Event Recap: The DUFF Screening Presented by Tumblr with Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell!

February 19, 2015February 19, 20151 Comment

Last week, prescription I was all gearing up to go on a date (yes, viagra a date AGH) when I got an email from a super cool lady named Christina from Tumblr, order inviting me to an exclusive screening of The DUFF, with some of the cast in attendance.

And I freaked out a little. I had already seen the movie and some of the cast but you guys know me, I was NOT going to turn down another chance at meeting my number one celebrity crush (besides Mike Trout), Robbie Amell. What a conundrum and confusion on what to do!

Luckily, it all worked. My date decided to hang out with me at the screening for the day, so I got to hang out with a super cool guy AND see The DUFF and Robbie Amell again.

This was possibly the coolest screening I have ever been to, and I’m not just saying that. I’ve been to a ton of screenings and this one just took the cake.

First off, it was put on by Tumblr, who gave us a TON of swag. I got a tumblr bag, all these buttons and stickers, a DUFF shirt (which I proudly wore this past weekend at Gallifrey One) and a Tumblr sweater that I literally keep wearing because its so massively comfortable.

We then were escorted into the theater, where my jaw basically dropped. This theater was BEAUTIFUL. Super large, reclining seats with pillows and blankets and these little tables and personal tablets to order food on. I was like, I seriously can’t see a movie at any other theater ever again. Ever again.

Then came MORE free stuff. We got free drinks, either strawberry lemonade or watermelon lemonade. I got the watermelon lemonade and it was something new and absolutely delicious. They also had a candy bar (mmm, gummy bears) and handed out free popcorn before the movie. I also ordered a pizza because I just couldn’t resist ordering something from the super fancy tablet thing. Seriously, this theater blew my mind.

Then it was movie time :) I loved the movie just as much as I did the first time, if not more. I know they changed a lot about the movie but the fact that they really kept the core message, that meant a lot to me. The DUFF is all about realizing that there are always going to be people that you think are prettier or smarter or whatever than you, but you have to be confident and happy with the person that you are and things will be okay and I’m glad they kept that part in. If you’d like to read my recap of the last screening AND a spoiler free review of the movie, check it out.

After the movie, they brought out Robbie Amell and Mae Whitman who play the two main characters in the movie to do a short Q and A. It was fun to see them talk about the movies, focusing on the self-confidence part of the story. I also liked hearing them talk about other projects, and about teens and all of that. This is a YA book so it meant a lot that the questions stayed geared toward YA themes and issues. It was awesome. Plus, I spent most of the time drooling over Robbie, much to the amusement of my wonderful date haha.

Then they lined us up and we were able to get our professional photo op with Robbie and Mae. I absolutely LOVE when they do this. They did this with Vampire Academy too and I think that’s great when they do. They know this is an experience for the fans and they do what they can to make it a great experience and I seriously appreciate that. I’m more likely to write about an event with high praise when it feels like I matter and I definitely felt like I matter.

I’m especially happy with the way the picture turned out, because these are two of my favorite people and they were SO nice. I was going to stand in between them but it was like my body had a mind of its own and I just went straight for Robbie haha, and Mae just laughed and was like “its all good, I know he’s hotter than me.” Which made me laugh. Then I was able to say that I loved them in Arrested Development and The Tomorrow People, which is SO very true, and I squealed a bit, again, to the amusement of my date.

All in all, great night. I would seriously do another screening through them again, easily. It was a ton of fun, I enjoyed the movie, enjoyed meeting part of the cast, and the whole movie experience was just fantastic.

And I have the most comfortable Tumblr sweater ever so there’s that too ;)

Make sure to go see The DUFF in theaters this Friday! Remember, every single YA adaptation needs YOUR support so that more movies with our favorite characters get made so head to the theater this weekend and watch the movie! Even if its only just see Robbie Amell’s beautiful abs ;)

Weekly Fangirl Round-Up!

May 30, 2014May 29, 20141 Comment

Doctor Who, look Series 8 has a premiere date AND a teasing teasing teasing teaser trailer!

The first chapter of Marie Lu’s new book, The Young Elites, has been revealed!

