, and one which was not even published – she is effectively being punished for using her imagination.”

Stoning to death is one of Iran’s most controversial punishments, often used against women accused of having an illicit relationship outside marriage. It sparked an unprecedented global outrage in 2010 in reaction to the high-profile case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.

Luther said: “Instead of imprisoning a young woman for peacefully exercising her human rights by expressing her opposition to stoning, the Iranian authorities should focus on abolishing this punishment, which amounts to torture.

“It is appalling that Iran continues to allow the use of stoning, and justifies it in the name of protecting morality,” he said.

Luther described Ebrahimi Iraee’s conviction as farcical. “She was denied the right to a defence and her sentence was a foregone conclusion. This is just the latest example of the Iranian authorities’ utter contempt for justice and human rights,” he said.

I hope she finds the justice she deserves.

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