Genius Squad Book Trailer Debut

See it here first! The new trailer for Genius Squad, the sequel to Evil Genius, by Catherine Jinks:

What did you think? Let us know in the comments or leave a video reply on YouTube!

77 comments:

Anonymous said...

First of all, I never pictured Cadel or Sonja looking like that.
Second, third, fourth, fifth, etcetera... The genius squad looks good. Saul looks good. I really wanted to see a shot of Thad- um, Prosper, but oh well. I also imagine Cadel dressing a bit better. It wouldn't drive me to read the book, but having read the book, I'm not really affected.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was pronounced "Cay-del", not "Cuh-del". *feels stupid*

That was a pretty sweet trailer. But, yeah, Cadel's BLONDE, right? That is pretty much how I imagined Sonja, though!

Having already read the books, I've no idea if it would inspire me to read them or not...Okay, nevermind, yes I do. It made me want to RE-read them.

Unknown said...

Okay, so I thought it was a great idea, but there was some bad acting. But, it did show that it could be made into a very interesting movie! Good job!

Anonymous said...

Awww...
For a second there, I was so excited! I thought that there was a Genius Squad movie..
No fair..!
Anyway, I await it's release..even if I do have to wait years for a director to see it's potential.

The Compulsive Reader said...

Oooh, I want a movie now!

Yeah, there was some slightly bad acting, but other than that, I think it was a pretty cool trailer! I'm linking it to my blog!

Anonymous said...

uuummmm...it was ok i guess! I would like to see a movie(but with way better acting)in the near future! it would be great if this blog was updated more frequently though...

Anonymous said...

Man, I'd LOVE to see a movie. The book trailer was pretty neat, though. Yeah, some bad acting, and I laughed at how many times the phrase "Genius Squad" was used, but it was interesting. I always pictured Cadel as younger-looking, but Sonja was close to the Sonja in my imagination, and it was nice to see characters. Anyway, I hope someone sees the great potential for Evil Genius and Genius Squad as movies!

Anonymous said...

I thought Cadel had blonde hair and I really, really wanted to see Prosper English. I imagined him to look like the guy who played Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies. Cadel looked like he was 15... I thought he was 14. I want a movie to come out by eh... TOMMARROW >.<

Anonymous said...

Isn't his name pronouced "CAY-del", not "cuh-DEL"?? @__@
I guess it's not the same in Austrailia...
And.. Also... I'm not familiar with Austrailian accent, so I might be wrong, but this sounds purely like AMERICAN accent.. :(
Isn't Cadel blonde?
If i'd never read the story, this would've gotten me interested in the story line, but not really enough to read the story.

> < Someone should SO make a movie out of this book :) Despite some difficult obstacles, this would be AMAZING on film XD
Please, a word to the official people, Please make this into a movie one day... > <

Ava said...

well besides the obvious Cadel's blonde and tiny and pale and young looking, these books need movies now.

and as for Cadels movie appearance...2 words.
TOM FELTON.

Anonymous said...

BLONDE. BLONDE. BLOOOOONDE.
And I wanted to see Prosper too. >>; I dunno. Yeah, Cadel's trademark feature he had is most definetely his blue eyes, but come on, at least have the brown haired dude put on a wig.

I would imagine that Cadel would be much more alert than the actor appeared - I suppose that was just because of bad acting. Actually, I imagine Cadel to be a quivery kid who puts on an act - he can't be so relaxed, and calm. Plus, he didn't seem all that freaked out when Saul told him that Prosper had gotten away. xD

The Squad looked okay, though I'd change things. I thought some of the genius squad members would be more . . . soft looking. I spotted Judith and the girl twin - what's her face? Lexi. -has such horrible memory that she forgets entire books within weeks of reading them- I thought Judith should've looked older than the others, with long hair and a mother-ish look about her. xD All of them reminded me of gothic punks. No offense to anyone who is like that, of course. c: AND WHERE WAS DEVIN'S BEANIE HAT?

