Movie Monday: Why Scott Charles Stewart is the perfect guy to bring ‘City of Bones’ to life

Every Monday here at The Mortal Instruments Source is Movie Monday, where we talk about one of the many topics involving the movie adaptation of “City of Bones.”

While he only has two movies to his directorial name, Scott Charles Stewart possesses the creativity and experience that The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones needs when it makes its way from book to the big screen. Stewart is best known for his role in visual effects, which he has served as on 17 movies, including blockbuster hits such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Iron Man. The two films that Stewart directed were both of sci-fi and fantasy origin, in Legion and Priest, so he has an upper hand as he preps to take on the world of The Mortal Instruments. Lily Collins, who worked with Stewart in Priest, raved about his vision and why he's the perfect guy to take City of Bones from book to movie.

“I kept thinking, he created this alternate world (in Priest) and this is what Mortal Instruments needs," she said. "Mortal Instruments is this other completely different fantasy world and I have complete confidence that Scott can take it there because he did with Priest."

Collins also revealed the Stewart is very much an “actor’s director” and knew exactly how to get the most out of his actors.

“He really knew how to connect to each of us in a way that we understood,” she said. “He’s just calm.  Sometimes it’s eerie when you have all this stuff going on and it’s a really freaky film with things flying everywhere and fire and he’s like, “we’ll get it, we’ll get there”.  It puts you in a really calm place.”

But perhaps the most important factor is the passion that Stewart already possesses in regards to the story and the characters. Mortal Instruments is the one series that stood out to him amid other popular Young Adult book series.

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“I read a lot of YA books, and I had read The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments and a series called The Uglies,” Stewart told Hollywood Crush. “Mortal Instruments really stood out to me. It didn’t just feel like a Twilight also-ran, it has a really active protagonist in Clary Fray, [who] Lily Collins is playing in the movie.”

Stewart also revealed that the realistic New York atmosphere, as well as the action, was a big draw for him, one that is looking forward to create in the movie.

“There’s lots of cool action,” Stewart told Hollywood Crush. “It’s just a really great opportunity…also I always loved growing up, as a kid in the ’80s, loved those New York all night movies, like ‘After Hours,’ and then on the genre side, ‘The Lost Boys,’ [the type of stories wherein] when sun goes down there is a whole other world.”

Stewart also understands the importance of New York as a character in the story and already has a vision as to where he will take the story.

“It’s going to be the New York of the daytime—the real New York that we all can perceive, at least [what] Clary perceives at the beginning of the film,” he told Hollywood Crush. “It’s going to have a realistic, hopefully naturalistic feel. And when the sun goes down and things change, she’s able to see things that other people can’t. That’s when we’re going to be getting into something that feels dangerous and sensual and exciting.”

Already Stewart has put forth a lot of dedication toward the story. I don’t know about you guys, but I am really excited to see him bring this world to life.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is expected to begin filming in October of this year.