I’ve never read the Twilight books. I’ve honestly never even seen one of the books in person. I had to see the movies (my sister dragged me, and there is no escaping that woman’s grip), but even for someone who loves tween drama (ABC Family is the shit, dudes), vampires and all that jazz, TWILIGHT was a nightmare. A boring, anti-self-respect lead female, one lead male that was super controlling and could do a lecture series on How to be a Stalker and a second lead male that had such serious anger management problems and only-child syndrome that when he didn’t get his way he, quite literally, turned into a monster. TWILIGHT is not the only fandom that has nutcase fangirls swarming about (search: Tom Hiddleston/Loki on Tumblr. Go on. I dare you.) but it is definitely the easiest to draw attention to. This insane, demeaning story captured girls’ attention all over the world, and I cannot understand why. Why would anyone – male or female – want to emulate that relationship?

Twilight – 0
Buffy – 1

I’m getting older, the fangirls are getting younger, and the media available (and targeted) to them is getting crappier and crappier.  But unfortunately, none of that answers the question of when we became crazy people. I get (I’m not sure why, and I definitely don’t know how) that TWILIGHT is important to a lot of people, specifically women. I absolutely understand the need to live vicariously through a character and to want so desperately to be part of the world they live in – that’s what a fandom is – but what I do not, cannot and will not accept is the fangirls that can’t control themselves. Please, enjoy Urban Dictionary’s definition:

Fangirl: A rabid breed of human female who is obsessed with either a fictional character or an actor. Similar to the breed of fanboy. Fangirls congregate at anime conventions and livejournal. Have been known to glomp, grope, and tackle when encountering said obsessions.

What’s so utterly pathetic about this, is that that’s actually what they do. There is no sense of dignity or respect for the person they’re fawning over, and many of them cannot distinguish between the actor and the character they play (see: Twihards, and even some SHERLOCK fans who HATE Amanda Abbington because her character Mary Morstan came between Johnlock). It seems that “our” uncontrollable need for Edward Cullen to be a reality brought us out of our dark rooms to go hunting for him (poor R-Pat) at every available moment, and that in turn drew every other fangirl out along with them.

Twilight – 0
Buffy – 2

So now the question becomes: are the crazy fangirls a reaction to the media that we’re giving them? Or was gasoline thrown on the tiny fire when the fangirls started being treated as crazy?

Of course, the obvious answer for all of this is: “daddy issues.” Is it the right answer for everyone? More than likely no. There will be some fangirls that fall into that category as well, but the biggest thing that I’ve been noticing on Tumblr and other social media sites that I peruse for fandom enjoyment, is that many of these young girls have very low self-esteem and self-worth. For whatever reasons – and I’m not going to even try to guess what they have going on in their personal lives – many of these crazy fangirls that can’t control their urge to attack don’t think very highly of themselves. It’s easy to assume that that’s why they’ve grown so attached to fictional characters; they see something in those characters they can identify with; it’s a way to escape their own hell; it’s a way of expressing themselves; I get it, but it’s still very sad to see. …Not to mention that it gives those of us that aren’t looneytunes really bad reps in the fandom communities.

There’s no one solution that will solve the problem of the maniacal fangirl and unfortunately most of them are too far gone to even see that they have a problem. Now, I’m not saying that all fangirls are crazy, or that all media directed towards them is bad – far from it – I’m just concerned that in desperate attempts to mimic a character or obsess over something fictional that they’re starting to lose more than just their minds; hello, nearly-naked cosplay outfits. Fangirls, try using actual clothing and not just lingerie, yeah?

Final Count:

Twilight – 0

Buffy – ALL THE POINTS

Vote in our Harry Potter bracket.

My biggest problem with movie adaptations of great books (or really any books) isn’t the possibility that the filmmakers might ruin the plot or characters, or that they simply won’t create a faithful adaptation, it’s the batshit crazy bookfans that come along with the movie. They either love the movie or hate the movie from the second the darn thing is announced, and it only goes downhill from there.

Most pre-existing book fans are loyal, devoted, passionate and fiercely possessive over the written word that the film may be adapted from; if they weren’t, studios probably wouldn’t waste billions of dollars on trying to make a successful [or otherwise profitable] movie. But every now and again, bookfans go a little too far: i.e. the Twihard revolution that made all our inner-children die.

