I’m so excited–I love love love Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and can’t wait for the movie. Though I’m also scared they will screw it up… here’s hoping!
View a Scene from Revolutionary Road!
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Tag Archives: Film Adaptations
Books vs. Movies (Booking Through Thursday)
Yay–my question got picked!! If you’re coming here from Booking Through Thursday, please note that my url is superfastreader.com, with no “wordpress.” I’d be ever so grateful if you update this if you are linking to me. And thanks for the link love!
Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?
So many great answers! For me, when I see a movie I want to be swept away with sounds and images and emotions. I love big epics and musicals for this reason. When I read, I want to get lost inside the skin of another person. Movies tend not to excel in this sort of thing, but it is possible–The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Morvern Callar come to mind.
Add your answer here!
Manola Dargis Doesn’t Do Her Homework
In her review of Prince Caspian in today’s New York Times, Manola Dargis writes:
The Pevensie children can withdraw to London between episodes, but moviegoers are unlikely, and also perhaps unwilling, to escape from Narnia and the other increasingly numerous, and therefore increasingly mundane, places like it.
A lovely sentiment, were it not for the fact that the Pevensies DIE to our world in one of the books. Not to mention that several of the books don’t feature the Pevensie children at all.
I don’t often pick nits on this blog, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to review an adaptation of a work of the stature of Prince Caspian without being familiar with the basics of the overall series. These are hardly obscure factoids–she is blithely unaware of major story elements. Lazy!
Casting My Vote
…for the nominees for the WGA Awards. I was nominated once…
Original Screenplay:
Black Snake Moan
Juno
Ratatouille
The Savages
Waitress
Adapted Screenplay:
3:10 to Yuma
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
Rescue Dawn
Zodiac
Wish This Was Real
HT: Grasping for the Wind
5 Tips for Crafting Effective Criticism
As you may be aware, I currently have a part-time job analyzing books and screenplays for a production company. I read the material, provide a detailed synopsis, and then offer my opinion as to whether the material has promise as a feature film. Last night’s work read was an especially challenging one, offering a strong premise but weak-to-infuriating execution, and as I had just given some notes to a writer friend of mine on how to improve her (already-wonderful) work, I got to thinking about how I tailor my criticism based upon who’s on the receiving end. That inspired this post for Daily Blog Tips’s latest writing project on what I think are the underlying principles of giving criticism that works. Continue reading
Trailer for “The Mist”
Because what a reading blog needs is More Video, right? But I’m really, really excited for this stupid movie for all kinds of reasons, and Sheila blogged about it the other day.
Plus I just finished a really boring work read, and the best cure for boredom is You Tube. At least that’s what I learned in corporate America.
Looks like a pretty straightforward adaptation of one of King’s scariest stories. I have a personal pet peeve with the stereotype of Crazy Bible Lady, but I’m willing to let it slide, for once.
The tragedy in all this is that unless my baby passes his/her due date, I’ll miss out on seeing this in the theater. I’m due November 18th. The Mist opens on November 21st, day before Thanksgiving. Like most pregnant women, I’m hoping to go early, but this might make me start crossing my fingers for later…
Books to Film (Booking through Thursday)
I’m putting this post up in honor of an adaptation project I’m working on right now. From Booking through Thursday:
1. In your opinion, what is the best translation of a book to a movie?
2. The worst?
3. Had you read the book before seeing the movie, and did that make a difference? (Personally, all other things being equal, I usually prefer whichever I was introduced to first.)
Movie Version of Special Topics in Calamity Physics
I loved Half Nelson, so this news makes me very happy:
Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, the duo who wrote last year’s Half Nelson, are teaming once again to adapt the Marisha Pessl novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics. According to Variety, Miramax will be funding the project.
The book revolved around a teen who had been bounced around from one high school to the next due to her father’s eccentric lifestyle. During her senior year, she finally gets the opportunity to stay in the same place until graduation. The girl gets caught up in an after school club called the Bluebloods, and inadvertently finds herself witness to the death of her favorite teacher.
Scott Rudin is producing, which is another good sign, because he is Mr. High Profile Literary Adaptation (currently producing Revolutionary Road).
How to Turn a Book Into a Movie
I’m often asked what I look for when I evaluate books for the movie biz.
First and foremost, I look for the elements that are important to my employers–things that they are specifically looking for in terms of genre, execution, etcetera. I read for a couple of different places, and each has a slightly different mandate.
In general, in order for a book to become a movie it has to have a strong, forward-moving plot line, and a premise that you can easily picture on a poster or in a TV ad campaign. Deal killers are: Continue reading