Inkheart on the Big Screen -- TODAY!

Imagine if you had the power to make treasure fall from the sky, characters come out of books, and winged monkeys fly through the halls. What would you do? You would probably get grounded for the flying monkeys, but the other stuff sounds pretty cool, right?

These amazing things actually take place in the movie Inkheart. It is based on the first book in the best-selling Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke and published by Scholastic Inc. The movie stars Brendan Fraser as Mo. Mo has the gift of bringing fictional characters into real life just by reading books aloud. But is it really a gift or is it a really big problem?

Recently, I had the great opportunity to hang out with the author, the actors, and the director to talk about the movie at the beautiful Casa Del Mar Hotel in Santa Monica, California. They were all thrilled that the film is coming out on January 23, and were eager to talk about it. They also shared with me some funny moments that happened on the set.

 

Whenever Paul Bettany's character, Dustfinger, appears in the movie, his ferret is always with him, perched on his shoulder. All the actors described the ferret as either wild or smelly. Bettany said a docile male ferret was used in one of the scenes in which they just wanted the ferret to sit on his shoulder. They also had a female "stunt" ferret for the action scenes.

"If they want the ferret to run up my leg, they put this little bit of food on my ear," Bettany said. When the female ferret would run up his leg to go for the food, it wouldn't know when to stop." Then they'd pull it away and they'd put the male ferret on," he added. Bettany said he was terrified of the crazy female ferret because it would nibble on his ear with its "sharp, pointy teeth."

Sneak Peek: Snapshots from the Inkheart Movie

You know that forthcoming Inkheart movie? The one we've been talking about pretty much nonstop on The Splot for, oh, I don't know, forever? Well, not to gloat or anything . . . but I've seen the movie, and you haven't! >:-)

How do I know? Because it's not coming out until this Friday (January 23rd). But don’t worry -- that just means you have time to read the book if you haven’t already, or to re-read it in case you've forgotten the details of Mo and Meggie’s journey.

I don’t want to give away too much, but I will say that the movie sticks pretty close to the spirit of the book. As always, action from the original story is condensed or cut altogether, but the overall plot is intact.

Also, Eliza Bennett, who plays Meggie, does a really good job — not like some other kid actors who are totally stiff or, even worse, just too over the top. The rest of the main characters are also well-cast, in my opinion: Brendan Fraser plays Mo, and Cornelia Funke actually wrote the book with him in mind for the character! Paul Bettany plays Dustfinger, and he’s perfect as the slippery fire-eater. Helen Mirren plays Elinor, and when I first heard that, I was not very happy because I think of Helen Mirren as a strong, bold woman and that’s not the way I see Eleanor — but Helen Mirren affects a slight revision of Elinor’s demeanor that works perfectly with her own screen presence and somehow also fits right in with my initial impression of the Elinor in the book. No wonder she's an Oscar winner!

Most importantly to me, the same way that Inkheart the book doesn’t feel like a children’s tale so much as a finely-drawn fantasy novel, the film also doesn’t feel like simply a children’s movie so much as a full-on adventure film.

Are you excited yet? If my mini-review isn’t enough to get you psyched, check out this gallery of scenes from the movie!

And while you wait for the movie to hit theaters, immerse yourself in the Inkheart world online at www.scholastic.com/inkheart. Take a personality quiz to see which character you’re most like, listen to an audio reading of the first chapter of the book, see Cornelia Funke’s photo slideshow of her writing room, and more! It's almost like being magically read into the story.

— Karen, STACKS Staffer

Movie poster courtesy of New Line Cinema.
Photo: Murray Close

Ink Splot 26 Exclusive: Inkheart Movie Clips!

Hey, Cornelia Funke fans -- how much do you love us?

A few months ago, we brought you the first look at the official poster for the Inkheart movie (in theaters January 23). Then we gave you an interview with Brendan Fraser, who plays Mo in the film. And earlier this week, we posted the music video, showcasing the vocal skills of Eliza Bennett, who plays Meggie.

