'Beautiful Creatures' director Richard LaGravenese talks male protagonists, magic and sequels
The 'Fisher King' scribe's latest directing effort is now in theaters
An Oscar nominee for writing "The Fisher King," Richard LaGravenese has cultivated an ongoing reputation as a go-to source for cultivated adaptations of that the uncultivated might call "chick-lit," ranging from "The Horse Whisperer" to "The Bridges of Madison County" to "Water for Elephants." [We would never put LaGravenese in a "chick lit" corner, since "Beloved" and "The Little Princess" are clearly much more than that.]
With the new teen supernatural romance "Beautiful Creatures," LaGravenese is working with material which might -- again, this would only be a gross generalization -- be thought to skew more toward female viewers, but Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's novel stands out in the genre because not only does it have a male protagonist (Alden Ehrenreich's Ethan), but the story is told from his point of view.
In our conversation a couple weeks back, LaGravenese talked about the difference that comes from a male hero and, in specific, a mortal male hero. LaGravenese, who wrote and directed "Beautiful Creatures," also discusses his approach to the magical subject matter, which involved keeping even the most unreal of elements somewhat grounded.
Based on the early box office for "Beautiful Creatures," a sequel doesn't immediately seem to be in the offing, but LaGravenese sounded eager to stick with the franchise for potential adaptations of Garcia and Stohl's later novels.
Check out the full interview above...
You can also check out my interviews with "Beautiful Creatures" co-stars Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis and Emmy Rossum and stars Alice Englert & Alden Ehrenreich.
"Beautiful Creatures" is now in theaters.
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
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February 17, 2013 at 1:40PM EST Reply to CommentI loved the Beautiful Creatures books, but this film does not do them justice. It is a horrible rendition of a beautiful series. I am very disappointed, and I hope the movie does bad enough that they don't try to do the sequels.
Lana Aww I really want it to do well enough so more movies get made, I love the cast, the feel of the movie and the people involved.
February 18, 2013 at 6:14PM ESTMadison I agree that yes, it was very different from the book. But, I understand why it had to be. I liked the idea of Voila playing both Amma and Marian. Ethan was so close to both of them. However, I was disappointed with Ethan's father. Or lack there of. He was pivotal to Ethan and his character. Other then that I thought the movie was amazing. Great acting. Alice and Alden had true chemistry. I'm hoping this franchise will get a sequel. The ending to Beautiful Creatures gives me chills! I can't wait to see how they dig deeper into the storyline. The books were AMAZING and I know with these actors a sequel would be even better.
March 5, 2013 at 7:59PM ESTAria I the a send part to the movie would be great.
May 5, 2013 at 12:08AM ESTMasha
April 9, 2013 at 11:43PM EST Reply to Commenti loved the movie. They should have a second movie. :)
Lexie
May 7, 2013 at 2:39AM EST Reply to CommentI fell in love with this movie. They better make a sequal, they can't just end it like that. People need to know waht happens to her, and what happens to their relationship. I would pay to see all of the movies that are sequal to this one. Great film should keep going.
Xavierj20
May 7, 2013 at 8:11PM EST Reply to CommentHaven't read any of the books not a big books kinda guy. As far as the film I thought it was a great movie, had me glued from start to finish. I would like to see more so I hope they do make more.