Percy Jackson and the Olympians Fansite

Mr. Riordan is going to be at the Metropolitan Museum on March 14th for an event of Olympian proportions. Sounds pretty exciting! Too bad we’re not in New York.

Full-Day Workshop—Gods, Monsters, Myths: Exploring Greek and Roman Art through the Eyes of Percy Jackson

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Art Study Room, Uris Center for Education
Fee: $50 (Includes instruction, resource materials, admission to the Museum and the Rick Riordan event, and lunch)

[Source: MetMuseum]

So we’ve all heard the news. Tobey Maguire is out for Spider-Man 4. And they’re doing a reboot of the entire franchise. The only question is….. Who plays Spider-Man? One popular rumor is Logan Lerman, who let slip in an interview to MTV that he was talking about playing Spider-Man.

MTV did an article on his chances, and how Percy Jackson’s results could impact them.

“Percy Jackson & The Olympians” didn’t quite wield the power of the gods when it arrived in theaters this weekend and came in second at the box office to “Valentine’s Day,” so what does that mean for its star, Logan Lerman, and rumors that he’s up for the lead role in Marc Webb’s “Spider-Man”?

As regular readers are already aware, Lerman set the ‘Net on fire recently when he mentioned in passing that he was in talks to play Peter Parker. Even though Lerman backed off that statement a bit in a subsequent interview with MTV News, we pondered exactly what might be at stake when Lerman makes his debut in “Percy Jackson” — and now it’s time to figure out whether playing a god means he’ll be playing a superhero.

Overall, “Percy Jackson” made a respectable $38.8 million over the weekend, proving Lerman can indeed carry the lead role in a film of that size. However, the opening weekend take is still distant enough from the film’s $95 million budget that a sequel isn’t a certainty — which could actually bode well for Lerman if he’s called upon to become the new Peter Parker.

As for his performance, MTV’s Kurt Loder said the film’s young leads were “fine … although Lerman and Alexandra Daddario don’t have a lot of chemistry.”

Splash Page readers, however, seemed firmly in Lerman’s corner, and raved about how he’d acted himself into the role with his “Percy Jackson” performance:

“Saw ‘Percy Jackson’ and while the script was mediocre, Lerman tried his best to give a solid performance,” wrote reader criticafterdark. “Has an onscreen charisma and likeability and I can see him as Parker. He put on a Brooklyn accent and walk for Percy and was good in the action sequences. This should give him the necessary exposure to CGI work if he does ‘Spider-Man.’”

“While watching Percy Jackson I kept picturing him as Spiderman,” wrote Mayesha. “He would be perfect!”

While Lerman’s status in the “Spider-Man” casting mix remains unconfirmed, it looks like he’s saying and doing (and earning) the right things to put him in line for the role of Peter Parker. However, only time will tell if he’s given the great power — and responsibility — of playing your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

[Source: MTV]

Congratulations Mr Riordan! This is very impressive! This series is amazing, which can be enjoyed by anyone. I know tons of people who love PJO, though I may be the biggest fan out of that category.

These books have something for everyone, and if you’re on this site just looking up Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and wondering if you should read these books, I think that the numbers speak for themselves! All five books in USA Today’s Top 10 books. Quite an impressive feat. Anyways, you can read the excerpt on PJO below!

Rick Riordan’s series reaches Olympian heights; Charles Pellegrino gets a Hiroshima history lesson; and a big buzz surrounds ‘Little Bee.’
‘Lightning’ strikes: Sales of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson novels are reaching Olympian heights. All five books in the kids’ series are in USA TODAY’s top 10. It’s the first time that has happened, and sales are being driven by the movie version of the first book. (In its first two weeks, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief has earned $58.7 million.)

Accounting for half of the top 10 is impressive, but Riordan has a long way to go to break Stephenie Meyer’s record. The four books in her Twilight series have been in the top 10 a total of 66 weeks. J.K. Rowling had six of the seven Harry Potter titles in the top 10 just one week in 2007.

But rankings on the list don’t tell the whole story. Numbers in print in the USA for Rowling, 143 million; Meyer, 45 million; Riordan, 12 million.

[Source: USAToday]

Hello again! I hope you all liked part one of our series on Changes From The Book: What It Could Mean For Future Movies or CFTBWICMFFM. Try to enunciate that one. I’m not even going to try. Well, here you go, part two of CFTBWICMFFM.

Part Two: Character Omissions
So we saw the film and thought, “Oh my gosh, here comes Clarisse to jack up Percy!” And what do we get? Annabeth in a Clarisse/Annabeth mixture. Then at the diner where they’re talking about the Gods being angry we thought: “Saweet, here comes Ares!!” And nothing at all. And also, when Luke gave Percy the flying shoes we thought: “NOOO! Don’t take those! Those are cursed!” And they weren’t. They didn’t have a peep from Kronos.

