Did you cry when they made "Simon Birch?" Are some books too sacred to be made into films?

What book do you wish you could see a film version of?

If anyone tries "Catcher In the Rye" I'll just give up. I mean it.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Answers

Oh! Yesterday I went to a BU creative writing department reading. Susanna Kaysen was there, and she read from Girl, Interrupted. It was really touching-she read the last chapter and said that this was her final goodbye to the book...she was practically crying. Today she's on a plane to go to the movie premiere. What sucks is that the buzz on that movie is chick flick rental. Hollywood usually fucks up books I really like, like Anywhere But Here or, dear god, Foxfire. Although, if it was cast correctly, I think an Ellen Gilchrist novel, especially ones the feature the Hand family, could make a great soapy film. Like I Cannot Get You Close Enough. Is divine secrets of the ya yas being made into a film? It was a pretty visual book...

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

I can't even look directly at the box for Simon Birch. "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is TOO good of a book to be made into a movie. Now they're making one of "Cider House Rules" and I'm really scared of what they're going to do to it. The only movie-from-a-book that I liked was The color Purple. Oh, and to Kill A Mockingbird -- the latter was different, sure, but still very good, and was true to the spirit of the book.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Don't get me started on "Simon Birch"! I cried so hard when I saw that movie -- because it sucked so hard compared to the book! It wasn't even the same story. I really loved "A Prayer for Owen Meany," so much so that I read it twice, which is rare for me, at least for a book that difficult emotionally. Did you know that John Irving hated the final product so much that he tried to get his name taken off of it?

BUT -- I don't know if you know this or not, but John Irving actually wrote the screenplay for "Cider House Rules." He wrote a long-ass article in the New York Times about it. Apparently he's taken a lot of the humor out of the movie (why??), but is so anal about being true to the book that he fired like three directors before finding one who shared his vision. So maybe it won't be so bad. Although I did see a brief clip yesterday with Michael Caine, and his American accent is atrocious. Maybe I can get past it though. I don't think I could see this movie -- ESPECIALLY after that horrid "Simon Birch" -- if Irving hadn't done the screenplay himself.

I started reading "Mansfield Park" a while back (it's taking me a looooonnnnng time to finish for some reason), before I had heard they were making it into a movie. I'm trying to hurry and finish before it leaves the "good" screen at the art-house theatre where it's playing here, but I'm afraid after everything I've read that I'm going to be sorely disappointed. I've heard they've taken too many liberties with it, and even added sex scenes, for crying out loud! Man, I hate it when they fuck up books I love! Of course, no Jane Austin movie will ever live up to that glorious miniseries they did for "Pride & Prejudice," with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Yum.

There are exceptions to the The-Book-Was-Better rule. While Stephen King novels rarely translate well, his novellas and short stories have been excellent on screen. To wit: "Stand By Me" and "Shawshank Redemption." I can't wait for "The Green Mile," even though I haven't read the book. Also, "The Bridges of Madison County" was one of the WORST books I've ever read (don't even know why I finished it!), but the movie was actually much better. Probably because we didn't have to listen to Waller's ponderous so- called prose while we watched.

Some books, however, are sacred, and should be left alone. If anyone ever tries to make my favorite book, "Jitterbug Perfume," by Tom Robbins, into a movie, I may have to take out a hit on them.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

I won't see Simon Birch. Must keep Owen Meaney pure.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Ugh -- I read Prayer for Owen Meany after Simon Birch came back and I heard they took the whole Vietnam element out of it. WHATTHEF*CK!? That was the whole point, his whole life... oh, don't even get me started. I will NOT be watching Simon Birch...

The Green Mile, on the other hand... can't wait. Did anybody read the Stephen King article in Entertainment Weekly? He picked out his favorite adaptations -- some were surprising. He really liked Stand By Me, Misery, The Stand, Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, Storm of the Century... Surprisingly, he still really likes the movie versions Christine, Pet Sematary, Cat's Eye and Dolores Claiborne.

I've been pleasantly surprised by some adaptations like The Joy Luck Club, Fear and Loathing (say what you will about the movie, but it stuck damn close to the book) and Silence of the Lambs.

I'm not at all inclined to see the movie version of Hannibal unless Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins return and they chance it significantly. I get the feeling Thomas Harris just said, "Screw you, Hollywood! Try adapting THIS ending!"

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

hey omar! gimme five buddy! hell yeah! i was wondering if i would be the only one mentioning stephen king! the man's a fucking genuis! pure genuis!

okay, im done with the happy yelly part, but i do have to put in my five cents. i love love love love love love love!!!!!!!!!!!!! stephen king's the stand. both the book and the movie. i remember in seventh grade when i heard the movie was coming to abc. let me tell you, i busted ass the read the whole abridged (it was the version my sister had) version before i saw the film on tv, i taped every night, dammit! i spent the fory bucks to buy the professional version after i watched my copy to death. i love that film, and i love stand by me, which i didnt see until i was 18 or 19, after i read the short story. both are great books and movies. i think im gonna make myself read all of the green mile before i see the film, but from the commercials i've seen, it looks great. tom hanks and gary senis (sp?) let me tell you! i love gary senis, he's my favorite, if anyone has seen the stande and read the book before hand, let me know if you didnt think he WAS stu redman?

okay, enough of my muttered ramblings. i just love the stand, period.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Here's that high five back 'atcha. Honestly, of all of Stephen King's books, I like The Stand and The Green Mile best...

