Things You'll Need:
- Movie ticket
- Candy
- Beverage
-
Step 1
Mallory and her twin brothers, Jared & Simon.Stick with what works. In this case, Paramount was quick to see the cash to be milked from having its own fantasy series with goblins, fairies and magical creatures that the world can’t see. They saw the money pouring in to Warner Bros. which got lucky with Harry Potter and asked the question, “If they can do it, why can’t we?”
Like Warner Bros., Paramount also made their fantasy movie from a proven success in the genre, the best-selling Spiderwick Chronicle novels written by Holly Black and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi. By acquiring the rights to the novels, Paramount got five source novels and four companion books as the basic material from which to grab characters and storylines.
Like J. K. Rowling’s Potter series, the Spiderwick novels also focus on the world of three kids. The stories are told by the point of view of Jared Grace, a 9-year-old, short-tempered and adventurous spirit who finds his great, great-uncle’s “Fieldguide to the Fantastical World Around You,” the main plot device in the novels, that leads the children into the normally invisible world of the Faeries. Jared is joined by his twin brother Simon, a gentle boy who is fond of animals, and his older sister Mallory, who has to look after her adventurous and curious brothers.
At Comic Con in 2007, author Black described her main characters: “...The kid (is) named Jared Grace. (He) has some anger issues and a propensity for getting into trouble. He has a twin brother named Simon and a somewhat mean and badass older sister named Mallory.” -
Step 2
Spiderwick ChroniclesDon’t sugarcoat. Author Holly Black considered this her #1 rule of thumb before she sat down to write the books.
“When I was writing the books, one of the things which was really important was showing that Faeries aren’t just little girls with wings. They’re goblins, ogres, sprites, pixies and brownies, and that Faerie-lore isn’t candy coated as sometimes shown within children’s stories.”
In her novels, she created more than 30 different forms of magical faerie species, including pixies, banshees, gargoyles and fire-breathing Giants. Not one of the species is exactly harmless, and each has its own dark behavioral traits. -
Step 3
Hogsqueal (Seth Rogen) and Jared look through a Seeing Stone.Make the children heroes of the story special. Not just anyone can see the magical creatures in the Spiderwick Chronicles because they choose to remain hidden from humans. But if you have ‘The Sight’, you can – and the children do.
In Black’s Spiderwick books she tells how the Grace children find they’ve been gifted with ‘The Sight’ and how it becomes an issue for them in that they find it requires them to exercise courage and understanding when dealing with the magical world.
BTW if you’re not a Grace, Black also reveals that you probably have ‘The Sight’ if you’re the seventh son of a seventh son, have red hair, rub Faerie ointment made from ground-up four leaf clovers on your eyes, set out a bowl of faerie bathwater overnight, grab a seeing stone, or have a hobgoblin spit into your eyes. -
Step 4
Spiderwick ChroniclesTake your time. Paramount and Nickelodeon took their time developing the Spiderwick series after they acquired the rights in late 2002.
The studios hired screenwriter David Berenbaum in June 2003 and he was later replaced by John Sayles, a well known script writer and script doctor who had previously written and directed a well received fantasy movie, “The Secret of Roan Inish.”
A year later, director Mark Waters was brought on board. He came with a proven track record of making successful tween and teen movies like “Mean Girls” and “Freaky Friday.”
Then the studios took another 2 years developing the project before they began casting. -
Step 5
Freddie wound up with central character of the series.Cast a broad net--but play safe. In March 2006, Paramount started looking for actors for the three child leads, Jared, Simon and Mallory, in Spiderwick Chronicles. They wanted the kids to be young, engaging and ‘unknown.’
"We're opening up the 'Spiderwick' casting experience,” said director Mark Waters on a website set up to attract newcomers. “We really are looking for an unknown pair of kids. The website has all the information you need to make your tape and mail it to us. You never know--you might be just what we're looking for."
But the casting call for unknowns was short lived--and now looks like a publicity stunt. Pretty soon producers case Freddy Highmore to play both twin brothers, Jared and Simon. Highmore had already received praise for his performances in “Finding Neverland” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
For the boys’ older sister Mallory, Walters picked Sarah Bolger who had already stunned audiences with her performance in the acclaimed drama “In America.”
Rounding out the cast, Mary-Louise Parker plays the kids’ mom, David Strathairn is Arthur Spiderwick, Martin Short voices the helpful Thimbletack and his alter ego, Bogart, Seth Rogen voices the lovable Hogsqueal and Ron Perlman—-of “Hellboy” fame--voices the Red Cap. Nick Nolte, not know for his participation in kid-friendly movies, was cast in three different roles. -
Step 6
ATAT under attack in Empire Strikes Back.If you’re going to do it, do it right! Spiderwick depicts a magical world filled with dark and complex creatures and Paramount hired two of the best special effects firms in the world, Industrial Light & Magic and Tippett Studios, to make it a reality in the movie.
ILM are the go-to guys for big CGI-films and have been responsible for the magic in the “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies as well as many other movies during their 27 years in business.
Tippet Studios, led by Phil Tippett, has created the effects for “Starship Troopers,” “RoboCop,” “Dragonslayer” and “Howard the Duck.”
For Spiderwick, ILM is designing the characters, Mulgarath, Thimbletack/Bogart, the Griffin, the Sprites (female flower creatures), and Stray Sod. Tippett Studio designed Hogsqueal, the Troll, Red Cap and the Bull Goblins. -
Step 7
Spiderwick ChroniclesKeep the plot simple to pick up potential fans who haven’t read the books--and judging by the press release that's what Paramount has done.
Here it is: “‘The Spiderwick Chronicles,’ is a fantasy adventure for the child in all of us. Peculiar things start to happen the moment the Grace family (Jared, his twin brother Simon, sister Mallory and their mom) leave New York and move into the secluded old house owned by their great, great uncle Arthur Spiderwick. Unable to explain the strange disappearances and accidents that seem to be happening on a daily basis, the family blames Jared. When he, Simon and Mallory investigate what's really going on, they uncover the fantastic truth of the Spiderwick estate and of the creatures that inhabit it.” -
Step 8
Harrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones.Keep fantasy genre fans happy. As an added attraction for avid genre movie fans Paramount is tweaking the box office potential of "The Spiderwick Chronicles" by pairing it with the very first trailer for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” This movie, the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series, has been 19 years in the making and its release this year has been eagerly awaited by fantasy fans.
Comments
shrinkgirl said
on 2/9/2008 Interesting. Thanks!