Well, what can all this mean? How will they swing those Character Omissions? Obviously they were on a tight budget. At least for this kind of film. I mean, the latest Harry Potter film had a budget of around $200 million. So they had to cut characters. Anyways, how can they make the cut characters back into the story in The Sea of Monsters etc? Your pals at percyjackson.org have a thought or two.

Character #1: Clarisse
In The Lightning Thief book, Clarisse bullies Percy and is the one to maim him in Capture The Flag. Instead we have Annabeth. In The Sea of Monsters, Clarisse is the one who goes on a quest to save the Golden Fleece from Polyphemus. And Percy, Grover and Annabeth help her at the end. So how can they have her do that when they didn’t have her in the first film?

Easy, they just introduce her as a daughter of Ares and all is happy. They could do the bathroom swirly scene. That was a good intro for her character in The Lightning Thief book.

Character #2: Ares
Ares was really a character made for The Lightning Thief. That was really his moment to shine. Instead they have it where Luke was working alone to steal the Lightning bolt. So they could introduce him later in the series. He doesn’t really have a story now, so they’ll probably show him in passing in one of the films.

Character #3: Luke
While he’s not omitted from the film, but he still gets killed by Percy, or at least presumed dead from the water trident. (Not in the book!) So I think what they’ll do, and it ties in with change #4 below, is that he wanted to bring down the Gods so the Demi-Gods could rule.

I think that they’ll have Kronos bring Luke back alive, and have him as his puppet to bring down Olympus.

Character #4: Kronos
This is probably the crook of the issue. While we don’t see him in the book, he’s pointed out as the puppeteer pulling the strings. He’s the guy who twisted Luke into stealing the Lightning Bolt, he was the one who wanted it to bring down the Gods. The shoes from Luke were designed to pull Percy down to Tartarus to Kronos, with the Lightning Bolt.

Now the question is: How will they introduce him as the series baddie? Well, I’ve given it some thought, and talking about Luke, I’ve already given an idea, but here’s some more:

Like I said before, he’ll probably bring Luke back alive and recruit him to help him out of Tartarus, and to bring down the Gods. He’ll start taunting Percy in his dreams, like he does in The Lightning Thief book. He’ll appear on the cruise ship in the coffin, with Luke alive and well from Kronos’ hand, recruiting people and slowly having Kronos come back alive.

Character #5: Thalia
Again, she’s not in the book, but she’s now the tree that guards the Camp from Monsters. She was with Annabeth, Luke and Grover, and sacrificed herself before the events of The Lightning Thief. What’ll probably happen is they’ll introduce her tree in The Sea of Monsters, when they explain that her tree is dying or something like that.

OR, they could introduce her as a brand new camper, fresh from fighting some monsters. That would be a little weird though, I hope they do something for her like she is in the books.

Character #6: The Oracle
Same thing in Change #1 about the prophecy, I don’t know why she didn’t show up. Maybe they’ll have her as a new addition to the camp, or have it where since Percy ditched camp right away he didn’t get a prophecy for the Lightning Thief story. Probably some explanation on Chiron’s part would do some good as well. I liked having the Oracle in the books, and I hope they’ll find a way to write her in the story.

Character #7: Mr. D (Dionysus)
Here’s a character omission I can’t figure. Probably just to save time but, he’s supposed to be over the Camp for a 100 years. He was seen, not even had any lines though, but seen nonetheless in the Olympus chamber in The Lightning Thief.

Again, like the other character omissions, they might have him as a new starter in The Sea of Monsters, just barely banished for a 100 years by Zeus to run Camp Half-Blood. That would be nice to have him in it, especially because his character begins to grow in The Battle of the Labyrinth and he helps Percy in The Last Olympian.

Anyways, I hope that all these characters are featured in The Sea of Monsters, and hopefully the studio will have a better budget this time to feature these characters. I’ll take how the movie was done because it was done well, and I’m sure they’ll do terrific with The Sea of Monsters and onward, but Mr. Titley, if you are at all by chance reading this, please feature these characters in the next film. Thank you. If not, I understand, but if you can that would be awesome!

I hope you all liked this addition of CFTBWICMFFM.

There is now an official app from 20th Century Fox for The Lightning Thief Film! It’s got games, and wallpapers and trivia from what we can tell. And with a price tag of one measly U.S dollar, it definitely seems worth the fun, even in these tough economic times.

Just click the ipod touch or this link right here to go to iTunes to check it out!

www.thecinemasource.com has posted exclusive news that Logan Lerman, star of Percy Jackson has been cast as Spider-Man in the Marc Webb’s reboot of the comic book series adaption. Now, this is very believable news as to the casting of Logan for Spiderman.

BUT, until we get an official announcement please treat this as a RUMOR! We will definitely keep you updated on this news story.

