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Vampire Academy: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The first book in this New York Times Best-Selling series by Richelle Mead is now a major motion picture! And this is your guide to all of the movie's excitement, both in front of the camera and behind it. See the real making of the Vampire Academy movie with exclusive material and images. Featuring full-color photographs of the set design, interviews with the cast and crew, and a behind-the-scenes peek at the costume and set design, this is a must-have companion for all Vampire Academy fans.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 7, 2016
Surprised to hear that this was directed by the Mean Girls movie director. I didn't generally feel like it was the right tone for him. So sad to see this movie flop at theatres because the books are just so good. They did get one thing right.. Rose Hathaway played by Zoey Deutch was spot on.
January 31, 2019
I loved reading this short Movie Companion, filled with enticing pictures and unforgettable moments in exclusive interviews of all of the cast and crew of this beautiful project that in less than a month, IS GOING TO BECOME A MOVIE.
This book just reassured me that the ride I'm going to embark on February 7 is going to leave me dumbfounded and crying over the perfectness of it, or might I say berfect (Better than perfect- Daniel Waters)
I loved learning of all of the roles of everyone, apart from the cast of course, and it just made me so much more hyped for FEBRUARY 7!!!
hell yeeeeessss
This book just reassured me that the ride I'm going to embark on February 7 is going to leave me dumbfounded and crying over the perfectness of it, or might I say berfect (Better than perfect- Daniel Waters)
I loved learning of all of the roles of everyone, apart from the cast of course, and it just made me so much more hyped for FEBRUARY 7!!!
hell yeeeeessss
January 4, 2014
Actual Rating 3.5 stars
I loved the book, It was so shinny and the pictures from the film are very glamorous and grand. Reading the information about the film is like I was really experiencing everything first-hand. The only thing that I didn't liked was that some of the content was too long and I don't really care about it. Some parts was so bland, I skipped it. I felt like they could've used that to properly utilized the relationship between the actors. I was greedy and I personally thought they could've use it for something more fascinating.
Vampire Academy: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion is a very elaborated companion. It covers all of the fundamental concept, ideas, insight and behind the scene works about the movie adaptation. I highly recommend it to all of the fans of the series. A great way to heightened your anticipation for February 2014.
I loved the book, It was so shinny and the pictures from the film are very glamorous and grand. Reading the information about the film is like I was really experiencing everything first-hand. The only thing that I didn't liked was that some of the content was too long and I don't really care about it. Some parts was so bland, I skipped it. I felt like they could've used that to properly utilized the relationship between the actors. I was greedy and I personally thought they could've use it for something more fascinating.
Vampire Academy: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion is a very elaborated companion. It covers all of the fundamental concept, ideas, insight and behind the scene works about the movie adaptation. I highly recommend it to all of the fans of the series. A great way to heightened your anticipation for February 2014.
July 22, 2016
*Sigh*
It is a tradition with me to buy the movie companion of various YA book-to-film adaptations. Usually they are an enjoyable read filled with information explaining the decisions they made in adapting the book. However, in this “movie companion” they decided rather than focusing on explaining their thought process they would just fill the book with the resume of all their staff.
For example, Jane Doe was our Make-Up Artist, she has worked on such films as X, Y and Z. She made the decision to become a make-up artist when…..what she loves about her job is….what she is looking forward to in the movie is…..
Seriously!?
I can appreciate that the crew worked extremely hard to bring this adaptation to life, however, I do not need to know their resume and life story. One paragraph of this per staff member would have been good, providing that then then explained their thought process on the decisions they made in relation to the film. Instead it was ¾ life story and ¼ film related.
I was bored reading this as it missed the mark. I usually enjoy reading the movie companions but I would recommend that fans of VA give this book a miss.
It is a tradition with me to buy the movie companion of various YA book-to-film adaptations. Usually they are an enjoyable read filled with information explaining the decisions they made in adapting the book. However, in this “movie companion” they decided rather than focusing on explaining their thought process they would just fill the book with the resume of all their staff.
