Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Comics

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles began life as a comic in 1984, they were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and their adventures were published by Mirage Studios. The story revolves around four turtles who studied Ninjitsu from their rat master and father figure, Splinter. The turtles fight against many villains including their arch rival, The Shredder.

The comics contain a lot of strong violent content, unlike the children’s cartoon show that aired during the 80s.

The Movies

The turtles have had their fair share of big screen releases in the past. So far there have been three live action movies and a CGI movie!

It has been announced that the turtles will return to the screen in 2013 with a new live action movie. Directed by Michael Bay (Armageddon, Independence Day, Transformers), the story is a reboot and not a continuation of the previous movies.

Will the pizza eating reptiles high kick their way on screens for a new generation? Or will it be a TMNT movie too far? We’ll find out when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is released on 25^th December 2013.

Cowabunga!

The Lorax

The Book

The Lorax was written by Dr. Seuss in 1971. The story revolves around a young boy who lives in a polluted and grim world. The boy encounters a strange character called the Once-ler who is intent on chopping down the beautiful Truffula Trees. A small orange creature called The Lorax is intent on stopping the Once-ler and protecting his habitat. 

The story is a fun and characteristically quirky fable from Dr Seuss. It might be a kids book, but the environmental message is relevant to grown-ups too. 

The Movie

The CGI film adaptation was released On March 2, 2012 and was loosely based upon the book. The release coincided with the 108th birthday of Seuss, who died at 87 in 1991. The cast includes Danny DeVito  (Twins) as the Lorax, Zac Efron (High School Musical) as Ted and Ed Helms (Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay) as the Once-ler.

The cast and crew of openpage:pressplay TV!

We will be going live at 3.15pm, Thursday 1st March 2012.

After a busy couple of weeks of preparation, the first two episodes of openpage:pressplay TV will be streaming live tomorrow afternoon.

You’ll be able to watch and join in over on our Ustream channel:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/openpage-pressplay

Episode 1 will be going live at 3.15pm and episode 2 will follow at 4.45pm.

Tell your friends, families and followers!

Awards Season Special: My Week With Marilyn

Nominations: Best Actress: Michelle Williams - Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branagh - Academy Awards. 7 BAFTA nominations.

Director: Simon Curtis

Based On: The Prince, The Showgirl and Me and My Week With Marilyn by Colin Clark

We are thrilled to announce that the first ever openpage:pressplay livestream will be taking place on Thursday 1st March at 3pm.

The show will be debating Hollywood’s use of books to create blockbuster films. Have film companies ran out of ideas? Is it an honour for an author to see their work on the big screen? Are films making us read more or making us read less?

You’ll be able to tune in on the openpage:pressplay Ustream channel and join in the debate and discussion.

We are also looking to build a production and presenting team. In order to participate, you will need to meet the following criteria

1. Be aged 16-19
2. Be a student at City of Wolverhampton College
3. Be available on Tuesday 21st, Thursday 23rd, Tuesday 28th February and Thursday 1st March

Email Jenny Evans for more details: evansjenny@wolvcoll.ac.uk

Award Season Special: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Nominations: Best Film - Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor: Max von Sydow - Academy Awards

Director: Stephen Daldry

Based on: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Over the next week, openpage:pressplay will honouring the Oscar and BAFTA nominated films based on books.

The past year has seen some truly stunning book to big screen adaptations. Yet some are seeing Hollywood’s current literary love affair as evidence of a creative drought.

What do you reckon?

Image via Dave_B_’s Flickr

What is your favourite Charles Dickens novel to be adapted for film?

bookmania:

Google Front Page celebrates the 200th birthday of — one of the most beloved storytellers in the English language — Charles Dickens!

openpage:pressplay has been running for a few months now. We’ve read some great books and watched some brilliant films.

Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been up to:

Week 1: The group met to pick their first books. They also had a debate about the nature of “adult content” in books and films and the role of parents/guardians in determining what is appropriate for their children to read and watch. The conclusion seemed to be that sex, violence, drugs and bad language are more acceptable in fiction, whilst film tends to create widespread moral panic. Not a bad discussion for our first session!

Week 2: The theme for this session was “ordinary versus extraordinary”. The group discussed how they responded to different types of characters - especially the idea of an “everyman” character. They spoke about how, in film and fiction, the best stories often arise from ordinary characters being placed in extraordinary situations or meeting extraordinary charcaters. Examples included Fred and Holly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Arthur Dent in Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and all of the Watchmen (with the exception of Doctor Manhattan) in Watchmen.

Weeks 3 and 4: The group watched Persepolis, the animated film of Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel.

Week 5: The group watched Kick Ass. The theme for the discussion was “happy endings in books and films” - based on Mark Millars shock at how his comic books were altered during the adaptation process.

What’s next: The groups will be making their own 5 minute film adaptations of classic novels. They will also create their own livestream video discussions about “books into film”. More news on this shortly…