Every time a beloved book gets made into a movie there is a flurry of negativity. The fear that the movie will ruin all we hold dear makes us lash out. Remember when Robert Pattinson was cast as Edward for the Twilight films? There was a very popular online petition to get him booted. He didn’t look like the Edward readers had envisioned. However, his mega chemistry with Kristen Stewart won people over (mostly).
Sometimes, though, casting directors and producers just get it right. I believe this is the case with the film Blood Sisters, based on Richelle Mead’s epically awesome Vampire Academy. Yes, they changed the name of the film. Let’s be honest, “Vampire Academy” has always been a little hokey and not the most apt for the entire series (they’re only at school in the first three books).
Earlier this week the casting choices for the three main characters from the book were named. We have our Rose, Lissa (Lucy Fry), and Dimitri. And I’m feeling good about it.
Since H&H swoons hard for Dimitri Belikov, the dhampir Guardian who teaches Rose how to fight, how to protect others and how to be utterly frustrated by overwhelming sexual tension, we should probably start there.
Danila Kozlovsky has been cast as Dimitri. He’s an unknown actor to me, and I think most of the American audience. He’s damn handsome, though. While the guy doesn’t have quite the bulk some expected with Dimitri, Danila does have a strong jawline and a real Russian accent. That’s right. They cast a Russian actor to play Dimitri. This pleases me greatly. Plus, the actor is 27, so we can all lust after him without feeling dirty about it.
Rose will be played by Zoey Deutch. I hadn’t even considered her for the role, but once it was announced my brain clicked “yes.” She’s playing Emily Asher in the Beautiful Creatures film, which means she’ll have experience dealing with a dedicated reader fanbase, and she was very good on the short-lived TV show Ringer. Maybe I want to give the girl credit for working alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar. Honestly, the girl worked with Buffy; I think we can trust her to be kickass as Rose.
On that note, even if we don’t love the actors cast for this film, shouldn’t we trust the movie team? The writer of Heathers (I’m always red!) and the director of Mean Girls are in on this. Rose Hathaway could have easily slipped into those films. In the first book, Rose is exceptionally cocky (but still very loyal to her friends). It takes a certain hot Russian to knock her down a few pegs and make her grow up a bit.
Plus, Richelle Mead has said she’s in love with the script. They didn’t mangle the story and they have Dimitri saying some excellent things while that lust charm is in effect.
So, let’s see: Richelle Mead approves, totally hot Russian guy cast as Dimitri and the folks behind Mean Girls and Heathers making it all happen? I say we don’t worry about how this one turns out. The odds are stacked in our favor that Blood Sisters will not only be loyal to the source material, but also damn good.
While Chelsea Mueller runs Vampire Book Club, she won’t turn down a sexy werewolf, demon or faerie. Her appreciation of Alexander Skarsgard is well documented. Bother her on Twitter — @ChelseaVBC — she likes it.
