It Has Begun: New 'Cathy" Cast for Lifetime's Petals on the Wind

Once Upon A Time's Rose McIver Cast in Petals on the Wind

I've never seen OUAT and I know nothing about Rose McIver, but from her photos she does bear a faint resemblance to Heather Graham minus the crazy eyes, so at the very least, it seems we're getting a good physical type.

So far we know that the Petals movie is set ten years after Flowers.  In book-time, this involves skipping over Paul, so I wonder if he's going to be in this at all or if we're going to get him in flashbacks to explain how the kids survived after their escape.  Lifetime doesn't generally get squeamish about sex, but Cathy and Paul's May/December romance (even if it's really more April/Labor Day romance) might cause some pearl-clutching.  I wonder if Julian's going to make it in? 

If I squint, I could see how one might narrow the whole focus of the film to a straightforward revenge story, but let's face it: 90% of the book was Cathy's madcap romances with increasingly inappropriate men and it's going to feel empty if we don't get a peek at that.  And of course, it's all worth nothing if Cathy doesn't bleed on her feet.

Flowers in the Attic Remake, Long Trailer

At the request of an anonymous reader, I've uploaded a copy of the longer trailer for the new Lifetime remake of Flowers in the Attic, which comes out 18 January.  As of the last week of December, Lifetime was sending out C&D orders to websites hosting the leaked long trailer, so this video's stability is in some doubt.  Likewise, let me know if there's trouble watching the video here.  I've never used Blogger's video upload function and can't vouch for its reliability.

I have the trailer saved to my hard drive and can shoot you a copy on request.  It can also be found for now at DailyMotion.  If someone knows a different source, or if there's other trailers available (other than the official 32-second promo), please let us all know!

Back to the Big Screen?

From Variety, 13 January 2012:

Pair Nabs Rights to V.C. Andrews Library

Dan Angel ("Door to Door") of the Hatchery has purchased rights to the V.C. Andrews library and teamed with Jane Startz ("Ella Enchanted") to develop and produce feature films, TV series and telepics based on Andrews' works. Angel and Startz announced the partnership Friday.

There are currently 70 Andrews books, launched in 1979 with "Flowers in the Attic," with worldwide sales of over 106 million copies in 95 countries in 26 languages in stories combining elements of Gothic horror and family secrets. Andrew Neiderman, who's penned 44 books under his own name, has been the ghostwriter of Andrews' books since her death in 1986. The latest addition is "Family Storms" and its sequel "Cloudburst," released in the fall. Paranormal love story "Into The Darkness" will be published in March and "The Forbidden Sister will be published in the fall 2012, followed by its sequel "Roxy's Story."

"V.C. Andrews is such a major cultural icon and has been for the last three decades," Startz said. "Her collected works are a treasure trove of genres--romance gothic, paranormal -- with highly original and often outré stories that have enormous multigenerational and multicultural appeal."

Angel's credits include "The Haunting Hour," "Dan Vs." and "Gifted Hands." Startz produced "The Indian in the Cupboard," "The Mighty" and "Tuck Everlasting." Simon & Schuster UK, long-term publishers of V.C. Andrews, said in a statement, "We are delighted that Virginia Andrews will find a new audience through this exciting collaboration with The Hatchery and Jane Startz Prods., taking this global brand to even greater heights."

In 2007, the Hatchery and Jaffe/Braunstein announced plans to develop a miniseries for Lifetime based on the Andrews' "The Landry" but the project didn't come together.