Vampire Diaries, One of the Hottest New Shows

Vampire Diaries

Overview:
From the pilot script, it is obvious that a few details concerning the town, characters and the story itself have changed. The character of Meredith Sulez was once believed to be eliminated, but Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec say her character will be appearing later.

Another controversial change made between the book and television series, or at least the one that has caused the most discussion, is the casting of Nina Dobrey as Elena Gilbert. Dobrey is a brown-eyed brunette while Gilbert has always been known as a blue-eyed blonde.

The Shows Characters:
In a script for the pilot, the surname Whitmore was originally used for Stefan and Damon. The name was switched back to the Salvatore name of the books once the show was given the green light. In the books, Stefan and Damon were born in Florence, Italy and came from the Renaissance period. In the television series, they are from Civil War-era Mystic Falls, Virginia.

In the book, the character of Bonnie was originally named Bonnie McCullough and she was a white, redheaded descendent of the Scottish Druids. For the television series, she became Bonnie Bennett, a black woman who is descended from the Salem witches.

In the books, it was Vicki Bennett and Matt Honeycutt. However, the names were changed to Vicki and Matt Donovan in order to make them siblings for the television series.

The Tyler Lockwood of the television series was originally called Tyler Stratton in the Pilot script and is originally named Tyler Smallwood in the books. The executive producers say that change was made in order to make the family sound more like old money.

Caroline Forbes was originally Caroline Truitt in the original Pilot script, but the original Forbes surname was changed once the show was aired. In the books, Caroline is a sly, selfish and bitchy character that starts out as Elena's enemy. In the television series, Caroline is a far nicer character that is more bubbly and is still friends with Elena.

In the books, the legal guardian to Elena is a paternal aunt named Judith Gilbert, but in the television series, this was changed to a maternal aunt, Jenna Sommers.

Katherine was the daughter of a German named Baron von Swartzschild who sent her to Florence to improve her health in the books. However, in the television series she is an American named Pierce that is pretending to be from Atlanta and a war orphan.

In the books, Tyler's father was referred to as Mr. Smallwood and was said to be a lawyer. The town's mayor was named Dawley. For the television series, Tyler's father became Mayor Charles Lockwood.

For the television series, Caroline's mother is Sheriff Forbes who was abandoned by her husband for a male lover. In the books, Caroline's mother was simply Mrs. Forbes who lived with her husband, daughter and son, Daniel. The sheriff in the books was named Mossberg.

The Shows Setting:
In the book, the fictional town was called Fell's Church, Virginia and then became Mystic Falls, Virginia in the television series. According to Julie Plec, the original name couldn't get legal clearance. However, some fans believe that since the books and television series have distinct differences the name may also have been changed to fully set the show apart from the book since the L.J. Smith book series is still continuing.

In the books, the school is called Robert E. Lee High School, but in the television series, it was changed to Mystic Falls High School. The school football team was also changed from the Wildcats in the book to the Timberwolves in the television series.

L.J. Smith's Thoughts on the Show:
On her official website, the author is quoted as saying she doesn't have an opinion about the television version of the books. However, in her blogs she has had misgivings about the show. Smith frequently cites the excessive use of drugs in the pilot script as being a major disappointment. Although Smith adds, "I suppose everyone must be allowed to have their own versions of the characters and the story. And if I can say that to readers then I can say that to the small gods of the TV pilot."

Smith finally gave a stamp of approval to the pilot episode on May 28 even though she hadn't seen it yet. Rather, Smith referred to the opinion of her agent Elizabeth who seen the pilot at a viewing in New York.

Smith posted a more definite statement on August 27 on her blog, saying:
"...the TV people (sounds like the title of a horror film) have been really, really nice to me lately, sharing news and Vampire Diaries (TV) clippings and I now stand behind the show. I'm hoping that everyone will give it a chance - the first episode being the hardest to get past if you're not a Twilight fan. Or maybe if you are. Anyway, I'm asking that people be patient with it and see if it does turn out to be adorable."

Then on September 22, as part of the 2009 Simon and Schuster's Blogfest, Smith again had something to say about the show and the many changes that were made:

"I think they're doing a great job of interpreting the books for a mainstream teen audience... who just happen to like vampires. I was scared myself about the drugs, but Elena is a champion against them and that is very important to me. She is both strong and gentle, and who cares if she's not blond? I will go on writing her as a blond goddess with a bit more edge, and the TV show will at least have some of my ideals... I'll try to explain about some of the changes. It was felt that a typical teen audience wouldn't sympathize with Italians as well as Americans. I didn't and don't agree, but who am I? I'm listed as "Source" in the credits. The reason they made the boys Civil War era guys was because there was so much all ready about Fell's Church of the Civil War (the high school name, the Cemetery, etc.) And if the guys are not Italian it made sense for them to have been from the same Civil War town... I must admit I have some mixed feelings about the pilot, too, but the cinematography's great, the music is great, the character chemistry is great, the acting is (with one exception) great. And finally, PLEASE understand that I didn't make one of these changes. They were all made by Kevin [Williamson] and Les [Morgenstein] and Julie [Plec], and so please don't blame me. I am just another grunt who works here."

