Mendalla
Books into Movies: What would you like to see?
Posted on: 05/13/2011 12:01
IT and geek news site The Register has been running a poll to determine which s-f novels that have never been the subject of a film should be filmed. It began with a simple request to suggest titles, progressed to a poll in which readers were asked to choose among the top 50 nominated stories, and ended by declaring that Use of Weapons by UK writer Iain Banks is the novel that their readers would most like to see as a movie. Given that it's a UK site, I'm not surprised, but I know that Banks is highly regarded by s-f fans on this side of the pond as well (though he doesn't just write s-f). Links to the various stories they ran about the process are at the end of the post.
So, let's open it up here on WC. Doesn't need to be a poll, just a thread about what stories of any literary genre (no point in restricting it to s-f here) you think you would make a great movie. The only rule is that the story must never have been adapted before (so no remakes of The Godfather or Dracula).
So, WC, what stories (novels, shorts, graphic novels, etc.) have you read that would make good movies but have never been given the chance?
Mendalla
The Register poll:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/11/sci_fi_poll/ (declaring the winner)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/27/sci_fi_movie_poll/ (the poll featuring the top 50 nominations)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/19/sci_fi_poll/ (the nominations that didn't make the poll)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/18/sci_fi_movie/ (swamped by nominations)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/15/sci_fi_film/ (the one that started it all)
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Mendalla
Posted on: 05/13/2011 12:03
A few that come to mind for me:
The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carre. The middle book of Le Carre's Karla trilogy (it falls in between Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People) was skipped by the BBC when they filmed the other two in the 1980s. TTSS is getting a remake with Gary Oldman taking on the role of spymaster George Smiley (played beautifully by Sir Alec Guinness in the BBC adaptations), so maybe this one could be done as a sequel if the Oldman adaptation works out?
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies. Some quintessential Canlit and the novels that got me into Davies. Problem is, there's enough story in the three novels for at least 5-6 movies so we'd probably have to do the Harry Potter/Twilight trick of splitting each book into two movies. However, another option that I think would work better would be a high-quality, HBO-style TV series entitled Deptford that tells the whole story over 2-3 seasons.
The Skylark of Space by E. E. "Doc" Smith. My choice in the Register poll. Scientist discovers revolutionary energy source and uses it to build a starship in his backyard. It's a 1930s pulp novel that would need some updating and a stronger female lead (Dorothy Seaton is a nice character in some ways, but fairly passive) but it's one of those novels that helped define the genre and there's plenty of action and strange new worlds to keep the fx crew busy. And he wrote 3 sequels, so if successful, it could kick off a franchise. I think I'd keep it as a period piece rather than modernizing it.
Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers by Harry Harrison. A more modern take on the spaceship in the backyard genre. This time, it's college science majors turning the football team's private jet (donated by a wealthy alumnus) into a starship. Written in the 60s (or maybe 70s) but very pulpy and very much a successor to Skylark.
Mendalla
Dcn. Jae
Posted on: 05/14/2011 13:46
The Adventures of Jimmy Why
young_glass
Posted on: 05/15/2011 13:06
"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt would make a great thriller (one of my favorite books). I also think Sarah Waters novels would make great films.
Tyson
Posted on: 05/15/2011 13:15
The Darth Bane trilogy from Star Wars would make great movies.
Tyson
Posted on: 05/15/2011 13:17
The Circle series by Ted Dekker would also make great movies.
Mendalla
Posted on: 05/15/2011 14:30
The Darth Bane trilogy from Star Wars would make great movies.
As long as Lucas is kept as far away from the project as possible.
Mendalla
GordW
Posted on: 05/15/2011 14:59
having rarely (if ever) seen a book made into a movie thaqt I liked anywhere close as much as the book I will vote for: none
Mendalla
Posted on: 05/15/2011 15:18
having rarely (if ever) seen a book made into a movie thaqt I liked anywhere close as much as the book I will vote for: none
I can't say this, actually. Yes, many adaptations are made of fail.
However, it's not universal.
Example 1: Bladerunner comes immediately to mind. Very different from the book in some regards but, esp. once Ridley Scott was allowed to release his own cut without some of the studio-forced additions, a very good movie.
Example 2: Steven Spielberg has a history of creating wonderfully entertaining movies out of mediocre books. Jurassic Park was an improvement on the book IMHO, but I'm not that fond of Crichton to start with. Ditto Jaws, which is rather dull piece of literature that Spielberg turned into a terrific movie.
So I know where you're coming from, Gord, but I can't agree with you in this case. An adaptation can be done right if the writer and director know what they are doing and have an understanding of the material or at least of a vision of what it means to them.
Mendalla
Tyson
Posted on: 05/15/2011 18:45
The Darth Bane trilogy from Star Wars would make great movies.
As long as Lucas is kept as far away from the project as possible.
Mendalla
Haha. I was thinking Michael Bay, but there are really no 'splosions in the Darth Bane trilogy.
Mendalla
Posted on: 05/15/2011 18:50
The Darth Bane trilogy from Star Wars would make great movies.
As long as Lucas is kept as far away from the project as possible.
Mendalla
Haha. I was thinking Michael Bay, but there are really no 'splosions in the Darth Bane trilogy.
Eek. The only highly successful, multi-millionaire director who might possibly be worse than The Flannelled One.
Given that the Sith-era stuff tends to be a bit on the darker side, maybe Christopher Nolan?
Mendalla
Tyson
Posted on: 05/15/2011 19:12
The Darth Bane trilogy from Star Wars would make great movies.
As long as Lucas is kept as far away from the project as possible.