The narrator made me laugh so hard, I almost fell out of the computer chair. Haha. They make it seem so suspenseful. I mean, at times, it is, but the way the narrator sounded made it seem like one of those stupid action movies with too much explosions. Dang, I hate those movies.

Yeah. Change the actors. Get rid of the narrator for someone less . . . dramatic. It didn't inspire me to read it again, I must say, despite the fact that I am reading it again righht now.

Anonymous said...

this movie looks like crap!

Anonymous said...

ack that was kind of weird. Even though I read the books, my impression still comes from the narration of the audiobook. The audiobook rocked! for the movie the narrator was speaking in an american accent T.T That kind of takes all of the fun out of it, lol

Anonymous said...

Cadel looks HOT!!!!

Anonymous said...

you really need a new cadel, I agree with tango, I just thought they would look different. I thought cadel was blond.

Anonymous said...

There is a universal trend that movies adapted by books, ruin the actual story and image of the book. This utterly disgusting(for want of a better word)not only proves this trend but emphasizes it.

Lets start with his appearance, Cadel has blonde curls, NOT straight brown hair. Cadel dresses in childish clothes, as he has never had an interest in them, NOT in an American "street style".

Anonymous said...

Why does everyone keep saying his hair is blonde? I thought he had "chestnut curls"... ANYWAYS. Lame, but amusing trailer, though most of the characters didn't look anything like I imagined and saw from the tiny little pictures on the books... and I already read the new book, which was pretty amazing. :)
...I think the most disappointing thing in the trailer was the lack of Prosper... and Gazo. LOL.

Anonymous said...

I liked Lexi playing chess =)

Other than that, not so much caught my eye. I always imagined Saul to be more of an imposing bear-like figure but, in all fairness, since when did Cadel get to be so tall? Or masculine? Or rugged? Or indie, for that mater? And why wasn't he blon -

*gets whacked upside the head for overstretching the word quota*

Let's just say this guy dismally failed the Ariel test. Abysmally failed. I picture him in a dress and mascara and it really, really cracks me up.

Maybe it's just me, but TV ads really sell out the potential of a book. They cheapify it. Even if that ad had world famous child stars I would still feel that the book was merely a Z-grade, overwrought thriller, and therefore not worth the linen in my pocket let alone the change. The Maximum Ride trailer left me feeling exactly the same way.

What's the matter with bookstores? In-depth, well thought out book reviews that only hint at the plot, don't expose any surprises that come over half the way through and don't come with a disclaimer that no bo-staff training takes place simply because they don't advertise it to begin with? Because it was never there in the text? Well done. They've already made the book into a movie adaption.

Christ, I sound like a conservative and I'm only 17. But it just ain't right.

And really, thank goodness I finished reading Genius Squad today else I would have been squeemish the rest of the way through.

Anonymous said...

I just finished genius squad, and in my opinion, cadel look way too handsome in this video, he's supposed to be on the shorter cuter side, the guy in this video could never pass as a girl, outside of that, pretty good.

Anonymous said...

..What? Cadel isn't blonde?
Besides that...that's awesome

Anonymous said...

I just finished the book, and wow, none of the characters look like they would in the book. Cadel? HE's supposed to be short, blond, and he has GLASSES people! He's also austrailian (sorry bad speller) and dresses youngish. I always imagined Sonya as being a little more imposing, nothing like what I saw here. Saul looked a little like how he should, But I always imagined him as like a younger Brom (you know, from Eragon). And Mace! He isn't that big. And the Genius Squad look huge, and well, kinda overly punky. Bad narrarator. Bad acting. But cool idea. I would so watch the movie!!!

Anonymous said...

Cadel is supposed to be blonde w/ blue eyes!! I also though Cadel was pronounced cay-dell.... pretty good, though. The acting was pretty bad, but I TOTALLY want to see a movie. Umm... if Cadel is going to look so mature and old, use Chace Crawford!! (You know, from Gossip Girl on the CW). Besides that, I haven't read Genius Squad yet, but the video totally made me want to read it...

Unknown said...

I have 3 reasons that i disagree with comment #12:

1. it is NOT a movie.
2. it looks awesome (except 4 the brunette Cadel)!
3. why r u even on this blog anyway??!

i LOVE the book & i cant wait 4 genius wars (the next book) 2 come out.

