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: #HiddenFigures Trailer, Musical Little Mermaid with Lin Manuel Miranda!!!, Marvel’s Runaways TV Series and New Harry Potter Stories. 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.
Hidden Figures Trailer
This is based on a true story??? Wow! I guess they’re right when they say “hidden” figures.
The Quiet Passion Trailer
Is it just me or does this movie look really creepy??
Same Kind Of Different As Me Trailer
Lin Manuel Miranda Hired For Live Action Little Mermaid
Are there angels singing? I think I heard angels singing, some mermaid tune, probably. OMG, guys!!!! Disney has hired both Lin Manuel Miranda AND our Alan Menken—original Little Mermaid composer. So you know what this means… MUSICAL!!!!!
“Miranda and Menken will write the music together,” according to Deadline, “and this live-action Little Mermaid will consist of ‘a mix of pre-existing songs from the 1989 Disney animated classic movie, for which Menken won two Oscars.’”
This remake seems to be developing similar to how Disney is handling their live-action Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens: The movie will include songs from the original animated movie by Menken and the late Howard Ashman. Menken has also penned a couple new songsfor next year’s release.
Deadline notes that Miranda “has a soft spot for The Little Mermaid, even naming his newborn son Sebastian, after the crab in the musical.”
“They are still working out a lot of details, including the level of Miranda’s involvement. At this point, he isn’t writing the script, but he will supervise the story and the studio will hire a writer shortly.”
We imagine Disney will consider having Miranda and Menken pen a couple of new songs for The Little Mermaid to freshen it up.
I will be awaiting with much anticipation!!!!!
Fox Acquires The Hunger
This story sounds creepy as f**k. The Donner Party is a horrible enough story, I can’t IMAGINE adding zombies onto it. Seems like a packaged book though, so kinda sad about that.
20th Century Fox has acquired The Hunger, a proposal for a novel that will be scripted and directed by Luke Scott, whose feature debut Morgan will be released September 2 by Fox. The book is a riff on the historical tale of the Donner Party, infusing one of the more spectacular and bizarre tragedies in American history with a Walking Dead-style twist.
The novel is being created by New York-based content developer Paper Lantern Lit, and it will be written by Alma Katsu, a former CIA analyst and author of The Taker. Publishing rights were just won in a pre-emptive six-figure deal by Sally Kim, editorial director of G.P. Putnam’s Sons (in her first acquisition at the imprint), and The Hunger will be published in early 2018. Ridley Scott’s Scott Free will produce it, and Fox exec Steve Asbell is overseeing it.
Anna Paquin To Star in Alias Grace Adaption
I’m glad to see that Anna Paquin is getting some meaty roles after playing opposite vampires and werewolves. (Just kidding, I love True Blood.)
True Blood alumna Anna Paquin is set to star opposite Sarah Gadon and Zachary Levi in Alias Grace, a six-hour miniseries from Sarah Polley (Away from Her) and Noreen Halpern’s Halfire Entertainment to be broadcast on Netflix and the CBC. The mini is inspired by the historical true story of convicted murderer Grace Marks and based on Margaret Atwood’s novel.
Written and produced by Polley and directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho),Alias Grace follows Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery (Paquin) in 1843. Nancy is Kinnear’s housekeeper and lover, and while she initially befriends Grace, she begins to resent her and becomes increasingly jealous of Kinnear’s affection for her. Nancy eventually fires Grace in a fit of rage and is later found brutally murdered. Filming is under way in Ontario. The miniseries will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and globally everywhere else on Netflix.
“Anna is an incredibly versatile performer who always makes complex, unpredictable and fascinating choices in her work,” said Polley. “It’s always a marvel to watch her.”
Marvel And Hulu Team Up For Runaways
And of course this comes on the heels of Hulu’s announcement that they’ll be a pay only service from now on.
I’m such a huge Brian K. Vaughan fan that’s it’s almost tempting to sign up. Hulu is really trying to prove that they can make quality content now that they’re subscription only, what with this project and The Handmaiden’s Tale.
Marvel Television will be bringing the fan-favorite and ground breaking comic book series, RUNAWAYS, to popular streaming service, Hulu.
Every teenager thinks their parents are evil. What if you found out they actually were? “Marvel’s Runaways” is the story of six diverse teenagers who can barely stand each other but who must unite against a common foe–their parents.
“We’ve known the Runaways’ story would make great television,” said Jeph Loeb, Executive Producer and Head of Marvel Television, “and being lucky enough to have Josh and Stephanie–who have time and again created shows that speak so genuinely to this exact audience–write and produce the series is nothing short of remarkable.”
