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Wednesday, November 18
The international trailer for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is out, and it shows the storyline in a much more coherent way than earlier teasers — and displays at least one plot change from the book and an older Percy. (Logan Lerman is clearly not 12 in this clip.)
It also offers a pretty cool preview of some of the movie's creature designs. Highlights include glimpses of the watery powers that Percy inherited from his sea god father Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), a very cool sequence in which his teacher Mrs. Dodds (Maria Olsen) transforms into a bat-winged Fury, and a first look at Uma Thurman as Medusa. Sporting a head full of snakes and a come-hither attitude, she tries to entice our young hero out from behind his iPod to "sneak a peek," with all the horrible consequences that would entail.
See Meet the Cast of Percy Jackson to learn more about the movie's half-bloods, Greek gods, monsters, and occasional mortals.
Posted 11/18/2009 by Bill
Related: Uma Thurman | Kevin McKidd | Logan Lerman | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | Maria Olsen
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Friday, November 13
A boy shielded from knowledge of his birth and extraordinary powers until adolescence, when he's sent to a special school and discovers a world of fantastical creatures and two best friends (a somewhat clueless guy and a smart girl). A book series that's sold millions worldwide and, despite its young adult category, has legions of devoted fans of all ages. A big-budget movie adaptation of the first book helmed by Chris Columbus. Sound familiar?
On the surface, Percy Jackson and the Olympians could be seen as Harry Potter 2.0, and that's a comparison the studio is certainly not shying away from. Heck, a lightening bolt (in the hero's hand rather than on his forehead) figures prominently in the first poster. And from the cast list, it's clear that Columbus has taken a page from Harry Potter, selecting an A-List cast for the adult roles and relative unknowns for the students.
But here the universe is half-bloods, Greek gods, monsters, and a few mortals. Find out who's playing the main characters in Meet the Cast of Percy Jackson.
Posted 11/13/2009 by reelz
Related: Catherine Keener | Chris Columbus | Joe Pantoliano | Pierce Brosnan | Brandon T. Jackson | Logan Lerman | Jake Abel | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | Alexandra Daddario
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Friday, October 30
The new poster for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief has the young hero Percy hip-deep in water and brandishing a lightning bolt. Not a good idea — unless you just happen to be a demi-god and the son of Poseidon. Then everybody else had better watch out.
This theme is carried over in what's being touted as the "world's first electronic lightning billboard." The movie's stars came out as they turned on the billboard's juice. Logan Lerman (Percy), Kevin McKidd (Poseidon), and Alexandra Daddario (Annabeth, daughter of Athena) were all on hand for autographs and interviews at the event.
Talking with ET, they were all clearly charged up about the movie, and Lerman offered his own summary of what the whole thing is about:
The movie takes place in the modern day. And Greek mythology is real. Basically, Zeus has lost his master lightning bolt, and the world is going to come to an end because there's gonna be this huge war between the gods. Everybody's pointing their fingers at Percy, the son of Poseidon. And he doesn't even know that he is a demi-god, half human, half god. And he goes on this huge journey to try to save his mom, find who the lightning thief really is, and save the world.
Still want more Percy? An Italian website has gotten ahold of a neat set of character banners, including a first look at Daddario as the daughter of Athena and Brandon T. Jackson as the undercover satyr Grover Underwood.
Posted 10/30/2009 by Bill
Related: Kevin McKidd | Brandon T. Jackson | Logan Lerman | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | Alexandra Daddario
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Thursday, September 17
In the first teaser for Chris Columbus' adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief we got taken on an elevator ride to Olympus. The latest trailer offers a bit more of the story in brief flashes.
A school tour of a museum introduces us to the pantheon of Greek gods and the half-human consequences of their dalliances with mortals — consequences not limited to myth or ancient times, as young Percy (Logan Lerman) soon discovers.
Posted 9/17/2009 by Bill
Related: Chris Columbus | Logan Lerman | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
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Wednesday, September 2
Chris Columbus, who's directing the movie adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, has tried to brush aside the obvious comparisons to the Harry Potter series. The parallels to this tale of a modern-day boy who discovers that he's the son of the Greek god Poseidon are fairly obvious, though. Not all of the cast are staying on message, either. Erica Cerra, who plays the goddess Hera, tells Sci-Fi Wire that it was precisely the similarity between the projects that made her so enthusiastic about her role in the picture.
I'm a big Harry Potter fan. I have all the books. I've seen all the movies a billion and one times. When I heard what Percy Jackson was about I read it and pushed, pushed, pushed to be in the movie.
Other than the sheer experience of being in a Harry Potter-like movie, one of the things that most excited her about the project was the costumes.
We were wearing these absolutely stunning silk dresses, myself and the rest of the goddesses. The wardrobe is spectacular. The look of them, it's a similar idea to Roman togas. They're really elegant and lovely. A lot of our jewelry was made the way they made jewelry in the early Greek times. They'd take metal and hammer it out. It was spectacular. And it all cost a fortune. I was like, "Can I take this [dress] home?" And they weren't having it. They were like, "No." I think we all tried.
Well dressed — and definitely in good company with an all-star cast that includes Uma Thurman (Medusa), Rosario Dawson (Persephone), Pierce Brosnan (Chiron), Sean Bean (Zeus), Kevin McKidd (Poseidon), and Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson).
