Going into The Host I didn’t know what to expect. The trailer looked promising and I had heard that Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s adult book was better than her vampire romance novels. I cannot judge the book, having never read it, but The Host movie was unspectacular and downright weird.

The plot goes like this: Aliens called “Souls” have invaded Earth and taken over nearly every human being (think Invasion of the Body Snatchers). Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) is captured and a Soul called Wanderer is implanted into her body. Instead of fading away, Melanie’s consciousness holds on and the two fight for control of Melanie’s body.

Eventually Wanderer (now Wanda) helps get Melanie to her loved ones but things get (more) complicated when Wanda starts to have feelings for new guy Ian (Jake Abel) but Melanie is still in love with her boyfriend Jared (Max Irons). In the mean time, main antagonist, the Seeker (an awesomely stone faced/borderline psychotic Diane Kruger) is hunting for the last humans and using Melanie/Wanda to find them.

Even if you’re not a fan of Twilight or author Stephanie Meyer, you can’t argue her work seems to appeal to a lot of people. Plus, with the Twilight books, movies and merchandise, her works also bring in a ton of money.

So, it should come as no surprise the powers that be are going to try to cash in on as much of her work as possible. This shocking revelation brings us to The Host.

Meyer has written one book in this saga and it’s been made into a movie. A new trailer for said movie has dropped today.

In case you’re not familier with The Host, it tells the story of “one of the last humans on Earth trying to resist an alien invasion. When an alien parasite is injected into her, it becomes obsessed with her memories and free will.”

We can guess it also discovers the meaning of life, love and what it means to be human. Or something like that.

Anyway, look for The Host, which was directed by Andrew Niccol and stars Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Diane Kruger and Jake Abel, to arrive in theaters on March 29, 2013. Check out the trailer after the break.

For those of you who were “too cool” to attend any of the films in the multi-billion dollar franchise which is The Twilight Saga, you aren’t missing much. But, with that in mind, it makes complete sense that creator Stephanie Meyer would be ready and willing to capitalize on another franchise, now that her vampire/werewolf/emo chick love triangle is coming to an end.

Enter The Host, which hit bookshelves back in 2008. Toted as being “Science fiction for people who don’t like science fiction”, the book is said to be a bit of a departure from Meyer’s Twilight universe. Here’s the synopsis.

The Host is a riveting story about the survival of love and the human spirit in a time of war. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact. Most of humanity has succumbed.

Set to hit theaters on March 29th of next year, the film has plans to take star Saoirse Ronan (Hanna) and possibly construct her into the next Kristen Stewart with this upcoming adaptation. Take a look at the first trailer after the jump, and be prepared to be dazzled by a series of photoshopped images of creepy eyes.

Saoirse Ronan is not only starring in Twilight author Stephanie Meyer’s The Host, but is now attached to headline yet another Snow White centric flick called The Order of the Seven. The film will have a completely new spin on the old story.

It will follow a centuries old and once revered Order of Warriors from around the world, who are now a jaded group of outlaws, as they reclaim their destiny after the reemergence of an ancient evil empress. Ronan will play Olivia Sinclair, a British ex-pat of 19th Century Hong Kong who guides the warriors back to their noble roots. The film will be lined with stars from China, Russia and Japan.

Ronan has been making a name for herself over the past few years as she has taken on larger and larger roles, which have included Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, the Oscar-winning Atonement and not to mention the action packed Hanna. This will be her first leading role.

I have mixed feelings about this news coming out of Cannes today. At least I’m happy to see this guy getting more work as I’m a fan and had the pleasure of working with him once long ago.

It seems Truman Show writer and Gattica director Andrew Nicol is taking on directing duties for the big screen adaptation of the Stephanie Meyer book The Host. The project, which is being shopped at Cannes by Inferno Entertainment and producers Nick Wechsler and Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz, will star Saoirse Ronan.

Here’s some more info on the film:

Ronan will play Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans battling an alien species called Souls. These parasites invade human bodies, fuse to each person’s consciousness and systematically erase their personalities.

The story follows Melanie as she is captured by the aliens and implanted by a Soul called Wanderer. Wanderer wants Melanie to give up the remaining humans, but instead the alien finds Melanie to be unique in her unwillingness to surrender her consciousness.

Wanderer is so overwhelmed by Melanie’s memories and feelings that she is driven to reconnect with Melanie’s old life, which includes falling for Melanie’s boyfriend. The result is a complex, romantic and emotional human/alien love triangle.

The concept of the insane upper-class citizens is one that has gone to the wayside over the past few years. There are some great films that incorporate the plot twist, such as Swimming with Sharks, but most insane antagonists in film tend to be members of the unwashed and broke.

That’s where Nick Tomnay’s The Perfect Host comes in. Based on his original 2001 short, The Host, the film takes the classic hostage tale and spins it around. Here’s the official synopsis.

Warwick Wilson is the consummate host. He carefully prepares for a dinner party, the table impeccably set and the duck perfectly timed for 8:30 p.m. John Taylor is a career criminal. He’s just robbed a bank and needs to get off the streets.

He finds himself on Warwick’s doorstep posing as a friend of a friend, new to Los Angeles, who’s been mugged and lost his luggage. As the wine flows and the evening progresses, we become deeply intertwined in the lives of these two men and discover just how deceiving appearances can be.

David Hyde Pierce takes on the role of Warwick, which is great seeing as how Pierce has been stuck with the fumbling, British comic relief for so many years. It will be nice to see him try out “nut case” for size.

Check out the trailer after the jump, and catch The Perfect Host on demand on May 27th and in theaters on July 1.

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s movie machine keeps humming along as another of her novels has been grabbed by producers Nick Wechsler, Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz. The trio, fresh from adapting Cormac McCarthy’s The Road to the big screen, reportedly used their own funds to acquire Meyer’s The Host, her first adult novel. In addition, the producers have tapped Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Truman Show) to pen the script and direct.

In case you’re only familiar with Meyer’s Twilight novels, The Host follows a similar pattern and is a bittersweet love story set in a near future Earth which has been assimilated by an alien species of benevolent parasites. These creatures call themselves “Souls.” One such soul, the Wanderer, is fused with a dying human named Melanie Stryder, in an attempt to locate the last pocket of surviving humans on Earth.

According to the report, Meyer had, in the past, refused all offers to bring The Host to the big screen. But apparently, these producers came to the table with the right combination of deal and vision for the project which finally made her agree. Having never read The Host, nor any of the Twilight novels, all I can say is this must be good news for those of you who have. Judging from fan’s reaction to those books and films, I have little doubt The Host will meet with similar success — especially if the film somehow features Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

Summit releases the second adaptation of Meyers’ vampire series, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, on Nov. 20.