World Building Series: Introduction and Fundamentals

Greetings Readers!

While writing on my current project, Valkyrie, the other day, an idea for a post started to formulate in my mind.

World Building.  

Fantasy and speculative fiction or not, every book (and movie/screenplay) has it.  Even non-fiction has a bit of world building involved.  An author must know the limits and facts about the world in which he/she is writing before he/she can construct a believable, fully-formed story.  If an author's facts have inconsistencies or flaws, he/she can discredit his/her knowledge of the craft, and by doing so, quickly lose readership.  Simply put: if you don't know the world in which your story takes place, how are you supposed to describe it to your readers in its fullest capacity?

I have been pondering at how to go about writing on such an extensive topic--or even how to begin doing so, for that matter.  After much deliberation, I decided that breaking it down into several posts would be the most practical option, not only for my personal choice to put constraints on post lengths, but also to get more detailed and concise, content-related posts for you, my readers.

This first post will focus on the initial steps to world building, intertwined with my own anecdotes of trial & error with my own writing, and will also introduce the next post in this specific series.

Before I ever knew what world building was, I was unknowingly creating my own worlds.  After reading books like The Egypt Game, The Bridge to Terabithia, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, I became obsessed with creating worlds of my very own.  I sketched maps galore, created languages (minor undertakings back then), secret codices with which I could write notes to my friends, and planned out entire cities in which to create my stories.

Of course, those worlds failed me; more correctly, I failed them because I didn't know enough about my creations.  Sometimes I would sketch pages and pages of maps with great detail, but I neglected to populate it with creatures and characters that were believable for the setting.  Sometimes, vice versa.  Other times, I forgot to ask myself important questions whose answers would have provided me with a connection between the different aspects of my worlds.  I constantly wrote myself into corners--or worse, circles.  My writing was all jumbled--mismatched additions, not all too dissimilar from the Winchester House--without any coherence whatsoever.  I neglected to make the full blueprint before building the house; but fortunately, with training and practice, I realized the errors and remedied them.

The Winchester House - Santa Clara Valley, California

Most ideas for stories usually develop long before a writer even thinks about world building. Unfortunately, I feel that this leads to weaker stories in the end.  I am saying this from experience because the first few starts at my now-finished manuscript were torturous.  My characters and my world felt disconnected and, to be honest, a bit contrived. In my opinion, it is much easier to build believable characters inside of a defined world than to a build a foreign world around a cluster of characters.

Asking yourself fundamental questions will help guide you in creating the blueprint; and creating a basic blueprint for your world before you go any further will save you a lot of headache.

The first set of questions we will discuss have to do with Earth settings and their variations/possibilities:

1. If this story takes place on Earth, does it occur in the Past?
2. Present?
3. Future?
4. Some alternate version/history of Earth? [for instance, an Earth that has been decimated by a nuclear war or asteroid? A post WWII Earth in which Hitler had won?]

Each answer should and will produce more questions for you to consider, and each answer will also narrow down the genre/category of your manuscript.  Let's take our two examples from above, starting first with a post-asteroid collision.

5. When, where, and how did the collision happen?
6. How did it change the landscape/structure/rotation/orbit/population/technology of the Earth?
7. Were there any alien life forms or microbes on the asteroid?  Or maybe some advanced technology?
8. If yes, how did that change the landscape, environment, or population?  Did it change the genetic makeup of humans/animals/plants? On the negative side, did it bring disease or famine?  On the positive side, did the asteroid's introduction create a superior human/animal/plant?

As you can see, each answer spawns a whole set of additional questions, which then defines the conflicts and plots.  Placing characters within this constructed world is now a breeze.

The questions for our second example might look a little like this...

5. How had Hitler and the Axis forces defeated the Allied?
6. Did Hitler continue his mass genocide?  And if so, how has this affected the population of Earth? Did Hitler succeed in creating an Aryan race? Does everyone speak German?
7. How long after the defeat does the story take place?  Within Hitler's lifetime? Twenty years later?
8. Are there secret Allied forces still hiding out from the Nazi Regime? Are they physically hiding out (in, say, underground caves) or pretending to blend in with society while maintaining their Allied lifestyles in secret?  Are there plans to overthrow the government?

