Fans of the Caster Chronicles series will be in love this Valentine’s Day, as the film version of the first book, Beautiful Creatures, is moved to a Valentine’s Day opening.  The series (written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl) — about a young girl who must choose between good and evil, and the boy who has a haunting connection to her  — has been called “The Next Twilight”, but I’d rather just call it a great new series for fans of gothic/paranormal YA fiction.

There are high hopes for the film franchise, but with the final book of the series, Beautiful Redemption, recently published, I’ll bet there will be a stampede of fans to the theaters.  But with Beautiful Creatures and Safe Haven both coming out on the 14th of February, what’s a romance fan to do?  Maybe it’s double-feature time?  Because as pretty as Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough, I’m looking forward to seeing Emily Rossum, Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons unleash some witchy whup-ass.

Read on for the full Beautiful Creatures press release!

BURBANK, CA, January 8, 2013 – Warner Bros. Pictures has moved the release date of Alcon Entertainment’s “Beautiful Creatures” back one day to Valentine’s Day, in keeping with the film’s intriguing blend of magic and romance. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Directed by Richard LaGravenese from his own screenplay, “Beautiful Creatures” is adapted from the hugely successful novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Sales of the book, which was already a runaway bestseller, have been exploding in anticipation of the film’s release. Fans of the novel have been eagerly awaiting the screen adaptation, which is also generating interest from those who have not yet even read the book.

“Beautiful Creatures” tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers: Ethan, a young man longing to escape his small town, and Lena, a mysterious new arrival. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town. But as the tie between Ethan and Lena strengthens, they become tangled in a dangerous web of spells and secrets from which there may be no escape.

The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Academy Award® winner Jeremy Irons (“Reversal of Fortune”), Oscar® nominee Viola Davis (“The Help,” “Doubt”), Emmy Rossum, Thomas Mann, and Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson (“Howard’s End,” “Sense and Sensibility”). Rounding out the cast are Eileen Atkins, Margo Martindale, Zoey Deutch, Tiffany Boone, Rachel Brosnahan, Kyle Gallner, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Sam Gilroy.

The film was produced by Erwin Stoff (“Water for Elephants”), Academy Award® nominees Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson (“The Blind Side”), Molly Mickler Smith, and Oscar® nominee David Valdes (“The Green Mile”). Yolanda T. Cochran served as executive producer, with Steven P. Wegner co-producing.

Alcon Entertainment presents a 3 Arts Entertainment/Belle Pictures Production, “Beautiful Creatures,” to be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company. “Beautiful Creatures” has been rated PG-13 for violence, scary images and some sexual material.