The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
Whether they make you cry or theoretically vomit, every film adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel has been a success. He’s had 8 films released so far, most popular being The Notebook, A Walk To Remember and Dear John. Your next Nicholas Sparks fix is coming up in late 2014 with The Best of Me. Coming up on his ever-expanding list of big screen successes is The Longest Ride, which was only released in September last year and the film is already in pre-production!
The Longest Ride tells the story of Ira and Ruth Levinson, an elderly couple, and the young Sophia and Luke – two couples, separated by years and experience, whose lives are to converge in the most unexpected and shocking of ways. Little is known about the casting choices, but I’m sure chiseled abs is on the list of requirements for the leading man Luke, maybe not so much for Ira.
Serena by Ron Rash
You saw them together in Silver Lining’s Playbook, and most recently in American Hustle, but now Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are back together again for an adaptaion of Ron Rash’s Serena. Everyone’s favourite J-Law plays the title role as the ambitious wife of a North Carolina timber baron (Cooper). The pair move from Boston to North Carolina in 1929 and are ruthless in building their empire. When Serena finds out that she cannot have children, she sets out to kill George’s illegitimate son.
The film was shot in late 2012, after a wealth of changes in directors and actors – and now Serena is being shown to distributors, and is expected to hit the 2014 festival circuit before a 2014/15 release. Fingers crossed!
Paddington Bear by Michael Bond
Paddington Bear isn’t a hard read by any stretch of the imagination, but its movie adaptation set for release in December 2014 will no doubt be the cutest on this list. I mean – an animated film with Paddington voiced by Colin Firth? Nicole Kidman as Millicent? Whilst the film is still a while away, the cinematic Gods have graced us with an official teaser trailer which you can check out here.
Paddington has had many adventures over the years, and the film portrays the most classic tale when the young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a new home, meeting the Brown family along the way. However, Paddington unfortunately catches the eye of a local museum taxidermist. I hope I’m not the tallest person lining up outside the cinema for this one!
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Perculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Tim Burton, always a fan of the weird and wonderful, is set to direct the film adaptation of Ranson Rigg’s novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The story begins with a horrific family tragedy that sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, discovering the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar.
Look out for this spooky tale, most likely starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, in 2015.
