Locksmith Animation Options Marissa Meyer’s New York Times Bestselling Series The Lunar Chronicles for Film
Locksmith Animation has optioned Marissa Meyer’s New York Times bestselling novel series The Lunar Chronicles for film. The series reimagines classic fairy tale heroines in a futuristic world and consists of the novels Cinder (2012), Scarlet (2013), Cress (2014), and Winter (2015). “We are huge Marissa Meyer fans and cannot wait to bring Cinder, Scarlett, Cress, and Winter to a worldwide audience through the talents of our extraordinary team,” said Locksmith Animation CEO Natalie Fischer. “This unforgettable series has garnered huge praise and popularity and we are determined to give this material the treatment it deserves.”
Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera Welcomes First Black Christine to Cast
Broadway’s longest-running musical The Phantom of the Opera is finally welcoming its first Black Christine to the cast. As of Wednesday, actor Emilie Kouatchou has taken over the lead role of Christine Daaé, starring alongside Ben Crawford as the Phantom and John Riddle as Raoul de Chagny. Based on Gaston Leroux’s classic novel, The Phantom of the Opera premiered on Broadway in 1988, and the original production won seven Tony Awards, including best musical. On being the first Black woman to play Christine since the Broadway play’s opening in 1988, Kouatchou said, “I just think that Black women, especially in theater, have to be — and it shouldn’t be this way — 10 times better and work 10 times harder. It took this long for any Black woman to play Christine, but there have been so many talented Black women who could have.”
Gaza Bookshop to Reopen After Successful Global Campaign
Last year, Sami Mansour’s bookshop in Gaza was destroyed by Israeli air strikes. Now, thanks to a successful global campain, Mansour plans to reopen the bookshop next month. Tens of thousands of donated books have started to arrive at the new location, which is located less than 100 meters from the shop’s original location. The new building cost $340,000 and needed to be gutted and remodeled. All funds generated by the campaign, which was launched by human rights lawyers Mahvish Rukhsana and Clive Stafford Smith, have gone towards the project. Additionally, the first cargo container of 50,000 donated books arrived in the Gaza Strip last week, and more are on their way. “I was so happy when I saw the first shipment had arrived … I felt like a reborn phoenix,” said Mansour. “I did not expect all this support. But it was something beyond imagination and something more than wonderful.”
Who Are the Moms for Liberty?: This Week’s Censorship News
Learn about the Moms for Liberty, one of the groups leading book banning efforts in the US. Plus, catch up on this week’s book censorship news.