For example, Jane Doe was our Make-Up Artist, she has worked on such films as X, Y and Z. She made the decision to become a make-up artist when…..what she loves about her job is….what she is looking forward to in the movie is…..
Seriously!?
I can appreciate that the crew worked extremely hard to bring this adaptation to life, however, I do not need to know their resume and life story. One paragraph of this per staff member would have been good, providing that then then explained their thought process on the decisions they made in relation to the film. Instead it was ¾ life story and ¼ film related.
I was bored reading this as it missed the mark. I usually enjoy reading the movie companions but I would recommend that fans of VA give this book a miss.
Want to read
November 10, 2013FAK GIVE THIS TO ME NOW! MY FIRST MOVIE COMPANION EVER >.<
April 26, 2015
Good, but not great compared to other Illustrated Movie Companions. This one was a bit boring. I wish they had explained or captioned some of the behind the scenes pics (instead of just saying who the actor was and what character they were playing). I wanted to read more about what the actors thought and actually said instead of someone else (basically) summarizing it for them. Just my 2 cents.
My thoughts opinions on the movie:
The movie is better than the companion. I just wish the movie had done better at the box office so they could continue making the entire series. I think the problem they ran into was the way it was advertised. It wasn't advertised in a serious manner, instead it looked like hokey YA vampire movie. There were some scenes during the movie which should have been re-written or changed so it didn't come across too teenager-y. The other successful YA book-to-movies ALL took themselves seriously and were serious (of course that doesn't mean there can't be any humor in it).
My thoughts opinions on the movie:
The movie is better than the companion. I just wish the movie had done better at the box office so they could continue making the entire series. I think the problem they ran into was the way it was advertised. It wasn't advertised in a serious manner, instead it looked like hokey YA vampire movie. There were some scenes during the movie which should have been re-written or changed so it didn't come across too teenager-y. The other successful YA book-to-movies ALL took themselves seriously and were serious (of course that doesn't mean there can't be any humor in it).
January 17, 2015
An insightful look into both the VA movie and the VA universe. I've never been this excited about a movie adaptation of a much-loved book series. So excited for the movie!!!
July 30, 2018
I LOVE Vampire Academy and Bloodlines and I love behind the scenes looks, so this was great. Typically when I love a book, I refuse to watch the movie and I even avoid trailers like the plague if I can. And this is one of my very favorite book series ever. But there is one very simple reason why I was willing to watch this movie: Rose is by far my favorite character and, while I might disagree with most of the casting, Zoey Deutch IS Rose to me. She’s so close to what I pictured while I was reading that it was enough for me to put up with everything else that was so different from what I pictured. In my opinion, the worst casting decision was Lucy Fry as Lissa Dragomir. She’s just so not Lissa. And not just what I pictured, but she’s just not the character of Lissa at all. The other casting decision that was jarring to me was Danila Kozlovsky as Dimitri Belikov. Now, upon reflection, I do think that he was well cast, but he’s so different from what I pictured and I don’t like it. Most of the actors just weren’t what I was picturing. As far as I can remember, the school is what I was picturing. Now that I’ve seen this movie more than once and read this companion, the setting images in the movie have completely obliterated what I had imagined in my mind and I’m not happy about that, but they seem accurate, so I’m okay with it. Aside from Lissa, the thing I most disliked about this movie was the overall tone that was chosen and I’m not surprised there aren’t going to be more. I did like this movie though as far as following the plot points of the book and with that and Zoey Deutch as Rose, I don’t wish I could unsee it, which in the world of book-to-movie adaptations, for me, that’s a pretty high compliment. As far as this companion goes, it was just great. I loved all of the pictures and interviews and quotes and explanations of all the details that go into making a movie. The only thing I wanted was a more in depth look at the costume designing process. I’m glad that it was included at all, but I just wanted more, specifically the thoughts that went into designing the girls’ dresses for the dance. But other than that, I loved this.