Mendalla
Haha. I was thinking Michael Bay, but there are really no 'splosions in the Darth Bane trilogy.
Eek. The only highly successful, multi-millionaire director who might possibly be worse than The Flannelled One.
Given that the Sith-era stuff tends to be a bit on the darker side, maybe Christopher Nolan?
Mendalla
Christopher Nolan. That, Mendalla, is an excellent suggestion.
Dcn. Jae
Posted on: 05/16/2011 13:47
I Go Pogo
seeler
Posted on: 05/16/2011 17:41
I would love to see my novel "The Long Walk Back" made into a movie - preferably one that brought fame and fortune to the author.
I can just imagine myself watching and muttering: They got it wrong. They got it wrong.
YouthWorker
Posted on: 05/16/2011 21:50
having rarely (if ever) seen a book made into a movie thaqt I liked anywhere close as much as the book I will vote for: none
I can't say this, actually. Yes, many adaptations are made of fail.
However, it's not universal.
I would add Children of Men to this list. The book was interesting, but rather slow moving and uneventful and a tad dull. The movie was top notch. Way better than the book.
MistsOfSpring
Posted on: 05/16/2011 22:19
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
trishcuit
Posted on: 05/22/2011 02:47
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
Sorry Boys, the girls are going to commandeer this thread for a bit.
Mists, if I saw in the flesh a guy who resembled Jamie Fraser from the book I'd probably go blind.
Curious, who would you like to see play Jamie and Clare? I used to think Heath Ledger (who's hair they would have had to dye) but that won't happen now, may he rest in peace. Maybe Claire Daines as Clare. These would be for the first two novels anyway. 20 years down the road in book 3, I have not decided yet.
As for a book that I would like turned into a movie:
The Friends of Meager Fortune. ( I like the heavy horse logging scenes and the characters are unique and very real.)
As a jest: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Mendalla
Posted on: 05/22/2011 15:06
I'm a little surprised that we haven't seen an Outlander project given the popularity of the novels. Comingsoon.net lists a scriptwriter and nothing else so I'm guessing it's stalled in "development hell".
As for P&P&Zombies, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter was optioned before it was even out so the Victorian revisionist horror genre (P&P&Z, Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters, etc.) can't be far behind, can it? Personally, I don't think the world needs any more zombie flicks. I love horror, consider the original Night of the Living Dead a classic, but have never been heavily into the flesh-eating undead and think that the sub-genre must be pretty much played out when you have to mash it up with Jane Austen to get something new out of it.
And my dream project, which I didn't mention upthread, would be to do a fantasy film based on American pulp fantasy writer Clark Ashton Smith's stories. They are mostly short and a bit slim on plot so I'd probably mash a couple of them up to create the movie. However, he's very visual (he was also a painter and sculptor) so there's some great imagery to work with. Alas, he's not as well known as his friends H. P. Lovecraft (whose novel At the Mountains of Madness is getting a mega-budget summer tentpole produced by James Cameron and directed/written by Guillermo del Toro) and Robert E. Howard (best known for Conan, who is returning to movie screens this summer and was previously played by the Governator), so it would probably be tough sell.
Mendalla
trishcuit
Posted on: 05/24/2011 01:32
The Cosmic Trilogy by C.S. Lewis would make some great movies although they would have to go extremely heavy on the CGI for #1 (Out of the Silent Planet) and even more so #2 (Perelandra.) Perelandra is a real mind bender too. I am not sure if they could do them justice though, as C.S. Lewis' adult works (as opposed to Narnia, written for children primarily) and intellect are so beyond the average.
trishcuit
Posted on: 05/24/2011 01:34
P&P&Z would definitlely have to be a parody. A droll, tongue in cheek parody, just like the book.
Mendalla
Posted on: 05/24/2011 11:43
That Hideous Strength, as I recall it (and it's the only one of his adult novels that I've read) doesn't have much plot or action to hang a movie on. It'd be very intellectual and philosophical (and from what you say above, Perelandra is similar) so aside from the visuals, it'd be a tough sell to the movie bosses and movie audiences. I love big, beautiful movies that are also smart, but that doesn't seem to be what sells (or at least what TPTB in the industry think will sell). Narnia is a great set of stories that are quite filmable and even it is having trouble keeping traction as it moves along (the movies are making less money, not more, as the series moves along). Lewis just does not seem to be suited to the big screen in the same way that his colleague & fellow Inkling Tolkien seems to be.
Mendalla
momsfruitcake
Posted on: 05/24/2011 12:13
i love when children's books are made into movies. i loved reading charlotte's web as a child and loved the movie as well. there was a book i read in grade 7 called i am rosmarie about a young girl recounting her survival through the holocaust and it really moved me. i think it would make a great movie. i wish i could remember who the author was. there were also some great "moral" books i remember in grade one. one was the toothpaste genie and the other was blubber. i will try and find authors.
a great sci-fi would be the chysalids. the closest thing to it is x-men *hugh jackman = accelerated heart rate* it's about life after nuclear war. science vs religion.
good thread :)
momsfruitcake
Posted on: 05/24/2011 12:12
momsfruitcake
Posted on: 05/24/2011 12:13
momsfruitcake
Posted on: 05/24/2011 12:14
momsfruitcake
Posted on: 05/24/2011 12:16
momsfruitcake
Posted on: 05/24/2011 12:17
i'm off to ebay to buy some of my faves for my son. we're in need of some new bedtime reads.
Elanorgold
Posted on: 06/02/2011 23:56
Greenlanders by Jane Smiley
with unknown actors that look just like these two.