Literally dozens of scenarios with an exponential amount of questions can arise from the first 4 questions above, and that is only dealing with Earth or Alternate Earth settings and plots.  The second part of this post will deal with all other settings.

1.  If the story does not take place on Earth [or any variation], is the setting a known one (i.e., Mars, the Moon, or the Andromeda Galaxy) or some distant or unknown planet/moon/galaxy?  Is it even part of our known universe?
2.  If unknown setting, how was the setting formed?  Evolutionary (like the Big Bang Theory)?  Or Mythologically (created by omnipotent beings)?  Or a combination of the two?
3. How does the setting differ from Earth?  How is it similar?  Landscape/flora/fauna differences and similarities? Does it still have earthly forces (like gravity)?  Does it have unearthly forces, i.e., majick (more on this later)?
4. Is it populated by more than one race/species?  Are they humanoid?  Are all of them intelligent?
5. Are there areas with concentrations of certain races, or do all the races live together?
5. If there is majick, where is it derived from (sun, moon, water, earth, air, blood, artifacts, etc)?  Are all the races majickal?  Only a few?  One?
6. Are the majickal races exalted or suppressed?  Is a majickal race the ruling race?  Does it view the other races as unequal because of its lack of majick?  Or vice versa?

The questions are endless, and so are the answers.  And each answer lends itself to a different aspect of your world--from character races, history, politics (power struggles, classes), mythology (creation myths, deity current involvement and interaction), languages (spoken, written, ancient), majick (source, limitations, how it's produced and used), et cetera.

The list is infinite, and I know I barely touched the surface when it comes to introducing World Building, which kind of brings me to introducing the topic of the next series in this post:  Overdoing it!

I welcome any questions or comments and would be happy to respond to them.

Stay Tuned for the next post in this series,

P.S. If you are here visiting the page and reading this post and are not yet a member, please click the links to the left to sign-up. It's quick and simple.

Writing & Research Tool: AllExperts

Hello Everyone!

Today my post is again going to focus on Writing Tools.

Over the years, as I've scoured the internet while doing research for certain aspects of my manuscript, I've often run into the dilemma of finding not-so-accurate information.  Thankfully, being a great researcher and always retrieving my information from more than one source (more than three, most times), I am quick to realize the information is sometimes not all that trustworthy.

Although I am a great researcher, I must say that my work has been cut down drastically by one specific tool in general.  I don't use it for everything, though I could, but I use it for the important questions I want answered by an expert source.

The tool is called AllExperts, and it is a great source for any question you may have, writing related or not.  For instance... Yesterday, while writing on my new Urban Fantasy project, I ran into a few what I like to call "info blockades."  The main character of the project is a homicide detective, and while I am familiar with certain procedures dealing with homicide investigations (because of the plethora of crime dramas out there), my knowledge is still limited.  I wanted to guarantee that the facts I have in the book are absolutely correct, so I automatically knew to turn to this wonderful site.  I am still waiting for the question to be answered, but the wait time is typically only three days at most.

AllExperts is the oldest & largest free Q&A service on the Internet.  It is a compilation of various experts in a variety of fields.  Below is a screen-shot of the multitude of Categories, each of which can be broken into further Categories.

As you can see, the possibilities are endless.  Instead of trying to sort the accurate information from the rest of the fluff you come across, why not go directly to an expert for your questions?  Your readers will thank you!

Have a Great Night!

And the Oscar goes to...

Good Morning Everyone!

In honor of the Academy Awards last night, I am devoting this entire post to the Oscars.  More specifically, I am devoting the post to the Fantasy and Sci-fi Nominees and Winners.

First, let me explain how this list is supposed to read... I am going to list the different Categories of Awards, the Fantasy/Sci-fi Nominees in that specific category, and if there is a Fantasy/Sci-fi Winner in the Category, the title will be highlighted.  Here goes!

