WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATIONS? WOULD YOU ONE DAY WANT YOUR BOOK MADE INTO A MOVIE, OR PROBABLY NOT?
I love that we’ve all had varying responses to this prompt. It’s somewhat controversial, but our posts are interesting because of it!
While I completely understand the idea that a movie adaptation of your novel could compromise its integrity, I personally would be on board with having my book made into a movie.
I have a few reasons to explain my enthusiasm for a book-to-movie adaptation (in no particular order):
1. It’d be great to see my book come to life on screen as a new way for my readers to experience the story/world/characters I’ve created.
I do believe movies are just another art form, and thus can and will be slightly different from the books they’re based on. That said, if the producer decides it’s okay to completely screw it up, he might as well call it by a different title. In short, I understand there’s no way for my book to translate perfectly on screen. And that’s okay, as long as the overall story is the same.
2. What author wouldn’t want to meet potentially well-known actors/actresses portraying their characters?
Um, super cool. I’d be trying really hard to be professional, but it probably wouldn’t work out. I’d take lots of pictures with captions like, DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?!
3. I’m not naïve enough to believe I’d be consulted on every aspect of the movie, but I’d like to have some influence.
This, I think, is becoming less of an issue. I was especially excited after reading about Veronica Roth and John Green’s involvement with their book-to-movie adaptations. (Not that I’m assuming I’m even anywhere in their league, or that my book would ever be so popular.)
And there is the possibility of actually appearing in the movie, as a minor character or an extra or something like that. (When I saw Veronica Roth on screen during the Divergent zip-lining scene, I punched my sister in the arm and stage-whispered “IT’S VERONICA ROTH!”)
Book-to-movie adaptations I believe were done well:
Harry Potter
The Help
Hunger Games
The Book Thief
Divergent
Fault in Our Stars
Unfortunately, sometimes book-to-movie adaptations disappoint. The casting is all wrong, because someone forgot to pay attention to the details that make the character memorable and beloved, or several major plot points were overlooked, or the tone of the film is off.
When movie adaptations are made of the first book in a series, I worry about future adaptions of the remaining books. If the first movie doesn’t do well, the fans can be sure the rest of the series won’t make it to the screen. Which, in my opinion, just isn’t fair (to the author or the fan base).
The movie adaptations of Eragon, Percy Jackson, City of Bones, and Vampire Academy could have been better. And if they had been better, we might have had the pleasure of watching the entire series unfold.
And that concludes my thoughts on book-to-movie adaptations. I’m looking forward to seeing The Maze Runner and The Giver in theaters, and hope I’ll only have good things to say. We shall see.
*I apologize for the late post. Better late than never, I guess? I meant to write this post well in advance and have it scheduled, but I procrastinated when I returned home from vacation, and then went straight to college orientation for two days. Oh, the excuses. Sigh.
Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the chain! Also, please share your thoughts!
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