Well, now we've got another treat for you: an exclusive sneak peek at the movie itself! Check out these two clips from the film, which you won't see anywhere else on the web until tomorrow. At this rate, we might as well change Ink Splot 26 to be called Inkheart 26!

Enjoy!

— Karen, STACKS Staffer

Movie poster and clips courtesy of New Line Cinema

Meggie's Declaration

I suppose if you can read stuff out of books, it should be no surprise that you can sing well. So when I heard the star of the Inkheart movie sang a tune from the soundtrack, I wasn't exactly shocked.

Sixteen-year-old Eliza Bennett, who plays Meggie, belts out "My Declaration," which is basically her character's anthem about growing up, being fearless, and kicking a little Capricorn butt. And she's got a fantastic voice — though we've heard nothing about plans to go into the music biz.

Check out the video right now:

The song was written by Tom Baxter and found by the movie's music supervisor, Sara Lord — who had no trouble convincing film's director, Iain Softley, that the tune would fit with movie's themes. (It so totally does.)

Oh yeah, and the best part? The video is filled with clips from the upcoming movie (in theaters January 23), including lots with Meggie and Farid. And Farid is WAY hotter than I pictured while reading the book. Totally crush-worthy. Though if you've read all three Ink-trilogy books by Cornelia Funke, then you know that at the end of the series . . . oh, nevermind. I don't want to spoil it!

— Jessica, Scholastic.com Staffer

Video and poster courtesty of New Line Cinema

Book Review: Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

When you finish reading a book, you put it down and think that the journey of the story the author has created has come to an end. But what if you had the power to make every word that you read come to life right before your very eyes? This idea comes to fruition in a series by an amazing and imaginative writer Cornelia Funke. It begins with Inkheart and continues in Inkspell. Inkdeath is the final book in the series, and it brings the journey to an electrifying end.

In Inkdeath, Fenoglio's words take control of Mo and he becomes the Bluejay. The Bluejay makes Mo feel like he is invincible and it blinds him from seeing the danger that lies ahead with the Adderhead. Resa is beginning to feel like she is losing Mo to a bunch of words. Can she stop it before it is too late? Meggie is growing as a person and is learning that life is only going to get harder the longer that she, Resa, and Mo stay in the Inkworld. Meggie reads Orpheus into the Inkworld to bring back Dustfinger, but Orpheus has his own plans for the Inkworld, including making Farid work as his servant 24/7, reading treasure unicorns for the Milksop to hunt, and reading blue fairies into the Inkworld and making it his own. Each day, the Adderhead grows weaker and more pain comes into his body, making his heartbeat slower and slower, nearly leading to his death. Soon, the white women will come for him and for the rest of soldiers that the "fearless Bluejay" kills.

Even though Capricorn dies in Inkheart, that doesn't mean that Mortola doesn't want revenge on Mo and his daughter, Meggie. The Black Prince once again comes to rescue the day, and before you know it the Black Prince's life might also be gone. He could die protecting the ones that he has he loved and taken care of for so long. With Dustfinger gone, Roxanne is losing herself, and now most of all she needs to be able to stay strong! Elinor is getting awfully tired of just waiting for Mo, Resa, and Meggie, so she persuades Darius to read her and him into the Inkworld to seek out Mo, his wife, and his daughter. But what Elinor doesn't know is that the wonderful Inkworld that she has heard and read about that has stolen her family away isn't exactly the peaceful world it might seem. It is getting more and more dangerous for everyone to stay inside a book. Can Meggie, Mo, and Resa handle a bundle of danger, or will it be too much and will the adventure of this story stop without a happy ending?