Anonymous said...

It's pretty good though I thought the narration could have been alot better also the saul I saw was way off from what I imagined he'd look like. It wouldn't really inspire me to read the book though.

Unknown said...

Ouch. Please never do that again. I not only never want to see a movie involving these books, but I also don't want to see another trailer like this. (And it confused me even further, because now I have added a third possible pronunciation of "Cadel". Please put up a pronunciation guide so that we know which is the "correct" pronunciation!)

Oh, and I say all this because I love the books. Taking the images from books and out of peoples' imaginations is wrong...particularly when the actors don't fit the descriptions at all. *shudders*

Anonymous said...

Honestly...I think I can do a better job...It looks so much like a student film...How did Catherine Feel about it. Who let you do this? Destroy the book like this.

Anonymous said...

"But now, he's in a situation he never saw coming.... In.... foster care"
dun dun dun!

XDDDD Over dramatized!!!

Anonymous said...

Cadel technically *isn't* blonde. His hair is chestnut colored. I should know, I've got the book right in front of me. Which, I agree, isn't what the actor had. His hair was way too dark. And he doesn't even need to get a wig--it's called a dye job, and it isn't evn permanent. But the eyes worked. Very blue. I liked Sonja, but the actor for Saul not only acted badly, he definitely doesn't look like Saul. He looks more like the maitre dee from a French restaurant. lol Cadel was dressed too shabbily, and looked too old. He was just a bit shorter than Saul in the vid, when he's supposed to be really tiny. The narrator sounded so bored and unnaffected. And the accents weren't Australian--they were American. But overall, this not being a proffessional work, I thought it was fine. I, too, would have liked a shot of English.

Anonymous said...

Ow, my eyes. Nice effort, but... yikes. Not at all how I would have pictured.. well, ANYTHING... except maybe the house. This trailer makes the whole thing out to be some really cheesy, lame action movie. Which it isn't at all.
And whatever happened to being set in Australia?

Anonymous said...

I think this trailer was a little odd but ive read the books and it doesnt change tht much but i think cadel would look alot diffrent because of the description in the book Because it says hes got Chestnut hair Slightly shorter and Alot "cuter" per say other than tht i dont think this is a very well done trailer 'coz theres some very bad acting in this

Unknown said...

cadel has blonde hair and looks like a girl.
sonja has black hair.

the series would make a great movie, but if it does, it would be a bad idea to use that trailer.

Anonymous said...

when does the genius wars come out?
I CANT WAIT!!!

Anonymous said...

not the best acting but pleezzz read the books. I wanted to see thad. cadel wasn't very baby looking...wher's the pale blue eyes? I like Cay-del better than Cuh-del also, like Mere.

Anonymous said...

I think it's neat that there are now video previews for books.

Anonymous said...

Please tell me that the genius squad trailer was a gag reel,or that least a strugling film maker trying to get college credit. It was horrible. thank god i read the books first, 'cause if i would have seen that trailer there would be know way i would have read the books. since when did cadel look like zac efron? and being shirtless, come-on. he's a genius no a ambercrombie and fitch model. and lexi, i know she's punk/goth looking but the trailer made her look like a wannabe emo. to put it simply, get a cast that at lease looks simular to the characters in the book. I think your eather over thinking the characters and plot or you just skimed through the book. if you did, please, for the sake of all that like the books, acually read the books!!!

Donne said...

I know how to pronounce "Cadel" now, finally!

But yes, the boy playing Cadel doesn't look a think like he was described in the book, and Sonja's wheelchair seems less bulky than I pictured, what with the DynaVox and everything.

Overall, I'd say: bad for a professional, great for an amateur. The big thing negative would probably be that you can tell you had a low budget for this, but it's definitely understandable. This isn't Twilight... though I think I enjoyed it just as much as that series.

Anonymous said...

this quite frankly looks like a massive heap of shitaki mushrooms.
Cadel is blond, pointing that out.
He's suppose to have curly hair
Look like a girl
Look 10 years old...
c'mon now, hes not masculine or tall.