“I’m a long-time fan of Runaways and couldn’t be more excited to bring Brian and Adrian’s characters to life,” said Schwartz.
Adds Savage, “Josh and I can’t wait to get to work for Marvel and Hulu.”
“Marvel’s Runaways” is Executive Produced by series Co-Showrunners/writers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (“The O.C.”, “Gossip Girl”) along with Marvel’s Head of Television, Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s Jessica Jones,” “Marvel’s Luke Cage”) and Jim Chory (“Marvel’s Daredevil,” “Marvel’s Jessica Jones.”) “Fake Empire’s” Lis Rowinski will produce as well. “Marvel’s Runaways” is a co-production with ABC Signature Studios.
Truly Madly Guilty News
This looks interesting! And we know HBO is pretty discerning about which projects they air.
Reese Witherspoon and her Pacific Standard production banner have re-teamed with Nicole Kidman and her Blossom Films to option the film rights to best-selling novelist Liane Moriarty’s Truly Madly Guilty. Witherspoon and Kidman will produce with Pacific Standard’s Bruna Papandrea and Blossom’s Per Saari. The novel has topped the New York Times bestseller lists, and Witherspoon and Kidman’s companies are in postproduction on a limited series based on Moriarty’s Big Little Lies for HBO. The series was adapted by David E. Kelley and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee and stars Witherspoon, Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz and Alexander Skaarsgard.
Through one fateful event, Truly Madly Guilty explores the most fundamental relationships —marriage, sex, parenthood and friendship — and how too often we don’t appreciate how extraordinary our ordinary lives are until it’s too late. The tale takes place over a weekend, among six adults and three cute kids. The Australian author wrote What Alice Forgot, Three Wishes, The Hypnotist’s Love Story and The Husband’s Secret, as well as a line of children’s books.
JK Rowling To Publish A Series of Digital Shorts
The more Potter projects the better, if you ask me! I hope they combine them all into one giant omnibus though, because I’m not a fan of cluttering up my kindle with a bunch of little stories. (Of course I’m not counting #Bellarke fanfic!)
Pottermore announced plans to publish a new digital shorts series called Pottermore Presents. Each of these eBooks will feature stories and first-person impressions from J.K. Rowling on the wizarding world.
The first three titles from the Pottermore Presents line include Short Stories from Hogwarts: Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists, Short Stories from Hogwarts: Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, and Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide. The release date has been set for September 6.
Susan L. Jurevics, the CEO of Pottermore, gave this statement in the press release: “Pottermore Presents is intended to supplement the Harry Potter book series with short-form content that is entertaining and thematically curated by the Pottermore editorial team. The eBooks will delight readers as they take them beyond the Harry Potter stories and deeper into the wizarding world. J.K. Rowling’s writing in these collections reveals intricate details of her characters’ lives, their histories, as well as her inspiration.”
Wandmaker Refuses To Sell To Harry Potter Fans
The moral of this story is never cross Harry Potter fans, I guess? It’s hard not to feel bad for this man, who seems to make religious artifacts that he only wants to sell to people who are serious about his religion. So shouldn’t he be allowed to choose his customers? It’s his business. Or perhaps you think he’s discriminating against fans. You can read the story and decide for yourself.
It started when the Sun wrote about Richard Carter of Mystical Moments in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Mr. Carter makes beautiful hand-crafted wands— which can be used “to draw protective circles, ward off dark forces while owners meditate, bring them money or help them find love. They can also be used to cure aches, pains and stress,” according to the Sun—and, it turns out, he isn’t particularly interested in the casual Harry Potter trade.
“You wouldn’t believe how many real witches and wizards there are knocking about. You would be amazed. They know they can come here and reveal themselves without people thinking they’re mental.
“I don’t have customers who have been Harry Potterfied.
“If I had someone come in wanting a wand just because they liked Harry Potter I would not sell them one, no matter how much they were offering.”
The Independent picked up the story in the midst of a growing furor from fans, who accused Mr. Carter of being a snob, at which point it reached J.K. Rowling herself. The Guardian reports that she then weighed in, because apparently she can’t not weigh in.
Oh yeah? Well, I don't think they're real wands. https://t.co/CkiavJyDLu
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 14, 2016
Now Mr. Carter informs the Huddersfield Daily Examiner that some of his remarks were taken out of context, and he hasn’t banned Harry Potter fans, per se. He just prefers to sell to those with a “genuine interest” in spirituality, and simply thinks that anyone who wants a toy should take themselves off to a place selling toys, not real-deal spiritual items.
“I said that if Harry Potter fans wanted a wand they should go on eBay because what they’re basically after is a toy. But I have not banned them from the shop.