February 26, 2017
This was interesting. I started reading the books and the movie does look like it could be good, maybe. But the behind the scenes stuff is also good.
May 22, 2014
VAMPIRE ACADEMY: THE OFFICIAL ILLUSTRATED MOVIE COMPANION:
I have a wonderful surprise for you. I received my book in the mail in time for me to make an addition to my blog post about Vampire Academy. This book is the official illustrated guide to the upcoming movie. So...what is the book about? To start with, the book is 10.8 x 8.4 inches (.4" thick), features full color illustrations, and is 144 pages long (as large as a graphic novel!). The authors are Brandon T. Snider and Richelle Mead.
The guide includes the obvious, that is, information about set designs, costume designs, stunts and stunt coordinators, and interviews with the stars. It has all the basic information expected in a good guide. One thing I particularly enjoyed was the section in the book that explained about Dhamphirs, Guardians, Strigoi, and Moroi; in the same section, information about Moroi powers and elemental signs were included as well as Guardian Marks and tattoos (Promise Marks, Molnija, Zvezda, and alchemist tattoos). This information is a wonderful complement to the book.
I was particularly interested in what the guide had to say about the adaptation of the book to movie form--after all, adaptation from one form, transmuting it into another, is always important. Author, Brandon T. Snider, indicated that Vampire Academy, the film, "began to take shape" with the bringing on board of Mark Waters to direct the adaptation, and Waters' brother, Daniel Waters, for scripting. As the author reminds us, Mark Waters previously directed the teen comedy, Mean Girls, and Daniel Waters, "having written," Heathers, is bound to influence the movie with some of their well-known dark humor (p.15).
Richelle Mead's take on dealing with the adaptation is thought provoking, as she admits, "What begins as one vision must sometimes evolve and adapt to accommodate the needs of the story" (p.19). Also interesting, is the fact that she was able to converse with Charlaine Harris (of True Blood fame), about the process of having a book adapted to film. Additional information about the topic of the book's adaptation can be found in the full interview. Specifically, see pp. 41, and 45. So...I'm extremely interested in seeing how the Waters brothers' adaptation turns out on the big screen. It does sound hopeful, but, I guess, we just have to wait and see.
Also in the Vampire Academy: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion,is information about fighting techniques used in the movie.
The only negative comment about the illustrated move guide that I have is some rather canned responses to a few of the questions. A typical response to a simple question about "What did you like best?" or What was your favorite scene? garnered only "pablum" responses of, "Oh... they're all my favorite." Unlike the other actors, I liked Cameron Monaghan's statement: "Since 'everything' isn't really an acceptable answer, I guess something that excites me is this...large cast of fresh faces" (p.75). In the upcoming movie, Cameron plays Mason Ashford. It is nice to know he has a brain (I guess he can't play the Scarecrow in any future movies! Tee, hee, hee!).
Brandon T. Snider and Richelle Mead made sure to include other goodies from the author of the book, Richelle Mead. I'm most impressed with the article from Richelle Mead on the book's popularity, the VA Family, pleasing the fans, and fan interaction. Keep in mind that every article in this guide includes tons of information and glamorous, gorgeous photographs. I was very pleased with this book as a movie guide. I rate this book 4 stars. I really liked it.
June 22, 2014
Elizabeth Manthos reviewed this book; for more reviews by Liz, see Elizabeth Manthos on Dark Matter Zine. To see all reviews on Dark Matter Zine, go to Dark Matter Zine's reviews.
The ultimate fan guide to the making of the long awaited Vampire Academy movie, the illustrated movie companion takes fans on a tour of the creation of the film, from the screenwriting process to casting, filming and editing. With inserts from Richelle Mead (author of Vampire Academy) herself, this book is bound to be a staple on ever fans shelf.