In the Loop - Movie Review

The "hush-hush, wink-wink, say-no-more" world of foreign policy proves hilariously terrifying in Armando Iannucci's satire, In the Loop, as those in control attempt to keep a lid on the things on their half-witted decisions. Nevertheless, amidst their confused and overtly cautious demeanor, Iannucci's cast delivers the sharpest and most hilarious dialogue onscreen last year; thus bringing to life one of the funniest cinematic satires of the last ten years.

In the Loop's convoluted world of secrets and leaks begins with a simple slip of the tongue. During a radio interview, England's hopelessly inept Minister for International Development, Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), skirts by the scripted responses regarding conflicts in the Middle East. This does not sit well with his foul mouth boss, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), but does find an audience with a group of American officials looking for foreign support to outwardly oppose the rumored war.

Simultaneously, Foster and his assistant, Toby (Chris Addison), head to Washington, DC, finding them at the center of a political tug of war as American officials attempt to unpack the Minister's nonsensical sound bytes and use them for their own agenda. However, unbeknownst to the Americans, Foster's inability to handle even the most simple of tasks, such as stating his opinion or in most cases the state's opinion, is only equaled by the American's predilection for keeping important information secret. As the film continues, both sides unknowingly release vital information, which in itself gets spun for each country's own needs.

The film centers on the need to delay, whether it be a meeting, a vote, or correspondence. Throughout the picture, each character spends most of their time diverting attention from their most recent mistake, and likewise, the director fills the screen with an array of aural distractions but visual truths. Iannucci's documentary style and the film's lively performances keep everything grounded in reality, even when the actors literally bleed from the teeth. The quick zooms, rack focuses, and expressive framing bring out each characters fundamental inadequacies, as well as reflecting their own inconsistencies. Ultimately, the camera work makes each character appear as deceitful and/or unassuming as the script describes, and to the same token, evokes their frustration with their own lack of control.

Iannucci and his crack team of writers (Jesse Armstrong, Harold Manning, Ian Martin, and Tony Roche) wade the murky waters of political power with break neck speed leaving no corner of the political war-machine unmarred. With quips ranging from the personal to the professional, the writers give an unassuming realism to their cynically crafted world; thus, allowing each character to act as a vessel for some of the best and quickest set of one-liners since the untimely death of "Arrested Development."

More impressively is the way the cast breathes life into such difficult script. Each member grabbing onto the joke-a-minute attitude of the film and delivering their parts with an enthusiasm that fill the screen with excitement. This chemistry allots the performers the necessary materials to expound upon each carefully chosen, although farcical, piece of material.

In the Loop revels in its vast array of strengths and eccentricities through each portion of its production. From the dynamite scripting, pitch perfect cast, and honest cinematography, the entire movie remains endlessly hilarious, yet remarkably human causing it to ring a little too true for comfort. The cynicism towards those in power leaves the audience hoping that those with the finger on the button are a little smarter than the these characters, but given how believable the whole thing feels, there remains little reason for optimism.

Tips For Visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Charlie Chaplin, Kevin Costner, Johnny Depp, Colin Firth, Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, Elton John, Gene Kelly, Queen Latifah, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Mary Pickford, Sidney Poitier, Patrick Swayze, Rudolph Valentino. Yes, you can see them all---just like I did--on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Amazingly enough, there are over 2400 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There are five categories that each star can be included in: Motion Pictures, Television, Radio, Recording, and Live Theatre/Performance. Some stars are in more than one of these categories. This internationally known landmark goes for 2.4 miles--eighteen blocks along both sides of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks along Vine Street. Over ten million people visit the Hollywood Walk of Fame every year. The first stars were received on February 8, 1960 by Francis X. Bushman, Charles Coburn, Linda Darnell, and Gigi Perreau. The most recent stars received were by Stan Lee (January 4, 2011), Colin Firth (January 13, 2011), Donald Sutherland (January 26, 2011), and Adam Sandler (February 1, 2011-the 2431th star).

There are many other attractions on these blocks besides the stars. If you go on a sightseeing tour to Hollywood and the surrounding area, you may find like I did on my first two trips there, that the allotted thirty minutes was not adequate to allow me to do everything that I wanted. The other area attractions include: The Kodak Theatre, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Museum, Hollywood Wax Museum, and Roosevelt Hotel. One can see the famous Hollywood sign in the background. I would also like to mention the Larry Edmunds Bookshop that has been in business for over seventy years. One can find anything Hollywood-related that the heart would desire as they have 500,000 movie photographs, 6,000+ original movie posters, and 20,000+ motion picture and theater books.

