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Finally the movie you’ve been waiting for has reached the shores of North America. Alex Rider : Operation Stormbreaker premieres in New York on Friday the 6th of October and opens nationwide in the USA on Friday the 13th of October.

Get your popcorn now!
www.stormbreaker.com

A quick message on the day before I leave for Australia. I hope youre all having a good summer and despite the heat GOING TO THE CINEMA! (More about that in a moment).

This Saturday, I’ll be in Bangkok, having a couple of days rest on my way to Perth which is where my book tour of Australia starts.

It seems like the right place to think about Alex 7 or Snakehead as everyone now knows its called. Ive already worked out the plot and Im starting to think about the action which will include a chase through Bangkok. But what sort of chase? On the river or on the roads? By boat or on foot? Or how about stealing a tuk-tuk, one of the motorised rickshaws (and death-traps) that crowd the city? Hopefully, Ill get some ideas as I walk around.

I’m thinking of throwing Alex into a cage fight too, although Im not sure how hell survive it. So Ill head for one of the main stadiums on Saturday night and see what its like.

Ill be in Sydney in about a weeks time which is where Chapter Two of Snakehead takes placesomewhere called Darling Harbour. One of the things I really like doing when I write the Alex books is to walk round the locations and plan everything on the spot. The chapter involves three bank robbers, a speedboat and of course - Alex. Ill take a tour in the morning and write it in the afternoon.

That only leaves about 80,000 words to go

The reason that I can start thinking about Alex again is that I have just finished my new book, NIGHTRISE the third in the Power of Five series that began with RAVENS GATE and EVIL STAR.

I think NIGHTRISE is very different from anything Ive ever done. For a start, its longer. For the first time Ive broken the 100,000 word barrier (but dont worry its still shorter than a Harry Potter and its probably as long as Im going to get). Ive already posted stuff about my recent trip to America which really helped the book to take shape. The heroes are two Indian or Native American kids. Scott and Jamie Tyler. Twins. They have telepathic powers and get sucked into a conspiracy involving a huge international business, Nightrise, and a plan to assassinate the next president of the USA.

The book includes time travel, some very bloody battle scenes, a prison breakout, a torture scene, several monsters and a re-appearance by a villain from the last book. Matt and Richard also appear and, as you know, I introduce my first heroinea girl called Scar.

By the end of this week, as Ive done before, Ill have hidden the first chapter somewhere on the website. If you find it, let me know what you think!

And now news about the film of Stormbreaker.

The premiere in Leicester Square was completely insane. I’d expected about 500 people to turn up but in fact there were more than 2000. Most of them had come to see Alex Pettyfer, of course not me. But Im not complaining. It was a boiling hot evening and going up the red carpet felt like a bit of Hollywood in London. There were dozens of photographers and TV cameras. I even got my picture in OK magazine!

Then, five days later, the film was released all over the UK. I tried not to read any of the reviews because film critics can be a pretty miserable bunch and anyway who really cares what they think? But from what Im told, most of them liked it, some of them loved it and there was only really one who really hated it (someone who clearly had his head so far up his own bottom Im surprised he was able to see the film at all).

Since then, its been a pretty nerve-wracking business. You probably dont know this I certainly didnt but when a big movie opens, the producers and the money people track seat sales every day of every week and know exactly how well the film is doing all the time. In other words, when you buy a ticket, they know!

So far Stormbreaker has done very well although the competition from Superman and Pirates 2 has been strong. The hot weather has also kept some people away from the cinema. The last time I saw the producer, in fact, he was sacrificing chickens in the hope of rain. But people are still going and the film is still showing on screens all over the UK. The summer has six more weeks to run. And most important of all, word of mouth has been really great.

Which is to say that most of you seem to have liked it! I have to say, thats a huge relief. And if you did like it, can you recommend it your friends, family, neighbours, passing strangers, paramedics, tourists etc? I really hope were going to make Point Blanc next year but it all depends on the box office.

