ENTER NOW! Teen Film Festival

Are you a filmmaker? Want an audience to see your movie on the big screen? Want to win a BIG, Best Picture prize?

Starting TODAY, June 1st, you can enter your movie in the first annual HCPLC Teen Film Festival! Teens entering grades 6-12 are welcome to enter. Your movie can be in any genre and can be up to ten minutes long (including credits).

Deadline for entries is July 31, 2011. The ten best movies will be screened at a special red carpet event, Saturday, August 13 at the John F. Germany Public Library! Prizes in several categories will be awarded, including Best Picture... and the Best Picture winner will receive a $200 gift card!

Entries can be submitted at your local HCPLC library location OR by mail. For all the rules and the official entry form, click here!

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Yes, everyone! The Chronicles of Narnia are back for their third movie installment. This Friday, December the 10th, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be opening in theatres near you!

In honor of this upcoming third movie, we will be having a Family Film Festival based on the Chronicles of Narnia this coming Saturday the 11th at 1PM at the 78th Street Community Library. Free snacks will be provided.

Official Narnia Movie Website
Narnia Web
Narnia Fans
The Lion's Call
Aslan's Country

Scott Westerfeld :: Uglies Movie Update (4 realz)

Visit Scott Westerfeld's blog for info.

Comic to Movie: Scott Pilgrim

Scott Pilgrim's got it going on. He's in a band. He's dating a cute girl. He's basically made of awesome. Then his world is turned upside down when the amazing Ramona Flowers steps out of his dreams -- literally -- and into his life. Now all he wants is to be with Ramona.

Unfortunately, he has to defeat her seven evil exes first.

And by "evil" I don't mean "gives you nasty looks at the mall" evil. These exes are big, bad, boss-battle style evil, with skills ranging from ninja sword expertise to vegan-induced telekinesis! Scott's no slouch... but a ninja? Can he handle that?

Catch up with Scott Pilgrim's story before the movie adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. The World comes out August 13th. You won't be disappointed. Volumes 1-5 are available at the library. The final installment, Volume 6, comes out this summer. Don't miss out on this epic tale of epic epicness!

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

I love it when I can see a book. I like to sit back and see all the things they've changed inorder to make it fit in a two hour time frame.

If you haven't read the Lightning thief maybe this will get ya started...

"It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life. And they're not happy: Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Even more troubling is the sudden disappearance of Percy's mother. As Percy finds himself caught between angry and battling gods, he and his friends embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief, save Percy's mom, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves." Written by 20th Century Fox

See the Trailer >> Read the Book

ASTRO BOY!

You may have already seen the movie, but, did you read the book?

Before Astro boy made it to the 'bit screen,' it was in your library as a Graphic Novel.

Not sure if the movie will be worth you time? Check out an Astro Boy DVD or Graphic Novel from your library. If there none on the shelf, place it on hold, have it sent to your library with your name on it.

Watch the trailer         Read the books

Two days. Five movies. Two librarians. Almost 30 teenagers.

Harry Potter Movie Madness Marathon

South Tampa teens prepared for the release of Harry Potter and the Half –Blood Prince in theaters by watching the first five movies in the Harry Potter series, marathon style, at the Jan Kamanis Platt Regional Library.

The teens were sorted in their respective Hogwarts house and Harry Potter trivia filled the space between the movies, with the houses competing against each other. Ravenclaw was the winner of the trivia contest on both days. Wands were constructed out of paper, as well as edible wands from pretzels and frosting. The teens put their name in the running for a chance to win hardcover Harry Potter books, provided by the Friends of the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library . Seven lucky teens went home with a book. They had another chance to win by seeing who could guess the number of jelly beans in a jar. The lucky teen whose guess came closest got to take the entire jar home. The teens spent their time drooling over Sirius Black, debating whether or not the book or the movie was better and discussing the various characters.

A big thank you goes out to Elizabeth Payment from the Library System's School Age Services Department (SAS) who came to assist with the program, as well as to the Friends of the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library, who provided the refreshments, including pizza delivered by Westshore Pizza.

--by Michelle F. , Librarian at Jan Platt

Avatar: The Last Air Bender

If you are like me you were glued to your TV watching the "Nick" series. Avatar: the last Airbender. In my house Aang, Appa, Kitara, Sokka... well you know the rest, they are household names. We eat it up. We checked out the books and watched the DVD's for missing episodes. (Did you?).

You've got 1 year to read the books and get familiar with the series because... Next summer they will release the movie in theaters. "The Last Airbender"

For those who don't know what I'm talking about... The story follows the adventures of Aang, a ten year old successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations. (But it is so much more interesting than it sounds).

While you wait for the movie... Play the game at Nick.com and check out the books and DVD's. from your library.

Geek Update!

The Quest for the Holy Grail has now hit the 21st Century! Monty Python has added their entire show library, coupled with several movie clips to YouTube. Yay wackiness!



Check out their YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/montypython (or watch them old skool dvd style with these discs).

The Return of the Kings and Queens

The Kings and Queens of Narnia, that is!

The long awaited sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is finally here!

Journey back to Narnia with Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Meet new friends- Caspian the 10th, Reepicheep the Mouse, and more! But beware Lord Miraz and his minions! And where has Aslan been?

Watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian to find out. Now playing in theatres near you.

Links about Prince Caspian:

- Official Prince Caspian Movie Website
- Narniaweb
- Narniafans
- Prince Caspian at our library
- Fandango: Check out movie schedules and buy tickets online.

Are you a fan of Twilight?

Did you hear that they've announced a cast for the film based on Stephanie Meyer's bestseller, Twilight?

What do you think? Can they do the book justice?

Teen Library Club Meeting November 27 & Dec 4

Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Location: Mary Noel Moody Community Meeting Room
Dates: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 &
Tuesday, December 4, 2007

• Middle School and High School Students Only!
• Tells us what books, DVDs, graphic novels, and PC games you think the library should purchase.
• Help plan and implement library activities for teens your age.

For more information visit the club on myspace: http://myspace.com/teenlibraryclub

More than meets the eye

Finally, the long awaited Transformers movie is out. It even has a cool release date: 7.2.7, just like the airplane.

Some of you may remember the toys and cartoons in all their incarnations. For others this may be the first time you see the Transformers. But it's fun. Action. Cool graphics and special effects. Good vs. evil. Robots in disguise.

You don't need to travel to Planet Cybertron to see more Transformers, because they are right here at our library.

The Return of the Girl Detective!

Nancy Drew, that is. Now she's on the Big Screen!

Our favorite teen sleuth is making her movie debut. Nancy and her father have moved to Hollywood for a short time, leaving River Heights (and her friends Ned, Bess, and George) behind. But Nancy just cannot stop sleuthing!

-Official movie website

- Nancy Drew Unofficial Website

- Nancy Drew books in our library

Cool FREE movies for a HOT summer!

Stuck sitting the siblings this summer? Need some CHEAP stuff to do to keep them from making you crazy?


Or maybe (like me!) you just secretly dig the fun cartoon flicks that other people seem to think are "just for kids".


Well, stay cool and catch some fun flicks this summer... at one of the many theaters nationwide offering FREE movies on weekday mornings.


Check these sites for some of the participating theaters around the country and in Hillsborough County...

• Regal Entertainment Group (Citrus Park)


• AMC Theatres (Brandon, Veterans, Oldsmar)

And don't forget! When you finish your flick, there's still a ton of fun stuff to do, watch and read waiting for you @ the library!

Along Came a Spider...

So, are your Spidey senses tingling? Okay, at least your fanboy/girl senses? Spider-Man 3 drops May 4 and its web is all ready to catch all our money. Judging the early looks, it just might be worth it.

We have 3, count 'em 3, villains this time: the New Goblin (Harry Osborn picking up the family business), Sandman (the CG star of the trailers), and maybe the deadliest Spidey enemy of all time, Venom--the "black Spider-Man to you non-geeks (played by...Topher Grace? No, really, it'll work). And if ol' Web Head didn't have enough on his plate, he gets a second love interest in Gwen Stacy, who has a very different history in the comics universe.

Now, why not feed your need while you wait by checking out Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 at your friendly neighborhood library? Or the shelf-load of Spidey comix we have in our catalog? You can brush up on your Venom and Gwen or just outsource your time until the movie opens.

Happy Slinging.

Librarians Battle Forces of Darkness

Do librarians have special powers? In the new movie, Rex Libris, they do. Writers are currently making this film about "an everyday guy who becomes part of a secret sect of librarians who battle forces of darkness in chasing down overdue or stolen books."

Based on the Rex Libris comic series, the film "revolves around head librarian Rex Libris, who must protect the world's knowledge and most dangerous secrets from falling into the wrong hands, such as when a squad of goons storm the library and tamper with the Dewey Decimal System by removing a certain card from the catalog."

The movie should be out sometime in 2008. Stay tuned to see if the librarians prevail!

A Gentle Dragon and Powerful Magic

I saw the movie, "Eragon" this weekend and was blown away! It is an awesome movie based on the book of the same name written by Christopher Paolini. Even more amazing, Christopher wrote the book when he was ONLY 15!

Because I liked the movie so much, I'm going to read all the books in the series, Inheritance Trilogy (book #3 is still in Christopher's head). If you've read Eragon AND seen the movie, how do they compare? Some people like Ergagon better than the Harry Potter movies. WDYT?

Heroes in a Half Shell?

Would it surprise you to know that thanks to a handful of feisty turtles and some killer CGI, TMNT opened this weekend at the top of the box office charts?

Yeah, the Turtles can be kinda cheesy, but how many of you are secretly just a little excited about this movie because it was a favorite cartoon when you were a kid? The funny thing is... the Turtles have been around long enough that I grew up watching them, too. (And if you twist my arm a bit, I'll 'fess to being a little bit excited about this release, too, for just that reason. But only if you make me. Really.)

Want to flash back to the Turtles as they used to be? Why not check out:

• some of the old cartoons
• the original TMNT film (on DVD here or here or ::gasp:: VHS here), circa 1990
• the 1991 sequel, TMNT 2: Secret of the Ooze
• or the follow-up TMNT 3: Turtles in Time (1993)
• and you can always sing along to this...

Or you can just go hit up my kid brother to borrow his old tapes... he's in his twenties now, but for a while there, he was the biggest fan they had. Hmmmm... I wonder if he still has his old bedsheets?