The glossy cover draws your attention to the book itself, with Dimitri, Rose and Lissa present on the front page. The full colour pages inside are packed with never-before-seen photos, exclusive interviews with the cast and crew and amazing insights into the whole moving making process.
I enjoyed this movie companion and it changed my opinion slightly on the film itself. The pages were good quality and filled with detailed information and amazing pictures, bringing St Vladimir’s and the whole Vampire Academy world to life. My particular interest was drawn into the inserts of Richelle Mead and the details that went into creating the world of Vampire Academy, from the Russian folklore to the detailed definitions of the guardians promise marks, as well as a page on Alchemist Tattoo’s.
The movie companion was informative and was brilliantly created. This is definitely a must have for any Vampire Academy fan.
The ultimate fan guide to the making of the long awaited Vampire Academy movie, the illustrated movie companion takes fans on a tour of the creation of the film, from the screenwriting process to casting, filming and editing. With inserts from Richelle Mead (author of Vampire Academy) herself, this book is bound to be a staple on ever fans shelf.
The glossy cover draws your attention to the book itself, with Dimitri, Rose and Lissa present on the front page. The full colour pages inside are packed with never-before-seen photos, exclusive interviews with the cast and crew and amazing insights into the whole moving making process.
I enjoyed this movie companion and it changed my opinion slightly on the film itself. The pages were good quality and filled with detailed information and amazing pictures, bringing St Vladimir’s and the whole Vampire Academy world to life. My particular interest was drawn into the inserts of Richelle Mead and the details that went into creating the world of Vampire Academy, from the Russian folklore to the detailed definitions of the guardians promise marks, as well as a page on Alchemist Tattoo’s.
The movie companion was informative and was brilliantly created. This is definitely a must have for any Vampire Academy fan.
February 5, 2023
I thought this was interesting to just be able to explore the behind the scenes of making this film. I loved the book series when I read it a decade ago (really need to reread that again soon), so I hoped to enjoy this and I did for the most part. I would recommend this to anyone who was curious about the behind the scenes of making this film or if you are a vampire academy fan at any compacity.
July 12, 2015
Honestly this book made me hate the movie more. In a HUGE fan of the vampire academy and bloodlines series by Richelle mead. I picked up this book in hopes that it would help me understand why they made the movie the way they did, but it just made me hate it more. The movie was a joke for them, they didn't really care about making it good for the fans. The one director said he only read vampire academy twice. Once to know the story and the second one to make it. That's not enough Intell. He should of read it. Then read it again and started making notes. Then read it again for notes to make sure they were all the same. And then read the script he made and then the book again to make sure they were similar enough to make fans happy. Instead he didn't would ended up in ruining the movie because he thought it was all about Lissa and Rose which the first couple books mostly are but in the end there about rose and Dimitri. There romance is supposed to get introduced in the first book silently and her trying to get over him and Lissa doesn't find out until Dimitri dies later on.
They picked the wrong people to make this book into a movie and now people that didn't know about the books don't even want to read it because of how bad the movie was!
They picked the wrong people to make this book into a movie and now people that didn't know about the books don't even want to read it because of how bad the movie was!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2014
I AM SO EXCITED FOR VAMPIRE ACADEMY IT IS UNREAL. This book succeeded in making me so much more excited. Like, it had a double page spread - sometimes more- dedicated to each of the main cast. Zoey Deutch (Rose), Lucy Fry (Lissa), Danila Kozlovsky (Dimitri), Dom Sherwood (Christian), Sami Gayle (Mia), Cameron Monaghan (Mason), Sarah Hyland (Natalie), Joely Richardson (Queen Tatiana) and Gabriel Byrne (Victor Dashkov).
There were awesome new stills and BTS pics which showed both the personalities of the actors and their portrayals of the characters.
But what I loved about this book, was that it showed the role of the crew. It showed how the film was built, the process of taking a movie rights to a full-blown movie. From costume designers and set decorators to speech dialects and concept artists, this book took the opinion of diverse crew members and it was easy to see just how much work and hope they have for Vampire Academy.
