Nathan Ligon, from RedCarpetCrash.com and TYFW interviewed Saoirse Ronan (Melanie) about the slew of films she has recently or soon will be starring in. These include our own ‘The Host’, ‘Byzantium’, ‘Violet and Daisy’, and ‘How to Catch a Monster’ (which she is currently half-way through filming). This is a great interview if you want to get a taste of Ronan’s recent work. He asks her a little bit about ‘The Host’ near the end of the interview, but it’s very basic information on how she played two characters within one body. Since I’m not familiar with her other work, I thought those parts of the interview were interesting and informative, though, so listen in if you’d like to learn a little about Miss Ronan.

Saoirse Ronan is up for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy for her role as Melanie/Wanda in The Host.

The awards are chosen based on online voting.  You can vote at www.teenchoiceawards.com, but you have to be between ages 13 and 19 years old to have your vote count.  The awards show is on August 11, 2013.

So if you fit the voter category, go VOTE for Saoirse!

Here is who Saoirse is up against in her category:

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Mila Kunis, “Oz the Great and Powerful”
Gwyneth Paltrow, “Iron Man 3″
Saoirse Ronan, “The Host”
Kristen Stewart, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″
Michelle Williams, “Oz the Great and Powerful”

Saoirse Ronan has started another promotional tour, but this one is for Byzantium where she plays a vampire alongside Gemma Arterton.  Byzantium releases May 31st in the UK.  Seeing as the last film that was released starring her was The Host, the film came up in interviews.

Scotsman.com interviewed her in Glasgow, Scotland.  Below are the excerpts referring to The Host.

“The Host was also her first brush with a new kind of film fame. Until then, she’d been a poster child for the arthouse circuit, fascinating to watch, and Oscar-nominated for her preternatural performance in Atonement. In person it’s not her looks but her ease that is startling. It’s not a hot-housed precocity, but a natural, cheerful confidence that only falters when we talk about the possibility of another film, bringing potentially rabid, Twilight-level fame to her doorstep, especially since both The Host and the vampire saga are based on books by Stephenie Meyer.

“It’s a different kind of attention, a lot more intense and a younger audience. They’re more involved in social media. They tweet and use Facebook. It’s much more immediate, and when you see the reaction at premieres to Twilight, or the Harry Potter people, it looks a little extreme.” Then she adds: “But I don’t really think The Host is that kind of film.” It’s as though she is trying to reassure herself, but the film, released last month, makes her meaning clearer: Ronan always knew The Host, although popular with tweens, was not destined to do Twilight style-box office.“

Byzantium has reignited talk of boyfriends and romance, because her character is drawn to a frail teen, played by Caleb Landry Jones. However, as Ronan briskly points out, she’s been kissing boys for the camera since she was ten. “As long as you feel comfortable, it’s just another day,” she says, although Max Irons in The Host caused her some soul searching. “He smokes like five cigarettes between takes,” she rolls her eyes. “And he drinks coffee. My make-up artist looked after me though. If she saw him puffing away, she’d be after him with mints, saying ‘You need to have this before you go near my baby.’”

Irons is the son of Jeremy, and despite the fag breaks, they bonded over acting dynasties, and an Irish upbringing: his father owns a stately pile over there. “Max understood the Irish way. We could tease each other and he’d take it for what it was.” At the Twilight premiere they attended, someone kept calling him Jeremy “which I thought was really funny. So I’ve been calling him Jeremy since”.

The Independent also interviewed her.  Excerpt below:

“Earlier this year she played the lead in The Host, an adaptation of the book by the Twilight author Stephenie Meyer. Her co-stars said they would love to be appear in any sequels, but Ronan is typically cautious of committing to a franchise. “Um, yeah, I’d like to in theory but it would depend on the script. It always depends on whether the script is good.”

Source: The Scotsman, The Independent

All of the official press releases about The Host hitting the home video circuit have been released.  If you just want the digital download of the film, you will be able to get it first on June 25, 2013.  The DVD and Blu-Ray are hitting the shelves on July 9, 2013.

The special features will include a commentary with Stephenie Meyer, Andrew Niccol, and Nick Wechsler. Anyone bummed there isn’t a commentary by Jake Abel and Max Irons?  Bringing The Host to Life, which is a behind the scenes look at the filmmaking process, will also be on it.  And of course there will be deleted scenes, and I am hoping for more than two or three considering all the things we have seen in the trailers, featurettes, etc. that were not in the film.

