Hypable had the opportunity to chat with Stephenie Meyer about her upcoming movie The Host, based upon the novel of the same name. She credits powerhouse cast members such as Saoirse Ronan, William Hurt and director Andrew Niccol for bringing her novel to the screen in an amazing way.

During a thirty-minute question and answer session we asked Stephenie Meyer about her cast beyond just the three lead actors: Saoirse Ronan, Jake Abel, and Max Irons. We wanted to know about veterans William Hurt, Frances Fisher, and newcomer Chandler Canterbury. As fans of the novel realize, the story is intended as a trilogy and those characters play key roles in the current story and likely the future sequels.

Hypable: You have some wonderful powerhouse actors in this film, such as William Hurt as Uncle Jeb and Frances Fisher as Maggie. What do they bring to the table in bringing these characters to life?

So much, oh my god. It’s really amazing. I mean, Frances Fisher has a smaller role than William Hurt, but she’s really fantastic in everything she does. But William has major role and gets to be the thoughtful center of the movie. He’s the person who’s been around the longest, seen the most, and has come up with a philosophy on life. And every time he’s in a scene it’s just like – “ahhh!” – angel like. It’s amazing. I really think people are just going to adore him as Uncle Jeb. I think that might be the most true to the novel role – the look, the sound of his voice. I think people are going to be like, “yes, no one else could do this but him.”

Hypable: Recently you have had the opportunity to work with some very young actors who play key roles in your story lines. Mackenzie Foy played Renesmee in ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 2’ and Chandler Canterbury plays Jamie in ‘The Host.’ Both are really pivotal roles. What was it like working with these young actors?

He’s fantastic. We’ve been so lucky, because – they always say never work with children or animals. But we keep doing that. Both of those two young actors – who’ve actually worked together before – we ended up getting these little adults who are very serious about their craft and completely understand what they’re doing. It’s not a situation with stage parents, these are kids who love acting and really enjoy it. And Chandler, he’s adorable but he’s also very very gifted. You just buy him and his feelings. They’re there.

There’s a scene with him and Wanda and the relationship between them feels so real. I remember Andrew [director Andrew Niccol] was just amazed because he was crying in the scene, and he said, “It’s like that kid can actually control his teardrops and make them stop on his cheek at the perfect spot.” He’s just extremely talented and it’s wonderful to have him in this post-apocalyptic world where everything is very serious. Having a child puts everything in perspective. For me, as a mom, it makes you take their situation so much more seriously when you see a child, and a child suffering in this world that they live in now. So I’m really grateful we found someone as good as him and he wanted to do it, because he’s amazing to have.

Hypable: You could’ve set this alien invasion tale anywhere – why Louisiana and the desert in Arizona?

I actually – it was never set in Louisiana in the novel. That was something we did in the movie that ended up being a really good choice. Louisiana is the place to shoot these days. They’ve got the facilities and it just makes the most sense on your budget generally. And we could have – that part of the story [in the book] takes place partly in San Diego, some of it in the Southwest, and we decided to embrace the location rather than try to hide it and pretend we’re somewhere else. It ended up being fantastic because we were able to celebrate the unique, the beautiful things about that area. And then we shot the desert parts in New Mexico. We got some really stunning locales. We were really fortunate, it was so beautiful.

When I wrote my other series, a lot of it was about fantasy for me, so I wrote about a place I’d never been to. I always wanted to grow up in Washington, I thought that’d be great. They have stream beds that have water in them instead of being full of rocks. I was always fascinated with that world because that’s where I grew up, that was my home and that’s what I was used to. When I wrote ‘The Host,’ it is about my home in a lot of ways. It is a place that I know and that I’m comfortable in, so the story is closer to home for me because it is my genre. I like science fiction, that’s my favorite world, and so then I also set it in my physical world that I live in and it felt like the right thing to do. In some ways it’s a lot more personal for me.

Other media outlets were also present to ask questions. When asked which actor delivers a character that is the closest to what she imagined when writing the novel, Meyer stated, “The top honors go to Saoirse particularly for her portrayal of Wanda. I think Melanie was easier for her because she relates to that girl, but Wanda is not even human. She created for me this entity that most encapsulated this character…she’s one of the most gifted actors I’ve ever seen, let alone had the opportunity to work with.”

The praise for Ronan is interesting because Meyer initially resisted her casting believing Ronan to be too young, and she, “didn’t want to repeat that whole Twilight teen triangle thing.” However, Meyer was convinced that Ronan was mature enough after seeing her in the action and intrigue film Hannah.

As far as changes from the novel to the screen, the heart of the story is there, but Meyer refers to heightened visuals that were not in the novel. In looking at the trailer, she is likely referring to the Seekers who are all in white and travel in sleek silver cars and helicopters creating a most sinister edge. There are also some character losses such as Walter from the novel not making it to the screen. Meyer’s mother in particular was unhappy with this change since the character was one of her favorites. The soccer scene from the novel also didn’t make the final version.

Many people wonder what is up next considering Stephenie Meyer’s multiple, upcoming projects in film and novels. Her production company, Fickle Fish Films, just sold its inaugural film, Austenland, to Sony classic Pictures during Sundance. The company’s next acquisition, Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan, is in the script development phase. Meyer refers to the novel as the one that scared her the most as a young teen.

As for what Stephenie Meyer is writing next, it’s a slow process. She finds it difficult to write and to do everything that film producing requires at the same time. Nonetheless, next on her agenda is the sequel to The Host, working title The Seeker. There is currently no firm date regarding its release. She wants to try to work on it this summer, but joked that she would have to “cryogenically freeze her children and husband” in order complete it by summer’s end. Her mermaid book, which she believes would be impossible to film, isn’t going to be a reality for some time.

Have you read The Host? Do you think it has a broader appeal than Twilight?