[Information compiled from the Official Oscars Website]

Best Picture

Hugo (Producers: Graham King & Martin Scorcese)

Midnight In Paris (Producers: Letty Aronson & Stephen Tenenbaum)

Animated Feature Film

Kung Fu Panda 2 (Jennifer Yuh Nelson)

Puss in Boots (Chris Miller)

Rango (Gore Verbinski)

Cinematography

Hugo (Robert Richardson)

Art Direction

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Design: Stephenie McMillan)

Hugo (Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Design: Francesca Lo Schiavo)

Midnight In Paris (Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Design: Hélène Dubreuil)

Costume Design

Hugo (Sandy Powell)

Directing

Hugo (Martin Scorcese)

Midnight In Paris (Woody Allen)

Film Editing

Hugo (Thelma Schoonmaker)

Makeup

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight & Lisa Tomblin)

Music (Original Score)

Hugo (Howard Shore)

The Adventures of Tintin (John Williams)

Sound Editing

Hugo (Philip Stockton & Eugene Gearty)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Ethan Van der Ryn & Erik Aadahl)

Sound Mixing

Hugo (Tom Fleishman & John Midgley)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush & Peter J. Devlin)

Visual Effects

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler & John Richardson)

Hugo (Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman & Alex Henning)

Real Steel (Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor & Swen Gillberg

Rise of the Planets of the Apes (Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, Daniel Barrett)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler, John Frazier)

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Hugo (John Logan)

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Midnight In Paris (Woody Allen)

It looks like Hugo cleaned out this year... I will anticipate its release on Netflix to discover its cinemagic for myself!

Have a Great Day!

Cool Writing Tool: Pinterest

Hello Everyone,

First, I want to apologize for missing a few days worth of posts.  I have been busy writing on my Urban Fantasy project, and I was afraid to stop because I was on a roll.  Well, that juice ran out--at least until I finish a little bit of research for it--and now, here I am.  With that out of the way, let me introduce my next topic.

I decided to write this post on a nifty little tool I discovered over the last few weeks (thanks to one of the agents to which I submitted my manuscript).  It's called Pinterest, and I love it.

Pinterest is a membership website tool (you have to be invited to join, but that's a simple process) that allows you to gather images from the website (or upload them from your computer) and organize them into Boards... like a bulletin board!  So far I have used them to organize images for settings and characters for both of my ongoing projects, but I know the more I use it, the more uses I will discover!
Once you become a member and set up an account, the Pinterest website allows you to add a "Pin It" button to your web browser's toolbar.  {I use Safari, so that is the only browser I can vouch for... it has worked smoothly and error-free, so far}.  Simply search for or browse your favorite images, and click the button.  The images are saved (with their origination data, in case you ever need to give credit where credit is due!) to your account, and you can save it to an existing board or create a new one.

Below is a couple screen shots for you:

When creating the Characters for my book, I like to base their physical descriptions loosely on Actors and Actresses.  It helps me to have an image to refer to often, and since I cannot draw, photos work wonderfully!  Besides, if the book were to ever get made into a movie, I could give a few suggestions as to who should play the characters!
(Not that they would listen)

Because this project is an Urban Fantasy set in NYC, having the settings readily available for me to refer to makes the process go much more smoothly.  I plan on adding screen captures of google maps, too, so I can have a physical image of the street layout and such.

Join Pinterest today, and start pinning!  The uses for it are endless, even if it isn't for writing!  Recipes, Wedding Planning, Dream Homes, Home Redecorating ideas, Dream Vacations, etc.

Until Monday,

2012 Fantasy Movie Line-up (Part II)

Okay, so here is Forthcoming 2012 Fantasy Movie List... Part Two.  The list in Alphabetical, as I was unable to locate any proposed release dates.

The Disclaimer from the previous post applies to this post as well.

{Untitled} George Lucas Animated CGI musical featuring director Kevin Munroe (TMNT).