Debut novel, Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira, has been optioned for film!

Stephanie Leigh Schlund, Cashmere in Catching Fire, confirmed that she joined the cast of Insurgent, as a yet to be revealed member of Amity.

Alfonso Cuaron has been confirmed as NOT directing Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

More promotional images for The Maze Runner have been shared!

Mockingjay Filming continues in Berlin, check out some photos!

Two More People have Been Cast for Insurgent!

More Dragons are coming our way! Netflix confirms a How to Train your Dragon spin-off TV series!

Watch the new trailer for Daniel Radcliffe’s rom com, What If!

Pixar’s 2015 film “Inside Out” has an official synopsis.

Some news of True Detective, season 2, has been revealed: it will have THREE main characters.

Emma Watson, queen bee, and our Hermione Granger, has graduated from Brown University!

One Direction fan fiction “After” has officially gotten a publishing deal.

Robbie Amell, my future boyfriend, has been cast in a role in the movie adaptation of The DUFF.

Secrets about the could-have-been season 2 of Starcrossed were revealed.

Happy 2nd Blog Birthday What A Nerd Girl Says and HUGE HUGE Giveaway! (One more week to enter!)

Monday Missions Vlog

City of Heavenly Fire Vlog Review (Spoilers!)

Book Review: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (No Spoilers!)

Book Review: All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

Ontario Teen Book Fest Recap!

Why The Mortal Instruments is Important to Me!

Book Review: Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

Fictional Crush of the Week-Stephen Jameson from The Tomorrow People

December 21, 2013December 21, 20132 Comments

Have you watched The Tomorrow People? If you haven’t, side effects you seriously need to. They just had their midseason finale (which BLEW MY MIND) and that gives you PLENTY of time to catch up. Don’t believe me? Check out my five reasons to watch it here.

Here is one of my reasons ;)

Character Name:

Stephen Jameson

Book or Series They Appear In:

The Tomorrow People

Author/Creator:

Originally Roger Price, purchase in the 1970s in Britain.

Played By:

Robbie Amell

Who They Are:

Stephen Jameson is the main character of The Tomorrow People. He’s in high school, plagued with a sleep walking disorder and hearing voices. That is, until he meets Cara, John, Russell and the rest of The Tomorrow People and realizes that there is nothing wrong with them…not in the way he thinks. He has special powers, the three Ts: telekinesis, teleportation and telepathy. He learns his father, who ran out on his family when he was young, was part of this, and is crucial to the survival of the Tomorrow People, as they are hunted down by a secret organization called Ultra. Stephen is recruited to help the Tomorrow People track down his father, and to help do so, he works undercover for Ultra, under the constant gaze of his uncle, Jedikah. He’s an optimistic member of the team, brave and wanting to help everyone that he can, even when it seems impossible. He keeps his powers and his life a secret from his mom and brother in order to protect them, and is a fiercely loyal and loving person.

Why I Am Crushing On Them:

Um, have you seen Robbie Amell? That’s the first thing that would grab anyone off the bat. Robbie Amell caught my eye because I was watching Arrow at the time, and everyone kept talking about Stephen’s cousin, who was coming to The CW on his own show. When I saw commercials for The Tomorrow People, I thought it looked interesting and I have been watching it ever since, completely addicted, and having a ton of fun with the cast live tweeting during the episodes. Seriously that makes the episodes even better.

But like I said, Robbie Amell. A very fine example of male beauty ;) The dark hair, the blue eyes, and the frequency in which Stephen is without a shirt…what is not to like?

But there’s more than that too. I love Stephen as a character. I think we tend to like the bad boys the most, and I definitely do. Jace Wayland, Adrian Ivashkov, Han Solo, Jared Lynburn, etc. By that pattern, I would probably like the character John on the show but that’s not what happened. I think the good guy, the one determined to save everyone, to always do the right thing, is always overlooked and I found that in Stephen’s character. He’s the good guy, the one who literally always wants to do the right thing. And what makes that even better is that he is always stumbling around and making mistakes. He’s getting used to having powers, and using them. he’s not perfect. I can’t stand a perfect character; its so unrealistic and boring. Stephen is figuring things out and making mistakes but he always tries to do the right thing, and tries to take care of the people he loves.