I was breathless after I finished Inkdeath. The way that all three books in the series are written, you are able to have such a clear vision of what's happening in each chapter. Cornelia Funke immerses the reader into each book by her descriptive and intriguing language, taking you to places and times and characters that you never could have thought existed. Inkdeath leaves the reader thinking about what a fantastic series they have been able to read. I completely recommend this wonderful series for kids everywhere to read!

— Samantha Group, Scholastic News Kid Reporter
For more book reviews from Scholastic News Kid Reporters, visit Ready, Set, Read!

Author SPLOTlight: Cornelia Funke

One of the great things about working for a children's book publisher is that you can get advance copies of books coming out way before they are published. So last spring when I just couldn't wait another day to read Inkdeath, I made a few requests and managed to get the bound manuscript. I had to beg and grovel a little bit, but it was so worth it!

Then I found out that I would be interviewing Cornelia and I was really glad I read the book because I was able to ask her all of my burning questions! And now you can ask your own questions too! Cornelia Funke will be our November Author of the Month and will join us on the Author of the Month Message Board.

To get inspired, first check out this video of Cornelia reading from Inkdeath:

For my full interview with Cornelia, as well as more video, bonus features from the Inkheart movie, and a chance to ask Cornelia your own questions, visit her Author of the Month page.

— Sonja, Scholastic.com Editor

A Visit From Cornelia Funke, Part 2

If you read yesterday's entry, then you know that last week Scholastic staffers and select librarians, booksellers, and members of the press were lucky enough to meet best-selling author Cornelia Funke in person — first through a talk with her editor, Barry Cunningham, and then at a party to celebrate the release of Inkdeath, the final book in the Ink-trilogy.

Well, the talk was so jam-packed with juicy info, I had to break up my report into two blog entries! So far, you've learned about Cornelia's childhood in Germany. Now for the rest of her life:

A Visit From Cornelia Funke, Part 1

Between an exclusive first look at the official movie poster and an interview with actor Brendan Fraser, lately Ink Splot 26 has been focused on the film version of Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, which comes out on January 23rd. But last week marked a major milestone for the trilogy, totally unrelated to the big screen: Inkdeath, the third and final installment of the series is now in stores in the US!

To celebrate, Scholastic invited employees, librarians, booksellers, and members of the press to attend a talk with Cornelia Funke in our auditorium, followed by a launch party in our cafeteria. Of course, I was all over that! Come on, a famous author whose books I love and free food? Duh.

Cornelia's visit was the second in a new series of talks at Scholastic called "Author, Author." They're billed as "intimate dialogues with great children’s authors," and so far, they definitely have not disappointed (the first guest, a few months ago, was Walter Dean Myers).

For Cornelia's talk, the stage was set up to look like a comfy living room — well, if your living room had a giant projection on the wall:

To ask Cornelia the questions, Scholastic paired her with Barry Cunningham, who is not just Cornelia's editor but also the guy who first brought Cornelia's books to the United States and Britain. That's actually how the talk started — with Barry explaining how he first came to meet Cornelia. And believe it or not, the story involves a young reader just like you!

What happened was that Barry received a letter from a bilingual girl, telling him that Cornelia’s books (only published in German at that time) were even better than Harry Potter! The girl went on to describe how amazing The Thief Lord was, and after reading the letter, Barry decided that he just had to read the book for himself. Can you believe that? If it hadn't been for that one girl, it's possible that The Thief Lord never would have been translated into English and that we never would have gotten to read Cornelia's other incredible books that followed! Just goes to show you that you should always speak up about what you believe in — you never know when you might change the course of history!

But anyway, back to the talk . . . After reading The Thief Lord, Barry knew he wanted to meet Cornelia and bring her book to English-speaking kids. As Barry put it, "With Cornelia, it's easy to see that special magic, that bond between author and audience."

So Barry went out to Germany to meet Cornelia at her house, and they got along right away. (The first thing Cornelia said to him when she opened the door was that he looked just like Bob Hoskins, an actor she really liked. What do you think? I don’t really see the resemblance, but maybe that’s just me . . .) After that initial meeting, it was only a matter of time before the two of them became close collaborators and good friends — Barry and Cornelia, that is, not Bob Hoskins.

