Archive for Vampire News
Final Vampire Film Trailer for Twilight
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If you are a big Twilight fan, a “twi-hard” as they say in the media, then you have probably been waiting with bated breath for the final trailer for the upcoming finale to Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2. It seems that our little Bella has taken a real shine to being a vampire, if you know what I mean.
There are plenty of little clues in the trailer about what we can expect, not that anyone who saw part one isn’t aware this is the great showdown. But I do think that Bella is finally showing some spunk here, and maybe it’s because being a mom can do that to you.
Well, enough chatting about it, the vampire film Twilight will be out this fall and I am sure that many fans would love to get another glimpse or two of what the upcoming film will be about. However, the studio says this is the last trailer before the film is released.
Tracking Down Vampire Fan Fiction
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Do you have a certain vampire series that you love so much you wish it would never end? A recent announcement by the author of the Southern Vampire series that television show True Blood is based on caused widespread panic amongst her fans recently. She announced that she plans to end the series and that announcement has left her fans mourning the loss of their favorite characters. Maybe you are one of those fans who want to see Sookie and Eric and Bill go on forever. Well, you can in vampire fan fiction.
Vampire Fan Fiction Forever
For those who aren’t familiar with it, the idea of fan fiction has been around for decades, some even say for centuries. The basic idea is that fans take characters and story settings from books, films, television shows and even songs and tell new stories with those characters. As long as you aren’t trying to make money from it, to sell them for instance, it is perfectly legal. I recall attending San Diego ComiCon back in the early days and picking up fan fiction for Star Trek that told tales of romances between Spock and – well just about anyone you could name.
When the web came along, fan fiction came along with it. When you think about it, what could be more natural than to create a website where fans of specific things, such as vampires, could get together and write fun stories based on their favorite characters and just share them with each other? This is where vampire fan fiction, along with just about any other kind of fan fiction you can name, began to get the attention of publishers.
Fan Fiction Authors
Plenty of authors began their career as fan fiction writers. Of course lately the most famous example of this when it comes to vampire fan fiction is E.L. James version of Twilight called “Fifty Shades of Grey” that has become a huge mainstream hit. But the story started as a free version of a vampire fanfic tale that was out on the net. Meg Cabot who wrote the best selling “Princess Diaries” series began as a fanfic author and YA author Cassandra Clare began writing when she penned a great fanfic piece that mashes Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings before she ever went main-stream.
Today there are plenty of websites devoted to a wide variety of fan fiction such as FanFiction.net that covers vampire fan fiction in general in their books/vampire section. There are other sites out there as well, such as this fun site for fans of True Blood and this awesome little site that is devoted to vampire fan fiction alone.
As you can see, when it comes to fans we really love to tell a tale or two of our own. If you are on this site regularly, my guess is that you love vampire stories and probably can’t get enough of them. Check out these fun sites that celebrate our love of vampires and the many great vampire stories and characters we have come to love.
Who knows – maybe you will write one or two yourself! If you do, come back and tell us so we can share it with everyone here. There is always room for another vampire fan fiction tale in this writer’s bookshelf!
Vampire Diaries Series Three Shocker
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If you have been following the vampire television show Vampire Diaries, you know that the show’s executive producer Julie Plec has always said that although they were respectful of the books, they fully intended to use them as jumping off points for the vampire television show. This has meant that for many of the fans of the vampire television show who read the books; there was yet another reason to stay on top of the current season’s plot twists.
Some of us were a bit surprised this past season when the decision was made to have Vampire Diaries heroine Elena turn into a vampire mid-season. For one thing, this is the kind of game changer that most vampire television shows would reserve for the end of a season. The lead up to something this big would be the perfect cliff-hanger to go from one season to another and I give Julie points for deciding that she wanted it to happen mid-season.