Below is the official press release:

Based on The New York Times #1 bestselling novel,world-renowned author Stephenie Meyer presents The Host, the epic lovestory starring Academy Award®nominee Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, The Lovely Bones), Diane Kruger (National Treasure, Inglourious Basterds), Max Irons (Red Riding Hood) and Oscar® winner William Hurt (Kiss of the Spiderwoman, A History of Violence). The Host will be available to own on Digital on June25, 2013 as well as on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with DVD and Digital including UltraViolet™ on July 9, 2013 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over humans’ bodies and erasing their minds, Melanie Stryder (Ronan) risks everything to protect the people she cares about most, proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world. Directed and adapted by Oscar® winner Andrew Niccol (The TrumanShow, In Time) and co-starring Frances Fisher (Titanic, Unforgiven), Chandler Canterbury (Knowing, Repo Man) and Jake Abel (I Am Number Four, The Lovely Bones), this modern romance is… “Wildly entertaining! Full of love, thrills and romance!” (Manny Dela Rosa, NBC-TV).

The Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack allows fans towatch The Host anytime,anywhere on the platform of their choice.  It includes a Blu-ray^™disc, a DVD and Digital Copy including Ultraviolet™ for theultimate, complete viewing experience.

·       Blu-ray^™disc unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watchmovies at home, featuring perfect hi-def picture and perfect hi-def sound.

·       DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playingthe movie in more places, both at home and while away.

·       Digital including UltraViolet^™is a revolutionary new way for fans to collecttheir movies and TV shows in the cloud.  UltraViolet^™ letsconsumers instantly stream and download to tablets, smartphones, computers andTVs.  Now available in both the United States and Canada.

·       Also includes an additional choice of digital formatsfrom a variety of partners, including options to watch on iPhone^®,iPad^®, Android^™, computers and more.

BONUS FEATURES (BLU-RAY™ and DVD):

·       DELETED SCENES

·       BRINGING THE HOST TOLIFE: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, featuring interviews with Stephenie Meyer, Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, and Jake Abel.

·       SEEKER PSA: Feature Commentary with Author/Producer Stephenie Meyer, Screenwriter/Director Andrew Niccol, and Producer Nick Wechsler.

CAST AND FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, DianeKruger, Frances Fisher, Jake Abel, Max Irons and William Hurt

Directed by: AndrewNiccol

Based Off Novel by:Stephenie Meyer

Screenplay by:Andrew Niccol

Executive Producers:Ray Angelic, Claudia Bluemhuber, Marc Butan, Uwe Feuersenger, Bill Johnson, John Brooks Klingenbeck and Jim Seibel

Producers: Stephenie Meyer, Paula Mae Schwartz, Steve Schwartz and Nick Wechsler

Co-Producer: Jamie Audia, LizzyBradford and Roger Schwartz

Director of Photography: Robert Bock

Production Designer: Andy Nicholson

Editor: Thomas J. Nordberg

Costume Designer: Erin Benach

Music by: Antonio Pinto

TECHNICAL INFORMATION – BLU-RAY^™ COMBO PACK:

Street Date: July 9, 2013

Copyright:  2013 Universal Studios.  All Rights Reserved.

Selection Number:  61123848

Running time:  2 Hour,6 Minutes

Layers:  BD-50

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1Widescreen

Rating:  Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and violence

Languages/Subtitles:  EnglishSDH, Spanish, French

Sound:  DTS-HDMaster Audio 5.1

TECHNICAL INFORMATION – DVD:

Street Date:  July 9, 2013

Copyright:  2013 Universal Studios.  All Rights Reserved.

Selection Number: 61123838

Running time: 2 Hour, 6 Minutes

Layers: Dual Layer

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1Anamorphic Widescreen

Rating:  Rated PG-13for some sensuality and violence

Languages/Subtitles:  English SDH, Spanish, French

Sound:  Dolby Digital 5.1

Source: The Host Facebook Page, Hypable

UPDATE (5/2/13):  The Host DVD will be released July 9, 2013.

You can now pre-order The Host on DVD and Blu-Ray on Amazon in the US.  The DVD is listed at $19.99 and the Blu-Ray is $24.99.  If you order now and the prices go down, you will be charged the lowest amount.  However, there is no release date yet!  But if you want to be one of the first to own a personal copy, I guess the time to do it is now.  We will keep you posted on a release date or any details on the actual DVD when it becomes available.

It is not available on Barnes and Noble, Walmart, or Target yet.

Click here to go to Amazon to pre-order the DVD.

Thanks to our twitter follower @MoreNayi for the heads up!

We missed the last round of behind the scenes photos that some of the actors shared with fans due to all the excitement of the release and the premiere.  Lee Hardee (Aaron) shared a bunch more and Frances Fisher (Maggie) shared a couple more also.  Stephenie Meyer, Boyd Holbrook, William Hurt, Frances Fisher, Saoirse Ronan, Mustafa Harris, Lee Hardee, Max Irons, and Diane Kruger are all seen in the photos below.

Source: Lee Hardee on Twitter, Frances Fisher on Twitter

Irons revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he wasn’t sure how he felt about having the scene in the film where Jared hits Wanderer (in Melanie’s body) when she is first brought to the caves. He talks about how he could have intentionally messed the scene up until they cut it from the film, but that when it came time to film it, he understood more fully why it was an important moment for his character.