I just got The Stand on DVD (they fit the whole mini-series + documentary + bios on a single disc!) and the first hour and a half at least are some of the best scary TV ever. The opening credits scene with "Don't Fear the Reaper" playing over the biological research aftermath was pure genius. Gary Sinise was pretty incredible as Stu Redman and even Rob Lowe was pretty good. I could have done without Molly Ringwald, but most of the cast (including Miguel Ferrer and Jamie Sheridan) was pretty great.

Definitely read The Green Mile before you see the movie. It's one of King's best.

omar

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Uh-oh... my wife won free tickets to Green Mile for tomorrow night and I've not read the book...

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

My favorite book is The Stand 'cause I wanted my life to be like that. Anyway my vote for the movie most like the book is "Storm of the Century". It is exactly like the book. I can't wait to see The Green Mile.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Hey Amy, it's weird that you say that because i remember reading The Stand when I was like 14, and then I'd walk outside and be surprised to see cars driving by and people who were alive. It definitely got under my skin...

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Here's a *definite* exception to the book-always-better rule, my favorite movie of all time: _The Graduate_. The book was okay, but the movie rocked:) I guess because it was pretty visual and main parts of it sounded like they were *meant* to be made into a movie (the scuba scene, the last scene). Also, you have to give credit to the soundtrack. Plus: the movie had one other thing the book didn't have: Dustin Hoffman:) Ooooohhh....if he were only 40 years younger he'd be mine:)

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

One of my best friends, an Irving fan if you can believe it, told me to rent Simon Birch because it was sooo good. no No NO! I had to turn it off halfway through. A Prayer for Owen Meany was my first, and favorite John Irving book. You can't hack out that much content and still have anything decent left over.

However, I must say that The World According to Garp wasn't half-bad as a movie. I saw it long before I read the book, and though the book was more involved, they really didn't leave a whole lot out. John Lithgow (sp?) was a great Roberta Muldoon.

My humble $0.02...and first post!

Kelley

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

The day they mess with "Goodnight, Moon" is the day I stop going to movies.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Best movie adaptations ever? TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and GONE WITH THE WIND.

I have spoken.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

True story.

My screenwriting professor at BU got asked to do a film version of "A Confederacy of Dunces." Now, disclaimer: I haven't read the book, but from what my friends that I trust have told me, it's searing, hysterical, savage, and absolutely uncompromising.

He met with some people - I believe Harold Ramis was supposed to direct at some point - but Joe Roth, the head of Fox at the time, was a total nutball. So he walked.

"A Confederacy of Dunces" was made into a movie. The name of the movie was _Only the Lonely_ - remember, the John Candy-Ally Sheedy blockbuster? Remember that? No? Oh well.

BTW, speaking of books ill-served by movies, _Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil_ ranks up there. The book was fascinating, complex, tight, and genuinely eccentric. The movie was poop.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

You know, to be honest, I didn't think that the movie of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" was all that bad. No, it wasnt the book, not really, but I didn't expect it to be; the plain fact is that the book really couldn't have been translated directly into a movie. It rambles, it isn't about telling a simple linear story, which is the sort of thing that film is better at. If you exclude all of the strange and wondrous characters, you lose the flavor of the book; if you keep the characters and the side trips the author made, you get a rambling, frothy movie. Which is pretty much what happened.

Hey, if nothing else, you got to see the Lady Chablis played by herself!

In part, whether or not a film turns out better or worse or even as good as the source material depends on what the filmmakers want to do with the source material and how they want to do it . For example, the source material for "All About Eve" bears relatively little resemblance to the movie that was made--and the ending is quite different--but it's a very good movie. For that matter, most of the James Bond movies are light years away from their source material--the only thing that "The Spy Who Loved Me" has in common with its source is the title--but most of them are fun movies.

In part, it also depends on the expectations you carry into the movies. Films adapted from books and short stories carry a lot of baggage--everyone expects the film to be exactly what they want it to be, based on what they got from the book or story. If you're expecting a film to give you exactly what you got from the book or story, then you're probably going to be disappointed. The trick is to take it on its own terms as a totally different medium. Sometimes it will succeed in giving you what you felt from the original; sometimes it will succed in giving you something different but as good; frequently, it'll just fall on its face.

Any road, my two cents on the topic.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Chicken Grrl, I gotta agree with you on the Tom Robbins thing. Like a lot of folks I went through a huge TR phase and read everything he wrote over a summer. I saw "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" at the end of that summer and have hated Gus Van Sant and Keanu Reeves ever since ('My Own Private Idaho' didn't help either). Since then I've dreaded anyone trying to adapt any of his other books; of course I'd want to try after I become rich and famous.

As for the Stephen King discussion: yes I loved 'The Stand', although I thought the movie fell very short of the book. Senise was good, yes, but what the hell was up with Parker Lewis and Laura San Giacomo? That pair was probably the worst bit of casting since putting the aforementioned wooden boy in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (oh wait, I forget about River Phoenix's sister). Worst adaptation? Tie between 'IT' and 'The Tommyknockers'. Tim Curry rocks, but the problem with all of these is that they were stuck being on prime-time network tv. Let HBO take a shot at making one of them into a mini-series, and then you'll see some good shit.

What I'd like to see is a full live action version of 'The Lord of the Rings'. I know I heard somewhere that they're doing 'The Hobbit', but they'll probably blend several of the books together as was done with 'Interview with a Vampire'. I'm just scared that they'll cast Danny DeVito and Dudley Moore as Frodo and Bilbo.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

You know, when I go see a movie, I'm damn glad I didn't read the book prior. I hear all these moans from people who've read the book. Makes me wonder if ignorance is bliss in this case. Some movies probably would be ruined had I read the book.