Bookfans tend to take adaptations extremely seriously. They expect every minor subplot and character to make an appearance, and if they don’t it’s the end of the world. While I absolutely understand the irritation and agony they go through when their favorite book is “ruined” on-screen, what they don’t seem to understand is that cinema and literature are two entirely different mediums. Books generally have a lot less restrictions (editor and publisher depending) and they can be poetic for pages about the blazing sun on that one glorious day and that’s a-OK.

Movies, however, have constraints they must abide by. First, and unfortunately foremost, is budget. How much money is that twenty-minute CGI sequence going to cost? (Although, the barrel sequence in THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG was pretty bad-ass.) If the cost of making a certain scene is going to be too extravagant, it either needs to be slimmed down – or possibly even removed altogether.

Issues like time, characters, settings and subplots are all taken into account when adapting a story, and in order to translate the bulk of that story onto the big screen there are sacrifices that must be made and most bookfans cannot seem to wrap their heads around that.

But more than my frustration with the bookfans that refuse to see the bigger picture, is my anger at them for being such hipsters about their adaptions.

Well, you’re not a real fan if you didn’t read the book.

Bitch, please. I enjoyed the film, therefore I’m a fan.

Without fail, any adaptation made will have a posse of hipster-followers waiting to condemn you for only seeing the movie. The one, and really the only, fan-base that I can exclude from this group of crazies is that of Harry Potter.

The Harry Potter fanbase doesn’t care if you’ve read the book series once, twice, ten times or not at all; they just want you to experience, enjoy, and fall in love with Hogwarts the same way they did. They are all-inclusive and oh! so welcoming to those of us (like myself) who have never read the books.

And that’s not to say that I didn’t try. I remember reading the first paragraph of the first book way back when, and being completely unable to read-on. A whopping nine years old, I had the most difficult time getting through that paragraph because it was written for children: it was so simplistic and adolescent that instead of making it easy to breeze through, it was painful. It’s not that I didn’t want to, I just didn’t know how to reverse my brain and go backwards into a children’s book. (This makes me sound like a child-genius, which I really wasn’t. I just liked reading more mature books. And by “mature” I mean young adult, cause guys? I was 9.)

But the Harry Potter fans I knew, met, and became friends with didn’t care that I never suffered through the books. No matter how much they loved the series, my having not read any of it was trivial – they still wanted to share it with me. They invited me to their midnight showings, and explained to me the subplots and minor characters that had to be left out for various reasons. They invited me to Cosplay with them and dress up for Halloween with them, because even if I only loved the movies that was good enough: I still wanted to go to Hogwarts, too. (Of course, after the Order of the Phoenix film had been released I was too impatient to wait for the other films so I skipped ahead and read Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows. That I was shamed for.) Overall, the Harry Potter fanbase has been the most accepting and wonderful group of freaks and geeks that I have been part of. No matter how minimal your appreciation or how obsessive your love is, they will still Tumblr scream about FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM BECAUSE OMG.

My point is: bookfans, take heed. Get your heads outa the sand and stop being the bullies on the playground. Let’s all play nice with the other children… Even if one of those children is a little weird, has glasses and likes to play Buffy the Vampire Slayer all by herself at lunchtime.

Every month there’s a new YA sensation turned movie franchise, and most end up a bust, like The Mortal Instruments or Divergent (though those will likely spawn sequels anyway). Others, like The Hunger Games, prove worthy of all the attention and praise. FOX’s The Maze Runner aims to join Katniss in the upper echelon, and solely because it stars Teen Wolf‘s Dylan O’Brien, I’m optimistic.

The panel kicks off with the moderator asking the audience: “Any grievers in the building?” Cue squealing.

The Maze Runner comes from a trilogy of books by James Dashner, about a group of teenagers dropped in a remote location, arriving via elevator, with their memories wiped clean, surrounded by a massive maze. Mysteriousness abound.

Then we get the same trailer that you’ve all likely seen, which is an excuse for everyone in the audience to yell about Stiles… right before they’re about to see him.

The guests for the panel include author James Dashner, director Wes Ball, star Will Poulter (who just won an MTV Movie Award for We’re The Millers) and the aforementioned and fan-favorite Dylan O’Brien, who might’ve skipped from being the next big thing to just being a big thing.

How does it feel to have your book being made into a movie?

Dashner: It’s surreal, exciting, and “unbelievable how much they’ve matched the vision for my book.”

Were Dylan and Will fans of the book before getting the part?