A Guy Named Rick If Rick Cozwell doesn't fall in love in 60 days, the world will end.

Apartment 1303 A modern ghost story which turns a love/hate relationship between mother and daughter into a tale of horror. Some rentals are too good to be true.

Battle Chasers Created by Joe Madureira and published by DC Comics, "Battle Chasers" is set on a deadly alien world where humans battle for wealth and four very different superpowered warriors are forced to form an alliance to save their land from a corrupt king.

Bleach The story of a boy who, after being attacked by an evil spirit, receives all the powers of the soul reaper who comes to his aid.

Butterflies & Lightning A dark, magical-realistic fairytale about a children's storybook that mirrors the real lives of two blood brothers who are forever cursed to fall in love with the same women.

Byzantium Two young women arrive in a nameless British town and claim to be 200-year-old vampires.  Local teachers and parents try to counsel the girls to get to the bottom of their delusions.  However, when people start disappearing, people in the town  must confront the possibility that the two women are, in fact, what they say they are.  Stars Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, and Caleb Landry Jones.

Chakan the Forever Man A warrior, cursed to live forever, pursues his latest nemesis into our time. He finds a world he must fit into, long enough to save.

Cradlewood Beck may have found the perfect man in Josh. Handsome, artistic, young, rich and taking her to meet his mother, Irene, at the family home of Cradlewood. But Josh is more than rich; Josh is heir to a fortune. A fortune steeped in history and around which swirls a fog of family tales and legends. And which one day soon will be all Josh's. But something goes wrong and Beck has to watch as her loved one descends into a dark madness of paranoia and fear. Will Beck be able to help Josh escape from his destiny or will she be dragged down into his torment with him?

Delirium Decades before Lena Holloway’s birth, the government diagnosed love as a deadly disease and soon after, came up with a procedure to cure all citizens. Every citizen in the U.S. receives the procedure that cures them of the ability to form deep emotional attachment on their 18th birthday, after which their life is decided for them. Lena must wait 95 days for the cure she so desperately wants, but unexpected circumstances complicate her life.

Elena’s Serenade Serenade centers on a girl who crosses the Mexican desert to become a glass blower.  Infused with music, magical realism, and dreams, the story unfolds as a hero’s journey of innocence blooming into experience.

Enchanted 2

Excalibur Directed by Guy Ritchie.  The project is a re-imagining of the legend of Arthur, believed to have been a 6th century king who defended Britain against Saxon invaders.  The key source material for the film will be Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, published in 1485 as a compilation of French and English tales.

Fallen A lonely young woman finds herself courted by two competitive men –fully unaware at first that they are angels who have vied for her love for centuries.

Gravel Revolves around the character William Gravel, a soldier in the British S.A.S. who uses his skills in dark magic to moonlight and battle supernatural beings for clients in order to make some extra cash.

Here There Be Monsters The movie will follow along the same lines as the popular alternate history monster movie sub–sub–genre where real times, places, and historical figures have monsters and all kinds of beasties thrown into the mix. Here There Be Monsters revolves around real–life Revolutionary War naval hero, John Paul Jones, only in this telling of his story, some big, scary sea monsters will be involved. Why make boring historically accurate Oscar bait movies when you can add freakin’ sea monsters? A question worth pondering, indeed.

Imaginaerum Imaginaerum tells the story of an elderly composer, Tom, who suffers from severe dementia. As he has had the disease for years and has regressed into childhood, he remembers practically nothing from his adult life. His music, friends, all his past including the memory of his daughter are a blur in his fragile mind. All he has left is the imagination of a ten year old boy. As he drifts away into coma, it seems impossible to get back what he has lost. Or is it? The film is a journey between two different dimensions. Tom travels through his imaginary world seeking answers and finding memories, while his daughter, Gem, tries to recover the bond she had once shared with her father in the real world. As they have become more and more distant from each other over the years, and as theres even greater obstacles separating them now Toms coma and his imminent death Gems project feels doomed to failure. However, through Toms darkest secrets, Gem discovers the path she must follow in order to find her father again. There are some questions we must ask ourselves before entering the world of Imaginaerum. What is most important in life? Can the power of memories protect us during our last moments? Will our imagination help us find the spark of life in the deepest darkness? Can we still find love after bitter forgiveness? Imaginaerum is an emotional fantasy-adventure powered by the music of Nightwish. The story reminds us of our childhood where the smallest but most precious thing meant everything and losing it would have left an everlasting scar. Now its time to reopen the wound and see what became of it, but above all, where it came from.

