When you hear the words, “teen vampire movie,” obviously the first thing anyone will think about is Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga. But soon, that will all change.
New York Times bestselling series Vampire Academy – optioned by Preger Entertainment way back in the summer of 2010 – is finally moving forward with the first book’s big-screen adaptation. According to the official Facebook page for the film, “We have a writer & a script: Dan Waters of Heathers fame! Woot Woot!!”
“Dan has written a brilliant screenplay for Vampire Academy. Smart and funny, clever and really a great read – it is going to make a terrific film,” producer Don Murphy wrote. Waters has also written Batman Returns, Hudson Hawk, and Demolition Man.
But fans and critics who are looking to compare Vampire Academy with The Twilight Saga should be warned: there is absolutely nothing that links these two series besides the fact that they are both in the vampire genre. The protagonist in Richelle Mead’s six-part series is Rose Hathaway, a headstrong, independent, Dhampir (half-human/half-vampire) bodyguard in training to protect her best friend, Moroi (vampire) princess Lissa Dragomir, the last in her royal bloodline following a tragic car accident. Unlike Bella Swan’s constant damsel-in-distress (a useless, personality-lacking human girl), Rose is an actual role model. She doesn’t take anything lying down, she fights for herself and her friends (quite literally… since Rose is going to be a royal bodyguard, most of her school classes are combat training), and she doesn’t allow anyone to wage her battles for her. She is confrontational, confident, and doesn’t allow a silly thing like heartbreak get in the way of living her life and protecting her friend.
Vampire Academy begins when Rose and Lissa have already been on the run for two years from St. Vladimir’s Academy, which isn’t just any boarding school – it’s a hidden place where the good, living vampires are educated in the ways of magic, and half-human teens train to protect them as Guardians. But after being caught, Rose and Lissa are dragged back to St. Vladimir’s – the very place where they’re most in danger. Rose and Lissa have a rare and unbreakable psychic bond, which complicates their lives when they become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, the royal palace’s government politics, and unspeakable nighttime rituals.
But in addition to the dangers plaguing Lissa and Rose inside the Academy, outside await the Strigoi – the fiercest and most dangerous undead vampires who kill humans, Moroi, and Dhampirs. The evil Strigoi have made it their mission to end Royal bloodlines, making Lissa their prime target. As if Rose didn’t already have enough on her plate, what with her inappropriate feelings for her much older instructor, Dimitri Belikov, who is known as a god among the Guardians.
There is enough action, romance, and mystery in Vampire Academy to completely change the vampire movie genre going forward (and to erase any and all comparisons to The Twilight Saga for good). It is mature, emotional, and exciting. And now that a script has been written, it’s time to start the casting process. Who will make a good Rose, Lissa, and Dimitri?
Follow Sydney on Twitter @SydneyBucksbaum
[Photo Credit: Razorbill]
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