Lexi's character sucked, in the book she is post-emo-post-goth in this she just has black fugged up hair, shes SKINNY, and looks fuggin pizzed.
and Devin looks nothing like Lexi,
and has no BEANIE!

this is a shtty film.
i kno its not one,
and for that im graciously thankful, i love the books, and this 'trailor' rite here just ruined my perspective of it.

Starsabre said...

What is all you guys' problems?! In the book, (I have it right here in front of me,) it says he has CHESTNUT CURLS and blue eyes! Not once does it even SUGGEST that he has blond hair! I do agree that the actor chosen to play Cadel in the trailer didn't really look young, small, or girly enough. But guys, get your facts straight before you start flaming the trailer!

Anonymous said...

Cool, but the acting wasn't that great. And they shouldn't have had Cadel in typical, casual street clothes. He didn't dress like that.
Judith, Dot, and Saul were exactly the way I pictured them.

Anonymous said...

Cadel (pronounced cuh-del, its welsh it says so right in the book) had blonde hair when he was seven but as he grew older it darkened, yes chestnut curls is used to describe it several times. Cadel was seven at the beginning of the book, and thirteen through most of it and fourteen at the end. Genius Squad is set three years later making him seventeen. Controversy over... christ-sakes people, are you sure you read the book?

Anonymous said...

*Cadel is a hottie!*

I enjoyed that trailer. Even though that's not how I pictured any of the characters (except for Mace- ?).

I actually had the pronunciation of Cadel right! Woo hoo!

Evil Genius needs to be made into a movie IMMEDIATELY.

A Fan said...

Aaaaaah. That was some bad acting there. I always imagined Saul as older, though, and was that Fiona with Sonja?
Anyway, it would be so great if this was made into a movie. xD
And what's up with their accents? Isn't everyone (except Saul) Australian? Why is Cadel's accent American?
And their clothes could use some work, too. The book's still awesome, though, so this should be made into a movie. With better acting.

snakessnakes said...

That was a horrible trailer, I didnt see hamish, lexi or devin in that group of kids..
and why is cadel shirtless?

Mark Nudalo said...

Well first of all, cadel is short and well not really physically fit. He uses his brain to escape from the cops and all. The actor acting as cadel is tall, physically fit, and well let's just say the total opposite from what I have read in the books. Why is there an asian dude in the trailer? Is he suppose to be hamish? Mr. saul doesn't look too old to me. The twins are ok. The clearview house is too small in the trailer and well the war room is huge. Remember when the kids have to transfer since Saul is staying in the house? They remove their equipments to a van so that they can cont. on what they are doing. Mrs. Jinks if ur reading this, I highly suggest not to make it into a movie, if it's horribly directed like that...

Anonymous said...

Ppls- CUH-del instead of CAY-del does make sense.....
btw- y the heck does everyone think he's blonde??
and y is he not wearing a shirt in that part....?????

Nerys2q said...

What's up with the American accents? After all Cadel did grow up in Australia. I liked the video editing + effects but I agree, bad acting in some bits. And the brown hair dude playing Cadel really sucks at acting and does not look like Cadel at all. Good trailer, bad cast.

Anonymous said...

At the beginning of the book, the author thanks "Elijah Wood" for being her visual inspiration for Cadel...so that's who I've always pictured him to look like...not sy sll like the guy in the trailer.

Anonymous said...

Cadel needs to be smaller... Like significantly less smaller than the other kids in genius squad. I think the only part of that trailer i actually LIKED, was when they showed Cadel asleep and made it seem like Prosper was coming. (the last page of part 3 in the book)

Anonymous said...

Now I have to reread the books again.=/ I don't think it can pass as a good movie though, too much goes on in his head that's important, they'd have to change a lot of it. =P

Anonymous said...

i'm australian and i also pronounce cadel CAY-DEL but some of my friends say CUH-DELL. i think cay-del is cooler=]

Anonymous said...

