A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Andrew Niccol’s Adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host

Steve Barton   |  

May 28, 2012

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MTV News visited the set of Andrew Niccol’s big-screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s first adult novel, The Host, last month and brought back a behind-the-scenes peek at the film along with a few more details about what we can expect when it hits theatres on March 29, 2013.

The Host is the story of Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), one of the last humans to have avoided capture by an alien race called Souls. The Souls operate more like parasites in that they invade human bodies and erase their personalities. The film follows the unlikely partnership of Melanie and her parasite as they seek out the last of Melanie’s human relatives and her love, Jared (Max Irons). It also stars Jake Abel, William Hurt, and Diane Kruger.

For Ronan, whose character runs down corridors and jumps off tall precipices, her dual roles are a lot more physical than she expected, but she has relished the opportunity to flex those new action-type muscles. For his part, Irons is enjoying the struggle Jared has in wanting to be close to Melanie but knowing in the back of his mind that he can’t. Irons explained. “He wants to hold her, but the rational part of his mind is saying she needs to be killed.”

Author Meyer is involved in the production, and being on the cave sets was particularly magical for her. “It was so awesome. The cave set was enormous, it was vast, they’re just so cool, so much fun to walk on,” Meyer enthused. “It was kind of like someone built something out of your imagination just for you.”

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. When Melanie, one of the few remaining “wild” humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.