I had heard they were going to make a movie out of my favorite book, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, but that was supposedly started about 3 years ago. Now, I have no clue if it's still in the works. I have mixed feelings about it. Orson's other movie adaptation was done well. Which one, you ask? The Abyss. But it's hard to let a movie interfere with your imagination and the world you create upon reading the book. I grew up with this book. I'm not sure I want that illusion shattered.

On the other hand, I'd be pleased to see Ender's Game get the wide-spread recognition it deserves.

The book I'd like to see a movie made of, has got to be the Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis. I think there might've been a cartoon adaption made, but I want the whole schmeer, special effects, everything!

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

Jon...

Caught a BBS version of "Narnia" once. We were besides ourselves with sighs and piteous moans of "Oh, Aslan, please stop trying to walk!" It was so obviously two guys in a lion suit, you see.... --Sei

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

...and that should so obviously be "BBC," not "B[ulletin] B[oard] S[ystem]"... --Sei

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

I have to log in with others on 'Cowgirls'. Yuck. A lot of good actors in that one, but Tom just doesn't go to film well. I don't think they'd try to touch "Jitterbug Perfume". Too epic. "Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas" might be amusing, just because the whole movie should be shot from Gwendolyn's POV. I'm so nervous about "Bicentennial Man", because that is a great story, and the commercials seem to be playing up the comedy, because it's Robin Williams. I don't think the movie itself will be full of comedy, though. I don't know, but I fear suckage.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

do you think spielberg will do _memoirs of a geisha_ justice?! i would love to see the 'ya-ya's' made into a movie, as someone stated, it was quite a visual book. i thought _midnight in the garden..._ was pretty verbatim of the book - and i loved the movie, probably cause i'm a *huge* spacey fan, not to mention cusack fan.

on to the 'cookie-cutter' writers...i thought de milles' book _the general's daughter_ was *soooo* much better than the movie.

and since i just had a brain fart - i can't think of anything else...c'est la vie!

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

Okay guys. Confession time.

I have tried reading "Still Life With Woodpecker" THREE times since my friend Jessica swore by it three years ago.

I can't. I just can't.

What is it that you guys love about it? Please tell me, because I'd like the secret to enjoying it. It's like I'm reading a really silly fairy tale and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be high to enjoy it. Is that it? Should I be high?

Stephen King is the king of bad and good book adaptations. On one hand you have Misery, Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, Creepshow, and The Shining. On the other hand you have Graveyard Shift, The Running Man, The Lawnmower Man, Cat's Eye, and The Shining--TV. I didn't bother watching much of The Stand after I saw Parker Lewis running around and Molly Ringwald. Please.

Oh God, and don't forget Thinner.. Yeesh.

The Outsiders is a movie that stayed pretty truthful to the book, and I think they found the right actors to play the parts. I still love shouting, "Let's do it for Johnny, man! Let's do it for Johnny!"

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

I think if somebody tried to make a movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, I would be Quite Put Out.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

There's An Animated Version of Where The Wild Things Are, I Think.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

From clips of Clockwork Orange I've seen, it doesn't match in my head how I pictured the story in the book. When I was in college, I did rough paintings of a comic book version of the chapter where Alex rapes the two little girls (I tried to give an impression of the language of the book ie. dark and cartoony), and I always imagined I would someday take a stab at the rest of the book. The cartoonist I always pictured doing a complete adaptation (other than me) is Bill Waterson of Calvin & Hobbes. I noticed in the comic strip how really well the drawings slipped back and forth into Calvin's consciousness. I imagine he could just invert that between a cruel reality and a Tom & Jerry consciousness.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

I thank god that "Last Days Of Summer" would probably make for a difficult book-to-movie translation (it's a great book, by the way-- go read it, if you haven't yet).

I cringed, though, when I finished reading "Popcorn", by Ben Elton, and looked on the inside back flap and saw that Joel Schumacher was working on a movie adaptation of it. The man needs to be stopped!

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

Ender's Game is indeed being made into a film. There's part of the script up at Orson Scott Card's production company's website (www.frescopictures.com). It seems to be holding pretty well to the book, but . . . if rumors are true and Jake Lloyd (aka Anakin) signs on to play Ender . . . don't know . . . :)e

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

whoever mentioned the travesty that was the movie version of "midnight in the garden ...", amen. that book was brilliant and the movie was a load of shit. plus, anyone who's at all familiar with savannah and the cemetary (not that they are that many of us, but when that's where your father's family immigrated to ...) will notice some terrible continuity errors in the funeral at the end of the film. the service - the COFFIN, for god's sake - is in the "new" part of the cemetary, not under all those old trees and spanish moss like the gravestone. so there. that adaption sucked big mean donkey butt.

and i refuse, too, to see "simon birch" on loyalty to "prayer for owen meany," my all time most favorite john irving book. i just hope they won't screw "cider house rules" up as much.

granted, "owen meany" is a lot of book to turn into a movie ...

my two cents.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

The Godfather and Psycho are two movies that are way better than the source books, and I agree with whoever mentioned Gone with the Wind. In general, though, it just hurts when they adapt a book you love.

I understand Felicia's Journey is excellent, and that book rocked. Go read it before you see the movie!

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

Could you imagine a movie being made of "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon"? It'd be like...the girl walks, the girl walks, the girl walks, the girl sees a bear, the girl walks, the girl walks....

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

Sense and Sensibility is one of my all time favorite books and movies. I loved both.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

Just in response to a number of the posts that were put forward...

