Welcome to this week’s Buzz! Are you ready for Steph and I to make sweet love to your news this week? No? How about if I talk like dis? Awesome. Let’s get it ON then!
Hold onto your butts – Mockingjay Part 1 Poster!
Is it too soon to get out of control excited for Mockingjay Part 1? No? Good, because we’re already there. This poster came out this week to our extreme delight. Simple. Powerful. Effective. Rather like a double dose of laxative, it gets the job done. Mockingjay Part 1 hits theatres, like I hit bad jokes and puns, on November 21, 2014.
These Broken Stars – We see you, or, we WILL!
The awesome writing powerhouses Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are coming to a TV near you. Well, not them personally, but their book These Broken Stars will! The project has Eric Balfour, who I actually recognised from Buffy, which shows the number of times I’ve watched that show is too damn high! I asked Meagan and Amie for a quote about the project, but they set the dogs on me. Typical.
Authors are make teh pennies
Do you want to be an author? I hope you enjoy crippling poverty, because that’s what you’re looking forward to. Figures released this week from Digital Book World reveal that there’s a good reason authors drink horrible wine. That is because it’s actually upcycled stale apple cider, since they can’t afford anything better. About 55% of Traditionally published made less than a thousand dollars in a year. Only 10% of them made more than $20,000 a year. Suddenly that Bachelor of Arts degree that got you your cushy job at a McDonalds counter doesn’t look so bad now, huh?
Vampire Academy Movie will keep releasing stuff until forever
Two new VA clips came out this week. Presumable by the time the movie actually comes out, you could piece it all together through the prerelease clips. However, the second clip actually managed to do for me, what none other has done so far. Actually make me excited for the movie. It’s heavy on the action, heavy on the intensity and conflict – just what I like!
First images of The Giver
We’re getting our first images of The Giver through and they are hawt! Which I’m sure is totally the point of The Giver. I don’t know, I haven’t read it. But aussie Brendan Thwaite, who I grew up down the street from, is looking good as Jonas. Jeff Bridges has been trying to get this book turned into a movie for 20 years now. That’s pretty impressive so I better make a dick joke. Usually you should see a doctor after the first four hours, Bridges.
New Twilight Valentine’s CD
In this week’s news that makes me unnecessarily depressed: a Twilight Saga love songs album will be out in time for Valentines day, making it the third worst Valentines day gift narrowly beating out chlamydia. This prompts people to scratch their head, looking around in bemusement while asking themselves if Twilight is still a thing. The cover contains three of Madam Tussaud’s most okay attempts to capture the cast. Those wax statues have also been photoshopped to look as eerily unrealistic as was mathematically possible with the technology at the time.
Trouble in The Red Room of Pain Paradise
As we are legally obligated to report on all 50 Shades of Grey news, whether we want to or not, by our robot overlords, we bring you some incredibly manufactured drama from the set! Are you holding onto your knickerbockers? No, because you don’t own any. Nobody does anymore. Back to the point.
EL James and the director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, are fighting because she wants it exactly like the book and he really wants to remind her that if she wants it exactly like the book, she should have sold it to a porn company. Also, apparently Dornan and Dakota are in a relationship. According to highly suspect reporting, he’s being all possessive and creepy, in a TOTALLY hot way!
“She is very friendly and talks to everyone [crew, security, etc.] Jamie stays to himself and does not talk much. Jamie thinks Dakota gets really distracted, because she is so nice to people and so he will walk over to who she is talking to and try and end the conversation. He is nice about it, but he does ask them to leave her alone.”
Wow. That is not creepy and possessive at all! That is not highly reminiscent of the book series and probably a publicity ploy to increase public interest in the most blah story ever told. GREAT JOB TEAM. Thanks for forcing us to report on this, robot overlords. Your will be done.
The Wizard of Oz and The Slap coming to NBC
Haven’t had enough of The Wizard of Oz? Surely not after Oz The Great and Powerful so wonderfully met up to Baum’s feminist dream so beautifully. NBC says they might only do 10 episodes of the TV series, or they might do a five year series. Who knows? As soon as it’s not profitable anymore, all they have to do is tap their red shoes together three times and say, “there’s no thing like milking nostalgia for money.”
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Melissa Robles
Omg that poster of Mockingjay! It’s pretty darn perfect that I want to… I don’t know, maybe HAVE IT? Yup, I want it.
I’m so glad These Broken Stars might be a T.V. show soon. I haven’t read the book yet but I feel like I already know it (without truly knowing what it’s about) thanks to all the reviews out there. Really crossing fingers!
On a different matter, I’m so sad I don’t have a boyfriend to spend valentine’s day with. I know now that the new twilight cd would have been a perfect, perfect and oh so wonderful gift. I should send out one to my crush and maybe he’ll agree to be my valentine, yes? Wish me luck!