Plus he always has witty and sarcastic lines all the time, and that’s enough to send my heart palpitating.

Notable Quotes:

“If I’m not human, what the hell am I?”
(When I heard this, I was like Clary! Clary says almost that exact line in City of Bones)

“No offense, but any second I’m gonna wake up someplace awful. Maybe another three-way at the neighbors’ place.”

“I’m gonna do what he asked me to do. I’m gonna take care of my family. I’m going to be a better brother, a better son, and a better friend, to both of our species. Because what I’ve realized, is that I can’t turn my back on either of them. The only way I can do all this, is by pretending to be a good soldier, by working for my uncle, staying one step ahead of him. And that is what I’m going to do.”

“Wow, what happened to the whole ‘Welcome Stephen, you’re one of us, we’re the lost boys’ speech?”

Let’s be real. I just wanted an excuse to this gif.

* * * * * *

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Fictional Crush. Stay tuned next week for more!

NaNoWriMo-Character Fan Casting

November 15, 2013November 14, 20131 Comment

Hello all! I hope your writing is going well, story or your reading, more about if you’re not a NaNoWriMo participant!

Today’s post is a little fun. See, here’s the thing: when you’re writing, and you’re putting your character together, of course you have an idea of what your character looks like in your head.

But for me, its sort of blurry. I know generally what they look like, but its hard to truly picture them. I feel their characteristics and their personalities stronger, and that’s how I see them.

So sometimes, I do use famous people as guiding tools for my characters.

Plus its just fun! I think every writer secretly wants their book to become a movie and secretly hopes to see famous people playing their characters one day. So here is my guilty pleasure fan casting for my novel, The Reawakened:

Zoey Deutch as Katy Valentine

Katy has long brown hair, large brown eyes, and is about average height. She is strong, trained in various self defenses and fighting techniques, due to her dad’s worries about her safety. She’s definitely beautiful, but she’s strong, fierce and she has quick wit and even quicker sense of sarcasm and temper.

I had never even heard of Zoey Deutch until she was cast as Rose Hathaway in Vampire Academy, but I’m already head over heels for her. She’s beautiful and she’s showing that she can play a fighter. Katy would probably get along with Rose, so Zoey is a great fit. She also fits the description of Katy in my mind :)

Robbie Amell as Ash Matthews

Ash is tall, built, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He’s the captain of both the varsity football and baseball teams at St. Joseph’s Prep. He’s stocky, built, with strong muscles and a flat stomach, and is incredibly athletic. He has a fun personality, preferring to put humor in every situation. When he’s serious though, he is a very determined and ambitious person.

I have to admit, Robbie Amell made an impression on me before I even created Ash Matthews. I’ve really only been writing The Reawakened for a little over a month now. When I was trying to come up with my main male counterpart to Katy, I was watching The Tomorrow People, and I was just smitten by Robbie, and his good looks, his incredible body and his charm. After watching a couple YouTube videos, where he answers fan questions, I just was sold. He is Ash Matthews, and Ash Matthews is him.

Jamie Chung as Madison Wu

Madison Wu is Katy’s best friend, a tiny little Asian girl who makes up for her small stature in her large personality. She’s beautiful, with long black hair, and perfect skin. She’s on the Honor Society, does as much charity work as possible and is the head of the dance committee.

It was hard to pick Madison. I immediately thought of Brenda Song but she just didn’t fit right to me. The more I looked, the more Jamie popped out to me. She has shown, in her different roles, that she can play a variety of roles, and I think she would be a brilliant Madison. I think she’s a bit too tall to be Madison, but she’s very fitting in my head.

Jon Bernthal as Frank Valentine

Frank Valentine is Katy’s father, who is a New York City cop. He’s Italian in background, and has dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He’s young, only 38, having only been twenty when Katy was born. He’s fit, and healthy, always ready to work hard at his job.