I was at a reading by Orson Scott Card back in October. He talked about the movie to Ender's Game a bit. It's evidentally one of the biggest questions he gets. Anyway, it has been in process for a looong time, and the screenplay has been rewritten (by Card) several times. He swears that it will happen, but the main problem they have run into is finding a studio who will make it. As he said, studios tend to cringe from films that would require so much of such a young star. They ARE talking about the kid who played Anakin in Episode 1 of Star Wars...evidentally he very much wants to do it, but it's still a matter of selling it to a director and/or a studio.

Personally, I cringe at the thought of Ender's Game being made into a movie, even if Orson Scott Card writes the screenplay. Anyone who wants more information on it can go to Card's personal web page. Last I looked, he discusses it quite a bit. www.hatrack.com

One more note: The Abyss was not an original Card book. He did the novelization, and supposedly it was quite the uncomfortable experience for him.

I tend to avoid most books into films, but it can work. People have mentioned Stephen King's short works such as Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption, and I agree they are exceptions to the rule. And I've been hearing great, wonderful things about The Green Mile. I'll be in the theater for that Friday night. I generally liked The Stand, though I kinda wish HBO would pick those novels up like someone suggested. A serial movie there would probably be a lot better. And what kind of insane moron cast Molly Ringwald as Frannie anyway? That pretty much keeps me from ever watching it again.

One more comment on King's work. Storm of the Century followed the book exactly, because it was written as a screenplay in the first place. There never really was a 'book' per say. I really enjoyed that one too though.

-Telvin

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

Just in response to a number of the posts that were put forward...

I was at a reading by Orson Scott Card back in October. He talked about the movie to Ender's Game a bit. It's evidentally one of the biggest questions he gets. Anyway, it has been in process for a looong time, and the screenplay has been rewritten (by Card) several times. He swears that it will happen, but the main problem they have run into is finding a studio who will make it. As he said, studios tend to cringe from films that would require so much of such a young star. They ARE talking about the kid who played Anakin in Episode 1 of Star Wars...evidentally he very much wants to do it, but it's still a matter of selling it to a director and/or a studio.

Personally, I cringe at the thought of Ender's Game being made into a movie, even if Orson Scott Card writes the screenplay. Anyone who wants more information on it can go to Card's personal web page. Last I looked, he discusses it quite a bit. www.hatrack.com

One more note: I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure The Abyss was not an original Card novel. As I recall from his reading, he explained that he only wrote the novelization for the film, and supposedly it was quite the uncomfortable experience for him. I may be incorrect though.

I tend to avoid most books into films, but it can work. People have mentioned Stephen King's short works such as Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption, and I agree they are exceptions to the rule. And I've been hearing great, wonderful things about The Green Mile. I'll be in the theater for that Friday night. I generally liked The Stand, though I kinda wish HBO would pick those novels up like someone suggested. A serial movie there would probably be a lot better. And what kind of insane moron cast Molly Ringwald as Frannie anyway? That pretty much keeps me from ever watching it again.

One more comment on King's work. Storm of the Century followed the book exactly, because it was written as a screenplay in the first place. There never really was a 'book' per say. I really enjoyed that one too though.

-Telvin

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

I would love to see Ender's Game made into a movie. Plus there's already 3 sequels ripe to be made if it's successful. Movie studios have to like that. But Anakin as Ender.. NO! I have 3 words for Card, Haley Joel Osmet. That's right, the kid from the 6th Sense. He would be SO much better.

A movie of Memoirs of a Geisha? Huh. I wouldn't have thought that while I was reading it, but maybe. My vote for best book to movie has to be The Joy Luck Club. Oliver Stone took a very difficult transition and made it beautiful and heart-wrenching, as well as fairly true to the Amy Tan book.

cheers,

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

> I tend to avoid most books into films, but it can work. People have > mentioned Stephen King's short works such as Stand By Me and The > Shawshank Redemption, and I agree they are exceptions to the rule. > And I've been hearing great, wonderful things about The Green Mile. > I'll be in the theater for that Friday night.

Vis-a-vis Telvin's comments:

Avoiding a movie because it was a book first... Wow! You mustn't see very many movies! This year alone, it means you would have missed both "Fight Club" and "Felicia's Journey," both excellent films (and novels!). In previous years you would have missed "Clockwork Orange," "Eyes Wide Shut," "Silence of the Lambs," "Blade Runner" and "Trainspotting." Others you'll be missing soon include "Snow Falling on Cedars," "Cider House Rules," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Angela's Ashes" and the new "Mansfield Park." And of course there's "Memoirs of a Geisha," which I personally plan to miss -- I'm familiar enough with Madame Butterfly Syndrome to not need to specifically seek it out, and from an Ivy League heir to a newspaper family, thank you very much.

For every film listed here, that hasn't yet been released, I have read both the book and seen the film. While I haven't always loved the cinematic results, I have always appreciated the attempt. Crying, "Oh, they're just going to ruin it anyway--" I mean, geez! One might as well boycott Kurosawa's "Ran" on the basis Shakespeare already used the plot for "Lear." And then you'd never have seen the great scene with the stone fox or "kitsune" head....

> And what kind of insane moron cast Molly Ringwald as Frannie anyway? > That pretty much keeps me from ever watching it again.

I have to say I'm with you on this one. I don't necessarily dislike her as an actress, but I don't think I've seen in her in much I've liked since "Pretty in Pink" or "Sixteen Candles." The milieu of John Hughes, it seems sad now to say, really was the occasion of her best work. (And, yeah, I'm including "Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" or whatever the heck that awful film was with the otherwise delectable Michael Ironside.)

