Check out this lovely video of Gladers at the #GladersUnite fan screening in London!
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
James Dashner Q&A with Answers.com
Answers.com talks with James Dashner about TMR, his writing process, and more.
Check out the highlights:
On making his work accessible to all age groups:
I just write what I think is awesome, honestly. I never really think about the age of my reader. I love using teenagers as main characters because I think it's a fascinating age. But every single adult in the world was once a teenager, so I think they can really relate. Teenagers are remarkable, and we never give them enough credit. They can do amazing, spectacular things.
On seeing TMR on the big screen:
It's so hard to describe, so surreal and amazing and fantastic. I feel so lucky that Twentieth Century Fox put together this spectacular team to adapt the book to film. I had high expectations, and I can honestly say that they've been exceeded.
On Dylan as Thomas and how he pictured Thomas when writing:
I think he's absolutely perfect. I truly don't remember a Thomas that wasn't Dylan O'Brien at this point. Dylan has become Thomas, and Thomas has become Dylan in my mind, and I couldn't be happier. His performance is going to blow people away.
On the closeness of the adaptation:
I'm extremely pleased with how it's turned out. I consulted on the script and have been involved with the process from the beginning, so I felt like Fox and director Wes Ball really treated the source material with huge respect. I fully support the changes made and feel that they make a lot of sense. Everything remains true to the spirit of the book. Every character is there, every major scene, and it begins and ends like the first book in the series. I feel so fortunate to have had such an immensely positive experience.
Check out the rest of the interview at the source!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Will and Kaya talk with Fangirlish
While at Comic Con Fangirlish had the opportunity to interview Kaya and Will about all things The Maze Runner.
Here are the highlights:
Is it better or worse to walk into a movie that also has a book adaptation with an existing fanbase? Do you feel like you have been received well on social media or is that difficult to listen to the criticisms?
Kaya: I think we’ve been incredibly lucky. I think Maze Runner fans probably… of all the stories I’ve heard and I have heard a lot of them… the Maze Runner fans seems to be the nicest families out there. And they have been so supportive. I haven’t seen a single negative comment and they’re really supportive of like other films, and other franchises. And they all want to talk about it and get together and discuss it. And they’ve been like overwhelmingly nice. I’m so scared that one day I’m going to go into a room and it’s going to be all the assholes they talked about.
Will: Yeah… yeah… Maze Runner fans… Right. I think it’s because the collective online voice of the Gladers and the Maze Runner fan labels has been loud and really encouraging. That’s been the case from day one. As soon as we all got cast, they were following us. They were you know sending out encouraging words and personal messages.
Kaya: And like Fanart! And Videos.
Will: Unbelievable! And we would contact them like during filming to kind of keep them up-to-date and stuff with a couple of video chats and things and saying what we’re going to do and before the release of the movie maybe we’ll do another one; but it wasn’t something that producers asked us to do. We really found ourselves wanting to make contact with them because they were so cool to us. I realize that a number of big franchise films have huge support, but that happened so dramatically, so early on that it is a very special relationship.
Kaya: Yeah. Yeah. Totally. It is special.
Will on what types of roles he likes to play best.
Uhm, I actually don’t mind. I was saying just early… the common theme for me, the characters I like playing is that they kind of have an element to their personality that I have a respect for. So every one of them might have elements I don’t understand to some degree nor do I feel like I agree with Gally entirely, there are elements of his persona and elements of what he stands for that I can kind of appreciate. That made him accessible to me as an actor. I loved playing someone who you know brought conflict and created friction. It was fun. Some of my favorite scenes were when I was being kind of a complete asshole. It was like, I can’t lie… it was fun to do. I don’t know why. I can’t explain that. You don’t strive to be an asshole in every day life. I imagine people don’t do that. Some people will fool you. But uhm, I uh… I really enjoyed it. I thought it was like really good fun. I loved to play another baddie.
What do you think sets Maze Runner apart from many of the other similar big franchises that are hitting the theaters in the last couple of years.
Kaya: For me, it’s just from the second it starts you’re on the journey with the character. That’s what’s great if you don’t know anything about the books. If you’ve never read it, you can still go watch it. You discover the story from the eyes of Thomas, through the eyes of Dylan’s character. You know you go on the journey with him. Nothing’s explained. It doesn’t start with a paragraph of this is what’s happened. It’s all about you discovering it as you go on the journey. And if you connect to the first film, from what I know of the second and third books, it’s only going to get more and more interesting.