On my third trip to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2011, I had a nostalgic time. I had a very poignant visit to the star of my favorite Hollywood actor, Patrick Swayze. I left a red rose on the star. Of course, when I returned to the star about fifteen minutes later, the rose was gone, but that was okay because I had done my thing. Did you know that Patrick Swayze received his star on his 45th birthday on August 18, 1997?

So if you are planning a trip to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, check out these two websites to find the star(s) that you would like to see, information on the attractions and tours, and anything else that you would like to know.

Official Hollywood Walk of Fame: http://www.hollywoodchamber.net
The Los Angeles Times' Hollywood Star Walk: http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/about/

Here are two last tips. There are many, many souvenir shops with great prices and you might be successful in bargaining to get an even better price. The Official Hollywood Walk of Fame site mentions that you might even be lucky enough to attend a ceremony in which the person is receiving his/her star. In summary, do a little prep work, allow yourself enough time to see what you would like, and have a blast at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Sue Tabashnik is the author of: THE FANS' LOVE STORY: How The Movie 'DIRTY DANCING' Captured The Hearts Of Millions! You can enjoy a celebration of this classic Hollywood hit movie from the fans' point of view. The book focuses on the positive impact the movie has had on so many lives and why it has been so popular for over twenty years. Please see author webpage: http://outskirtspress.com/SueTabashnik

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book is being donated to the Patrick Swayze Pancreas Cancer Research Fund at Stanford Cancer Center.

Sue Tabashnik has been a master's level social worker for over thirty-two years and has written numerous articles for the Official Patrick Swayze International Fan Club.

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Karan Johar to Direct 'Student of the Year' With Shahrukh Khan in Main Role

Bollywood top director Karan Johar is all set to direct a film titled 'Student of the Year' with new cast in the lead roles. Senior Director David Dhawan's Son Varun Dhawan and Mahesh Babu's daughter Aliya Bhatt are playing as Hero and Heroine in the film. The second lead will be playing by a newcomer, Siddharth Malhotra. He worked as an assistant director for the film 'My Name is Khan'. The film is jointly producing by Shahrukh Kahn's under his own own banner Red Chillies Entertainment and Karan Johar's own banner Dharma Productions.

Bollywood Badshah Shahrukh Khan is playing in an important role in the film. He will be seen as a College Principal. Earlier, he acted as mentor for three couples in 'Mohabbatein'. The highlight of the movie is that Bollywood best pair Shahrukh Khan and Black Beauty Kajol Devgan are working together after the gap of eight years in Karan Johar's direction.

Earlier, Sharukh Khan and Kajol acted in films like Baazigar, Karan Arjun, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayange, My Name is Khan which turned out to be huge hits at box-office. This is the third film for them to act under Karan Johar's production. In the past, they appeared in films like 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hain' and 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham'.

Earlier, there is a rumour making rounds in the media that this film would be the remake of Blockbuster 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hain'. But director Karan Johan has simply rubbishes the matter and said that the film being made with a new concept.

Shahrukh Khan ones again will be an eye-treat to his fans with his romantic Kuch Kuch Hota or Mohabbatein attitude.

My Top 5 Actresses in 2010

My top 5 favorite actresses of 2010. And why they are so great in my opinion.

Before I begin, this list is my opinion. Others might have other opinions on who should be in this list but I believe these 5 wonderful ladies deserve to be here.

Number 5 - Anna Kendrick

Anna Kendrick has only just recently come to the attention of movie goers, but she has been in the business since 1998. She went on to showcase her true acting ability, starring alongside George Clooney in the movie Up In The Air. This movie made her a great actress. She is also in the twilight movies, which increases her popularity. I expect big things from her in the future.

Number 4 - Emma Stone

People used to know Stone as that girl from Zombieland, but thanks to her first lead role in Easy A, she's on everyone's radar now. She funny, she's good-looking and a great actress. She's going to be in the new reboot of Spider-man, which should be interesting to see. She has even more for us in store. Emma Stone is here to stay, so watch out for her.

Number 3 - Mia Wasikowska

This young Australian actress had quite the 2010. She came out of nowhere to win the role in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, where she gave quite a performance. I will be looking forward to seeing more of this young actress in the future.

Number 2 - Natalie Portman

Her performance in Black Swan was amazing. She's an experienced actress that has been in this business for a long time and she will stay here for a long time. Can't wait to see what the beautiful Ms. Portman will have in store for us after she gives birth.

And the number 1 goes to...