I do want to remark, though, that, with the exception of his later stuff ("Dolores Claiborne," "Misery," etc.), women haven't exactly been King's strong point as a writer. The character of Fran Goldsmith in particular -- while sympathetic enough, in a high school girl kinda way (which is probably why Ringwald was cast, come to think of it) -- seems to me as representative as any of King's weaker work. ...And while we're on the subject, what is up with King and these black female characters of his anyway? I'm not sure they're working for me. Detta Walker in "Gunslinger," the maid in one of the short stories (you know, the one who eats the...um, you know...off the hotel sheets and gives birth to a bi-racial child), the ghostie in "Bag of Bones"...he's got this weird thing for "sisters" and I'm not sure how to feel about it. But maybe that's just my own issues talking -- Faulkner certainly did well enough with his Dilsey in "Sound and the Fury," but then again, he's frickin' Faulkner.

> One more comment on King's work. Storm of the Century followed the > book exactly, because it was written as a screenplay in the first > place. There never really was a 'book' per say. I really enjoyed > that one too though.

No, as I recall, he STARTED it as a novel, but the work insisted it was a screenplay, causing King to eventually give in and finish it as such. I did think the ending wasn't as good as it might have been, in "Storm" -- I was really enjoying the whole Pied Piper/Rumplestiltskin/Freddy Krueger angle, but the actual end couldn't live up to the fancies of my wild imaginings.

Try to stay away from books made into movies...! Does that mean you avoided "Jaws," too? Geez! --Sei.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

The trick is knowing which books are adaptable and which are not, of course.

For my second-year thesis project, I was required to adapt something into screenplay format. Could have been anything - a novel, short story, play, poem, newspaper article, a song, anything. I chose "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. Big mistake on my part, because it's a social novel, and social novels do not translate well to film. Film is wonderful at rendering drama; it is horrible at conveying ideas. And BNW is all idea.

(And no, I didn't see the shitty NBC TV movie of the book - I could tell by the advertisements alone that it would be godawful. From all accounts, I was right.)

But one of the best adaptations I've ever read was a screenplay someone wrote for "Paradise Lost." I *HATED* Paradise Lost as a poem. But this screenplay was so evocative, so beautiful, so moving, that if I ever get a budget, I'll shoot the thing. It's amazing.

I don't understand why people want their favorite book to become movies, anyway. A great book is its own entity. To try and Hollywood-ize a book will inevitably lead to disappointment.

P.S. About the comment about seeing Lady Chablis play herself: they should have hired an actor. Nothing worse than seeing John Cusack being manhandled by some aging queen.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999

Hmm... Jake Lloyd as "Ender"? Don't know if I like it.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Pamie,

In response to your question about "Still Life With Woodpecker"... I'm not really sure if I have any advice for you there. If it's your first Robbins novel, I would suggest dropping it and starting with something else! I'm a pretty big fan, but it was not my favorite. I found it almost TOO whimsical. Or something. It's been so long since I read it I don't remember much anymore. I also haven't managed to read either "Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas" or "Skinny Legs and All," even though I have autographed (to me!) copies of each.

By far my favorite of his stuff that I've read (so far) is "Jitterbug Perfume." I highly recommend you start there. Although you might find everything of his you read after that disappointing, since it's a master work. My first Robbins novel was "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," way back when I was in high school. (And I couldn't bring myself to see the movie after I heard what an abomination it was.) It was enough to turn me into a fan. You might consider starting there as well.

Anwyay -- good luck! And don't give up on good ol' Tom!

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Spielberg's doing 'Memoirs of a Geisha?' No, no, no! Please, no! I really enjoyed that book, I really got caught up in it. I'm just... cringing. Yes, it's a very visual book, yes it's told chronologically... but there are so very many things that could go wrong. Not even Spielberg can catch the imagery that book evoked in my mind.

Other comments: The Green Mile, yay! I didn't know it was coming out in theaters when I first saw the re-released book, and my Guy said, "Hey, that looks sorta like Tom Hanks," and I said, "Holy shit, you're right. They totally appropriated Tom Hanks' face for that cover." Then the store clerk came over and said, "That's because he's in the movie," and I felt dumb. Can't wait to read it, but I must say one thing: Mr. King, would you PLEASE write the next Gunslinger book? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE? (I mean, Hearts in Atltantis? Yesh, good book, but if you want to DABBLE in that world, why not write the FIFTH DAMN BOOK?!)

I loved watching Storm of the Century, and was all sorts of hopeful when I saw the book on the shelves... imagine my disappointment when I opened it and saw it was a script! Owen Meany/Simon Birch... ack. I remember reading Owen Meany. I remember struggling through it the first time. I remember the only reason I read it the first time was because my Mother thought I was too young for it. That book was more than a story, it was like a rite of passage for me. I wanted to cry when I saw the first preview for the movie. Haven't, and won't, see it.

That's all for now.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

I think Jake Lloyd would make a perfect Bean. But yes, they need to cast someone else as Ender. I first read that book when I was eight, and have gone through several copies of it in the last twelve years.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Lord of the Rings IS being made into a movie... or, rather, into three movies, just as with the three books. It will be done with real actors and tons of digital special effects. (I just read about it within the past couple of weeks but can't remember where...) The budget has been set at $180 million. They are going to do the principal filming on all three at once (just as Back to the Future 2 and 3 were filmed simultaneously) but release them individually, perhaps five or six months apart. There is a concern that if the first one bombs, they are in big trouble, but if it works they have incredible possibilities.... I think it is being filmed in Australia or New Zealand or something like that...

