"Today we spoke with Richelle Mead about Vampire Academy Blood Sisters. She gave us some insight to the script and our favorite characters Dimitri and Rose.
Question: I was wondering if a person or actor inspired the character of Dmitri? Or if you know any hot Russians personally?
Richelle: I’m afraid Dmitri came straight outta my brain. People have asked this and I have contemplated that maybe I should have mentioned it a long time ago, come up with a story to stick to and tell people. I can make up this great thing about maybe my car broke down and a hot Russian came and helped me fix my tire. I basically built a lot of mystique around the character. But the truth is he was born straight from me.
Question: From the actors that you have met playing the characters, which one have you met that matches your imagination from the character the best?
Richelle: I haven’t met any of the cast yet. They all are just spot on. I am so thrilled with the way that they did this casting. Everyone was just, I feel, very handpicked. The director was so conscientious about matching the characters personality with them. I think the one that most is, Gosh, it’s really hard to pick anyone I would say is the most. I mean Zoey has that vibrancy and energy that Rose has. Danila’s got that stoic Dmitri thing going down. Maybe it’s cause he’s a little older than the rest of the cast which is exactly how it should be for the books. I think the one that really knocked me out was when I saw Cameron Monaghan cast as Mason. He is just such a dead ringer for the Mason in my head which is bitter sweet for those who know Mason and the rest of the series. I look and I just think oh Cameron. But ya, they all are, I just couldn’t be more thrilled with the way it panned out.
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Question: You are pretty active online with your blog and your twitter. What have you noticed about the fan response since the movie has gone into production. Like is it more new fans discovering the series or longtime fans rediscovering the first book?
Richelle: So far, with it being so early in production we are mostly hearing from current fans I think. When we actually start seeing some more footage and trailers, I think that’s when we are gonna see a big wave of newer people coming on board. But at the moment, I see a lot of long term fans, people who are following me into the bloodline series who are going back and rereading the Vampire Academy books so they can be up to speed on it. They are super enthusiastic and I think it’s really amazing that the people working on the movie and the cast are so active online as well. They feel very accessible and I think that a lot of the fans, not just to be as they have in the past but also to these people cause they are open as much as they can be of course about what they are doing and how excited they are for the project. And they have just generated a lot of enthusiasm for it that is spreading to readers as well.
Question: Did the script have any surprises or anything in it that you are really excited for?
Richelle: What’s surprising about the script was how true it is to the book. As an author when you sell your options and you turn it over to a screenwriter you never know what is going to happen. I was blown away with how the script not only follows all the main beats of the book, all the pivotal scenes are there. It just really gets the spirit that I try and convey in my books. My books are always this mix of one part humor and another part you have this deep emotional component and then there is action running through it. And all of that is there. Daniel Waters, who was the screenwriter for Heathers is the one that wrote this script and he just nailed all of that. He got all of that. He understood what I was trying to do. He understands the characters. I was just kind of amazed. I remember when I finished I looked up at my husband and was like we got this. Look what they did. It’s amazing.
Question: Could you talk a little bit about the whole vibe of the movie. Mark Waters directed Mean Girls is it going to have that same sort of vibe or is it going to be different than that?
Richelle: It’s got, I mean, Mean Girls… it’s got some of that humor in it and that’s also reflected in the script you know, that his brother Daniel wrote. But they both have that dark humor going on. It must run in the family. But I wouldn’t say it’s a comedy. I wouldn’t say its irreverent, like oh haha slapstick. It’s kinda what I said earlier, it goes a lot of different ways. It’s got those moments where you do crack up, because somebody, usually Rose, says something so ridiculous. And then something in the next scene your heart just stops cause there is just something emotionally ground breaking going on. And in the next scene you know its staking vampires and whatever. There is some of that for sure but I think that Mean Girls was more comedy in its ratio. I guess. It had its emotional components as well. But for people who like that sense of humor they are going to like that because they will see pieces of that in this.
Question: I have a question about Rose in particular. You have chosen to have her kind of own her sexuality more then you see in most YA books and we were just wondering if you got any push back on that? Or if that was kind of hard to sell in the beginning?
Richelle: Not so much really. I’m trying to, I am having to think now. There was none from my publisher and I never heard much from readers either having a problem with that. I think that a lot of people like how in control she is. And even in regards to sex it’s not a callous or something she necessarily treats lightly. I think that’s what’s key. It’s not someone who gets used or isn’t thoughtful about her sexuality. She very much is and I think that’s the an important part of being strong about it is being decisive and knowing what you will do and what you won’t do. And I think that was the most important piece to care about with that.
Question: Is there one scene that you are looking forward to seeing on the big screen? Is there something that you are really excited about?
Richelle: I am definitely excited for the whole ending sequence, because the climax where we come to a head with Rose and Dimitri’s romance and then we also have the reveal of the evil that’s been running through the books. There is just some stellar action sequences that then follow. So that whole thing I am waiting to see played out. As I was saying when I talked about the script they got all those key parts in there. So once that part is in the movie you are just gonna be riveted watching the way it will all unfold so. I know those scenes in particular are ones that mark has put a lot of thought into and I think it’s just going to blow people away when it unfolds on the screen. I’m just excited to see any – well I am just excited to see all of it – any scenes with characters and their energy. The actors all have that with each other. They are a really good group and really enjoying the project. I can’t wait to see any of that come out.
Question: Have yo gotten to see the set for St. Vladimir’s academy yet?
Richelle: I have not seen the set yet. I will most likely be going in the near future. Probably next month. No hard and fast details on that yet. I have seen some pictures of it. The site they chose a lot of deliberation went into it. They picked the UK for a lot of different reasons. But one of it was they had a good exterior site that looked like what you would pick St. Vladimir’s too. I am definitely looking forward to seeing it in person.
Question: Movies been in limbo for a while before it started happening. It would start happening and then it stopped happening. What was it that made you realize this is actually happening? What was the piece of news that came out that made you realize okay it’s actually happening?
Richelle: There were a few pieces to it. One was seeing the script. That helps make it real. And I have already sort of commented on how amazed I was. How spot on it was. So THAT was one thing. But I think the casting announcements that followed shortly after really just knocked it into the next level. It happens all the time in Hollywood people get all excited and they are talking about yes yes, we are gonna make this project it’s gonna happen and then it just fizzles out. People can talk all they want but when you reach that point where you are actually getting actors signed on and committed that is a huge step. Of course it can still fall apart at any point unfortunately but that just definitely takes it out a lot, so when we got those first three faces. The announcement came out together that they had cast Zoey Deutch, Danila Kozlovsky and Lucy Fry, as the three leads. That was big, big. Those are the three lead characters and we had faces for them. Not only that we had the actors that were talking about how excited they were. For me and the fans that is what actually said oh my God this might actually be a movie."
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