So what are you doing next Valentine's Day?

Well, if you've managed to read The Indigo Spell, I hope you're loving it. And if you haven't gotten it yet, it's the perfect way to heat up your Valentine's Day. People are swooning over Adrian's pursuit of Sydney, and you'd better have fans and smelling salts ready for when The Fiery Heart hits shelves on November 19 this year.

But guess what? Next Valentine's Day is going to be pretty special too because if all goes as planned, there'll be a Vampire Academy movie for you to attend! Lots has been going around about this, and I blogged about it before, but I thought I'd sum up the current stats in as short and sweet a way as possible.

Is there going to be a Vampire Academy movie?
That is the plan, and if all goes as it's supposed to, the movie will be out February 14, 2014.

Is the title changing?
The title is being expanded to Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters, so that each movie has a unique title from the series. More explanation about that is here.

Who's directing?
Mark Waters

What's cool about him?
Lots! He directed Mean Girls and many, many other movies and is super dedicated to VA. He's very intense about getting the characters and world-details spot-on, even down to details like Moroi clothing, accents, and the size of Rose's nazar (which isn't even in this first movie - he's planning ahead!).

Who's writing the script?
Daniel Waters

What's cool about him?
Lots! Daniel wrote the screenplays for Heathers, Batman Returns, and more. I've read the VA screenplay, and it's very true to the book! It has some adaptations and small variations, which are always necessary in books-to-movies, but it does an amazing job capturing the action, romance, friendship, and humor. All the essential scenes are there, and there are no weird random things thrown in.

Who's playing Rose?

What's cool about her?
Lots! Zoey is a young actress people are already raving about. Mark Waters told me when she walks into a room, people feel her energy, and she was one of the few actresses who worked out for the role before auditioning. She's training even more now and has all the books so that she can really get into Rose's head.

Who's playing Dimitri?

What's cool about him?
Lots! Danila is one of Russia's most famous and renowned young actors right now. That's right--a real Russian. No fake accents! I'm told people who saw his audition tape were like, "Oh my God!" (in a good way). Plus, he's hardcore. Mark Waters says during a Skype session they had, there was a window open behind Danila with a freezing seventeen-below Moscow winter outside. Was he affected? No. He said it was "refreshing."

Who's playing Lissa?

What's cool about her?
Lots! For starters, check out her reaction to getting the part! Mark Waters said when she auditioned, she did it with an amazing grace and regality that immediately made you go, "Yes, that's a Moroi princess." She's a fair bit taller than Zoey too, as a Moroi should be, and I'm told when they're together (which I can't wait to see), they perfectly capture the duo.

Who else is in it?
No one else has been cast. There are rumors, but nothing confirmed. That news will be announced when it's available, which I don't know yet.

Can anyone audition?
There are no open auditions. Auditions are facilitated through a casting agency who works with the agents of actors who are interested.

When will filming start?
Early summer, if everything is on track.

Where will it be filmed?
That's still being determined, but they showed me some pictures of places they're considering, and the locations are gorgeous.

Do you have control over the movie, Richelle?
No.

Why not?
Because I write books. :) The Waters Brothers, Preger Entertainment, the Weinstein Company, and everyone else involved on the team make movies. That's their specialty, and control is turned over to them when I sign over the rights in our contract. This is absolutely normal for books-to-movies, even for authors much bigger than me. Casting, script, location, etc. is all decided by them, but they've been awesome about constantly talking to me, asking questions to make sure they've got info right, and even asking my opinions! Not many authors get that, so I feel super lucky to be involved at the level I am. It's actually more responsibility than I expected, and I feel a lot of pressure in making sure my input does right by you guys too.

I heard JK Rowling called all the shots in the Harry Potter movies.
No.

I heard Stephenie Meyer selected Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson herself.
No.

Aren't you worried if you can't control every single detail yourself, Richelle?
Nope. Like I said, I'm the book pro. The VA movie team are the film pros. They call these shots because they know what they're doing. Their background and experience alone has me reassured that the movie is in good hands, and the way they've kept me involved and asked my opinions especially makes me confident of their dedication! Mark and Daniel Waters even flew to Seattle from LA for an afternoon, just to have lunch with me and get questions answered about the characters and books in person.

Really?
Yes. Here's proof:


Like I said, the dedication the team has to this project is mindblowing. I seriously can't think of better creative people behind or in the scenes to be working on this.

Do you guarantee that everyone will love this movie?
No, that's impossible. No book-to-movie adaptation is ever loved by every single person. My own books aren't loved by every single person. But I think most of you are going to be on-board with this. The production team that signed on didn't just do it because it's a series that sells well. Mark, Daniel, and the others behind the scenes actually love the books--and they'll even sit down and elaborate why. People trying to make a quick buck on a crappy adaptation wouldn't be able to do that, and they wouldn't have any contact with the author until the day the movie comes out. I meant it when I said this is pretty much the best group I could've imagined to be working on this, and I think they'll do a fantastic job. It won't match some people's visions; that's inevitable since books are run by our imaginations! But I think you'll be pretty pleased, and hey, if you aren't (and I apologize in advance if you're someone it just doesn't work for), you've always got the books to go back to and your own images and portrayals!

Will the other books become movies?
We hope so! But this one has to happen first and do well.

Where can I stay up to date?
The Official Vampire Academy Movie Facebook page does a good job at keeping everyone updated with the latest news and articles. I also post info here and on my social networking hot spots (Twitter and Facebook links are below on this page). IMDB is right about 90% of the time, so you can sometimes rely on them. That thing you heard from a friend whose other friend read it on a message board might not be the most reliable source, though.