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

I saw a sneak of The Green Mile last night. It was a packed stadium- seating theater and since I got there about 10 minutes late, I had to sit in the VERY front row (where Tom Hanks' head looked even bigger).< p> I was not disappointed. Even the bookends to the movie (Paul as an older character) which I'd read weren't as good as the rest of the movie, worked beautifully for me. Fantastic supporting cast, great acting, perfect John Coffey -- this is probably the best adaptation of any King book ever. It's LOOONG, but well worth it. The audience I saw it with applauded at the end and you could hear lots of sniffles in the last half.

Omar

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Duh... so here I am, on the Internet, posting that previous comment about the Lord of the Rings movies and saying that I couldn't remember where I had read about it... so I just searched the web for information and found a bunch of it. Peter Jackson is the director (Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners, etc.)

Shooting began in October... the first, Fellowship of the Ring is tentatively slated for summer 2001 release...

Check out here or here or here (that last one has a countdown clock to the release of the first of the trilogy) A partial cast list: Elijah Wood.... Frodo Baggins Sean Astin.... Samwise Gamgee Ian Holm.... Bilbo Baggins Ian McKellen.... Gandalf Christopher Lee.... Saruman the White Billy Boyd.... Pippin Liv Tyler.... Arwen Undomiel Cate Blanchett.... Galadriel Sean Bean.... Boromir Orlando Bloom.... Legolas Brad Dourif.... Wormtongue Dominic Monaghan.... Merry John Rhys-Davies.... Gimli

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Omar, glad you liked Green Mile... my wife had won a pair of free tickets to a preview last night... our son and daughter came with us but when we got to the box office they wouldn't sell two more tickets because it was a special presentation by advance tickets only. So my wife and daughter saw Green Mile and my son and I saw that new Bond movie (Boring!!!)... They liked Green Mile very much. Nancy commented that the audience was held throughout the almost three hour length. When Jeremy and I got out of the Bond thing an usher told us we could slip into Green Mile if we wanted to, that there were some seats available. I did peek in but the audience did seem so deeply into the movie that I did not want to break anyone's concentration by trying ot get into a seat... besides, who wants to see the last third of a movie?

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

me again... just wanted to fix the spacing/punctuation on that Lord of the Rings cast list... Elijah Wood = Frodo Baggins Sean Astin = Samwise Gamgee Ian Holm = Bilbo Baggins Ian McKellen = Gandalf Christopher Lee = Saruman the White Billy Boyd = Pippin Liv Tyler = Arwen Undomiel Cate Blanchett = Galadriel Sean Bean = Boromir Orlando Bloom = Legolas Brad Dourif = Wormtongue Dominic Monaghan = Merry John Rhys-Davies = Gimli ah, that's better (I think)

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

I don't know, Pamie; if you didn't like Still Life With Woodpecker, you probably won't like Tom Robbins. Not that it's necessarily his best work, but it's certainly typical of his work. It's one of my three favorites, the other two being Jitterbug Perfume and Skinny Legs and All.

I will concede that Still Life is really hard to get into. I think I started it three times before I finally got it. And it definitely improved on a second reading.

I hate Stephen King. I liked some of his stories and books when I was a kid, but now I will not even concede that The Stand had any redeeming qualities: I thought the second half (the whole good vs. evil bit) was contrived and hokey and utterly stupid, and the first half (the plague upon the earth) is directly ripped off from the movie On the Beach and the novel Earth Abides by George Stewart.

But I did like the movie versions of Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Dolores Claiborne. (That book was unreadable.)

The movie version of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues still ranks as the worst movie I've ever seen, now that I'm done being mad at The Blair Witch Project. And I disagree with whoever said there were good actors in that film. Well, okay, there may have been some decent actors, but they were all doing wonderful impressions of incredibly lousy actors. If that was the intent, they should have all won academy awards.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

re the sixth sense boy as ender... i was at a card signing a few months back and he seemed quite passionate against haley joel osment. card said that he hadnt seen the movie yet, just a trailer and couldnt imagine having a little boy that whispers lead other boys into battle... that he thought jake lloyd had stronger leadership qualities. i was a little annoyed that he'd made such a strong comment without having even seen the movie... but he *also* said that he was a little bitter at the sixth sense because it basically rips off the ending from another of his books - the lost boys.

so there you go. i have mixed feelings myself about a live action version of ender's game. i think something animated would be much better. and if it bombs, i'll be seriously depressed.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Oh, yeah, Pamie, I agree with all the folks who've said "Still Life With Woodpecker" is a tough first Tom Robbins book. I tried that one first, muddled through it, didn't understand it in the least, then picked up "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" (haven't seen the movie -- I saw bits of it on Bravo and it made me cringe) and loved it. Much easier to read -- an easy induction into Tom Robbins. It is a lot of silliness, and being high might help... your calling it a fairy tale actually seems pretty accurate to me.

I have some of his books autographed, too...:-)

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Recently, I read The Talented Mr Ripley, without knowing about the movie. I really enjoyed it but I'm mortified by the casting of Gwynnie and Matt Damon in this movie. Actually, I sort of understand MD, he's kinda got the 'look' I imagined as Tom Ripley. But Ms Paltrow...ugh I don't buy it, and maybe I never will. Basically, this movie is ruined for me already right?

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Just out of curiosity, does Tom Robbins stand on street corners autographing his things?

I'm just stoked I have Crispin Glover's autograph on his "Rat Catching," but I had to buy it at an import store.

I think I've been sent over fifteen e-mails about reading "Jitterbug Perfume" first, so I've gone ahead and added it to my wish list.

If it comes to my tree, it was meant to be.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Oops. By "Rat Catching" I meant "Oak Mot."