Stormbreaker starts to open across Europe next month and then comes the big one the New York premiere on October 3rd. These days, a film has to succeed in America if its going to succeed worldwide. Im going to be travelling around the USA with Alex Pettyfer throughout September doing publicity and stuff. Keep an eye on my calendar

Thats it for now. Were making lots of changes to this website and I hope you approve. Thanks to Xero in Ireland who never rests. And HHQ in London. And everyone who has been to see the film

News - October 2005



STORMBREAKER WRAPS LATEST NEWS

At twelve oclock on a cold night in September, I was on the back lot at Pinewood watching the last shot in the principal photography of Stormbreaker.

It was the scene where Alex sneaks out of Sayle Enterprises and spies on Yassen Gregorovich when the R5 cannisters arrive. Pages 129-133 in the Walker edition of the book.

This is what I saw

In the background, there was a vast yacht. Arc welders were at work and the sparks were flying in the night. Two searchlights, very high up, swung over the complex, picking up a helicopter and three submarines. Suddenly there was a roar of engines and a whole convoy of black jeeps arrived followed by a huge truck with mounted machine guns. About fifty guards with dogs and machine guns hurried to meet it.

Alex (Alex Pettyfer) was spying on all this from behind some oil drums. He watched as Darrius Sayle (Micky Rourke) arrived in a black Hummer and met with Yassen (Damian Lewis). A guard in a fork-lift truck dropped one of the R-5 cannisters and without even looking round, Yassen took out his gun and shot him. The glass shattered. Immediately, more guards ran forward, pulled out the dead man and replaced him.

Geoff Sax, the director, yelled Cut! and that was it. Twelve weeks of shooting over and the whole film (apart from a couple of days extra shooting later this month) in the can.

Id spent the last twelve hours on the set and the whole day had been a massive scramble to get everything done. The first shot just before lunch was the smashing of the jelly fish tank and the death of Nadia Vole. Believe it or not, they actually used Semtex to blow out the specially toughened glass and the noise was deafening. I dont know how many hundreds of gallons poured out but it really was an incredible flood and tore whole sections of the set apart.

Then they did a shot of Nadia (Missi Pyle) reacting in shock as she was drenched and then a stuntwoman took over to show the result of what had happened. This was a great shot. They stuck her on her back with her legs quivering in the air. She was covered in slime and water. And there was a huge jellyfish smothering her, its tentacles wrapped around her. Ive never seen anything like it.

They also did a whole series of pick-ups. A few shots in the fight between Nadia Vole and Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstonebut she wasnt there so they used a double). A shot of Alex speeding down a secret railway line on his way into MI6. A few shots of Alex being crushed in the car. Alex in the Stormbreaker virtual reality computer, being spun slowly round in a huge, subterranean chamber.

And then, at exactly one minute to twelve it was all over

until a few days later when I visited Hyde Park in London. This was whats caked a pick-up day and it was another huge sequence involving the entire Household Guards on horseback chasing Alex and Sabina, also on a horse. There were cameras and cranes everywhere. One whole section of the park was locked off. Im told the cost of the days shooting was around a quarter of a million pounds.

And luckily it didnt rain.

There are still a few shots that have to be slotted in like missing pieces in a jigsaw. Ewan McGregor still hasnt appeared as Ian Rider. There are about 100 computer effects. Then comes the editing process, music and finally test screenings (when they show the film to an American audience and see what people say). The film will finally open next summer and thats when youll be able to judge it for yourself.

Meanwhile, the producers are so confident that theyve asked me to start work on the screenplay of Point Blanc. We could be producing it as early as next Christmasit needs snow, obviously. Lots of snowboarding in Switzerland! So weve no sooner stopped than Im starting again.

Stormbreaker has been enormous fun. Its going to be a hard act to follow. Last night, the producer gave me a Stormbreaker computer as an end-of-shoot present.

I just hope it isnt the one with the deadly virus.