[Oska]

So, I know this book series isn't big outside of Australia, but I'm Australian and I love it and I can't wait for the movie!

For those who don't know, Tomorrow, When the War Began is a young adult book series by John Marsden. It follows a group of seven teenagers who return from a camping trip to discover the country has been invaded; they eventually form a guerilla force against the invaders. And yes, the premise does sound like Red Dawn, but the execution is very different (most would say 'a whole lot better'). The books are told in the first person by Ellie, a farmgirl, who becomes the co-leader of the group.

Edit: Teaser Trailer's out:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxb8rgq_Un8[/media]

Cast (courtesy of IMDB)

Caitlin Stasey ... Ellie Linton

Rachel Hurd-Wood ... Corrie Mackenzie

Phoebe Tonkin ... Fiona Maxwell

Lincoln Lewis ... Kevin Holmes

Deniz Akdeniz ... Homer Yannos

Chris Pang ... Lee Takkam

Ashleigh Cummings ... Robyn Mathers

Andy Ryan ... Chris Lang


L-R Kevin, Fi, Lee, Ellie, Corrie, Robyn
Image from www.tomorrow-movies.com, check out the site for more movie info.

what do you think?

Deniz has Homer down by the look of the trailer. Caitlin as Ellie looks pretty good too. Phoebe as Fi looks a bit too steroetypically 'hot blonde' to be Fi though. Scenery looks amazing. I'm very excited.

[sirce]

Really, really, really!!!??? OMG! I know the series. They are one of my top 3 young adult series of all times. They were one of first books I started to buy as a teenager and in Dutch. Yup, Dutch, so you can say that there are some foreigners who really like them. I even introduced it to my teenage cousin, who also loved it, who then referred it her brother, who also loved it.

I'm not sure how I feel about a movie. I don't know Stuart Beattie, but I saw Gi Joe and thought the story was a big weak point, while Australia had too much story (though I loved the cinematography). Besides, I'm not even sure if the movie would be shown in my country.

[Oska]

Well the good thing about Tomorrow is that the story, and more importantly characters, are already there and all Beattie has to do is translate it, which admittedly is a tough skill.

Also, if it's not shown in holland, will that really stop you from seeing it?

[Oska]

Anyone else looking forward to this film?

[dtp25]

I adored this book. and the characters, and ellie.

im just slightly worried theyll change the plot to make it more sensational that it already is beause the plot's practically perfect.

I will CRY very hard if this turns out like "Australia"

[hungrycollegeboy]

I've never actually read the books, but the trailer makes it seem so interesting. I'm looking forward to it!

[azn_angel]

This was one of the few texts i was given in english throughout high school that i truly enjoyed. John Marsden is a great writer and depicted his characters well. There was a bit of everything from romance, to drama, teenage angst, to action and comedy. I hope the director sticks closely to the plot of the novel, it's great as it is!

[semi-fly]

I can't be the only one, but does anyone else think this is a ripoff/clone of the movie Red Dawn (Wiki) / (Youtube) ?

[Oska]

Like I said in my initial post, the premise of TWtWB is similar to Red Dawn, but the execution is very different (much more believeable/relatable/focus on plot and character). At least the book is different, hopefully the film will be as well. I did think the trailer looked a bit too 'Red-Dawny', but hopefully that's just because they want the film to appeal to the widest possible audience, or rather the young male action crowd, particularly since the film has a female lead.

[semi-fly]

The problem is they're already filming (or doing post production) on a remake of Red Dawn (wiki) so introducing another take on it (in terms of story) like this film seems to be doing, with minor changes I assume, seems a little repetitive.

As for the believability of a real Red Dawn, given the the time the movie was made and the political tensions both the US and Russia were facing the idea of at least the Soviet Union (USSR) attacking even in it's former state was a possibility. What was kind of unbelievable about that film, I admit, was Cuba's part (taking an odd leadership role in the attack, etc.).

I kind of doubt that even with a female lead people will see beyond the "action / adventure" genre to see the drama developing between the cast. Given the little blurb I read on the first novel all I see is a mirroring of Red Dawn and nothing more. Since this is a series (of books) I assume at some point the similarities end and something different crops up.

[Special Ed]

They don't look like hs students. lol.

But I remember reading this back in hs. I didn't really like it for some reason. Maybe because of the romance during a war. lol. Like c'mon! Its time to fight not kiss.

But probably the one thing I'm looking forward to the most is an asian as a lead in a non-martial arts film. Finally.

[Oska]

@semi-fly, TWtWB will be released first, anyway, the new Red Dawn is a remake, so if either movie is redundant it's Red Dawn.