-super late comment-
Oh my.
To be honest I was laughing, a lot.
I thought Cadel was supposed to be puny-ish.
I pictured him as sort of a young Daniel Radcliffe.
You know, like in the Sorcerer's Stone...
This seemed almost like a parody though. =/
Love the books however.

Anonymous said...

Lame

CADELLOVER said...

I LOVE CADEL!!!!!!!!!!i tink hez d AWESOMEST!!!!!character EVER!!!i really wish he waz real hez d perfect guy for me!!!!!!!lol hez CUTE nd a GENIUS!!!i swear wen i grow up if sum1 doesnt make d movie I WILL!!!!!but i really wish dey wuldve put Prosper in d trailer =[ oh well

Phoebe said...

ò__o;; .. Why are they American?
Why does Cadel look manly?

This whole thing makes me mad.

If they ever make these books into movies, I'll cry.

Catherine.. you're my idol. I hope you never authorised this. 8(

Anonymous said...

Well, i didnt really like it. Wen i read the books, I imagined everything a lot gloomier and i imagined cadel short and blond. The boy that plays cadel doesnt exactley fit the description. He looks more of like a boy band kind of guy instead of a genius nerd kid. The guy that plays saul looks nothing like he does explained. He didnt have the deep, mysterious lanky look i thought hed have. IDK about everyone else, but i think this little 'trailer' ruined my vision of what everyone looked like.

Anonymous said...

AND WHEERE DOES IT SAY THAT ANYONE IN THE FRIKKEN CLEARVIEW HOUSE WAS ASIANN!?!>!>!

Anonymous said...

(i know its random but) heres my view on it:
could have been more realistic, not so much drama. and cadel looked too old and his voice was crackley. in the book his voice was soft and sweet and he looked younger than he was. AND HE WAS BLONDE with BIG blue eyes :|
But you know what? Every time a book is made into a movie they mess it up from the book (eragon for instance) but for those who havent read the book it would make for a good movie and motivate them to read the book.
for those who read the book:
we all would be severly disappointed no matter what because the book is AMAZEINGLYAWESOMNES. and no actor could even come close to that. but that dosent mean they shouldnt try *wink wink*
personaly i think it would be like star-wars or twilight (as far as fan-base and popularity) and they should make the whole series

oh and ive been biteing my nails waiting on the 3rd one to come out (genius wars) for what seems like foreve (its been like a year now D*8 )

Fav Char:
of the series: either COM (yes i know he was'nt in GS but still he was freaking sweet) or Gazo (once again not really in GS but i liked him)
GS: well i liked DOT untill she became a backstabbing ☻Ü♠Θ. other than that probly Hamish and deven because at first they lookded all rough and tumble and turns out theyre just these little computer geeks. (lol i had to reread a chapter to rember some of the chars)

Emily said...

Isn't it Cadel's name pronounced "Cay-del"? And since when has Cadel have brown hair? The trailer didn't seem too bad though. Not the best acting but it's sill pretty cool. But at first I thought there was a movie coming out. :)

Anonymous said...

SONJA IS NOT LIKE THAT....is there really a movie or what?

Anonymous said...

jordan likes ham =]

Anonymous said...

Okay.. Weird..

Cadel looks waaaay too teenage-hearthrob. He's supposed to be kinda short and dorky -in my opinion- not HOT.

The acting was crap, but amusing. It seemed more like a trailer by some untrained fans of the books. The sense of The Genius series was there, but not very good.

Sonja.. Dare I say it: *shudder* I pictured her more tan, especially since her name sounds semi-exotic. I also imagined her twitch a bit more; the girl in the trailer seemed dead.. Not very realistic.

I would've loved to see Gazo, though I thought Hamish was spot-on perfect.

It seems I was the only one who though to pronounce it “Cuh-del”.. Cuh-DUH.

The narration is fine being American, since it’s a trailer.. Though the actor’s accents are crap, again. Still reminds me of something my friends and I would’ve attempted in our backyard to be dorky fans.

some guy watched this video and sadly said...