After Barry’s introduction, Cornelia joined him on stage — to thunderous applause from the audience, of course.

But before starting on the Q&A, Barry presented this video of Cornelia, filmed at her current home in Los Angeles:

Then, it was finally time to hear from Cornelia herself!

Barry kicked off the conversation by asking Cornelia about her childhood. According to Cornelia, she grew up in a "very small and very ugly town. I thought it was always very boring." For this reason, she spent most of her time as a kid just counting the days until she was old enough to get out of there — that and reading. As she phrased it, "The books kept me alive."

It was during this time of voracious reading that Cornelia discovered a lot of the books that remain favorites of hers to this day. Wanna know what they are? Just open up your copy of Inkheart! Cornelia chose quotations from these beloved stories to use at the beginning of the chapters. In the interview with Brendan Fraser, he mentioned that he loved this aspect of the book because it introduced readers to lots of new books. I wonder what he would say if he had been at the Scholastic talk, because Cornelia revealed that as she wrote the other two books in the trilogy, it became more and more difficult to find the right quotes to use — not to mention, the growing challenge for Barry as he had to get permission to use all of them! "I had no idea what kind of curse I put on myself, to have those quotes," Cornelia admitted. "It became a grueling task . . .  I won’t do it again!"

Cornelia also let the audience in on a couple other interesting tidbits about her childhood:

1. Cornelia was the eldest child in her family, so Barry asked if she had been a bossy older sister. Cornelia’s reply? Guilty laughter, followed by this confession: "I fear I was, yes."
2. It wasn't always Cornelia’s ambition to become an author. "When I was 11, I was very determined to be an astronaut," Cornelia revealed, "because I was raised when they landed on the moon, so I wanted to do that!" Her training? Watching lots of Star Trek!

So how did Cornelia go from space travel to writing? Check tomorrow's Ink Splot 26 for the answer, because in my next blog entry, I'll divulge the rest of the secrets from the talk . . .

— Karen, STACKS Staffer

Ink Splot 26 Exclusive -- Inkheart Movie Poster!

As Carly mentioned in her entry last week, the film adaptation of Cornelia Funke's Inkheart is set for release on January 23, 2009.

Can't wait until then? Well, here's a special treat to tide you over: the official movie poster!

(click on the image above for a larger view)

We got the poster directly from Warner Brothers to share with you and only you — no one else in the world gets their paws on this until tomorrow, so don't say we never did anything for you. :-)

— Karen, STACKS Staffer

Inkheart is Al Roker's Next Book Club Pick!

Super exciting news for Cornelia Funke fans: Inkheart is the latest pick for Al Roker’s Book Club for Kids. Cornelia Funke will be going on NBC's Today Show to talk about the book with Al and answer questions from kids!

Inkheart is the first book in Cornelia Funke’s Ink-Trilogy about a girl named Meggie who learns that her father has the ability to read characters out of books. What finally prompts him to reveal the truth? It turns out that her dad, Mo, brought an evil ruler named Capricorn out of the pages years ago and has been on the run ever since. But now the past is about to catch up with them, and . . . well, I don’t want to give everything away!

Especially because if you haven't read the books yet, now's the perfect time to get into them. The third and last book in the series, Inkdeath, will be in stores next month, so you can read all the books in one go (this is perfect for people like me — I'm really impatient and I hate having to wait for new books in a series).

And, the long awaited Inkheart movie is finally coming out in January. A fun fact about the movie: Cornelia Funke wrote the character of Mo with Brendan Fraser in mind, and Cornelia got to see her wish come to life — Brendan Fraser plays Mo in the movie!

With the final book, the movie, and now Al Roker's seal of approval, it's shaping up to be the winter of Inkheart.

— Carly H., STACKS Staffer