Will: Yeah, I would say… to touch upon what Kaya says that the fact your experiences kind of synchronize with the characters. You’re not spoon fed everything. There’s a natural element of ambiguity. There’s a natural number of questions. You are kind of thrust into this world with Thomas and all the other kids in these glades. And you are right with them through every step of the way. You find out as they find out. There’s no voice-over narrating or holding your hand through it. I even recently watched some of the films we were talking about earlier, even some fantasy ones. A few of them start off with a kind of voiceover break down of what’s happened in the world etc. and this [Maze Runner] is entirely different – comes from the opposite direction. And that I think it’s far more action, far more suspenseful and just makes it a more exciting film I think, if I can say that.
Catch the rest of the interview at the source!
Waking Up in the Box: Ben
The latest Waking Up in the Box with Ben!
Check out the first installment: Waking up in the Box: Thomas
Second installment: Waking up in the Box: Newt
Third installment: Waking up in the Box: Chuck
Fourth installment: Waking up in the Box: Alby
Ben panicked when the big metal box started moving toward the sky. Terrified, he beat at the walls with his fists and screamed.
He felt something, like a living thing wanting to escape his body. As if the vanishing memories grew form and wanted to bust out.
Yelling until his throat grew ragged and sore, he ran around the darkness, tripping and falling and scrambling. Slamming into walls.
His mind began to buckle, too overloaded to continue. He collapsed to the floor, sucking in each and every breath like it could be his last.
He curled into a ball and sobbed. The tears flowed and his chest shook, and he felt better. Everything had been taken away from him. Why?
Stay tuned for next week's installment with MazeRunnerBooks!
James Dashner talks with Wikia Books
James Dashner chats his writing process, TMR series, film adaptation, and more.
Check out the highlights below:
On being compared to other authors:
Usually it’s a high honor! The series is most often compared to Hunger Games and Divergent, which is a great group of authors to be a part of. All of our first books came out roughly around the same time, so we must all think alike.
What's your go-to writing music?
Oh, yes. I love listening to movie sound tracks. I think cinematically, so that kind of music really gets me in the creative mood. Some of my favorites are Lord of the Rings, Aliens, Braveheart, and The Matrix.
Who was the first TMR character you created?
Thomas. My ideas for the story developed much the way the book does for Thomas from page one. I imagined this boy in a box, with no memories, being thrust into an awful, scary situation. And then I went from there.
A character that had a larger impact on readers than you anticipated?
Minho. More than any of my other characters, he developed and became a bigger part of the story as I went through the books. I think part of that was seeing what a huge impact he had on fans. People always say that he (or Newt) is their favorite.
Would you rather die in the Maze or from the Flare in the Scorch?
Can I do both? Please? What a kick that’d be. I could make a Maze Runner game within the VirtNet (from my new series) and die over and over again. Doesn’t that sound great? Okay, if I HAD to choose, I guess I’d say death by Griever. At least that would be over quickly. I hope.
If you were placed into a dangerous trial, who would you choose as your leader?
Why, thank you! I’d choose Minho. I love that guy. He’s reckless, a smart aleck, a hothead. But he’s also fiercely loyal and tough. We saw him have a major moment of weakness in the first book, which also makes him feel real. I’d choose him.
Which of the cast have you grown the closest to?
I’d say it’s between Ki Hong Lee and Will Poulter. I feel a real connection to both of those guys, and they’ve been so incredibly gracious, constantly thanking me for creating this story. And Blake Cooper. What a guy. I feel like he’s my little brother. And Dylan. And Dexter. And Kaya. And Aml. And Chris. And Alex. I love them all!
Be sure to check out the rest of the interview here!
Luna Park Sydney creates TMR Attraction
Luna Park Sydney theme park and 20th Century Fox are currently partnering to develop an interactive The Maze Runner Adventure - Live!
The attraction will be a "walk-through, hands-on adventure, involving innovative special effects and immersive performance, bringing to life the vision and adrenalin-pumping action seen in the film." It will launch September 18th and run up until Halloween weekend.
Who's lining up straight away on the 18th for this amazing experience?
For more details about the attraction, view the rest of the article here!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)