O’Brien didn’t know the book until he was brought in to audition, then he found it, researched it and loved it. It “would’ve been my favorite book as a kid, straight up.” Poulter’s experience was much the same, and relished discovering its amazing group of fans.

Was their pressure to do it right?

Ball: Yes, but it’s the best kind of pressure, to please the fans and capture the spirit of book and make the best movie out of it.

Then, it became time to see an all new scene, one that wasn’t in the book, a sequence where the maze changes. The scene involves Thomas (Dylan O’Brien’s character) and Minho (Ki Hong Lee), getting caught in the maze when it’s changing. It’s freaking intense and cool, and certainly lives up to the title of the film (there’s a lot of running). It looks much better than most YA films.

“You guys must be in great shape. A lot of running.” As I observed, it is called Maze Runner, after all.

Poulter is proud to be a part of such a great young cast, with emotional relationships as the core, a rarity in films like this. Memory loss, the notion that these characters might have families somewhere, that they must’ve come from somewhere, all these questions you’d naturally wrestle with are all in the movie. According to Poulter, there’s a great exploration of character, which is unique to the genre.

Where did the idea for this concept and world come from?
Dashner was heavily influenced by Lord of the Flies, Ender’s Game, and the concept of a teenage boy being sent somewhere strange. He also wrote the book while LOST was on, which is one of his favorite shows. To top it off, mazes have always creeped him out, ever since The Shining. Put all those elements together, and you have The Maze Runner.

How do you make us care about characters with the maze as such a distraction? Put characters first. The maze is one of the monsters in the movie.

What are the similarities and differences between Stiles and Thomas?
Well, they are both “characters I play.” Ball remarks that “Thomas is better looking than Stiles,” to which Dylan asks hypothetically: “Who would you do?” Then he admitted: “I was gonna not say that, and I did anyways.” In all seriousness, “Thomas is more stoic, calmer, more introverted, quieter…More like me.” Stiles is O’Brien’s goofy side, which apparently is his off-camera side.

What were the differences between shooting Teen Wolf and working on TV than on a movie?
According to Dylan, it was actually very similar to his experience on Teen Wolf. It shoots fast, and doesn’t have the luxury of time and a lot of money, and The Maze Runner was very much the same way. It’s a smaller budgeted movie, but had to make it big. “It looks like a 100 million dollar movie, and it’s not.”

What’s it like working with Kaya Scodelario?
Kaya plays Teresa, the only girl in a sea of men. O’Brien: “You would love Kaya. She’s amazing.” Being the only girl in the movie could be intimidating, but she was apparently the perfect girl to have. According to Poulter, when she first arrived on set, the guys were all playing a dumb game that involved throwing sports equipment at each other, and she comes in, catches a ball and throws it straight back, with a cigarette in her mouth. It doesn’t get cooler than that, and both O’Brien and Poulter admit how badass she is.

Did the movie fulfill Dashner’s imagination for how it would be adapted?
Dashner: “It’s hard to talk about it…” “when they’re sitting right next to me,” Ball finishes for him. In reality, it’s hard for Dashner to reveal his thoughts without sounding insincere or cheesy, because he loves it. He’s “utterly thrilled with each casting decision…matched my vision perfectly.” He loved being on set, feeling the family vibe, and “cannot believe what good actors they were.” He thinks these actors are special, and that people will look back at this film and see it as where their careers took off. O’Brien and Poulter are cool with that assessment.

RE: Dylan O’Brien: How was it like going from comedy and romantic roles like The Internship and The First Timeto an action flick The Maze Runner?
O’Brien: It’s “great to be able to try different things.” It was far more “physically demanding…a lot more tiring.” He didn’t have to run during the audition, and O’Brien has often wondered…what if he had a weird run? At this point, most of the panel each do a version of a ridiculous run, that totally would’ve ruined the movie. Or made it a camp classic. It’s a great point though, something I wouldn’t have thought of. Thankfully it was not an issue.

In book, Teresa and Thomas communicate telepathically, do they in film?
Ball: “Sadly no.” It’s a “difficult thing to portray in film.” Apparently that connection is kind of there, if you look for it. Dashner fully endorses any changes in the movie, noting that telepathy normally looks cheesy in the movies.

It’s time to move on, but not before a selfie with the audience. As the talented quartet wander off, moderator Ralph Garman remarks: “It’s a shame that Dylan kid isn’t good looking…he could have a career.” Har har har!

The Maze Runner hits theaters September 19, 2014. Buy the book now to be ready.

