Saoirse Ronan in Twilight’s Stephenie Meyer’s The Host

How do you showcase a film starring two characters in one body? How will they both communicate with the audience? With each other? Will their thoughts sound different? Yes, there will be considerable difficulty in filming The Host, a big screen adaptation of author Stephenie Meyer’s well-loved (and hefty-sized) novel that ISN’T about any vampires. The important news however, is yes, the film is happening, and yes, it has a star!

How exciting is this, boys and girls? The deadline exclusive was music to my ears! Effervescent and capable actress Saoirse Ronan just won the starring role in the film. I don’t think filmmakers could have picked a better actress (I mean, especially since Jennifer Lawrence will be busy serving as our Katniss Everdeen in another beloved YA book adaptation).

Saoirse, who captivated audiences in The Lovely Bones, kicked some major butt in Hanna, and was nominated for an Oscar for her work in Atonement, (and will appear in The Hobbit) seems like a great choice to portray our young heroine and the fantastic alien symbiont living inside her.

Here’s how deadline described the character:

“Melanie Stryder (sounds an awful lot like Stephenie Meyer and) [is] one of the last humans putting up a fight against an alien species called Souls.”

These parasites invade human bodies, fuse to each person’s consciousness and systematically erase their personalities. Melanie is captured by the aliens and implanted by a Soul called Wanderer, something of a legend because of all of the “hosts” she has attached to on numerous planets. Wanderer’s goal is to get Melanie to give up the remaining pockets of 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, the alien is driven to reconnect with Melanie’s old life.

In fact, Melanie won’t go away quietly and she and Wanderer have to share the one body. Wanderer is also surprised when she starts to fall in love with the human man that is the love of Melanie’s life. But they both can’t have him, now can they? In fact, can they both survive at all? That’s the question! The Host takes place in Meyer’s beloved desert landscape, which is quite a departure from Forks, Washington. We hear Meyer is very involved in the filmmaking progress and you can count on hearing more news from us here at BoomTron as it develops.

If you love Ronan as much as I do, go check out the DVD, Death Defying Acts, now!