Inside sources say that Percy Jackson star, Logan Lerman has been cast in the Sony reboot of the Spider-Man film series. Director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) is set to helm the first film in what I’m guessing will be another trilogy although that has not been confirmed at this time.

The story takes the characters back to high school in the New York City borough of Queens. No word yet on who has been cast as Peter Parker’s love interest Mary Jane Watson formerly played by Kirsten Dunst or his best friend Harry Osborn previously played by Mr. James Franco.

Webb is in talks with Avatar director James Cameron to use his cameras and technique to film the entire movie in 3-D.

The official announcement will no doubt come shortly along with more details to follow.

[Source: thecinemasource]

The Lightning Thief has been out around 12 days now. And what are the box office numbers??? First, you may remember the budget of $95,000,000 from an earlier read, and now…

The box office results:
U.S Box Office: $58,760,000

International Box Office: $67,647,000

Worldwide Box Office: $126,407,000

These numbers are very promising. The movie has beaten it’s budget, and it should still have around a month in the box office. So, it has not been officially greenlit, but I think there is a good chance that The Sea of Monsters will be in a theater near you soon!

[Source: BoxOfficeMojo]

So I’m sure anyone here where The Lightning Thief has been released has likely seen the movie at least once or has heard of all the changes they made to the film. (And it’s not a few) And now the question is: What do the changes from the books bode for our favorite series??

Well, we here at percyjackson.org have decided to go through the fundamental changes in the film (not the small stuff like Annabeth’s hair color, because I would get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my hands before I could finish) and what it could mean for the next four movies. We will work on this until we feel it is complete, so this is the first of several installments of our version of “Changes From The Book”.

Also, I would like to say to all fans: If you’ve seen the movie and hated it because of all the changes from the book, (and a lot of my friends do) and are telling people who have never read the book and never will that it’s a bad movie (and you aren’t saying to them that you think that because of the changes from the book that they’ll never read) PLEASE: say it’s a good movie OTHER than the changes they made.

Why, do you ask? Because it’s a terrific film in it’s own right, minus the changes they made. And for those that will just say that they will rent it on DVD, NO! Because the studios don’t look at DVD rentals, they look at box office results and if there aren’t good box office numbers then they won’t make a second movie, and I know that all of us want to see more films of Percy Jackson. So next time someone asks you if you thought the movie was good, put aside your indignation at the book to film changes, and think of it as a film in it’s own right, and if you can do that and it seems like it would be an entertaining film to anyone asking, tell them to go see it at the local theater as soon as possible! Thank you.

Ok, now let’s get into it.

Change #1: The Big Three Prophecy
In the series the main reason for Percy being born and being attacked at the beginning is because he’s the son of one of the Big Three. (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades) In this case Poseidon. To reset for everyone, in the book, World War II started as a war between Zeus’ and Poseidon’s children against Hades’. Finally, after WWII they made a pact that they would have no more mortal children, which Zeus and Poseidon had broken.

It’s because there was a prophecy made that a child of one of the Big Three, when age 16 would make a decision to save or destroy Olympus. We also learn about Thalia, daughter of Zeus who sacrificed herself to save Grover, Annabeth and Luke. Her tree now guards the Camp.

In the film the reason for Percy not knowing his father, and why not, is because Poseidon was becoming too mortal while being with Sally and Percy. There’s no hint of a prophecy or Thalia, daughter of Zeus, or how Grover, Luke and Annabeth came to the Camp. In the film, Percy is already 17 meaning he’s too old for the prophecy of age 16. They could just make it a prophecy of the kid who is 21 will save or destroy Olympus. Guess we’ll find out.

That is all for now… comment below for your say, be sure to join our mailing list (over there on the right column) to receive updates on our next installment, which is coming soon.

In an effort to keep up with The Lightning Thief cast activities and projects, we will share news and updates as we find them.

Pierce Brosnan’s latest movie The Ghost Writer, co starred with Ewan Mcgregor and directed by Roman Polanski. The problem? It’s release is limited to as far as we can tell, Los Angeles California and New York.

So if you are able to see it while in CA or NY then let us know how it is.

Logan Lerman was recently interviewed by blackbookmag.com about his film and his passion for film making. It’s cool to read about how he wants to do more than acting. He wants to get more into the movie business, like go into directing.

You know, there are some pretty good actors who are also good directors. Mel Gibson and Clint Eastwood to name two. I bet we’ll see a lot of Logan’s name attached to more than just acting in the years to come.

Q: How did you first get the acting bug?
A: I’m from Los Angeles and it was accessible. There’s always a place to wait in line for an audition and I kind of begged my parents to take me. My mom nurtured my career and helped me climb the ladder. I have had a passion for movies from a young age. I first got interested in acting when I was probably four or five.