John Dies at the End The movie is about a drug, colloquially known as Soy Sauce, that allows users to drift across time and dimensions... but some who come back are no longer human.  An otherworldly invasion is suddenly underway, and mankind needs a hero.  Instead, mankind gets a pair of college dropouts—John and David—who can barely hold down jobs.

Legends The story is set in motion when the remains of Pinocchio are discovered.  Red Hood, now a noted wolf hunter, and Jack, the Giant Killer, partner to discover who is murdering the creatures of folklore.  Along the way, they are assisted by characters, such as Goldilocks, re-imagined as a mercenary, and Hansel & Gretel, now psychic exterminators.

Lizzie’s World: The Secret of the Magic Trunk A young girl and her family move into a mysterious old house, where she discovers a secret world of animated characters.

Marco Polo The project, directed by Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend), will be a fantasy-adventure rather than a biopic .

Medieval Described as “The Dirty Dozen” set in the Middle Ages, and centers on seven imprisoned men – a gypsy, a thief, a samurai, a knight, a monk, an Arab, and a Viking.

Mugworth

Oz: Return to the Emerald City It is a modern day tale that follows lawyer Dorothy Neil, granddaughter of former Oz visitor Dorothy Gale. As the story goes, Neil and a young child -- the daughter of her boss -- end up in the magical land, where they team up with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion to bring down a new evil witch.

Pan A spin on JM Barrie’s tale of Peter Pan, where Pan is a villain being hunted by a police captain named Hook.

Ryann Watters and the King’s Sword From the highly acclaimed Christian series of Children's Books, it's up to Ryann Watters and his friends to unravel the mystery of the King's Sword and defeat evil in a spiritual battle between two worlds. This is the exciting story of Ryann Watters' quest into the mythical animated land of Aeliana.

Second Time Around A prominent criminal attorney is killed during a trial, by his own client, leaving behind his wife and 13 year old son. His law firm business partner and childhood best friend gets charged and convicted with plotting the killing with the client. Two years later, the wife remarries, unfortunately to an abusive, powerful politician. As her child turns 17, he witnesses another drunken beating of his mother by his step father, he tries to help her, making the stepfather turn on him and proceed to beat him mercilessly as the mother watches in horror. The mother runs to the closet, retrieves a gun and comes back to see the stepfather sitting on top of the kid, hitting his head on the bare floor. She shoots the husband multiple times, killing him. Her son is taken to a trauma center, where he remains in a coma. She gets arrested and charged with murder, by the same prosecutor who witnessed her husband's murder in the courtroom and convicted the law firm partner. Unable to make bail, she's remanded to the city jail, to be given a public defender. The law firm partner, now out on probation and unable to practice law, visits the woman's son. The son awakens at the hospital and realizes his father is sharing his body. The boy convinces his mother of who he is and instructs her to ask the presiding judge at the preliminary hearing, to allow the boy to represent her, with the husband's friend as a consultant. The petition is granted with prejudice. It is understood that if the kid fails to provide proper representation, a public defender will be taking over. A web starts to untangle as the kid shows to court to represent his mother. Not only is he doing a great job at defending her but also at unraveling the mystery of his father's murder. As they approach the closing arguments, the father has been having a hard time remaining for extended periods of time in the boy's body. The boy is forced to complete his own closing arguments, not only to save his mother but to clear his father's friend from killing him and, to bring the real murderer to justice.

Serpent Girl A young carnival worker who hits the road with a flipper-armed "serpent girl" in order to track down a band of thieving circus freaks.

