The ads for "Red Riding Hood" show Amanda Seyfried dramatically cloaked in a cape, the better to see her in the snowy woods that serve as the backdrop for a story loosely based on the classic fairy tale. But, as the trailers hint, everything is not as it seems.
The movie is also a print novel that was being written even as the filming progressed. It is also a multimedia e-book that leverages the latest technology to enhance the story of a teenage girl torn between two male suitors, one of whom may be a werewolf.
The book debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times children's paperback bestseller list when it was released in late January, serving as a sort of multimedia prequel and pump-primer for the film, directed by Catherine Hardwicke. As an e-book, "Red Riding Hood" includes video interviews with Hardwicke and her many collaborators, an animated short film, audio discussion about the set design and props, costume sketches and Hardwicke's hand-drawn maps of the world where "Red Riding Hood" takes place, among other things.
"I was realizing as we were prepping for the movie that I felt sad for the back stories of these characters. I wanted to know more about those people," Hardwicke said of her decision to transform "Red Riding Hood" into a book.
Hardwicke was inspired by her own success as an author. Her "Twilight: Director's Notebook" was an instant bestseller when it came out in 2009, four months after the hit film she directed based on the megahit book by Stephenie Meyer.
To novelize "Red Riding Hood," Hardwicke got the OK from her publisher, Little, Brown. She just needed an author to write it. For that, she turned to a 21-year-old graduate of Barnard College's creative writing program named Sarah Blakley-Cartwright.
Cartwright has appeared as an actress in each of Hardwicke's five films, including the new "Red Riding Hood," where she makes a cameo as a villager who's swept up in the mass hysteria over the werewolf.
Blakley-Cartwright specialized in realistic fiction at Barnard, but "Red Riding Hood," she said, "is obviously not." The actress-turned-author "wasn't afraid because I was around her," she said, rolling her eyes toward her mentor during an interview on the Warner Bros. lot. "Catherine's the person who taught me that having a work ethic could be fun and fabulous, and I really buckled down."
Hilary Duff, the popular singer and actress, will be signing copies of her new book “Elixer”. The book is scheduled to be released Oct. 12, 2010, in a just a few days. Book signing event information:
"ELIXIR itself" by Hilary duff
Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before.
When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.
Lauren Conrad continued her book tour in Los Angeles and stopped at The Grove for a signing of her new novel 'Sugar and Spice'. Lauren greeted her fans in a draped BCBG Max Azria navy dress paired with classic Giuseppe Zanotti patent pumps. She added some sparkle with an Anita Ko panther ring.