Posted 9/2/2009 by Bill
Related: Chris Columbus | Erica Cerra | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
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Wednesday, August 12
Kevin McKidd got a major promotion. Best known for his role as Roman legionary Lucius Vorenus in HBO's Rome, he's now playing the Greek god Poseidon in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. The movie, adapted for a popular young adult novel of the same title, imagines the ancient Greek gods in the modern world, with the story focusing on young Percy, who finds out that his father is quite literally divine.
It's good to be a god, McKidd explains:
I'm 40 feet tall for most of the film, but then we come to human form, We can atomize ourselves because we're gods. We can do what we want, right? So we can atomize ourselves and walk around the streets of Manhattan, wandering Manhattan, and dress in Gap clothing and do all that stuff, then atomize ourselves back to 40-foot Greek god stage. It's a really fun film.
His own son, he says, is particularly impressed with his new job, and has begun devouring the whole Percy Jackson series, looking for spots where he might see his dad on screen. Assuming that Lightning Thief proves successful at the box office, McKidd could reprise his role in at least three more Percy Jackson movies.
Posted 8/12/2009 by Bill
Related: Kevin McKidd | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
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Thursday, July 16
In the trailer for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief currently debuting in front of Harry Potter, we see Percy (the modern-day son of Greek god Poseidon) taking an elevator ride up to Olympus. But all is not quite what it appears, explains Rick Riordan, who literally wrote the book on Percy Jackson:
A few people have asked, "Was that scene in the book?" No, I don't think it's supposed to be a scene from the book *or* the movie. To the best of my knowledge, it's a special scene they created exclusively for the trailer to get your attention.
He says he does like what he's seen so far, but cautions fans that they should definitely be expecting some changes.
What you'll be seeing is not the Lightning Thief book copied page for page onto the screen. What you'll be seeing is [director] Chris Columbus's interpretation of the Lightning Thief story.
The changes may be fairly substantial, as Columbus has already suggested. Yet, the real question, as Riordan sees it, is not whether it's exactly the same story, but whether it is a good story in its own right. And for an answer to that question, we'll have to wait and see.
Posted 7/16/2009 by Bill
Related: Chris Columbus | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
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Wednesday, July 15
The first teaser trailer is out for the movie adaptation of the wildly popular novel Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It's the first in a series of books recounting the adventures of a modern-day boy who discovers that he is the son of the Greek god Poseidon, with all of the attendant powers and perils that auspicious lineage implies.
No real action or dialogue here, but we do get a first glimpse of Percy (Logan Lerman), a pretty cool elevator ride up to Olympus, and the tag line "Some heros are made ... and some are born ... of the gods." Although director Chris Columbus says that he is trying to avoid any of the obvious similarities to the Harry Potter series, the studio clearly recognizes that this is too big a draw to be ignored. The movie is being advertised front and center as "From the director of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets."
Posted 7/15/2009 by Bill
Related: Chris Columbus | Logan Lerman | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
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Monday, June 29
In an interview with ISEB, director Chris Columbus outlines what he is aiming for in his big-screen adaptation of the enormously popular young adult novel Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. The novel follows the adventures of a modern-day 12-year-old boy who discovers he is the son of the Greek god Poseidon and ends up trying to prevent a war among the gods.
It is this world of Greek mythology that first drew Columbus to the project. This world, he contends, has never been adequately done on screen, but he has a plan to fix that. To start with, "cheesy stop-motion monsters" are out. CGI is in. The snakes in Medusa's (Uma Thurman's) hair will be a real standout, he suggests. The special effects are still a work in progress, though, and he isn't ready to show them off at Comic-Con next month. When he does show them off, he wants people to really be "blown away" and he's not quite there yet.
Columbus, who has been involved in making three of the Harry Potter movies, goes on to explain that one thing he is seriously trying to avoid in the Percy Jackson adaptation is any resemblance to Harry Potter. The similarities definitely are there in the book, he admits, but he is making every effort to remove them. And he is making other changes as well:
... there's a bit of a sense of liberation with Percy Jackson because we're changing the books. I wouldn't say significantly, but we're able to change them a little bit.
Will this upset fans? Too early to say, but for now the director sounds much more excited than worried and says he'd like to have to opportunity to expand on the world by adapting the sequels as well.
Next Showing: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief debuts Feburary 12, 2010
Posted 6/29/2009 by Bill
Related: Chris Columbus | Uma Thurman | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
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Friday, January 16
Steven Spielberg and his new financial partner, Reliance Big Entertainment, have paid $26.5 million to get custody of 17 film projects in the DreamWorks-Paramount divorce. Yes, big Steven had to lay out some of his own money to take his movies with him.
Among the projects is the Spielberg adaptation of Rick Riordan's The 39 Clues, which Spielberg is set to direct. That Riordan adaptation is further out than Chris Columbus's Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, listed as "in-production" for a February 2010 release.
In other Riordan news, The Battle of the Labyrinth, the fourth book in the Percy Jackson series squeezed onto Nielsen BookScan's list of the best-selling books for 2008, amongst all the Stephenie Meyer titles. With the two film adaptations in the works, we're guessing that's a list he'll be moving on up in 2009.
Posted 1/16/2009 by reelz
Related: Chris Columbus | Steven Spielberg | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | The 39 Clues