Soulstice: Luna’s Dream Soulstice is a teen romance written in the voice of its 15-year-old narrator, Luna Tremaine, a vampire who breaks the cultural code of her species by falling in love with a human boy, Paul James.

The Brass Teapot Based on the comic book series "The Brass Teapot" about mid-twenty year old couple who, in these difficult economic times, finds a mysterious, magical brass teapot which makes them money but at a surprising price. After realizing the teapots powers, John and Alice must decide how far they will go to fulfill their dream.

The Giver An adaptation of Lois Lowry’s Newberry Award-winning book by the same title.

The Hauntrepeneur The story centers on a family that has trouble adjusting to a new town and hires a peculiar man, the Hauntrepreneur, to help it. The man attempts to bring them together by creating a haunted house populated by an odd cast of characters.  Starring Russell Brand.

The Last Dragon A remake of the 1985 cult classic, with Samuel Jackson set to star as the film’s bad guy.

The Mortal Instruments An adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s bestselling young-adult fantasy trilogy, about a young girl who inherited the ability to see and interact with a clan of supernatural spirits.

The Mystic Tales of Nikolas Winter A great magician must do battle with an immortal alchemist.

The Narrow Road Based off of Bunyan's classic 1678 novel "the Pilgrim's Progress.”  A soldier, in mortal fear of destruction at the hands of tyrannical religious ruling forces, flees his home in search of freedom and the means to save himself and his family from a fate worse than death.

The Secret Commonwealth Scotland, 1691: The solemn Reverend Robert Kirk stands before the graveside of his dead wife and child, clutching a slim leather bound book. This is no bible but 'The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies', a scholarly work on the inhabitants of the fairy world researched and written by the good Reverend himself. Kirk believes the contents of the book will allow him to reach his dead wife and child through the portal of the Fairy Tree on Doon Hill in Aberfoyle. He has worked long and hard on this book, talking to outcasts and seers, risking his faith, reputation and sanity. But now the book is complete.

The Wind in the Willows A live-action/CGI blend adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s children’s classic, brought to you by the creative team behind Lord of the Rings and King Kong.  Accounts the friendship of four friends (Rat, Mole, Badger, and Toad) whose adventures test the very fiber of their loyalty.  Film is set to star Ricky Gervais.

Thieves of Baghdad The world of Sinbad, Ali Baba, and magic genies collide in a family adventure.

Upside Down About a boy [Adam] who is searching an alternate universe for a long-lost love from his youth [Eve].  Stars Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess.

Wicked Lovely A teenage girl named Aislinn is pursued by a fairy king looking to save his planet.  Based on the book by Melissa Marr.

As I find out more information about the above titles, I will try to post updates for everyone!

Have A Great Night

2012 Fantasy Movie Line-up (Part I)

Hello again everyone!

Ever excited about the prospect of a new Fantasy movie being released, I decided to compile a list of Forthcoming Releases.  This post is the first part of two, and contains [prospective] dates of the releases (correct to the best of my knowledge).

Disclaimer: Below contains information compiled from a variety of sources on the web.  I, in no way, claim any of the information as my own creation, but a juxtaposition of the information found on the afore-mention sources.  This information is not intended to infringe upon any copyrighted material.

