Cassandra Clare

Hi Cassie! Maybe you can’t say it or maybe you don’t even know it, but there’s something that really worries me.
Harald said that he wanted to give an emotional closure to the movie. So, I was thinking about it and I don’t understand how it’s that possible, because we have at least 2 more books that follow and give us the solution to the problems raised by the first one.
should we worry about this? might it be something really different from the book?
— luanarainbow

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Well, I should preface this by saying I haven’t seen the end of the movie. I am pretty sure the earth doesn’t open and swallow the cast, but I can’t say what does happen, ‘cos I don’t know, and even if I did, it wouldn’t matter because endings of films can be, and often are, changed in editing or reshoots.

However, what I will say is that emotional closure is good. The opposite of an ending with emotional closure is a cliffhanger, which is rarely a good idea in a first film and annoys audiences. Just because something has emotional closure doesn’t mean there’s no indication anything else is going to happen in the future. Iron Man, despite ending right in the middle of a press conference, has emotional closure. Almost every TV episode, unless it’s a multi-parter, has emotional closure, and yet is often followed by 23 more episodes.

All emotional closure means is that you’re not like “Um, what just happened and how do the characters feel about it?” Let me put it this way: City of Bones, the book, ends with emotional closure. If I had ended it where Valentine says “Clary, Jace, guess WHAT?” — THAT would have been no emotional closure, and super-annoying, too, because you’d never have any idea how Jace and, more importantly, Clary, felt about everything that had happened in the book. Though the book ends with the future of the Shadowhunters and Jace and Clary’s relationship still up in the air, there is a sense Clary has come to terms with her new life, absorbed it, and is ready for the next thing. That’s what emotional closure means, and since it didn’t prevent there being five more books after City of Bones, it wouldn’t prevent there being more movies, either, provided the first one did decently at the boxoffice (which in the end is all that really determines this stuff.)

movie questions

How do you feel about Clary not having fiery red hair like you’ve described (and I’ve always pictured) in the movie? I just don’t think it will be the same. — morgantheweird

Well, movies aren’t supposed to be the same. :) They’re supposed to be interpretations. Whether they’re interpretations you like, that I don’t think is something you can know until the movie is a movie.

I don’t usually answer questions about the cast’s appearances because 1) Not something I can control 2) I haven’t seen any more finished footage than you have, and have no idea about what might be changed in post production. Basically, I can’t say much about a film I haven’t seen, but things like Clary’s hair (and it isn’t as if it isn’t red, we’re talking about splitting hairs (hee, terrible pun) between exact shades of the color red) aren’t important to me in the manner that someone being able to capture Clary’s bravery and vulnerability and humor are.

Harry Potter has green eyes in the HP books: very important green eyes, green eyes that matter to the plot in a way Clary’s hair color doesn’t really. Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t have green eyes, in life or the films, but I don’t think that’s stopped him from being the Harry Potter for a generation of people. Such is what my tumblr dash tells me, anyway.

City of Bones movie Facebook page

Okay, I know it’s all movie movie movie up in here ATM but this is really cool: the official movie page for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is now up on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TheMortalInstruments

It’s going to feature milestones in the filmmaking process, backstory on the books and the writing of them, exclusive on-set photos, videos of the actors, interviews, production info, and all kinds of cool things. Like one day there will be a teaser trailer up there. It’s kind of mindblowing.

So go, Shadowhunters! Like! Sign up! Have fun!

Today’s casting: Eric, Alaric, and the vampire lieutenant

Questions about the new casting up on the website today…

Well, this is different casting — the previous casting was done by Stephanie Corsalini, but this casting was done in Canada. I don’t know these guys’ work and I haven’t seen auditions or anything like that (which is normal for casting — especially for smaller parts like these! It doesn’t mean anything bad). I had dinner with the guy playing Alaric, Harry van Gorkum, while I was in Toronto. He was very nice.

As for Raphael/The Vampire Lieutenant/Elyas m’Barek, what I’ve been told is that there wasn’t space enough to properly introduce Raphael. Raphael, after all, is not the vampire who actually captures Simon from Magnus’ party. They’re different guys and it was felt there was not room for both. (This isn’t a decision I made or have any control over — when you give over your movie rights you have to accept that decisions about how to adapt your books will be made without you. Scripts are also rewritten up until shooting, and even rewritten on set. They are never final until the film is done shooting.) So Elyas will play TVL, who is a composite of the vampires in the NYC vampire clan.

Raphael won’t be in this movie but they hope to introduce him in City of Ashes, as he does play a bigger and bigger part in each book. I’m sad not to see Raphael sooner, as I know you all are, but I hope when the time comes he will be introduced in a way that does him justice. There are a lot of talented Latino actors out there who would be great for the part.

Meanwhile, I’m glad to see my German/Austrian fans responding well to the casting of the lieutenant of our absent vampire leader, and very glad that the actor cast was one of color since the NYC vampire clan is a diverse group.

TMI Source: Details about a scene they're filming with Lily, Jamie, Jemima and Kevin from our Toronto Correspondent Allie Hayman! »

tmisource:

Here is an update from one of our Toronto Correspondents @MsAllieHayman about a scene that Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jemima West and Kevin Zegers were filming. Looks like they’re headed to Magnus’ party!

Lunch break right now- they’ve been in a residential area, filming a scene with…