Moviefone and The Daily Beast Interviews Mark and Dan Waters

Moviefone Interview with Mark Waters: 'Vampire Academy' Director Mark Waters on 'Twilight' Fatigue, Bad YA Adaptations, and the Russian Tom Cruise

Moviefone: What attracted you to direct "Vampire Academy"?

Mark Waters: It's funny, the whole genre of YA books being adapted has this thing about them that made them all a little tedious to me; they all seemed overly sincere and serious and completely unaware of how melodramatic they were. The thing I liked about Richelle's books was the character of Rose, and the fact that the lead character wasn't a perfect girl. She's kind of difficult and snarky and funny and had lot of interesting complexity to her, and a lot of humor. It set her apart from anything I'd read from any of the other book series.

And I actually love reading these book series, because my daughter and I read them together like a book club. The "Vampire Academy" stuck out for me. It just happened that a friend of mine, Don Murphy, had hired my brother [Daniel] to write the screenplay for it without telling me. Don sent me the books to read and then mentioned "By the way, we hired your brother to write the books." My brother's screenplay raised my interest even more. He captured what Richelle was going for but added his very, very unique vernacular and sensibility and made it interesting and funny and subversive. And that's how I got hooked in.

Read the full interview on moviefone HERE

The Daily Beast Interviews Dan and Mark Waters: The Makers of 'Mean Girls' and 'Heathers' Discuss 'Vampire Academy' and Coming-of-Age Movies

MARK WATERS: So brother Dan, you wrote every teenager’s mother’s favorite teen film, Heathers.

DANIEL WATERS: Yes, brother Mark, and you directed everyone’s favorite PG-13 Heathers rip-off, Mean Girls. I’m cool that I’m haute couture and you’re ready-to-wear…that I’m Joy Division and you’re New Order.

MARK: Let’s compare box office, Mr. Cult Favorite….and nobody knows the bands you are referring to, so quiet. Us old men have banded together to hopefully create another teen classic for a new generation, Vampire Academy.

DANIEL: Oh man, that title. I mean, if you have read the book, you know how wonderful the material is, but other people just stare at you like you just dumpedHarry Potter and Twilight in a blender and pushed a button.

MARK: Your first draft of the screenplay felt about that long. But why do think it has been so hard for us to graduate from high school cinema. What keeps bringing us back?

DANIEL: High School is one of the few core experiences that everyone has gone through. Not all of us have gone to war or had a baby or tracked down the killer who massacred your family, but we’ve all gone to high school. The emotions are so raw and vital at that age with scars to last a lifetime.

Read the full interview on The Daily Beast HERE