Definitely recommend to all Vampire Academy fanatics. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE!
There were awesome new stills and BTS pics which showed both the personalities of the actors and their portrayals of the characters.
But what I loved about this book, was that it showed the role of the crew. It showed how the film was built, the process of taking a movie rights to a full-blown movie. From costume designers and set decorators to speech dialects and concept artists, this book took the opinion of diverse crew members and it was easy to see just how much work and hope they have for Vampire Academy.
Definitely recommend to all Vampire Academy fanatics. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE!
September 29, 2014
The Official Illustrated Movie Companion for Vampire Academy was super interesting. I felt that all the involved parties of the film's creation were very dedicated and passionate about staying true to the book series. After finishing it, I wanted to see the movie again! Vampire Academy is definitely one of my favorite book to movie adaptations. I'm really hoping the film will be enough of a hit to earn sequels!
April 14, 2023
❥ 5 stars ☆
I bought this book because I LOVE the ❝Vampire Academy❞ story so far (I have read books 1+2 so far) and I’m really excited to see the movie! From what I have seen from the trailers, photos and now this book, it seems like the movie will be a good one and I can’t wait to see it!
I bought this book because I LOVE the ❝Vampire Academy❞ story so far (I have read books 1+2 so far) and I’m really excited to see the movie! From what I have seen from the trailers, photos and now this book, it seems like the movie will be a good one and I can’t wait to see it!
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
July 11, 2016
Okay, so I loved this series. I absolutely HATED the movie preview, it took a series that I loved and made it look campy, so I have not gone to see the movie. I will probably check it out on DVD when it comes out though. I decided to check out the movie companion for kicks and it was okay. I really enjoy reading through the companioins
July 27, 2014
Not what I expected the books are AMAZINGLY brilliant but I would of choosen diferent characterz for Rose Dimitri and Lisa and the movie was VERY rushed and the got some if the scenes messed up I was VERY disapointed hopefully ( praying to god ) that they do a second movie and if the do it will be much better then the first one
February 16, 2014
It summed up the movie pretty well with a lot of information regarding the history of the species of Vampires as well as the history on the school. Great pictures and interviews.
A must for anyone who might go and see the movie or who are just fans of the books.
A must for anyone who might go and see the movie or who are just fans of the books.
February 10, 2014
Amazing! Shows reader the depths, tricks and love of everyone who was on the behind the scenes side! The love the cast had for the film/novel and how dedicated they were to producing the film as close as they could too the novel!!
March 18, 2016
I wish there were more images of Danila (Dimitri)!!
But to be honest it is great that they are focusing on Rose and Lissa's friendship over the Romance.
Also they filmed it in England?! YEAH! If I had know this I totally would have gone to London when they were filming and stalked them!
But to be honest it is great that they are focusing on Rose and Lissa's friendship over the Romance.
Also they filmed it in England?! YEAH! If I had know this I totally would have gone to London when they were filming and stalked them!
December 6, 2015
This was a let down. Everything about the movie screamed like no one knew what the hell they were doing! All the info is all over the place, especially in this guide. It's taking all my strength not blow up like I did when I read the section explaining the mythology.
February 27, 2014
It's VA come on...
January 2, 2014
(3.8 stars)
January 5, 2014
Just finished this!! SO AWESOME!
February 14, 2014
I LOVE this! I'm a die hard VA fan and the movie was pretty spot on. If you want a deeper inside bts look at making the VA movie, then this companion is perfect for you!
March 21, 2014
It was good, but there should be some sort of spoiler warning...they weren't big spoilers, but there were definitely references to all the books (except maybe book 6)...
April 2, 2014
I Would recommend this to every hard core Vampire Academy movie fan out there! A fun read!
June 28, 2014
3.5 stars. The interviews were great and the pictures were fun too
October 10, 2024
Great companion to the movie. We truly deserved this cast for another installment
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews