Category Archives: book to film

August 15, 2011   Jane   adaptation, book to film, Jane, opinion  
7

Books into films—getting it right!

This past weekend, I was really looking forward to the release of the films based on two books I loved.  I avidly read the press just to get a sense of how true the movie makers were to the author’s intended story.  One review was glowing, while the piece on the second was so off putting, that after reading it, I have no intention of seeing the film.

The first is The Help based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett (“ ‘The Help': ’60s Racism in Black and White,” behind the WSJ paywall). I loved the book and felt the author captured an important time and place in our country. From what I read about the movie, it does the same.  I am really looking forward to seeing it.

The second movie is based on another wonderful novel I read recently—One Day by David Nicholls (“Fitting ‘One Day’ Into Two Hours, also in the WSJ).This is the story of two people who meet initially on the night of their college graduation and then again on the same day for the next twenty-five years.  But the movie covers only eight of those meetings and I cannot imagine how it could capture the real essence of the book by cutting out virtually two-thirds of it. Ironically, this screenplay was adapted by the author and the movie was made by a new film division of the publishing company that published the book in the U.S. Sadly, I have no desire to see the movie after reading the article.

So my question is why can’t movie makers be more faithful to the books they are basing their films on?

I, for one, am so looking forward to seeing the movie(s) based on The Hunger Games, and I really hope the film makers don’t “get all creative” and screw up those stories.  That would be an incredible shame considering the huge potential audience now that the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises are ending.

I wonder what books-turned-movies you are looking forward to.  Which recent movies based on books have you liked and which disappointed you?

July 27, 2011   Stacey   adaptation, book to film, opinion, Stacey, subsidiary rights  
11

A few words on film adaptations

Before I became a book agent, I worked in film and tv development for 7 years in New York, first for PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and then for Hearst Entertainment. My job was to be the middle man (or woman, in this case) between the film companies in LA and London (when I worked for PolyGram, they had international companies like Working Title on board) and the book publishers. The idea was to scout for book projects that could be adapted into film or television properties. It was fun work back then because Hollywood was still paying big dollars for the right project, and there existed a cottage industry in New York of film scouts like myself who were funded by the studios and whose job was to get their hands on as much material as possible. Perks included expense accounts, movie screenings, and first looks at books in manuscript form. The hope was that a book wouldn’t be missed and snatched up by someone else, even one that might not ever become a blockbuster franchise, which is mostly what Hollywood looks for today. Thinking back, it makes me wonder if a book like The English Patient would have even been made as a film today. I like to think yes, and I suppose it’s possible, especially since the book won The Booker Prize, but I’m really not so sure.

One of my most memorable book-to-film projects back then was Lorenzo Carcaterra’s Sleepers. It was a big deal book that had been kept secret until the film agent was ready to submit it wide to producers. When they did, it was literally a race to get to the agent’s east and west coast offices to read the book immediately. All of us wildly locked ourselves in our offices and read into the night. The next day there was a heated auction, and at the end of it, one of our producers at PolyGram nabbed the rights. There was controversy later about the believability of the book (this was long before A Million Little Pieces, but a lot of the same questions applied), the movie wound up being good but not great, and from what I remember, a commercial disappointment compared to the book’s success, but the process to get it to screen was exciting.   I’ve been thinking about this lately because of the recent success of Captain America, not based on a book, but 70 years worth of comics. This piece from the Writer’s Guild of America about the writers who adapted the film version is worth reading if you’re into this stuff. It’s amazing to think these two talented guys, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, were able to extract the elements from so many years of history and turn them into a modern day commercial blockbuster film. Good writing is good writing, and it’s impressive when it’s done in book form, or for film.   The general consensus is that the book is always better than the movie, and I think that’s usually true. But there are some wonderful screen adaptations that stand on their own, like The Wizard of Oz, or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (based on Road Dah’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), or Gone With the Wind. I’m curious to know what your favorite book-to-film adaptations are. Please share!

July 20, 2011   Stacey   bestsellers, book to film, children's books, Stacey  
8

Harry Potter to the Rescue

Like most, I’m a Harry Potter fan. More than what the books offer readers, which is a lot, I’m amazed by how the series changed the way kids read. This has been discussed for years already, and I can’t believe the last film has just been released!

I found this recent Wall Street Journal piece entertaining, and illuminating. The writer, Norman Lebrecht, shares some insider information about HP that I wasn’t aware of. For example, the first book was published on June 30, my wedding anniversary. And the first print run of the first edition was 500 copies, most of which went into libraries. 500 copies, of Harry Potter! And the book has been printed in more languages than any other book in history apart from the Bible. These are some staggering stats.

I knew Rowling got a small advance from the UK, and that Scholastic and Arthur Levine, whose middle name might as well be “Harry Potter” in book publishing circles, paid a hefty sum for the rights in the US. But I didn’t realize they paid $105,000, which he describes as a record advance for a children’s book. It’s funny to think that back then that was a record advance. In today’s market, there are authors writing for children who can generate seven figure advances, usually for a series, but still. The stakes have gone way higher, and much of it has to do with the unprecedented success of Harry Potter.

But beyond all the business-side stuff, which I love, the piece compares Harry’s escapades to other classic characters in literature, like Tom Sawyer and Oliver Twist, and it speaks to the public’s wide embrace of this fictionalized boy and his amazing adventures. In all our cynicism over the book industry and its woes, articles like this always remind me why I love what I do. Especially now that I have 4 little girls at home, girls who I hope will grow up to be big readers, and of course, big fans of books like Harry Potter.

Just curious, at what age do you think it’s appropriate to start reading HP? My oldest is 6, middle 4, and twins are 2. Judging from their active and sometimes fearful imaginations, I think we’ll need to wait a couple of years before we get started down that road. Somehow, I think they’ll still be in print by then.
November 09, 2010   DG&B   book to film, great books, Stephanie  
7

One Moment Please While I Geek Out

by Stephanie

Judge me as you will, but I will make no attempts to hide the fact that I am a Harry Potter fan, and have been since the beginning. The series seems to have been a benchmark for my (relatively speaking) younger years, and I have always been one of those fans who stuck with the books and subsequent franchise throughout its life. In fact, next week I will be going to the theatre (which at $13 a ticket, who does that?) to see the first installment of the final movie. I’m hoping I don’t resort to pushing a small child to get to the good seats, but I won’t make any guarantees.

Anyway, with that in mind, I wanted to pass along this clever piece that examines the elements of the series that make for sound tips writers can take away and use to hone their own work. From character development to plotting to points of view, it’s interesting how one pivotal series holds within it so many building blocks to strong writing. I’m sure some won’t feel the same with regard to my admiration for the series, but I think this piece makes a strong argument in favor of Rowling’s talents, as well as driving home the importance of truly enjoying the world you create.

June 11, 2010   DG&B   advice, book to film, Lauren, subsidiary rights  
5

The book stays in the picture

by Lauren

There was some great debate in the comments when I tackled foreign rights, so let’s move on to another sub right.  It seems like this is the perfect week to talk about film, since Variety just did a piece on the current state of book-to-film, complete with quotes from Jane!  (I always enjoy the Variety lingo–only in LA would we be referred to as a “Gotham-based” agency.  Clearly Batman was rights director before me. )

So we’ve already talked about foreign, which takes up the most time and generates the most deals, but film and television is the big one on a per deal basis in terms of money. On the one hand, a big film means big money for the author (though as Jane points out, not as big as it used to be).  That said, the percentage of books that ever reach the screen is tiny. Of those that don’t, a slightly larger percentage will have the rights bought but will never be made. Another slightly larger bunch will be optioned–meaning a studio or production company has the right to try to get the funding to outright buy the rights to the material. Options, however, usually lapse before any significant progress is made.

I’ve heard it said that the ideal situation for the author is for the option producer to get enough traction to keep optioning and eventually buy the rights, but never make the movie.  Though I don’t know how many authors would really want to lose the upside—significantly inflated booksales—to get rid of the downside—a corrupted version of the story they wrote making it into the world.

February 02, 2010   DG&B   book to film, Chasya, opinion  
2

Happy Oscar Nomination Day!

by Chasya

A recent Examiner article links to a note from J.D Salinger elucidating why the author never exploited the valuable film rights to Catcher in the Rye. Among the many reasons, he said: “ for me the weight of the book is in the narrator’s voice…” Thinking that Holden could never be accurately represented onscreen, he opted not to have the book adapted.

After this morning’s Oscar announcements, in which four of the ten nominations for best picture are going to films that were adapted from books, I got to wondering. Of the four, I’ve only seen Up in the Air, a book I would say certainly relies heavily on the narrator’s voice. And that movie was pretty great. It’s often said that films taken from books don’t come close to the greatness of the original. I would have to say I disagree. I think that they’re very different vehicles that serve the same purpose–to tell a story.

No matter how that’s done, so long as it’s done well, there needn’t be this sort of black and white debate. Do film adaptations always trump books? Do books always trump the film adaptation? I don’t think we necessarily need to choose.

What are your thoughts?

December 16, 2009   DG&B   book to film, children's books, fun, Stacey  
8

Children’s Books to Movies

by Stacey

Here’s a fun link to some ideas for classic children’s books that would adapt well for an adult audience. I’m not sure about a movie version of Goodnight Moon (unless it was very short!), but I do think that Good Night, Gorilla would be a really great animated film. Let’s hear some of your favorite children’s books that you think would make great movies.

December 11, 2009   DG&B   book to film, Lauren, Rachel  
5

The age old debate on adaptation

by Rachel

Lauren touched on the subject of film adaptations in her post-Oscars blog entry, but with The Lovely Bones opening in theatres this weekend, and with films such as Alice In Wonderland and Sherlock Holmes also coming to us on the big screen, I thought I’d throw in my two cents on the ongoing book vs. film adaptation debate.

Today’s NY Times review of The Lovely Bones was mixed. A.O. Scott writes that while Alice Sebold’s novel showed audacity and effective art, the film shows less audacity and too much art. The film, he says, “skitters and lurches from set piece to the next” and never achieves the “delicate emotional coherence that would bring the story alive.” He then goes on to say that one of the problems with the film is that there are hard decisions to be made when trying to put Sebold’s work into a motion picture: What should be highlighted? What should be left out?

I’d like to know how filmmakers make such decisions. Obviously you can’t transfer every minute detail from a book to the screen–an audience doesn’t really want to stick around for more than a couple of hours to catch every last event that occurred in a book, but by having to be so selective in film adaptations, are we missing out on details that only reading books can bring us?

The film Adaptation comes to mind when I think about the great book vs. film adaptation debate. What was meant to be a film adaptation of Susan Orlean’s The Orchard Thief, turned into a film about how to adapt a book into a screenplay–better yet, I think the film poses the question of whether or not it’s possible for a book to be adapted for film at all. The movie certainly makes you think whether or not this is possible. Sure, Adaptation is a wonderful film, but it’s a film about a man having writer’s block while trying to adapt the book to the big screen.

So, I wonder, are there some books that just can’t be made into films? Or, do you believe films ‘give life’ to books?

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