It may be because The Hunger Games movie is fast approaching (YES!), but I've been reading about movie adaptions everywhere. Not too shocking (in fact, I've already written a post about different adaptions I like/dislike). But, what did surprise me were all the negative things I'd seen. I've come across a ton of discussions on Goodreads where people hope their favorite books don't get turned into movies and I've even seen authors blog about being annoyed that their novel is being optioned for film rights. If something I write is ever even in discussion to become a movie I would be singing from the rooftops and walking on sunshine and any other cheesy image I can conjure! Let's face it, I would be freaking thrilled!
But maybe it's because I'm just an all-media kind of girl. Books definitely take top rank, but I absolutely love television shows and movies, and I LOVE when one of my favorite books gets turned into something else. A few examples of my favorites are Harry Potter, Vampire Diaries, Lord of the Rings and The Notebook. I can't wait for The Hunger Games to be released and I've heard talk that some of my other favorite series, like Vampire Academy or The Mortal Instruments, are in the works to become films too.
For me, it's just more ways to interact with characters I love. I hate when a series ends and you have to say goodbye. Movies or TV shows are just something else to look forward to. Sometimes the scripts follow the books really well and sometimes they don't, either way I usually still enjoy it. Something like Harry Potter is somewhat sacred, so I loved that the movies followed the books almost to a T. But I still enjoyed Blood and Chocolate, which completely changed the story from the book, but I just took it as sort of an alternate reality featuring characters I liked.
I'm a little worried they'll change The Hunger Games to make it more commercial (making some of the characters that die seem older or making the romance take a much bigger role), which would be a shame, but I'm pretty confident I'll still love the films. I'm going into it with an open mind, not expecting a rehash of the book. After all, when an author signs over the rights to his or her book, the director gets control and it becomes a whole different story. Maybe the same plot, but seen through new eyes.
What do you guys think? Do you love when your favorite books get turned into movies? Hate it? Worried about The Hunger Games adaptation or just annoyed that we can't watch it yet?
In honor of my movie love, here are some trailers for movies I am really (really!) excited for:
The Hunger Games Trailer
Snow White & The Huntsman Trailer
Mirror Mirror Trailer
The Avengers Trailer
Gone Trailer
Showing posts with label book to movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book to movie. Show all posts
February 23, 2012
November 27, 2011
How Books Translate Into Movies
One of the questions I always ask myself is how books translate into movies - why some work and others don't. I thought of this most recently when watching The Hunger Games trailer, because paranormal and futuristic novels are some of the hardest to translate into film. The world of The Hunger Games is completely different from our own, and while I loved the trailer, there were aspects that I wasn't convinced by. The way Katniss yells 'I volunteer' was not how I imagined, and though her district looked similar to how I pictured it, I'm very interested to see how the games are depicted.
Obviously, one main reason it is extremely difficult to turn a book into a movie is because of the human mind. When reading, our own creativity and imagination takes over, so we build on what the author writes without even realizing it. In a way, each reader creates a different world in their own mind, so no one can be completely satisfied with a movie, because it gives the directors vision which may be different from our own.
However, I think some interpretations go beyond this, and many movies just stray so far from the book that they become an entirely new project. Most often, this occurs when directors and writers change the plot of the book to fit hollywood standards.
Take one of my favorite paranormal romances Blood and Chocolate for example. The takeaway message of the book is that sometimes you need to stick with your own kind and the people that understand you. However, that is not a popular message in Hollywood, so they completely changed the storyline to make it seem as though fighting the odds is what is important. The book was so amazing because of the unique message, and the movie completely transformed that and changed the entire storyline. I enjoyed the movie, but view it as a completely different story, because the adaptation was just horrendous and all of the characters were changed.
But sometimes, it's not the total change of the plot that bothers me, but what is omitted. While a book can have romance and action and mystery and psychology all in one, movies often times have to fit into a very specified genre, like an 'action' film or a 'romantic comedy.' Even if the movie does not need to be changed, directors will often highlight one aspect like the romance or the action to make it more marketable. This is the change I am most worried about with The Hunger Games, because most of the press releases have thus far seemed to focus on the love triangle, which really isn't the focus of the books. However, I think they might change the movie to make it more about love and less about the nature of dystopian societies and war.
Finally, sometimes it is not even big changes that bother me, but the little ones that would be so easy to keep accurate. Anyone who has been following news on The Hunger Games movie knows that the color of the backpack isn't bright orange like in the books. Such a small detail won't make or break the movie for me, but I just don't understand why a director would change something that is so simple to keep true to the novel.
Some of the movies that I think had the worst adaptations are: Da Vinci Code, Ella Enchanted, The Lovely Bones and Shopaholic.
What movies do you think were the worst? Why? What about the best? I personally loved the Harry Potter films.
I'd love to hear what you think! And here's The Hunger Games trailer in case you haven't seen it yet.
Obviously, one main reason it is extremely difficult to turn a book into a movie is because of the human mind. When reading, our own creativity and imagination takes over, so we build on what the author writes without even realizing it. In a way, each reader creates a different world in their own mind, so no one can be completely satisfied with a movie, because it gives the directors vision which may be different from our own.
However, I think some interpretations go beyond this, and many movies just stray so far from the book that they become an entirely new project. Most often, this occurs when directors and writers change the plot of the book to fit hollywood standards.
Take one of my favorite paranormal romances Blood and Chocolate for example. The takeaway message of the book is that sometimes you need to stick with your own kind and the people that understand you. However, that is not a popular message in Hollywood, so they completely changed the storyline to make it seem as though fighting the odds is what is important. The book was so amazing because of the unique message, and the movie completely transformed that and changed the entire storyline. I enjoyed the movie, but view it as a completely different story, because the adaptation was just horrendous and all of the characters were changed.
But sometimes, it's not the total change of the plot that bothers me, but what is omitted. While a book can have romance and action and mystery and psychology all in one, movies often times have to fit into a very specified genre, like an 'action' film or a 'romantic comedy.' Even if the movie does not need to be changed, directors will often highlight one aspect like the romance or the action to make it more marketable. This is the change I am most worried about with The Hunger Games, because most of the press releases have thus far seemed to focus on the love triangle, which really isn't the focus of the books. However, I think they might change the movie to make it more about love and less about the nature of dystopian societies and war.
Finally, sometimes it is not even big changes that bother me, but the little ones that would be so easy to keep accurate. Anyone who has been following news on The Hunger Games movie knows that the color of the backpack isn't bright orange like in the books. Such a small detail won't make or break the movie for me, but I just don't understand why a director would change something that is so simple to keep true to the novel.
Some of the movies that I think had the worst adaptations are: Da Vinci Code, Ella Enchanted, The Lovely Bones and Shopaholic.
What movies do you think were the worst? Why? What about the best? I personally loved the Harry Potter films.
I'd love to hear what you think! And here's The Hunger Games trailer in case you haven't seen it yet.
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