"Rat Catching" just came out this year. I don't have it yet.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Okay, I did cry at Simon Birch, but heck, those kleenex and Hallmark commercials make me tear up. So, it doesn't take much. As for books that I would like to see made into a film...umm..I guess that Ya-Ya Sisterhood would be good. I heard that Andie MacDowell is working on it, though. Please, no. Nothing against the dear girl, but let's all remember her wonderful line deliveries in Four Weddings and A Funeral. Dreadful. As for books that were horrible films, I would have to say Circle of Friends. The book was SOOOOO much better. They left entirely too much out of the movie and of course changed the ending. However, that happens so often. Just my opinion.---amy

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Pammy - with - a - Y, that is an excellent idea... animated Ender. Just not in that fluffy Disney-type animation, either. He'd be good in anime.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Amy - totally agree on the Andie MacDowell thing. My friends and I still have this routine where - if it's raining and any of us has forgotten an umbrella - will spontaneously say "Oh is it raining? i hadn't noticed." That might be the least-convincing line in the history of cinema.

I just about cried when Richard Gere/Bruce Willis redid "The Jackal." I loved "The Day of the Jackal" as a book. I loved the original movie. But if you're going to screw around with the situation that much, don't tease me be calling last year's remake "The Jackal." Call it "Bruce Willis does another annoying action film while Richard Gere tries to maintain his Irish accent throughout two hours of insipid chatter.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Another "oh, yeah," Pamie, about Tom Robbins: If you do read "Cowgirls" first, please note that it seems quite dated now! Very hippie-counter-culture stuff. (But that IS who he is.) But still hilarious and fun.

Amy, please tell me you made that up about Andie MacDowell trying to be involved in making "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood"! You were just kidding, right? Of course you were right. I never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life! I like -- and sometimes love - - Andie, but not for this project! If one person could stay away from that in droves, that would be me.

Just remembered another atrocious adaptation, which I hope no one ever has to see. "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," starring the Master Ham himself, Kenneth Branagh. Ugh. Mommy, please don't make me watch that again! I don't really think the book was all that great, even if it is a "classic," but to completely change the ending and have Victor reanimate ELIZABETH? Oh, the horror! I did, however, enjoy "Bram Stoker's Dracula" somewhat (must agree that Keanu should not speak, though!), even though they took too many liberties with the story. That whole thing with Mina being the Count's long-lost love and all was a little hard to swallow, but that movie was all about style instead of substance, so it kinda worked. And ya gotta love Gary Oldman (one of the sexiest -- if weirdest-looking -- men alive) as Dracula. (But he was quite creepy in those castle scenes where he was all uglified!) But some of the liberties -- like the sex, of course -- worked.

Yet another abomination: "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet." It definitely had some strong points (especially the cast -- I personally loved Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes as the star- crossed lovers -- and that great Nurse screeching "HULIETTA!"), but otherwise, Ouch. I'll use one of my favorite overused expressions: "Good idea, poorly executed."

Here's a thought: Don't see movie's where they have to insert the author's name in front of the title, because it's already been done -- and done better -- and done so well that they copywrited it!

Pamie, did you have any idea how passionate people would be about this topic? Yeah, I'll kinda bet you did. But I admit even I was surprised.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Pama,

I've changed my mind since I last swore by Still Life with Woodpecker (although I still think its great). Skinny Legs and All is now my fave along with Jitterbug Perfume. But mabey you should start with Another Road Side Attraction, since it is his first novel and really introduces you to his style. I've had so much fun reading his stuff, I hope that you find at least one that does the same.

Je

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999

Really? I thought Another Roadside Attraction was really close to unreadable. It took me forever to get through that. I think Skinny Legs and All is the easiest Robbins book.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

I have to log in with that on "Roadside". It's Tom's first, sure, but it is certainly not a good Tom starter novel. Here's my suggested reading order. 1. Jitterbug Perfume 2. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues 3. Skinny Legs and All 4. Still Life with Woodpecker 5. Another Roadside Attraction 6. Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas 7. The new book that is supposedly being release in April 2000. Don't know what the title is.

Hop to it.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

Tom Robbins is one of my favorite authors, however, I haven't read any of the more recent stuff. He lived in the neighboring town in the pacific northwest and an aquaintance of mine bought his house. She absolutely HATES him and had all the stained glass (that he had commisioned depicting some of his books) removed from the house and put in the barn. I hope to get to buy some of it before she gets rid of it. I am going up there in February, maybe I will try.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

i have to admit, i stopped reading all the posts after the Ender-Movie one, i'll go back later, but OH MY GOD.
if they make Ender into a movie i will scream. i will scream and die and kill and maim and seriously injure.
i was SO in love with Ender for, like, the major formative years of my life! they cannot do that to me! that's like making Harry Potter into a movie (eww.)
it's all about imagination, that's why books are amazing and wonderful and most movies are just mildly entertaining. you take something out of my brain, splatter it across a screen, and you are robbing me of a sacred treasure!!!
books deserve a lot more wide-spread popularity, but turning them into movies is NOT the way to do it. ever. yuck. shudder, cringe, fall over dead.


-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

I heard about Ender's Game a while ago and I've been in shock/horror ever since. I love that book and I'm scared to death they're going to mangle it. I HATE the idea of the too-Hollywood, too-Plastic, Jake Lloyd playing the sweet, deep, gentle Ender. I think the boy who was in "Searching for Bobby Fisher" wouldn've been a better choice, but he might be too old now. Either way, I'm nervous about the whole thing.