I think you need to read the book, as it renders most of your post moot. The differences between TWtWB and Red Dawn appear on the first page, and the movie will be the same. Red Dawn starts with the invasion, TWtWB will start with a bunch of friends planning and going on a camping trip. Red Dawn is plot driven, TWtWB is character driven. If done right, the movie should feel more like Stand by Me than Red Dawn.

Also, when I mentioned believeability I wasn't talking about the invasion, I was talking about the actions of the ordinary high school kids after the invasion. When I read TWtWB, I felt like I could easily be one of those kids, that is, if I were in the same situation, I might react the same why. I never felt that way about Red Dawn. It helps that TWtWB doesn't jump large amounts of time so the kids don't go from scared to hardcore to crazy in minutes (or ever), and you actually get a chance to get to know the characters. TWtWB also doesn't have a political agenda, the enemy aren't even named because it isn't important, someone described TWtWB as a coming of age in a war zone, which I think is pretty apt. (Although, it'll be harder for the movie to make the enemy faceless, all I know for sure is that they'll be some kind of Asian, which makes sense from a geographical standpoint, I hope they make up a fictional country or something)

It'd be a shame if people stay away from this movie because they think it'll be as crappy as Red Dawn. However, I don't mind if people liked Red Dawn and think TWtWB will be more of same goodness.

I hope the filmmakers have done a great job, and that lots of people go see it because I want sequels, also spoilers about Lee, the asian (half thai/half viet) character, his role expands in the sequels due to the group getting thinned out a bit

[itrayya]

i heard about this story here on soompi.
i personally think it's a great idea for teenagers and readers alike.
i like collecting good books, and i think this series will be good for thinking.

and since im a political science major,
it makes me think of things from a political view.
like, who invaded them?
why were they invaded?

exciting.

[losborrachos]

wait... caitlin stasey who was in "the sleepover club"? holy cow, she's all grown up now! and super gorgeous, which you could already see even when she was young. but yeah, i like rachel hurd-wood too, so i'm probably gonna see this.

[rapunzel283]

I need to reread the books, it's been so long x_x

Will see it fo sho

[reinvaldez]

Sound interesting movie. Gonna see this one to evaluate. Good luck!

[sirce]

someone described TWtWB as a coming of age in a war zone, which I think is pretty apt. (Although, it'll be harder for the movie to make the enemy faceless, all I know for sure is that they'll be some kind of Asian, which makes sense from a geographical standpoint, I hope they make up a fictional country or something)

I agree with the coming of age thing. I liked the books because they were so realistic, as in, how would I act in a war? It's not just all action and stuff and I kinda liked the (small bits of) romances. I don't know Red Dawn, so I can't compare it, but I do feel like the Tomorrow series were kind of original. Maybe not the subject, but the perspective and how it was written were.

About the enemy. I always imagined them to be from an imaginary country which is nameless. Also, as Westerners but with darker hair, for example like in Italy or France. That's because Ellie in the The Ellie Chronicles went undercover and mostly what she had to do was make her hair darker and not speak much (because they talked in another language). Also, in the Tomorrow series I never got the sense that the enemies were even Asian at all.

Although I can understand the need to make the enemies Asian if they want to make the movie more realistic (geographically speaking), I actually find that it would change the books a bit because of it. Like, how are Ellie and friends supposed to blend with the crowd in undercover situations..?

[Oska]

I don't think the gang go undercover at any time in the books so I don't think that's an issue. I always thought of the invaders as asian, mostly from what Robyn said in the first book about them living in an overcrowded country next to a spacious country, I kinda thought it was Indonesia, but I read some article that went through all the info given on the invaders and it didn't fit any real country. I've only read The Ellie Chronicles once, and don't remember her going undercover so that's interesting. I never thought they were Westerners due to the geography issue.

The first poster is out:
http://www.tomorrow-movies.com/2010/05/tom...-teaser-poster/

I think it's a bit boring, and I continue to hate the title design, but I like the shadows.

[sirce]

It's been a long time since I read the Tomorrow series, so I can't remember really clearly if there were actual undercover operations. I do remember that there were a lot of counters with them and let's just say that I only remember them as darkhaired and maybe more tanned. I think since there was no explicit reference to asianness (that I remember), I just assumed them to be Westerners. This assumption got bigger with the Ellie Chronicles in which I remember to have a undercover operation with Ellie. (I still remember because I bought and read the Ellie Chronicles this year.)
Also, why I thought Marsden made up a fictional country as the invaders. Basically, because the book is like a coming of age book, it is not important to know who the invaders are, just how the characters handle with the war. I actually thought the vagueness of the identity of the invaders was a good thing. But in a film is ofcourse a different story.

The poster is okay to me, because I've read the books, but I'm not sure if people that haven't read the books will be so excited. The trailer is more exciting to me.