She says that the decision to go ahead with Elena’s turning was made when they started working on the very first season. It was never of question of if; it was always a question of when. By having this big shift take place mid-season it gave the writers a chance to do more with the question of what this means for Elena. It is a big question because with the change we are going to see many of the traits that made Elena particularly strong as a human a
mplified. Julie sees this change as a new beginning for the show and has said that she is looking forward to what the fourth season will bring as they look at the entire show with new eyes.
Now that the season has run its course with the final episode of Vampire Diaries Season Three on May 10, those of us who have somehow found ourselves too busy to watch can play catch up. I love that Amazon has a deal with many of the major networks to make their shows available very soon after they run, it makes it so easy to catch anything I miss. I can even re-watch that crucial episode in the season that just ended.
You know that vampires are getting pretty popular when you start seeing them in the strangest places, and all over the net. I don’t just mean that we have things like the television shows and of course the latest movie Dark Shadows. But the really cool thing is there are folks who just like us, love the whole vampire scene and prove it by showing off what they can do to bring a vampire tale to a new medium. Check these guys out; I think you may find them fun.
Blood & Bone China
I remember when webisodes were poorly done things that were shot in someone’s back room and looked like it. This particular one is definitely miles beyond that, although I am happy to say it still retains a bit of the camp of early webisodes. It is a British show and set in Victorian times. The individual chapters are quick to watch, but quite fun. If you are looking for some amusing little vampire episodes to watch while waiting for True Blood to return, Blood & Bone China may be a fun romp. And just to give you a taste, here is the trailer:
Mythos The Crimson Chorus
If a rock musical is more your thing, you might want to check in on the development of this one. They are actually in the process of raising funds for the show and are even looking for actors and singers for the production. Not sure exactly where they plan to do the show but I do see that they are holding auditions in Toronto Canada soon. Be sure to check into Mythos The Crimson Chorus to see what kind of music you might enjoy as a vampire.
Vampz – the Web Show
While checking out these vampire clips I actually found a new vampire themed webisode show that will be starting up in June, in a couple of days. This one is definitely low budget and very American in feel, so it would be a good contrast to Blood & Bone China. It has almost a kids skater look to it, but heck, I will let you be the judge. Check this trailer out for it.
Vampires – The Polite Monsters
Finally, if you would like a good laugh, there is a very fun little skit about the trials and tribulations of being a vampire. You know, that whole bit about having to invite them in can really put a cramp in a vampire’s plans! I will warn you that you need to wait for the commercial to go by first, but it is a fun little piece and shows how much vampires are simply a part of our culture now. Enjoy!
That’s it for the scoop on vampires around the web and coming to a theatre near you. With all the television shows, movies, rock operas, webisodes and of course books out there on vampires, it is a wonder anyone can still come up with new ideas. But they do, because vamps are the still the best story around.
Best Vampire Film Restored- Nosferatu
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If you are a fan of the vampire film genre, then you are probably aware of Nosteratu, the earliest vampire film that still survives. It is considered by many to be the best vampire film for its moody feel and great use of early cinema techniques. For anyone who hasn’t seen it – it is a silent film from the early 1920s and is still an amazing film to watch. Although it is now in the public domain, there was a restoration of it done by Kino that makes this a real treat for anyone who is a fan of vampires in general and the early films in particular.
This version has been restored so beautifully that we get to understand the impact it must have had on those early viewers. The restorers have tinted it to add to that dark and mysterious atmosphere, and they even have the original German interludes and with the option of seeing English sub-titles in it. One of the things I have always loved from this film is the score, done by German composer Hans Redmann and it is also a part of this restored Kino package. If you want the total vampire film watching experience, this is the version you should be seeing.
For those who chose to get the discs instead of just watching the streamed video, there is a commentary track by German film historian and reviewer Lokke Heiss. This makes having the actual discs on hand worth the extra cost as I tend to re-watch things like this, often with friends who are just discovering that Nosferatu must be the best vampire film ever done. I know that I have a tendency to push that opinion; but then I do have a huge poster from the film in my “viewing room” so I think most people know how I feel about what has to be the best vampire film from the black and white era if not for all time.
