Behind the Scenes of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie

If you've read Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, than chances are, by now, you've seen the totally awesome Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie (seriously, wasn't it awesome?) We've got some exclusive pictures, care of Custom Film Effects, of some special visual effects used to create some scenes.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Opening Date

Big news!!! Universal Studios has unveiled the opening date of their new and very much anticipated theme park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

The park, which is part of Universal's Islands of Adventure, will officially be opening their towering castle gates on...

June 18th!!!!

But! If you're really, super, extra excited and you just canNOT wait until June 18th, the attraction will be open beginning May 28th for park guests who buy a special Harry Potter Travel Package (which are still available here under "tickets and vacation".)

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will provide its visitors the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the magical world of Harry Potter. Guests will be able to visit iconic locations found in the books and movies, including Dumbledore's Office, the Defence Agency Against the Dark Arts classroom, and the Gryffindor common room.

Rides will include the Dragon Challenge and the Flight of the Hippogriff.

About the park, J.K. Rowling says, “The plans I’ve seen look incredibly exciting, and I don’t think fans of the books or films will be disappointed.”

Hey, if J.K. Rowling isn't disappointed, how can any of us be?

Ramona and Beezus are coming to the big screen!

A little sister goes a long way. We'll find out this summer when Beverly Cleary's Ramona comes to the big screen in Ramona and Beezus!

The movie, due out July 23, 2010, is written by Laurie Craig and Nick Putsay. It stars acting-newcomer Joey King (as Ramona Quimby), Selna Gomez (as her big sister Beezus), Ginnifer Goodwin (as Aunt Bea), Sandra Oh (as Mrs. Meacham), and several others!

"Ramona’s vivid imagination, boundless energy, and accident-prone antics keep everyone she meets on their toes. But her irrepressible sense of fun, adventure and mischief come in handy when she puts her mind to helping save her family’s home" (Walden Media).

If you haven't read Beverly Cleary's popular Ramona books, click below to try a few out:

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Ramona the Brave

Ramona Forever

Ramona and Her Mother

Beezus and Ramona

Or come into the library for others. There are a ton in the series!

And, if you can't wait these four long months (exactly, to the day!) for the movie, take a peek at the trailer below:

Hunger Games Movie

Newsflash! Lionsgate officially announced, today, that it has acquired the rights to the film version of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins!

Suzanne Collins is at work adapting the screenplay from her novel and Nina Jacobson will be producing the movie, due out in 2011. The announcement was made by Joe Drake, Lionsgate President. (Comingsoon.net)

Get excited by watching Suzanne Collins read part of The Hunger Games below:



For more Hunger Games fun, check out this site!

Or, if you haven't read the book yet (but now you really want to), click here to put a copy on hold!

Beware the Ides of March!

I'm sure by now you've all heard the famous March 15th expression, "Beware the Ides of March." In fact, many of you might even know that the saying came from Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, but do you know exactly what it means?

I didn't, and it bothered me, so I decided to do a little bit (really, just a little bit) of investigation.

The earliest Roman calendar was organized around the moon. A few prominent days were named: Kalends (the 1st day of the month), Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October, OR the 5th day in the other months), and Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October, or the 13th day in the other months).

So, really, Ides didn't have any more of a special meaning than Kalends or Nones. And it came every month.

Then, on March 15th 44BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated by Roman Senators who were concerned that he had too much power.

Then in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, a soothsayer says, "Beware the Ides of March" to Julius Caesar to warn him that this was going to be his assassination day.

Now, still, the soothsayer's warning gives today's date a sense of foreboding and impending danger.

If you're still interested, request a book or two on Julius Caesar.

(Information from InfoPlease and Dr. Robyn Silverman)

Official Eclipse Trailer!

It's up!!! As promised, here is the official Eclipse trailer! So exciting!

Eclipse 10-Second Trailer

This is such a tease, but I can't help but feel excited anyway...

It's a 10-second trailer for the Eclipse movie, from book number three in Stephenie Meyers' Twilight series. The FULL preview comes out tomorrow (I'll post it), but for now, enjoy this tiny preview of the trailer (that I just may have watched several times).

Got Required Reading?

Let's face it. Even the most avid readers don't love every single required reading for English class. There are lots of services out there that try to help make the classics easier, but here's one that's a little different. It's called 60second Recap and its mission is "to make the great works of literature accessible, relevant, and, frankly, irresistible to today's teens."

And it does; it really does!

60second Recap, officially launched on September 14, 2009, is comprised of fabulously explained (and also funny!) 60-second skits by host, Jenny. Jenny sums up each of the classics in a series of 1-minute movies, each covering plot, characters, themes, symbols, or other relevant ideas. She actually does make even my most hated required reading seem interesting (Great Expectations, written in 1860 by Charles Dickens, actually seems interesting to me! Who thought?)

So far, there are 23 classic books covered on the site (under "The Library" section) but Jenny doesn't fail to include a link to request a recap (after logging in), so I'd predict there to be more on the site in the future, for sure.

Besides the old classics, Jenny also does a "Pick of the Week" where she covers fun, non-required reading (in less detail, but how much detail do you really need? These books speak for themselves.) So if you're looking for something new to read, try watching Jenny's "Pick of the Week" for an idea. So far she's suggested all pretty awesome books: Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson), Walk Two Moons (Sharon Creech), Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), etc.

Other features: "Recap Resource" where Jenny explains terms like allegory, metaphor, and satire, and also has tips on how to write a paper. And "Club Recap" where viewers can create and post their own video responses.

It's absolutely a site worth checking out for help with required and nonrequired reading. It's even funny!