Chlo? Grace Moretz...

This 13 year-old is amazing. She starred in Kick-ass, 500 Days of Summer, the vampire thriller Let Me In and a couple of other films. She is off to a great beginning and I hope to see this young actress rise into stardom.

Hope you enjoyed this list.

What Movies Feature Cheese?

"'More cheese please!" I once asked my mother as a young girl, delighting in the pleasure of the simple rhyme and the promise of my favorite food item that was sure to not be denied. Every time I see a child want some it reminds me and I'm constantly aware of this fabulous food and its impact on our daily lives. What may not be a common known fact about it is its predominance in movie quotes, but often non-existence in movie features.

Sure there are many movies that show famous people eating cheeses, showcase cheese in refrigerators, (strangely they're often left on an open plate without any wrappings) and heaps of quotes using the context of cheese or just simply the word. Doesn't everyone remember, "A Royale with cheese?"

What you may not know is there are quite a few videos from various sources about the making of cheese and this detailed process. They can be both interesting and informative, especially if you have any desire to try this for yourself.

There are a couple of full length, feature films out there that incorporate this yummy food. The first is In Queso Fever which is a fun documentary that happens to explore the birth and blooming popularity of dips made from cheese in Arkansas. It showcases the wide variety of types and how well they melt, plus which ways you can make dips from them. It gives you history on how this became so popular and the unusual combinations of both what you use to eat the dip with and what you use to make the dip.

A fun romantic movie with the food in the title is, I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With. This is a film made in 2006 about a man who is having problems dealing with both women and work and keeps using food in order to deal with this issue. It stars Jeff Garlin and Sarah Silverman. It's full of rye humor, romance, sparks and you guessed it, grand glimpses of Gouda, Cheddar and all sorts of other kinds.

A fun little game to try the next time you have a dinner party is have everybody bring a different variety and cut, slice or cube them up. Remember they will be best tasted at room temperature. Taste away and see who can deliver the most quotes, or movie titles revolving around cheese. Have a special, harder to find artisan variety for the winner of this game.

DVD Leasing On The Cheap

Viewing movies is probably the most common setting of entertainment. There are merely a handful of individuals who do not like viewing movies or even television sequence. However, because of the ever increasing function pressure as well as subsequently the actual shortage of your time, people performs misses out on common movies plus some episodes of a common series.Because of this, why the idea of DVD Rentals Online is progressively gaining lots of eminence. It is readily available, efficient and very convenient and also the viewers tend to be spoilt with regard to choices.

Consequently DVD Rentals Online service can in fact save time, cash and energy. This kind of reasons has the effect of revolutionizing the whole concept of Rentals of DVD Online support. Besides the number of gifts as well as discounts provided by the company in order to its people make it much more popular as well as alluring.

It is certainly an expression that appeared to hang around the actual DVD Rentals Online world in the early many years - but still does to some degree. Renting DVD disks by publish was thought to be phony in some way, a dangerous alternative to the neighborhood video or even DVD store and its sweet enticements.

A few years upon, however, and also the tables appear to have definitively turned. DVD Rentals Online has become the grown-up, polished cousin towards the humble leasing shop entrance which, in comparison, seems Rambling apart, though it's still possible to complete DVD Rental on the cheap, since it was via online stores.

On the internet rental continues to be far less expensive than in shops. Once the high-street DVD and Blu-ray shops possess factored in lease and staffing they will often have in order to charge exactly the same amount for just one disc being an online company may for an entire month associated with films.

The main reason for this is actually the Rentals of DVD Online sites' ability to inventory a number of Blu beam rental game titles.

Blu-ray is much more expensive compared to DVD due to the extra expenses involved in format discs within higher quality and just because, because Blu-ray gamers are still not even close to the norm, the marketplace for them continues to be far small compared to that through DVD. One other way in which on the internet represents movies on the cheap tends to be DVD Rental free tests.

These totally free trials ranges in length through two weeks to some month and also have long been utilized by the free gift savvy to obtain something for free. If this is the way in which you want to obtain Rentals of DVD on the cheap or, in this instance, as cheap as this gets, totally free - there are a couple of things you need to watch out for.

The foremost is to make sure that you are making full technique service throughout the free time period, online DVD Rental does not have any additional fees but for the totally free period you need to act as whether it does within the interest of having your payments worth.

The second reason is cancelling -- you'll frequently need to terminate in good time to avert being charged whatsoever. However, whether it's the case that you simply truly want to obtain online DVD Rental inexpensively then you should not cancel whatsoever.

Using online DVD rental services is as easy as can be, find out the best place for cheap DVD Rentals Online is a bit more difficult. There are lots of different services available, and they all have something unique to offer, so if you want to find out more about the best places to DVD Rental online visit the author's website.

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