While the biggest news right now in the world of YA book-to-movie adaptations still has me shell-shocked (Liam Hemsworth as Gale!?!?!?), I am still very optimistic about the forthcoming "Mortal Instruments" movie. Especially after MTV News caught up with director Scott Stewart at WonderCon, where he revealed several key leanings that make him the perfect man for the job.
"I read a lot of YA books, and I had read 'The Hunger Games' and 'The Mortal Instruments' and a series called 'The Uglies,' he said. "'Mortal Instruments' really stood out to me. It didn't just feel like a 'Twilight' also-ran, it has a really active protagonist in Clary Fray, [who] Lily Collins is playing in the movie," he explained, adding that he likes the fact that the story is set in New York and not in a high school.
"It's grounded in the world that we're in, in New York, and yet [Clary] has a power that reveals itself making her capable of seeing a world within a world, things aren't exactly what they seem," he said, likening author Cassandra Clare's source material to that of a modern, edgy coming-of-age tale.
"There's lots of cool action," he continued. "It's just a really great opportunity...also I always loved growing up, as a kid in the '80s, loved those New York all night movies, like 'After Hours,' and then on the genre side, 'The Lost Boys,' [the type of stories wherein] when sun goes down there is a whole other world."
In addition to the grittier, edgy elements, Scott praised Cassandra's creative storytelling and her strong voice throughout.
"They're really original," Scott said of the series. "The characters are strong and funny, and it's just a really interesting take on all that stuff."
Source: Hollywood Crush