Q: What movies inspired you growing up?
A: Movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I remember the first time I saw these movies in the theater and it really got me into filmmaking.

Q: This film is based on a popular book series. Did you read the Percy Jackson books prior to getting the role or once you were cast?
A: I read the book right after I read the script. The first thing that really attracted me to being a part of this film was seeing Chris Columbus’ name right on the title page of the script. I read the script and loved it. Then, I read the book. It was a really backward process.

Q: You play Poseidon’s son. Does Percy feel any pressure living up to his father’s legend?
A: I don’t think that’s even issue for him. For him, his motive the whole time is to get his mom back. Save the world above anything, but get his mom back. I don’t think Percy felt any pressure.

Q: When you are acting in an epic film like this one, or an indie film, do you approach the roles the same way?
A: It’s all about understanding the tone of the film and feeling comfortable enough to experiment on-set and understand your character enough to do so. I approach it the same way every time, but all movies are different. Being a fan of film, you kind-of have an understanding of what this movie is going to be – or whatever movie you’re working is going to be.

Q: What did you learn from Chris Columbus during the making of this movie?
A: I took this chance to really see how these types of films are made, to understand how these big budget fantasy flicks come about. Months before filming, I stayed in the production office during pre-production and studied everyone and the whole process. I also take every movie as a learning experience. I can’t pinpoint specific things, but I learned the process and how great directors like Chris Columbus do their job.

Q: Many people are saying this is going to be the next Harry Potter franchise. How did you deal with the hype and expectations walking into this?
A: I think a lot of people are saying that mainly because Chris Columbus’ name is attached to both films and we are selling it as: “from the director of Harry Potter.” However, they’re different movies. Do we want it to be as successful and as loved the Harry Potter films? Of course, but they’re pretty different stories. This movie is transferring Greek mythology into the modern day. It’s paralleling classic myths and introducing a new demi-god into the modern day world.

Q: What did you find the most difficult part of making this film?
A: The stunts. It was the first time I was involved in a stunt-intensive filming process, so it absorbs a lot of your time. All of your spare time goes into perfecting your stunt work.

Q: What was it like working alongside Pierce Brosnan?
A: Awesome. Pierce is a true gentleman and a really great actor to work with. He’s quiet and perfect. Outside of work, I got to know him personally. He’s such a great guy.

Q: Do you think New York City played an important role in some of the scenes in this movie?
A: The film is about finding adventure in your life. I think New York City is the perfect location for many of the sequences and scenes.

Q: I heard that you applied to NYU.
A: Yes. I did.

Q: Do you know what you’ll study?
A: Creative writing. My real passion is filmmaking. I want to be a filmmaker one day and be involved in writing and directing.

Q: What directors inspire you?
A: Oh, I can go through a whole bunch of them. Just to name a few: David Fincher, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, Spike Jones and Peter Bogdanovich. I can keep going, but you don’t want to hear the whole list.

Q: Since you’re in an empire state of mind, any restaurants you frequent in Manhattan?
A: I haven’t gone out much. I was lucky enough to try Nobu. It was one of the most delicious meals ever! My favorite food has to be sushi.

Q: What advice do you have for young actors starting out?
A: Have perseverance and stick with it. Please don’t be in this business if you’re looking for social gain and popularity. Make sure you have a true passion for movies and enjoy what you do.

Q: What keeps you grounded as a young actor in Hollywood?
A: I keep the same perspective that I’ve always had. That perspective comes from understanding other people’s perspectives around the world that I have seen so far. Keeping true values like family and friends is also important. Also, I keep in mind that my real passion is movie making – the magic that happens when you go into a theater and everything that goes with it. You can get lost in the whole social aspect of being in this business, but I have no interest in it. It’s purely movies to me.

Q: What do you want people to walk away with after watching this film?
A: I want people to be entertained – to lose themselves for two hours and have a good time. If they want to peel away the layers at the end of the film, they will have a lot to talk about. There’s a lot to discover.

For an eighteen year-old actor, Logan Lerman already has quite an impressive body of work. From the critically acclaimed television series Jack & Bobby to indie films like My One and Only and action movies like 3:10 to Yuma, Lerman’s been hitting Hollywood on all fronts. You can now add “epic” to his list of credits. In his newest film, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief, Lerman plays the title character who is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Zeus’ lightning bolt.

Percy embarks on a journey to save his mom and catch the real thief. The movie, directed by Harry Potter helmer Chris Columbus, has an all-star cast that includes Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan and Catherine Keener who plays Percy’s mother. Even though the movie is based on the best-selling teen book series of the same name, Lerman assures us that this is a film for all ages. “This movie relates to people in general,” he says. “It’s about the life struggle of taking your weaknesses and trying to make them into your strengths.”

[Source: BlackBook]