And stay away from my Tom Robbins too. Oy.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

Wow someone else besides me buys Crispin Glover's books, woohoo.

Everyone keeps saying Speilberg is gonna mess up _memoirs of a geisha_ and all I have to say is _Schlinder's List_, dear god that book is impossible to read.

I always wanted to see a Clive Cussler/Dirk Pitt movie made, books like that translate well onto film. My mom calls them dime store novels, like Grishams books, or Clancy's books.

I'd love to see a really naughty decadant movie about Collete, or Anais Nin, and no I don't count Henry and June cause Uma Thurman is scary and ruined the whole thing. Oh "I Married Adventure" would be nice to watch.

anyway

n

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

A couple of comments...

I have heard suggestions of using the kid from Sixth Sense for Ender's Game, but as someone mentioned earlier, Card is against it. His main reason though was that the kid is already 12 years old...by the time the movie is filmed, he'd be waaay too old. I do agree however, that he would do a great job.

Someone mentioned that King started writing Storm of the Century as a novel, but it later turned into a screenplay because that was the way the story needed to be told. I actually think you're right. In the screenplay (which I bought and read) my favorite part was the introduction where he discussed the writing of the screenplay. Even if it had *begun* as a novel however, I think my point was still valid in that it was never a published one.

The same person (sorry, I'm horrible with names) who commented on that also commented on my avoiding movies made from books. I think I should add a distinction there: I tend to avoid movies adapted from books I have read. And there's a reason than that, not just because I believe all movies made from books are bad.

To me, reading a book is a very personal, very intense experience. It's not just reading words for me. Imagery and imagination and emotion is all tightly wrapped up in a novel. When I read a book, I hear the words the characters speak, I construct an image of them in my mind, and they become real. I have NEVER seen a movie that was even remotely as real as a book. So after reading a book, particularly a book I loved, and establishing that connection a movie cannot help but be a pale shadow of the experience. A movie, to me, limits a novel, wraps barriors around it. Not only that, but it limits me to someone else's perspective of the story. I really dislike that.

I've actually seen quite a few of the movies that were listed, but I've never read the books. That's a different situation altogether. But I have high doubts that I'll ever watch Enders Game if it's actually made into a movie, because I would lose that personal world that I created with the ability of its author. I would never watch a movie made from the Wheel of Time series, or a Morgan Llywellen novel, or a number of others that I've read over the years.

There's always exceptions. I might see Snow Falling on Cedars, but that's because I felt as though it was written in a way that was meant to be put onto the screen. I won't see The Fight CLub though, I have absolutely no interest in seeing what's his name...Pitt in it.

What it all comes down to though, is the book, and the movie. I tend to avoid movies made from books I loved (or hated for that matter). However circumstances can always come about to change my mind.

So there you go. Make of it what you will.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

Two words: Practical Magic Two more: I wept Plea: If you've seen the movie, but haven't read the book, please read the book. It's wonderful, but you wouldn't know it from the movie.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999

I may be alone here, but I personally loved "Alive". Alot of people avoid it and joke about the elements of cannibalism, and I'll admit when I was told the story of the film right before I saw it, I was a bit turned off also, but I was too emotionally involved to be overly disgusted.

The book was totally compelling, and it depresses me to think that the story is true, but it was also very much inpsiring.

I felt sort of the same way reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" when I still believed it was a true story. The more I got to know and love the characters, the sadder I felt knowing that they are probably not around anymore. And when I eventually discovered that it was actually fictional, I was even more distraught knowing that these characters never existed to begin with. Considering Steven Spielberg's past work, I trust him with the film, and it will most probably turn out to be his greatest work yet, or the total opposite.

I'm also looking forward to seeing the film adaption of "Bridget Jones' Diary", just to see if they can translate it to the screen. But if they dare cast Gwyneth Paltrow in the title role, I'll...

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

I saw "The Green Mile" on Friday. I have not read the book, but if the movie is that good, the book must be amazing. Only one person who has read the book and seen the film has posted their opinion, and I'm very interested in hearing what people who've experienced both think.

I didn't include it in my list on the "films of '99" forum (damn, I posted enough as it was!), but it is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. Very moving without being cloying, or pandering to the audience. I was surprised how captivated the audience was. Even my friend Bitch who went with us liked it a lot; usually if I cry up 4 napkins she doesn't like the movie, but agreed that this is good stuff. I can't say enough good things about it, except GO SEE IT! (Gotta read that book now.)

So tell us, folks: Did Darabont get it right again? Or is the book still better?

-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999

Re: The Green Mile The book is still better (aren't they all? *S*), but of all the 'books made into movies' movies that I've seen this is one of the best. Read the book tho! You *won't* be sorry...

-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999

A couple comments. I liked "Interview with The Vampire". I thought it was true to the content and spirit of the novel. Someone above (Andy?) said that the movie combined two or more of the novels together. I have to say that I don't know what you're talking about. There is nothing in the movie that I remember that wasn't in "Interview" the book. In fact, they took out a few side-plots of the book for the movie. Although, truth be told, I haven't read any of the vampire books past "Interview", so maybe there were bits from the other books I didn't realize....I loved "Interview"--I read it all in one night and felt totally bummed about Claudia the next morning--but I never got through the first third of "Lestat".

I haven't been able to read books in my spare time the last several years, so there are few other instances in which I can compare book vs. movie experience. Has anybody ever seen a good movie and subsequently read the book and disliked it? That's how I felt about "Jurassic Park". I mean, yes, the book has more dinosaurs and fleshed-out characters and more action and all, but compared to the movie it felt laborious and anticlimactic.

-- Anonymous, January 27, 2000