Kat Kennedy
OMG! Great idea. Then all the boys will come to your yard and be like, “Ermagherd! Twilight! Make us your milkshakes!”
And then you will be like, “Shit… I was being ironic.”
Whitley
“she wants it exactly like the book”
But it can’t be exactly like the book, because even if you take the sex out, it’ll just be two people having the exact same relationship conversation 234o8347 billion times. “I want more.” “Vague non-committal reply. Sex now?” “Okay. I want more.” “Vague non-committal reply. Sex now!”
Kat Kennedy
That’s exactly what I thought! It isn’t really a story! Just a bunch of poorly punctuated sex scenes!
Sarah
This is my favorite part of the article about the Fifty Shades movie: “An older man continued to ruin scenes by opening his window and shaking a cowbell.” I LOVE THAT MAN!!!
Kat Kennedy
I know! Give that man a medal!
Sara Kramer
Just out of curiosity, what happened to the other lady who was doing the buzz worthy news, and will she be coming back? I love your reviews, Kat, but I have to say that I much prefer her very informative and varried segment .I might be alone here, but in this one aspect of Cuddlebuggery I prefer the news to the gifs. *shrug* Nothing meant here but construction/opinion — I love what you guys do and I will continue reading regardless. Best, Sara.
Kat Kennedy
Hi Sara,
That’s absolutely fine! Kate is a good author friend of mine. We started doing Buzz like this because we have a more in-depth one at our Tor The Ya Roundup weekly post.
I totally understand, though, if that’s still a little sillier than you’d like. Kate has generously offered to help out with Buzz (though it’s a big job!) so hopefully you’ll see her around soon.
Kate Copeseeley
Hey Sara!
Thanks, so much. It’s nice to be missed. 🙂
Writing Buzz for Kat and Steph wasn’t really meant to be a forever gig for me. (I usually write books in my spare time and Buzz pretty much ate up all of it!) Kat and Steph were looking for a fill-in while they sorted through a bunch of different ideas for where to go with Buzz (because it was so time consuming for THEM that they were getting burnt out).
I’ll still be around, though. Also, you should check out the Tor YA Roundup, because that might be more your style.
Thanks again!
Natalie M.
Oh dear lord, not more Twilight. But the Fifty Shades of Grey news made me laugh and I’m extremely interested to see how they’re going *ahem* tone down the sex (a.k.a torture) scenes.
And it’s not surprising that writers make so little. I was searching up publishers (*wink wink*) a couple weeks ago and they take 50% of your profits. Technically, 75% for the first printing. And your agent takes 15%. Which leaves you with…yeah, let’s just say: no more Starbucks.
Natalie Crown
‘In this week’s news that makes me unnecessarily depressed: a Twilight Saga love songs album will be out in time for Valentines day, making it the third worst Valentines day gift narrowly beating out chlamydia. ‘
This is simultaneously the worst and the best thing I have ever read.
The author earnings bit made me laugh. I’ve not been published for very long but when I excitedly report my sales to close friends and family, their faces always fall. It’s like they expected me to be a millionaire or something? And then they assume I’m disappointed. I’m like no, no. This is fine. This is normal. We write because we enjoy it, right?
That fifty shades story is just plain creepy. And while I don’t KNOW Jamie Dornan, I remember him when he was on Once and he seemed a cool dude. So I doubt it all to the max. Creepy book. Creepy situation all round.
I really love these posts!! I wouldn’t keep up with news of the book world without you!
Missie
I am so excited for all the amazing movies coming out soon, Mockingjay, The Giver, VA – eek!
I think 50 Shades would have been better as porn, isn’t that why people loved it so much. Gag – I didn’t realize what I was getting into when I started reading it and promptly stopped!
Lisa (Fic Talk)
That’s such a great poster for Mockingjay. I’m so glad that the series is doing so well on the big screen. It is so deserving… unlike some other mentioned book series.
Nope, Twilight is not still a thing. *smh* at that CD. Jeez.
Let’s not get me started on 50 Shades of shit, but that reported co-star romance sounds SUPER ROMANTIC AND HEALTHY. <.<
Mona
I LOVE the Mockingjay poster. It’s now my phone’s lock screen.
Truly it’s sad that author appreciation is so low. Literature is so important and awesome!
I read the article on the the 50 shades set drama. Gosh do I love that old Vancouver man. SHAKE SHAKE that cowbell!
Mona
By the way, great job on The YA Roundup!
Lyn Kaye
“About 55% of Traditionally published made less than a thousand dollars in a year.”
Holy hell…..
I really hope 50 Shades of Shit never hits the big screen. That would be the best gift of all.
Also, is the number one worst V-day gift the 50 Shades of Grey cookbook?
Pam
I hate Fifty Shades for ruining his hotness for me.