Jon is the first person that came to mind when it came to Frank. I like someone young, but who can also portray that protective side too. I’m think early Shane in The Walking Dead, not later, crazy, obsessive Shane. I’ve seen Jon in other roles as well, and he’s always portrayed strong characters, protective characters and he’s just a perfect fit for Frank.

Kellie Pickler as Jennifer Flynn

Jennifer Flynn is Katy’s mother, who is young and strong in her Irish looks. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles all over her face. She is only 36 years old, having only been 18 when she married Frank and had Katy. She’s an elementary school teacher, who has incredible fashion sense.

I honestly had NO idea who I could even picture for Jennifer. I literally couldn’t picture anyone. I was googling for blonde actresses to find someone to fit the person I had in my head. Now I know Kellie Pickler is not an actress, but a singer, but she jumped out at me. I was watching Ellen, and she was the guest on the show, and I thought she was amazing. She’s ten years younger than Jennifer is supposed to be but I think she would be great, and she could carry that maturity well. And she looks like I picture Jennifer, exactly.

Bill Cobbs as Bert Washington

I can’t say much about Bert. Bert will be in The Reawakened toward the end, and he is very pivotal to Katy and her future. He’s an older, African-American man, who is quiet, but incredibly intelligent and incredibly brave. Bill Cobbs was actually the first person I thought of, and if anyone else ever played in Bert in the never-going-to-happen-movie of my book, it would take adjustments.

Alex Pettyfer as Liam

Liam is a character that surprised me. He is making a small appearance in The Reawakened, and I realized that as I wrote him, he was becoming more and more important. Again, I can’t say more than that but he is important. He’s kind of the All-American boy, blonde hair, green eyes, from the deep South. He’s going to be an interesting character as the story moves along, and he’s going to create some tension. I know a lot of people don’t like Alex Pettyfer, but he’s so hot and I will forever have a crush on this boy, and he’s Liam. You’ll see when you read about Liam. He embodies the confidence and easiness of Liam.

Sarayu Rao as Razi

I can’t say literally anything about Razi. I just can’t. It would ruin the entire book and that’s awful. But this is exactly how I picture her, except older, probably more like 50s or 60s. I think Sarayu is her thirties. She has such a perfect look and I hope you’ll see that when the book eventually releases, one day, because I am optimistic with this book!

* * * * *

Happy Writing Everyone!

Five Reasons to Watch The CW’s The Tomorrow People

October 26, 2013October 26, 20133 Comments

We’re weeks deep into the fall television season and so far, here I’ve been pretty happy. I’ve been watching shows I already loved and watched like Once Upon a Time, The Vampire Diaries, How I Met Your Mother, Glee, and watching new shows like The Originals, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Reign, and the subject of this blog post, The Tomorrow People!

I saw a commercial for The Tomorrow People during an episode of The Vampire Diaries, I think, and I decided to watch it, because I just try everything and cull out those shows that just don’t grab my attention.

There’s been three episodes so far, and I’m completely addicted.

The show was originally broadcast in good ‘ol Britain in the late ’70s and was rebooted in the 1990s, and also for audio as well. Now we have our 2013, US version. The story follows Stephen Jameson, played by the delicious Robbie Amell, who thinks there is something wrong with him, because he hears voices and falls asleep, and wakes up in different places. He’s tried medication, therapy and nothing seems to be working until he meets Cara, and her friends, who call themselves The Tomorrow People (and they didn’t think of the name). They are a group of people that have a little extra oomph as a result of genetic evolution, an oomph that gives them the three “T”s: telepathy, teleportation and telekinesis. Cara brings Stephen aboard because he is one of the Tomorrow People, like his dad before him, who disappeared out of his life when he was a child. Now, he’s been enlisted by them to help them find his dad, and trying to fight Ultra, an organization run by his uncle, determined to take down the Tomorrow People and neutralize their powers.

Doesn’t that sound amazing? Not convinced yet? Okay, well then I guess I’ll just have to convince you guys with these five reasons!