January 20
	Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos A new feature-length adventure into the world of an international anime sensation. A fugitive alchemist with mysterious abilities leads the Elric brothers to a distant valley of slums inhabited by the Milos, a proud people struggling against bureaucratic exploitation. Ed and Al quickly find themselves in the middle of a rising rebellion, as the exiled Milos lash out against their oppressors. At the heart of the conflict is Julia, a young alchemist befriended by Alphonse. She'll stop at nothing to restore the Milos to their former glory - even if that means harnessing the awful power of the mythical Philosopher's Stone. -- (C) Official Site
	Underworld: Awakening Selene escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampires and Lycans; a war to eradicate both species commences. Stars Kate Beckinsale.
February 3
	Chronicle Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over. -- (C) Official Site
	The Woman In Black Based on the book by Susan Hill, this re-make of the 1989 made-for-television movie features Daniel Radcliffe (our beloved Harry Potter) as the film’s lead character.  An interesting fact: the character of Arthur Kidd, played by Radcliffe, was played by Adrian Rawlins (actor who plays James Potter) in the original 1989 movie.
February 10
	Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Sean Anderson partners with his mom’s husband on a mission to find his grandfather, who is thought to be missing on a mythical island.  Stars Josh Hutcherson and Dwayne Johnson.
	Star Wars: Episode I (3D) Re-release of iconic First Episode in 3D format.
February 17
	Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance As Johnny Blaze hides out in Eastern Europe, he is called upon to stop the devil, who is trying to take human form.
	Thale A feature film based on a mythical character in Norwegian folklore called 'HULDRA'. According to the myth a hulder is a beautiful lady living deep in the woods, and it is said that she seduces men that work or hunt in the woods. She hums a beautiful song and lures them to her deep in the woods, and they never return to their village. You can recognize a hulder by her cow tail.
	The Secret World of Arriety Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler), a tiny, but tenacious 14-year-old, lives with her parents (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler) in the recesses of a suburban garden home, unbeknownst to the homeowner and her housekeeper (Carol Burnett). Like all little people, Arrietty (AIR-ee-ett-ee) remains hidden from view, except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to "borrow" scrap supplies like sugar cubes from her human hosts. But when 12-year-old Shawn (David Henrie), a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, a secret friendship blossoms. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty's family from the home and straight into danger. -- (C) Disney
March 9
	John Carter Transplanted to Mars, a Civil War vet discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter a princess who is in desperate need of a savior.
March 23
	The Hunger Games Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.  Based on the book by Suzanne Collins.
March 30
	Mirror, Mirror An evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright.  Starring Julia Roberts.
	Wrath of the Titans Sequel to the 2010 film, Clash of the Titans.  Starring Sam Worthington.
April 13
	The Cabin in the Woods Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.
May 4
	The Avengers Nick Fury and the international agency S.H.I.E.L.D. bring together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki & his various membered army.  Directed and written by Jos Whedon and starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson.
May 14
	Black & White in Colors It's a story about two men and a woman in a love triangle... But in another world, in another time. We are watching the story from the altered point of view of a person, who believes that feelings are not under control. In his mind real becomes unreal, what he likes becomes gradually "reality", but also his subconscious takes part in the events. As an inevitable solving verdict, something vanishes and something enters the depths of himself and his world.
May 18
	Battleship A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.
June 1
	Snow White and the Huntsman From the producer of Alice In Wonderland.  In a kingdom ruled by tyranny, the queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) learns that her stepdaughter, Snow White (Kristen Stewart), will surpass her as ruler of her kingdom and become the Fairest in the land. However, she is told by the Magic Mirror (Christopher Obi) that if she, Ravenna, consumes Snow White's heart then she will live forever, but Snow White is able to escape into the Dark Forest. To capture her the Queen recruits a Huntsman, Eric (Chris Hemsworth), to retrieve Snow White. However, the Huntsman takes pity on the girl and instead of killing her brings her under his wing and with his help Snow White begins to learn the art of war. She starts a rebellion to bring down Ravenna with the aid of eight dwarves and Prince William (Sam Claflin), who has been in love with Snow White for many years.
June 8
	Prometheus A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.  Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Charlize Theron.
June 22
	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.
