MTV's Hollywood Crush Interview Richelle Mead About VA Spin-Off And Movie

MTV's Hollywood Crush blog has highlighted Last Sacrifice the last couple of weeks, which we of course love! First they released the title of the Vampire Academy spin-off (Bloodlines), and then we got an interview with Richelle Mead in two parts by Sabrina Rojas Weiss.

The first part of the interview is about the ending of Vampire Academy from Rose's perspective, and starting the spin-off.

Richelle talked about what it was like to get a YA book about vampires published at the time she wrote the first book:

I hadn't even heard of "Twilight" at the time. [But] by the time "Vampire Academy" was finished and up for submission, the publishers were comparing it to "Twilight." My agent came back and was like, "So and so said it was too much like it. So and so said it wasn't enough like it." And I was like, "What is it?" I'm glad I lived in a bubble at the time.

Isn't this kind of sad? I understand that the publishers need to find something they feel is original, but how could they not see how special Vampire Academy is? To me it sounds like those people who insist that all vampire YA stories are similar in some way - just because.

Richelle was asked about how she felt, ending Vampire Academy (the first series she has ended, in fact):

Mostly, what I felt was the pressure and the difficulty involved in wrapping things up. The nice thing about a series is you can end on cliffhangers all the time. You can be like, you know what? Here we go, this person just died, end of book. And with the end of the series, you're very conscious of all the plotlines that were left hanging.

So the big question: Who are we going to see in Bloodlines?

You can probably walk away from "Last Sacrifice," knowing the threads that were kind of left. I had to wrap up Rose, but there are a few characters with issues that still need to be resolved.

All I can say is, I agree with Richelle. ;-)


In the second part of the interview, Richelle was asked specifically about the possibility of Vampire Academy movies, and her views on all the aspects of making a movie.

She talks about where we stand right now in the production process:

"It's such a funny thing, the movie business," Richelle said. "There's no action going on right now. There's no production, no casting, no scripting. There's nothing for me to be involved in at the moment. They're certainly in touch all the time. Right now, they're out soliciting studios and writers."

About Preger Entertainment she had this to say:

"But they're a wonderful company. They talk to me a lot. They talk to the fans a lot, which is amazing. They've got this huge Facebook page, where they're always asking, 'Who would you like to see? What's your favorite part in the book?'"

I absolutely agree with Richelle, and I think most of us do, who read the Official VA Movie Facebook Page (which btw is almost up to 60 000 likes). There is certainly a feeling of real enthusiasm for the books and a genuine interest in hearing our opinions and ideas.

Hollywood Crush wanted to know which scene Richelle was most looking forward to seeing on the big screen:

"The big battle and its aftermath—I would love to see. Mostly because when I wrote that, I envisioned it very cinematically in my head."

She also talks about how she knows there are also people who don't want there to be a movie at all, because they're afraid it'll ruin the books. I certainly understand what they mean, but at the same time, the books don't change just because there is a movie, or what do you think?

These are a few excerpts. To read the entire interview, click here for the first part, and here for the second part.

Thanks to Hollywood Crush for this awesome coverage of Vampire Academy at the release of Last Sacrifice! It's always so fun to see Vampire Academy being given attention from the major entertainment news providers.