I've gotta say, I loved the books but this just made me glad tehy wern't quick to pump a movie out. I imagined pretty much everyone very differently. Cadel's pronounciation did get me, i imagined it rhyming with cradle or at least like cardle as a second guess. Umm, I want to add something positive to finish but I can't think of anything relevant to the video that was very good. Sorry. It kinda looked like College Humour but not a parody.

Anonymous said...

It was ok. Cadel looks really like an average american teenager, not someone with a high IQ. Also I don't think he would ever be shirtless in public. Doesn't seem like part of his character.

Jocle said...

I SWEAR that it was "Cay-DELL." It's better than "Cu-Dell." I'M PISSED!!!

Anonymous said...

Catherine, I hope you are reading these. I know I'm leaving a late comment I'm sure, considering the next book is already coming out in a few months here, but I just finished re-reading your book and felt the need to do some researching when I stumbled upon this.

As an optimist, I believe there is a silver lining to everything. Although this trailer was horrid, for obviuos reasons pointed out numerous times on this blog, it was still a positive thing considering now if a movie is made they know what NOT to do. Assuming they read all of these comments here.

I'm not going to bother typing up all the things wrong with this trailer, considering it's already been done, but I do want to emphasize on the asian guy thing. When I saw him, it just just the cherry on top to this maddness.

To be honest I am glad that they didn't put in Prosper, because let's face it guys, he'd probably be worst looking them the rest of them.

Except maybe Cadel. In my mind, he was the cutest thing, not someone the kids I baby sit would go crazy over.

Thank you for attempting to make this trailer guys. Even if you failed, I'll allow you a false A for effort.

Kyra said...

Just watched the trailer (against my better judgment) and read the reviews. Most of them were spot-on-- i know i'm posting this way late, but i hope you're reading this catherine. SOOO glad they didn't put in prosper, because

a. whenever i see actors in the character's roles, it screws up my mental image of them-- especially when they are actors so far off the mark of what i imagined the characters as (i.e. saul. one word: dissappointing.

b. they could never find an actor good enough to play my fave character. enough said.

anyways, being an american, am i the only one who finds trailers for books weird? i have never seen something like this on tv stateside. must be an aussie thing. and i must say, i am very glad for it. Just seeing this trailer before having read the book, i would never have read it.

OH, and for the record-- Cadel? it is CAY-del, and will always be (in my little world.)

Anonymous said...

i loved the books but i hated the preview! Cadel does NOT look like that!!!! If they got better actors and stuff it would be a good movie :-)

Anonymous said...

Please... People, Cadel looks like Elija Wood. The Actor. Re-Read the first book again. In the front of the book with the "Thanks for the Suport".

Myself said...

I saw this video a little late, and have already read all the other books. Why is Cadel not blonde?! And short-I though he was short. And had blue eyes. Sonja was all right, but also not what I pictured. If there was a movie they would have to do a better job casting...I don't know if that video would make me want to read the books, either.

Kira said...

I agree with Le Grand Tango. Cadel looks completely wrong, not blonde and not frail looking at all. The guy who played him looked too much like a normal teenager, not a petite boy so beautiful he looks like a girl.

Sonja doesn't look like a severe quadriplegic either, but it's what people would expect from Hollywood, so that's not as severe a blunder.

The Genius Squad is pretty awesome looking, though I didn't see who would be a good fit for Hamish.

I would also like to see Prosper, but he would be a difficult role to find a fit to.

It would be amazing if this series turned into a movie series. I can already picture how amazing it would look!

Anonymous said...

Um in the book it said cadel had brown curls.

Anonymous said...

Cadel Looks weird... having read only the first book. You should make it a movie!

Dreamer said...

I think you should make a movie for the first book Evil Genius I loved the book! :)

Stormer said...

I believe they should make a movie and Cadel is hot, but he is expose to be blonde, but the way he looks I don`t evaen care!

Stormer said...

even

Stormer said...

Plus work on the bad acting.Finished Genius Sguad an Genius wars in three days and I am only 12!!

Anonymous said...

It was a pretty cool trailer but they should of put a shot of Prosper in. Still reading the book but it is pretty good so far!!! Maybe use better acting for future trailers... 😎