“I was not looking forward to that scene,” Irons tells THR. “I didn’t know if I wanted it in the film and I didn’t know if I liked it in the book – I didn’t know if it was necessary.”

“If you don’t like a scene, you can keep f—ing it up,” he confesses. “I could have done that if I wanted to, but I didn’t because it worked.”

“Obviously I didn’t hit her, obviously I don’t endorse that kind of thing,” he says, “but we shot it quite early on and it was sort of a microcosmic example of Melanie and Jared’s struggle. There are feelings of loss, rage, pure sadness, happiness to see her but confusion – a whole bunch of shit… it became an illuminating scene.”

Plus, he notes, “I knew that if I really hated the way it was being shot, I could say to Andrew, ‘Listen, we’ve got a problem here.’”

The interview includes reactions from Niccol and Ronan (Wanderer/Melanie) to Irons’ revelation, as well as a reassurance that, while Ronan was 17 during much of the filming, she was 18 before they filmed any of the intimate scenes. He also talks a little about what it was like having her father on set while filming some of the scenes between himself and Ronan.

The Host has officially exceeded its $40 million budget at the box office!  This is thanks to the international portion of the box office which now sits at $21,600,000.  The total box office for US and international is now $41,971,752.

Thanks to Russia, Australia, Brazil, Spain, and the U.K. who have the highest international box office numbers.  You can see what your country brought in here.

Thanks to a couple of vigilant followers who alerted us to this change!

Source: Box Office Mojo

In the U.S. domestic box office for the second weekend The Host has been out, it placed #8 in the top 10, falling two spots from where it opened at #6.  The film brought in an additional $5,198,615 over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  It lost 51% of its audience compared to last weekend, although it still plays in the same number of theatres.

As of tonight, The Host has brought in $19,624,328 in the US and $10,700,000 internationally, bringing its 10 day total to $30,324,328.

It still has about $10 million to go before it breaks even with its reported budget of $40 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo

The very last page of the April 15, 2013 issue of Time has the 10 Questions part of the magazine with Stephenie Meyer.  The photo above is from the magazine, but there is more to it in the physical copy.  Here are the questions and answers:

In addition to being the author of The Host, you’re also a producer on the movie. How much creative input do you get?

It was basically me and one other producer and the director making all the creative decisions. That was a new experience for me, to be that involved. It was very cool.

You’ve written a lot about young people. What draws you to them as characters?

It’s about the story I want to tell. With Bella [in Twilight], I wanted someone who was falling in love for the first time. With [The Host's] Melanie, I liked the hardship of her being young.

How do you think Melanie holds up as a role model?

The main character isn’t a teenage girl; it’s an alien who is in a teenage girl’s body. I don’t really feel like we should be looking for our role models in fiction. That being said, Melanie’s a pretty tough person, and I find Wanda, the alien, pretty aspirational. She’s kind of who I would want to be if I always did the right thing and always thought about other people before myself.

In The Host, Earth is one of several inhabited worlds. That reminds me of Mormon cosmology. Does your faith influence the worlds you create?

The way it comes out the most is that my characters think about what comes next. I find it kind of shallow in a character if they don’t have that kind of wonder and an idea about the world and where they belong and where they’re going to go.

You also worked as a producer on the movie Austenland, which was at Sundance this year, about a woman who is obsessed with Jane Austen. You have firsthand experience with obsessive fans.

I never really looked at it as, Oh, this reminds me of my fans. That’s me. I would love to go and stay at a Regency theme park where I got to dress up all day and act like a Jane Austen character.

What else are you a crazy fan of?

The Brontës. And sometimes Jeremy Renner.

The literary establishment isn’t always kind to you. How do you deal with criticism?

A lot of it I really take to heart, because I know I’m not the best writer. I do try to learn from it. I feel like with each book I’ve written, I’ve gotten a little bit better. You sometimes have to tune it out, because it can be that voice in your head all the time and be really crippling.

You’ve described being a working mom as a delicate balance. How do you and your husband divide the work at home?

Right now he’s doing 100%.

Do you consider yourself a feminist?

I do. Everybody has a little bit different definition. But to me, what I think it should be is that you shouldn’t have to do anything or not be able to do anything because you’re a woman.

I have to ask you about 50 Shades of Grey. E.L. James took something that you created and used it as inspiration for something that’s pretty raunchy. How does that make you feel?

It doesn’t feel that connected to me. I haven’t read it, so I don’t know. I’m glad that she is doing well and succeeding, and that’s cool. The raunchy part, I wish that wasn’t attached to Twilight, just because I don’t like to think of it that way, but, you know, it doesn’t hurt Twilight.

Do you think you’ll ever return to the Twilight universe?

When the Twilight Saga movies ended, I kept thinking I was going to be really sad. I was waiting for it to hit. I just felt nothing but relief. And I don’t miss that world at all.

Source: Time