5. Diversity!

This is something that I bring up a lot on this blog, and its something that I remind everyone always over and over again that shouldn’t be a problem. Diversity should just BE there. But its something that I start to notice, because I’m just so aware of it. I love seeing people of various different walks of life, religions, races, sexual orientations, and all that in a story, especially on television, when its right there in front of your face and its so obvious. Every episode seems to make me think that diversity is not going to be a problem at all in this show and I love that. There’s a character for everyone in this show, and it makes me smile. You want to be able to relate to someone in a show and I think that’s definitely possible in this show.

4. Live Tweets During the Show

Seriously, this part is what makes the show even better than what it already is. I was on Twitter last week, while watching the show and noticed that Robbie was tweeting during the show, as well as Luke Mitchell and Aaron Yoo and others. It was hilarious and I found myself glued to the television and my Twitter feed, watching as they interacted with each other and the fans as the episode’s story unfolded. It is SUPER fun, and some of the tweets seriously crack me up, AND the actors really interact with the fans. I’ve had Robbie and Luke answer me several times during the live tweets. Its like an interactive way to enjoy the episode and its seriously fantastic.

A nice plus: the actors all take a shot (in twitter-verse, of course) whenever someone is shirtless in the episode. Which, happily, happens quite often.

3. Great Stories, with Real Issues, Romance and LOTS of Action

I LOVE the story so far. I love that there’s so many layers to it. There’s a ton of action, there’s humor, a bit of romance, some drama, and there are real issues there too. The Tomorrow People brings up an issue that can be applied in so many different situations: The Tomorrow People are different, and because of that, they’re hunted and they have to hide and they’re scared and there’s a whole division of people who are determined to neutralize them and make them like everyone else. It sounds like every other story when it comes to issue of race or gender or religion or sexual identity. This isn’t anything new, its just represented in a way that is fun and relatable and action filled. Its a way to open up different issues and make the accessible to people in the form of entertainment and I love that. I hope that people can apply the sort of things we learn in this show to real life. But I swear, I’m not just being serious too. Its SO much fun! There’s so much action, and that can be so much fun when you involve teleportation (teleport fights!), and telekinesis. There’s also some dramatic moments, and some steamy moments, and there’s plenty of drama to keep you addicted for each and every episode.

2. Young People with Badass Powers

You guys know I’m more of a reader and less of a TV watcher, but when you involve young people, I am usually immediately on board. I feel like, if this was a book, it would DEFINITELY be YA. ANd you all know how I feel about YA. I think there’s something powerful about telling a story when you tell it in the point of view of a teenager or a twenty-something. This is a time where there’s a lot of change, a lot of self-doubt and overwhelming emotions. This is the time when you’re figuring yourself out, when you’re learning who you are. Throw in some crazy superpowers with that, and it makes for some SERIOUS drama. Superheroes are great and all, but teens with superpowers? That’s even better, and that’s enough to make me watch every week. This show makes you care about each character, as you learn more of their stories, and as we continue to learn more of them, and I’m eager to see how this makes them, and how they evolve as characters as the story continues. Its exactly what makes me enjoy a good young adult book, and I’m going to enjoy it about this show.

1. Robbie Amell

Yeah, I got a little superficial there, but if all the AWESOME reasons I already listed above don’t convince you, then this face totally has to. I watched the show Arrow for a few months, and while it didn’t quite grab me, Stephen Amell, who plays Oliver Queen, totally did. But I think I discovered the Amell boy that I like…and that is definitely Robbie. He’s a wonderful piece of eye candy and come on, he takes off his shirt quite a bit during this show (take a shot!). Plus, I just like him as an actor. He’s genuine, and he plays the part of Stephen really well. He’s so believable as this kid who is so good, and wants to help people, and who is confused on his own place in the world. I really like him, and he’s a huge reason why I love the show so far, both as eye candy and as an actor. There’s also the fact that he’s very involved with the show, with his live tweets, and tweeting fans back. I love that. Maybe as the show gets more popular, that’ll change but for now, I’ll enjoy it, and I’ll enjoy this show.

* * * *

So what are you waiting for? Get on board with this show now! We’re only three episodes in, and you have a few days to get those under your belt before the fourth episode premieres on Thursday.

You can check out the show on Hulu and on The CW website.

Happy Viewing!

Okay, one more picture of Robbie Amell ;)