Most of You Probably Already Know This....

Lionsgate announced today (or rather May 2009) that it has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film version of Suzanne Collins' best-selling futuristic young adult novel The Hunger Games. Collins will adapt the screenplay from her novel, the first in a trilogy. Nina Jacobson is producing through her Color Force shingle. The announcement was made by Joe Drake, Lionsgate President, Motion Picture Group, and Co-Chief Operating Officer.

Lionsgate President of Motion Picture Production, Alli Shearmur, will oversee the production for the studio, along with Lionsgate Senior Vice President of Motion Picture Production, Jim Miller.

Said Shearmur, "'The Hunger Games' is an incredible property and it is a thrill to bring it home to Lionsgate. This is exactly the kind of movie I came to Lionsgate to make: youthful, exciting, smart and edgy. We are looking forward to working with Nina and Suzanne to create a movie that satisfies audiences' hunger for high-quality entertainment."

Said Jacobson, "I am thrilled to have Lionsgate as a partner in 'The Hunger Games.' The suspense of 'The Hunger Games' is heightened by its spirit of moral inquiry, and Suzanne has entrusted Lionsgate and me to bring that moral perspective to the adaptation - a charge we fully intend to honor."

Shrek Forever After.

I've never really been a huge fan of "Shrek" but I can honestly say that I am very excited for the next movie to come out! Shrek four and it's in 3D.



The Plot:
After all of his adventures, Shrek (Mike Myers) has become a domesticated family ogre. Instead of scaring villagers away as he used to, Shrek agrees to autograph pitchforks. Longing for the days when he felt like a "real ogre", Shrek is tricked into signing a pact with the smooth-talking deal maker, Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn). Shrek couldn't resist the offer; all he wanted was a day off to relax, to be a real ogre again, and Rumpelstiltskin had a pretty good deal – all Shrek had to give him to get a day off was a day from his own life. Unfortunately, Rumpelstiltskin tricked Shrek and the day he took out of Shrek's life was the day that he was born-meaning that (since Shrek was never born) he never existed, thus creating a time paradox. Shrek finds himself in a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away, where Rumpelstiltskin has now ascended to king, ogres are hunted to near-extinction, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) is an intellectual who has never met Shrek and fears him, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) is fat and lazy- and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is inexplicably a hunting ogre who never met (and can't stand) Shrek and is the leader of a band of other hunting ogres. But there's still hope- if Shrek shares "True Love's Kiss" with Fiona by the sunrise of the next day, the true timeline will be restored. But Rumplestiltskin has sent out an army of witches to stop him. Shrek must stop Rumplestiltskin in order to return everything to normal.

So anyway. I guess you know where I'll be May 31st (or thereabouts).

Out of My Teens And Into My Twenties.

...Holy Cow I'm in my twenties. Wow. Well, I guess most of my readers are in their thirties or more and so I shouldn't feel bad or anything. It's just ...weird. I still don't "feel" twenty. In fact I didn't even feel nineteen. If there was an actual age between the two (like twelveteen or eleventeen or something) then I'd probably feel closer to that age. But there isn't. So I have to convince myself that I am, in fact, twenty. Hmm. But how to do that...

I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm nineteen. I'm twenty. Just kidding. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. Did you catch that? I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. ytnewt m'I. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. ytnewt m'I. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. ytnewt m'I. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty. I'm twenty.

Now. Am I convinced? Not really.

The Last Song.

I received a packaged yesterday from my family. There was candy and a beautiful card and a some birthday/Easter money. My roommates were planning on going to see the new movie "The Last Song" for one of my roommate's school assignments, so I used the money and got myself an early birthday present.

"The Last Song" is about a seventeen year old girl named Ronnie (aka Veronica) and her younger brother Jonah staying the summer at their dad's house in Georgia -and completely against her will (the brother's totally okay with it). The story is about how this small and broken family spend their summer while trying not to kill each other. From saving sea turtles, to picking friends, to dealing with all the curve balls life throws, this story does an excellent job at stealing your heart. No joke! All of my roommates (along with every girl in the theater) were balling their eyes out! I'm sure I would have too, it's just that I was pretty distracted by all the sniffling and blowing of noses that I didn't get too emotional. But really. Bring a tissue, or six.

The movie is PG (I think there are two curse words) and is based on the best selling book by Nicholas Sparks (who also wrote "A Walk to Remember" and "Dear John" and tons of others). Personally, I LOVED it! Excellent movie. Now, I know that there are tons of you out there that are really not big fans of Miley Cyrus and, occasionally, I'm one of those people. But in this movie I truly think she did a good job. Just disassociate Hannah Montana and every other Disney Channel run-in she's had and you're good. Overall, I'd give this movie an A-. It's good. You should watch it. And bring tissues.

A Simple Song.

There is a part in the brain that allows you to hear sound -the thalmus. And there is a part that allows you to feel emotions -the amygdala. And there is a part that allows you to remember -the hippocampus. And there is something, I'm not sure where or why it happens, that allows the brain to link all three of these parts of the brain together at the sound of a simple four minute song.

A song can bring back emotions, thoughts, and thousands of memories. It is proven to cause sicknesses and to be the source of healing. Music has been around since the creation of man, it covers a wide span on the Earth's time-line and is interwoven with man's history. Yet at the same time, music plays a special, personal role in individual lives.

I came across a song today, a song that I once associated with a young boy and young girl in a unique relationship. The relationship didn't work and for a long time the song was rejected and ignored because of the inevitable package of memories and emotions associated with it. In fact, an entire album of songs was ruined after the death of the relationship.

I'm not sure what happened or how it happened, but I can listen to the song now -even with all the memories and emotions that come flooding back -without feeling the urge to change the station or unplug my headphones. I think it has to do with something Dr. Seuss once said. "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

There comes a time in everyone's life, I'm sure, that we each have to take in those hard times, the times that we once wanted to erase permanently from our minds, and be grateful that they happened. We may not be able to smile at the memories, at least, not at the moment, but we can be thankful that those hard times brought us where we are now. That they made us the people we are today.

Just last week someone told me that "In any good piece of art you need both the dark and the light colors to create a work of beauty." And you know something? I think they were right.