As if this isn’t enough, there is also some fascinating material about the film maker Murnau and his producer/art designer Albin Grau in the short documentary The Language of Shadows. Murnau was a legendary director at the time and much of what he did has been lost, but we get more of an idea of why he made Nosferatu in this documentary. But the most interesting is the information about Grau, who saw the film as an occult film and even talked about an incident involving a vampire.
As you can see, even if Nosferatu wasn’t the best vampire film ever made, it has a fascinating history that makes anyone who is interested in vampires intrigued. The film was made just after the end of World War II, and much of the material about vampires is from the end of the 1800s, when people still very much believed in them. So to many, this was no fantasy, this was the story of a real monster that walked amongst them. That alone is reason enough to check this one out!
Vampire Theater is Truly Frightening!
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Did you know that there is a type of theater called immersive theater where the audience gets involved in the production? In fact, there is a really amazing vampire theater show getting ready to introduce its third installment called They Only Come at Night: Pandemic. The cool thing about this theater group, besides the fact it is all about vampires of course, is that the show is truly international. The first installment of the show was done in London and was presented in a car park.
Each performance is in a different location, and there is even a graphic novel that ties into the production. We see the graffiti artist Milo use his art in the first installation to present Quinn the Vampire Hunter. That this vampire theater takes place at night in a major city but in a car park just makes it even more chill.
The second installment was a different kind of theater, as it was done at the book signing to celebrate the publication of the graphic novel that tells the story of They Only Come at Night: Pandemic. During the signing, vampires invaded the book store and absolute pandemonium happened! It was a vampire gatecrashing party.
With the third installment ready to be enacted in Singapore, this show will have travelled across the globe to reflect the world-wide appeal of the vampire and how it appears in every culture and has myths about it wherever you go. The final installment will be at a school in Old Town Singapore and be included as part of the Singapore Arts Festival.
All I can say is that this idea of a vampire theater is something I had never heard of until I read about this show. It is such an awesome concept – to take the idea of the show and then move it around to different venues and finally to make it immersive so that the actors and audience are both involved. This is the perfect way to present vampire theater and I am just bummed that I cannot fly out to Singapore to see it!
I guess this is one way to cut down on the number of decisions you will need to make when it come to your wedding. Abigail Kirk and Andy Weeks in Somerset England decided that they would like their wedding to reflect something that they were both very passionate about – one of the best vampire books: Twilight. So they decided to plan a wedding that totally reflected the books and movies.
Having read all the books multiple times and seen all the films several times as well, Abigail knew she wanted to have the wedding scene from the latest film be the inspiration for her own wedding. But the biggest decision started out as a joke. While making plans for the wedding Andy jokingly said they could change their names to Cullen, the same as the characters in the Twilight film. Abigail claims that even though she was never overly fond of Andy’s last name, they were not serious about it at first. But the more they thought about it, about friends who struggled to converge last names, hyphenate them or take each other’s name, the more sense it made. They both knew they wanted to have the same last name, so why not change it completely to one they both liked?
And so, not only did they have a wedding complete with many Twilight trimmings and a dress that looks remarkably like the one Bella wore in the film’s wedding, but they also both legally changed their names to Cullen. At the wedding itself, the bridal bouquet is based on the one that Bella had, the guest tables are named after covens in the book and the invitations have the “Cullen Family Crest” from the book as well.
The only real hitch was the dress, as the official copy of the bridal gown make by Alfred Angelo would not be available to the public until after the day of her wedding. So she bought another dress, and then discovered a store nearby that had a replica in their window they were willing to sell. So the Twilight Wedding Dress became her dress for the reception afterwards.
All in all, the couple says that they wouldn’t change their decision to have a Twilight themed wedding for any reason. They still feel it very much reflects who they are, even if Andy has still not had the time to read the set of best vampire books according to his new wife. I guess he is saving those for his honeymoon!