	Brave Set in Scotland in a rugged and mythical time, "Brave" features Merida, an aspiring archer and impetuous daughter of royalty. Merida makes a reckless choice that unleashes unintended peril and forces her to spring into action to set things right. Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.
July 3
	The Amazing Spider-Man Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.
July 20
	The Dark Knight Rises Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, the terrorist leader Bane arrives in Gotham City, pushing it and its police force to their limits, forcing its former hero Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes.
August 3
	Dorothy of Oz A computer-animated film based on the book by Roger Stanton Baum (Frank L. Baum’s great-grandson) by the same title.  When Dorothy Gale returns to Kansas to find it devastated, she find a new way to get back to Oz, only to discover that her old friends and the entire Land of Oz are in grave danger.  Cast credits include Lea Michele, Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer, James Belushi, Patrick Steward, and Martin Short, and Megan Hilty (Glinda from the hit Wicked).
	Total Recall As the nation states Euromerica and New Shanghai vie for supremacy, a factory worker (Farrell) begins to suspect that he's a spy, though he is unaware which side of the fight he's on. Remake of the Arnold film, starring Collin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel.
August 15
	The Odd Life of Timothy Green Cindy Green and Jim Green, a childless couple, become frustrated with their inability to conceive, so one night they dream up their ideal offspring and write the child's characteristics and life events on pieces of paper, including "scoring the winning goal." The couple places the notes in a box and buries them in their backyard. After a stormy night in Stanleyville, a 10-year-old arrives at their doorstep, claiming the Greens as his own. Soon they realize that the child, named Timothy, is far more special than they originally thought. Starring Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton.
August 20
	The Veil of Twilight The investigation of a mysterious serial-killer in a mountain village, set in Norway in the mid 1300's.
August 24
	The Apparition A couple are haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment.  Features Harry Potter's Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy).
September 16
	Waking A young man on the verge of success meets a beautiful woman he can inexplicably connect with in his dreams.
November 1
	The Stupidest Angel A small coastal town inhabited by misfits and lunatics has to come together on Christmas Eve to save the town and themselves from their dead friends and relatives who have been mistakenly resurrected by Heaven's Stupidest Angel.
November 16
	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2 After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.
December 12
	New Order The year is 2033, three years prior an infection, a virus, or a bacteriological attack wiped out almost 90% of the global population. Cities are no longer a safe place to live, rotting corpses are spreading new diseases. A city called New Birth City was set up by what's left of global government and military, a place where humanity could survive and search for a cure. The research was headed by two Oxford professors, two years after the out break one of the professors died leaving Dr Cornelius Van Morgen (Franco Nero), a world renowned biologist to continue the research. Dr Cornelius Van Morgen choose five people from among the survivors and puts them up in an old country house where his deceased colleague had set up a research laboratory. Working with the notes his research partner has left behind and observing the five survivors Dr Cornelius Van Morgen continues his desperate search for a cure or vaccine. The five survivors Thomas James (David Wurawa),Alice Molina (Margherita Remotti),Robert Lloyd (James Kelly),Mark Scott (Federico Rossi),Betty Duval (Tatiana Luter)wear body scans that allow/help Dr. Cornelius Van Morgen to observe his test subjects, gather medical and neurological information and record their daily events with the hope of making a break through in finding some-sort of answers. Before long the five survivor's brain waves begin to display extraordinary neurological activity that allow them to have paranormal powers, with fatal consequences...
December 14
	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Part One of a two-part epic directed by Peter Jackson, an adaptation of Tolkien’s classic. {note:  Part Two (The Hobbit: There and Back Again) is scheduled to release on 13 December 2013}
December 21
	Chronicles of the Mayan Tunnel Four children travel back in time to the Mayan kingdom in order to find the key to saving the world.
	The Return of Captain Kidd A pair of brothers stumble upon the ghost of a famous pirate.
Christmas
	King of the Elves Legendary storyteller Phillip K. Dick's short story (his only experiment in the fantasy genre) becomes the basis for this fantastic and imaginative tale about an average man living in the Mississippi Delta, whose reluctant actions to help a desperate band of elves leads them to name him their new king. Joining the innocent and endangered elves as they attempt to escape from an evil and menacing troll, their unlikely new leader finds himself caught on a journey filled with unimaginable dangers and a chance to bring real meaning back to his own life. Some sources state that this film will be released Christmas of 2012, other sources say not until sometime in 2013.

The second part, coming soon, includes the titles proposed to release in 2012, but for which I couldn't locate any specific date.

Stay Tuned,