On Monday, February 10, 2014
Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters
This is the legend of Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir, two 17-year-old girls who attend a hidden boarding school for Moroi (mortal, peaceful Vampires) and Dhampirs (half-vampire/half-human guardians). Rose, a rebellious Guardian-in-training and her best friend, Lissa - a royal vampire Princess - ha… More
Initial release: February 7, 2014 (USA)
Director: Mark Waters
Running time: 104 minutes
Adapted from: Vampire Academy
Production company: Reliance Entertainment
Vampire Academy is an American fantasy adventure film based on the 2007 best-selling novel Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, directed by Mark Waters, and scripted by Daniel Waters. The film stars Zoey Deutch, Danila Kozlovsky, and Lucy Fry in lead roles. It was released in the U.S. on February 7, 2014 while it will be released in the summer for some other countries, and was distributed in the United States by The Weinstein Company.[2]The story features a 17-year-old Dhampir (half-human/vampire) guardian-in-training Rose Hathaway, and her royal Moroi (the peaceful, mortal vampires) best friend Lissa Dragomir living discreetly within our world, and had escaped from their boarding school St. Vladimir's Academy two years prior to the story. They are soon dragged back to the Academy and rediscovering the dangerous hierarchy within it, along with lies, rumors and secrets. Rose starts to form an attraction to her Russian Dhampir mentor, Dimitri Belikov. The two best friends begin to realize that the threat of the Strigoi (bloodthirsty, undead vampires) is bigger than ever.
Cast[edit]
Zoey Deutch as Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway
Lucy Fry as Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir
Danila Kozlovsky as Dimitri Belikov
Gabriel Byrne as Victor Dashkov
Dominic Sherwood as Christian Ozera
Olga Kurylenko as Headmistress Ellen Kirova
Sarah Hyland as Natalie Dashkov
Cameron Monaghan as Mason Ashford
Sami Gayle as Mia Rinaldi
Ashley Charles as Jesse Zeklos
Claire Foy as Sonya Karp
Joely Richardson as Queen Tatiana Ivashkov
Edward Holcroft as Aaron Drozdov
Chris Mason as (Ray/Ralf Sarcozy)
Ben Peel as Spiridon
Harry Bradshaw as Bruno
Shelley Longworth as Feeder Norrine
Elizabeth Conboy as Rhea Dragomir (Lissa's Mom)
Bronte Terrell as Camilla/Camille Conta
Alice Wahtel as Mia's friend
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
In June 2010, Preger Entertainment optioned the film rights to the Vampire Academy series.[3] On July 6, 2010, they announced that producer Don Murphy had joined them to help bring the series to the big screen.[4] On December 17, 2012, it was announced that Daniel Waters was writing the script and subsequently, it was announced, that his brother, Mark Waters would direct.[5]
Casting[edit]
On February 1, 2013, it was announced that Zoey Deutch, Australian actress Lucy Fry, and Russian actor Danila Kozlovsky were cast as Rose Hathaway, Lissa Dragomir, and Dimitri Belikov respectively.[6] On April 29, 2013, it was announced that Olga Kurylenko had been cast as Headmistress Ellen Kirova.[7] On May 10, 2013, additional cast members were announced to be Cameron Monaghan, Sami Gayle, Claire Foy, and Ashley Charles for the roles of Mason Ashford, Mia Rinaldi, Sonya Karp and Jesse Zeklos respectively.[8] On May 18, 2013, it was announced that Gabriel Byrne will play Victor Dashkov, Lissa's uncle, while Sarah Hyland will play Natalie Dashkov, Victor’s daughter and fellow student at the academy. Joely Richardson will play Queen Tatiana Ivashkov, leader of the Moroi Vampires and Dominic Sherwood will be playing Christian Ozera, Lissa’s love interest.[9] On May 20, 2013, the producers posted a behind the scenes photograph revealing the names of a few more cast members.[10] Casting for the film was undertaken by Marci Liroff and Reg Poerscout-Edgerton.[11]
Pre-production[edit]
The title was changed from Vampire Academy to Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters. This is the name of the first book in many foreign languages and a different name for each film was wanted. The project was officially greenlit on April 1, 2013.[12] The producers announced on their official Facebook page that principal photography will take place in the UK with additional photography planned in and around Montana in USA and that director, Mark Waters had started pre-production work in London.
To prepare for their roles as Dhampir novices and guardians, Deutch,[13] Monaghan[14] and Kozlovsky underwent rigorous training sessions and workouts.[15]
Filming[edit]
Filming began on May 28, 2013 in London,[16] at Pinewood Studios. Principal photography officially ended on July 20, 2013.[17]
Soundtrack[edit]
On January 14, 2014, the track list of the official soundtrack was released. The album itself was released on February 4, 2014. Tracks will include artists such as Katy Perry, Sky Ferreira, Natalia Kills, Au Revoir Simone, etc. There's also a special cover track of Bela Lugosi's Dead featured during the film's end credits by Chvrches.[18]
Distribution[edit]
The Weinstein Company, the North American distributors for the film, held a competition where the winner would be able to visit the set in London and meet the cast.[19] On July 22, 2013, a 'Q&A' was held on Twitter with author Richelle Mead answering fan questions. The official motion poster was also revealed on July 22, 2013 by Yahoo! Movies.[20] On August 13, 2013, three official stills were released by USA Today[21] and later in the day The Weinstein Company released a sneak peek of the teaser trailer.[22] On August 14, 2013, The Weintstein Company released the full official teaser trailer on Yahoo! Movies.[23] On the September 12, 2013, The Weinstein Company started releasing stills and character profile photos on the film's Twitter account. Sherwood, Gayle, Fry and Deutch have attended the New York Comic Con for the movie where a new sizzle reel was previewed by those in attendance. On November 21, 2013, the official theatrical trailer was released by Yahoo! Movies.
The film was originally set to be released on Valentine's Day, but changed to February 7, 2014 in the United States,[24] while some other countries will get it in Spring/Summer of 2014.
Reception[edit]
Vampire Academy was not screened for critics, and has received negative reviews. The film currently holds a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews.
Box office[edit]
The film is estimated to make $3.8 million for the opening weekend in the US.[25]