The Maze Runner is the next big YA adaptation to hit theaters. On September 14th, when Wesley Ball’s film comes to the big screen, we’ll know if it’s the next Hunger Games, or the next Mortal Instruments, The Host or Beautiful Creatures.

FOX clearly has high hopes for the potential franchise, as it became one of its showcase films during WonderCon this weekend. Before their panel (coverage here), I got to be a part of a press conference with Maze Runner author James Dashner, director Wes Ball and stars Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf) and Will Poulter (We’re The Millers). What follows is an overview of the discussion between this young group of people whose lives are about to change, should this puppy go supernova/Twilight.

James Dashner, when he wrote the books, tried to make something outside of the crazed Young Adult thing.

Ball believes the YA dystopian craze has come about because he thinks kids like to be treated as an adults. But he compares The Maze Runner more to Lord of the Flies, and not post-apocalyptic. The second film, should there be one, is more like that.

Dylan O’Brien points to another reason for the post-apocalyptic YA phenomenon. “Jennifer Lawrence.” Laughs and general agreement ensued. “How could that not create a franchise?”

Dylan was asked how challenging the role of Thomas was, as opposed to his comedic role of Stiles on Teen Wolf. He admits to the difficulty, and humbly hopes he did okay. Wes Ball immediately tells us that he rose to the challenge.

O’Brien didn’t go into the film thinking he was the next Katniss or this was the next Hunger Games. That’s a lot of expectation or weight, and plus, he’s a boy. He loves the story and fell in love with James’ book. The process and what they went through was insane, considering the budget and time, or lack thereof. But they made it happen, and he’s clearly proud of their work. It’s funny to O’Brien that now he’s getting asked, “How does it feel like to be in such a big movie?” And his response is normally, “Cool, we made it look like we were in a big movie.” It’s a testament to Ball’s direction, the FX and the buzz surrounding the project.

On the subject of a Thomas vs. Katniss film: “She would kick my ass.” Everyone on the panel agreed, and so did I. Peeta vs. Thomas on the other hand…

Will Poulter recently won an MTV Movie Award for We’re The Millers. It’s news to me that people watched and enjoyed that movie. But like Dylan O’Brien, he’s taking on a much different character here, as Gally, his character, has a hard edge. Adorably, even with all the changes in his life recently, Poulter still lives in West London “with my mum.” But he’s ready to go on this journey with James and company.

Was there pressure to adapt the book into a film? Yes, of course, Ball says, but it’s “good pressure.” He was a fan of the book, and took it from that point of view. He sought to give a sense of truth to the world itself. “The only pressure was to execute the perfect movie I had in my head on the screen. We had a lot of challenges, but it was a fantastic experience…Everybody was in it 100% to make a cool movie together…[It was a ] unique bonding experience…[and that] shows up in movie.”

What was it like bringing grievers to life? Dashner believes that “their vision perfectly matched mine,” and that they took his book and made them even better. They believe they’ve made a “unique movie monster that stands out from all the rest” because its “biomechanical, nasty, scary, metallic, all these things,” and came up with a design with some of the artists that would be really fun to animate. The consensus for the Grievers? “Freaking awesome.” Apparently the monsters were brought to life by the guy who created the Life of Pi tiger.

Dashner learned to love reading when he was a young adult, and Stephen King was his YA section. When he writes, he “writes naturally what he would like at that age,” but doesn’t think about his audience. That’s why he believes the books have crossed over to so many audiences. He seeks to “write the coolest thing I can write.” Ball and his team wanted to “make a movie for the kid in everybody, not [a movie] for kids.”

The soundtrack for the film was discussed, and James Dashner was concerned (since he often writes to soundtracks) when they were making it that they’d want a typical pop soundtrack. And luckily, that’s not at all what Wes Ball had in mind (“No, we’re going full epic, orchestral score” ). He apparently ONLY listens to soundtracks, ever since he was 16, something that Dylan and company can attest to from their drive down to Anaheim for the Con. The film is equal parts John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and an eclectic mix of old school/classic film sound, as the music becomes a character and supports the movie. Ball’s very excited for soundtrack buffs to watch the movie. According to Dashner, “it’s awesome” and blew him away.

Favorite movie soundtracks were discussed, and the greats were mentioned, like Jurassic Park, Aliens, the last Superman. Will mentions the Bourne trilogy. And of course, The Maze Runner.

Another reason to check out the movie on September 19th, 2014. Catch up on the books now.