Saoirse Ronan is one of the best young actors working today and she’s managed to give impressive performances regardless of whether she’s in a great film (Hanna) or an atrocious one (The Lovely Bones). Here’s hoping that The Host is the former because Deadline is reporting that Ronan has landed the lead role. Based on the novel by Twilight author Stephanie Meyer, The Host is about an alien species called “Souls” that latch on to human hosts, destroy their consciousness, and erase their personalities. Ronan would play Melanie Stryder, one of the remaining free humans who is captured by the aliens and implanted with a Soul called “Wanderer”. Wanderer intends to make Stryder give up the location of her cohorts, but instead becomes impressed by Melanie’s unwillingness to surrender her consciousness, and Wanderer becomes driven to connect the young woman to her former life.
Writer Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show) wrote the script and was set to direct before moving on to the sci-fi drama Now starring Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake. But since that film is now mostly finished, it’s possible that Niccol may return to The Host. Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel.
Here’s the synopsis for Stephanie Meyer’s The Host:
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human. [Amazon]
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You should not state your opinions as factif you dont want many people including myself that disagree that The Lovely Bones was not an attrocious Movie filling ur comments section up section with remarks addressing that statement as oppossed to talking about what the article is actually about to begin with
Wohoo!! Another amazing movie about strong and independent women on quests for self-discovery. Stephenie Meyer is an icon and one of the strongest feminist voices in contemporary cinema with really iconic strong, empowered and sexy female heroines in all of her masterful novels – Kristen Stewart and now Saoirse Ronan.
…not sure if serious.
I’m not sure if you’re serious either…. You can’t be serious.
kristin stewarts character was a rag doll with two guys controlling her life if thats strong feminist character than i don’t know what is.
AWESOME….. It’s about time we all heard something anything about the Host becoming a movie… I am so excited. One of my favorite books next to the Hunger Games.
Great! So now will we not only have people claiming that The Wolfman and Dracula are ripping off Twilight (LOL) but we will also have people saying that Invasion of the Body-Snatchers and its several reincarnations ripped off The Host.
Sorry, but this sounds like someone just watched The Invasion and decided to make a movie about one of the alien parasites becoming friends with its host. How dumb is that shit.
On top of that I cracked this book open last year to show my friend how bad her writing is, it took me less than a paragraph to find a sentence that sounded like it was written by a 13 year old girl.
To be fair, she had never written anything before Twilight. Her only previous employment was as a receptionist.
I don’t think she is claiming to be a literary genius, but she definately has captivated an audience with her stories. In no way do i enjoy her writing, but i can appreciate the fact that this woman has created something quite relevant with no more training than you or I.
Very happy with this ! I love this book and I don’t want it to be ruined like the Twilight movies were even though I love Kristen Stewart.
I’ve been pretty disappointed with a lot of the recent book to screen casting, but this one is actually pretty good and spot on. As for the book itself, it had an interesting concept but moved so slowly. It would have been much better as a short story. That is actually beneficial in adapting it to the big screen. I think this could easily be a case where the film is surprisingly better than the book.
I can not believe, Saoirse has so much potential when I think about Stephanie Meyer and Twilight, which is terrible, I never read the book, but to do that even if the story is not good, and e the movie, just goes by Saoirse
ps: I like The Lovely Bones
if soairse ronan is involved,… so i will watch….
she is amazing actress….
Uhmmm… I love Ronan, I do… she’s an amazing actress – and she’s a PERFECT pick for the “Soul” part (aka Wanda)…
But I’m sorry, she’s so not right to play Melanie =(
The worst Peter Jackson film is better than most directors careers. Your insane if you seriously think the Lovely Bones was a atrocity. Manos the hands of Fate is a atrocity, Twilight is a atrocity, but lovely bones was simply a misfire but a very talented director. It’s even faithful to the book with is something that cannot be said for 90% of all adaptations.
I question the intelligence of anyone who likes the twilight books/films. Including my own sister. Twilight about female empowerment…please. Meyer’s basically took the Vampire mythos and turned it into a joke. An absolutely appalling group of movies. And now she has turned her attention to alien invasion. An alien invasion with a love triangle no less. How intriguingly lame. I can guarantee that compared to this shite The Lovely Bones is a masterpiece.
Yeah, cause the “Vampire mythos” wasn’t a joke BEFORE Twilight. Riiiiight.
The Host is actually a much better book, btw, than any of the Twilight novels, (which are pretty good escapist fare, but admittedly no classics). And Ronan is a great actress, so maybe this could be something good…
The ‘Vampire Myth’ was hardly a joke before the twilight movies/books, Alaska-girl.
Just look at Interview with a Vampire, Fright Night, Let The Right On In, Thirst, Chronos, Near Dark, and Vampire Hunter D. Those all were amazing, entertaining movies. I’ll even add in I Am Legend and Van Helsing as pretty decent vampire flicks.
They all stuck with the ‘vampires are shadowy, scary beings who drink blood and terrorize the living’.
Twilight totally screwed that whole idea with ‘vegatarian’ vampires who sparkle and are generally obnoxious, angsty little brats. I could find stories on the back of cereal boxes with more substance and appeal then twilight.
And seeing as how I’m entitled to my own opinion, as are others on this forum, the Host was an absolute crapfest of a book. I was entitled to let Meyer have another chance at redeeming herself after the atrocity that was the twilight books. But Host only hammered the nails into her coffin further. The writing is just as cliched and dull as the twilight books and I’m 100% positive that Ronan can’t save this adaption. She’s a beautiful, talented actress and I loved Hanna but the Host is just so juvenile and predictable.
Meyer has ZERO writing capability and ZERO chance at ever making me read another of her books ever again.
Stoner Jesus you took the words right out of my mouth. What’s scary is that all these girls love these movies. But when you get right down to the bare bones, Twlight is actually about a pedophile who stalks a high school. But it’s great feminist escapist fair…right. Why don’t you try reading the real Bram Stokers Dracula. It is a classic full of horror, suspense, and romance. Of course Bram Stoker doesn’t write like a twelve year old girl so some intelligence is necessary.
@ StonerJesus:
Not even Andrew Niccol can’t make crap into an edible meal? Even if his screenplay is “loosely” adapted by Meyer’s “The Host”?
The Lovely Bones is a good movie. Matt Goldberg definitely has no taste or whatsoever as to why he would indicate ‘Bones’ as an atrocious movie. It’s not perfect but its better than your below average Twilight sh*tties.
Seems that people cannot read an article thoroughly.
Maybe people stopped reading when they saw Meyer’s name, but if one was patient and read till the very end one would notice Andrew Niccol’s name also appeared. Niccol is a great sci-fi writer. Add in Nick Wechsler as producer and Ronan as lead it may actually be a good film. Niccol isn’t stupid to take a Meyer novel, out of all the sci-fi novels out there, and write a screenplay if he didn’t see something that he can mold. Ronan would’ve have cast if producers wanted another Twilight. Producers wouldn’t have made this a Cannes “hot topic” piece while pitching it to investors with both Niccol and Ronan’s names attached to it.
People complain about the crap that is Hollywood and the crap that comes out of it and I can understand. But first, make sure you know whose attached to the project before jumping ship.
“Ronan would’ve have cast if producers wanted another Twilight”
* Ronan WOULDN’T have been cast . . . .
I’m actually a bit excited for this, though I’m not too sure about Saorise playing Melanie.
But I enjoyed this book 100% more then twilight. It was written better and had an enjoyable plot.
(For those of you who are yelling about how horrible her writing is, I’d like to see you try to write five best selling novels.)
Anyways. I’m excited to see how it all turns out.
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