“I have nothing against Harry Potter and actually liked the films. The wands I make though, whether you believe it or not, are real and spiritual.
“If a Harry Potter fan came to the shop, whether they would be able to buy a wand would depend on why they want one.
“If for a toy, then no, but if they had watched Harry Potter and been inspired to start their own spiritual journey, then yes.”
Are Internet Trolls Messing With Ratings of Amy Schumer’s New Book?
Amy Schumer’s new book, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, has only been available for one day, but people who desperately need to break the seal of their parent’s basement door have already organized to flood book retailers with 1-star reviews.
According to The Week, a group of Redditors with an apparent grudge against the comedian have been encouraging each other to trash Schumer in a subredditdedicated to the now obsolete “Opie and Anthony” radio show.
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo currently holds a 2.6 rating on Amazon, despite being No. 2 on Amazon’s list of best-sellers and garnering critical praise from outlets like The Daily Beast, The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly.
“Do your part. Submit more reviews. It’s still too high at 2.4 stars,” one Redditor posted on Tuesday.
“Someone do that thing where you give a 5 star review but it’s actually still a bad review disguised as a good one topsy-turvy that motherfucker,” another wrote.
Take a look below to sample some delightful 1-star reviews:
“Oh this book! Wow. Warning: the bravery displayed in this epic biopic will make you ooze through your sweatpants. When she revealed firing her last assistant for not instructing the house chef to melt the cheese on her morning meatball sub to a golden brown…the bravery left me soaked. And then requiring the next personal assistant to remove her ovaries before taking the job! Hahaha she gets it! She gets us! So great.”
“At least it’s better than the Divinci Code.”
“Nothing’s funny and she brags about sexually assaulting a cab driver. Most of these stories are stolen anyways. I can’t recommend it. Lena Dunham is fat.”
“My daughter purchased this book and his come away from it loathing men. I was afraid of this but didn’t want to be a bigot. I’ll never have my sensible little girl back.”
“AHMee sHuMMmer, iS a bUmmEr, arE SuMthIn”
I went to Amazon to check out the ratings for the book. There are only 62 and the overall rating is 4.2 out of 5 stars. I’m not sure if Amazon removed some because they were fraudulent?
The Goodreads rating also seems to be doing fine.
Barnes and Noble only has 7 reviews and is the lowest at 2.8 overall.
It doesn’t seem as though Reddit Trolls are responsible for the success or failure of this book.
Interesting Links
Stop Demanding Artists Change Their Work To Suit You
Briana @ Pages Unbound
I think the “Can you pick who you sell your products to?” thing gets complicated quickly. I think many people would have the gut reaction in the case of the wands that “Yeah, it totally makes sense he wants to sell his objects to people who will use them correctly spiritually!” However, I think that does get us into the waters of “Can someone refuse to sell some wedding item X for a gay couple’s wedding if the seller’s religion is against gay marriage and they believe it would be ‘incorrect spiritual use of the item.'” I think in this case (as has been shown in the US), people would demand that the seller has to sell to whomever comes in the shop and discriminate because “they don’t like how or where their product is going to be used.” So, I don’t know.
However, I do feel sorry for the man that JK Rowling sent angry fans his way. I’m pretty sure she knows exactly what kind of influence she has, and even if she meant it as a “funny” tweet, the clear consequence of it was that angry HP fans were going to harass him. I think it was ill-advised of her even to mention it.
Carina Olsen
As always, you are the best Kate 😀 Thank you for sharing all of this. <3 I'm pretty curious about a few of these movies 🙂 Hope you are having an awesome week so far. <3 All the hugs.
(Also, I have just been commenting on a bunch of your recent posts. But every single time I have to enter my name and all that again. Ugh. Thankfully, it is saved, lol, but I wonder why it doesn't just stay there when I open a new post? Probably something wrong with Firefox, haha 😀 Just thought I should mention it. <3)
Christy R Luis
A Quiet Passion does look totally creepy! o.O
Thanks for the roundup!
Beth W
AH Hidden Figures looks amazing! I can’t wait to see it!!
To The Hunger, I raise three skeptical eyebrows. Nobody has actually told the Donner Party story, because the concept that cannibalism occurred (although not The Hostel-style violence everyone likes to assume) is all folks want to focus on. Nobody tells the story of WHY the Donner Party ended up there, the involvement of Reed, the two Native guides, all of it. So the fact that they’re bringing zombies into it…well, I’m 99% certain it’s not going to be The Donner Party with Zombies, but Oregon Trail with Zombies.
Well, I guess I’ll have to go un-cancel my Hulu subscription, if they’re doing Runaways. Because that *would* make a fantastic show. Darnit,