A group of books I read in my hiatus from this blog were the AWESOME
Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. I've actually read them all twice through since first purchasing them in September. I think you'd have to be living in an igloo with your ears plugged and your back turned to not be aware of this book series right now.
On opening night, my amazingly sweet boyfriend took me to see the
Twilight film. You can read my non-spoiler review on my other blog
here.
This post is NOT Twilight-specific, but in discussing the film with a few friends recently, my general gripe with film adaptations of my favourite books has been a prominent discussion topic and I feel I need to get my thoughts down in one place.
Twilight will be my example movie, since it was the one I most recently saw. So I now present:
"The Wonder Worrier's Issues With Movies Based On Books That She Really Loved"Issue #1: Um, Why Isn't The Book The Script?What I never understand about film adaptations is WHY the book doesn't become the script. The book has extra details that can be used for setting and character-appearances, and books have lots of dialogue right at the screenwriter's fingertips that can be used for what the actors need to say. If they've acquired rights to a book in order to create the film, why doesn't the screenwriter go page by page and turn the written words into script form? I'm sure the author will only appreciate their words being preserved this way. And then, when cuts need to be made as they invariably will due to time constraints, at least what you're left with is still the novel on screen. Readers make a movie with their minds as they read a novel, so when they go to the theatre to see a film based on their favourite books, it's obvious that what they'd like to see are their much-loved pages in live-action form.
This especially bothers me when key scenes from a book are missing in the film version, but in other films similar scenes have been shot... which tells me that it's entirely possible for filmmakers to create these scenes. When I'm making my movie in my mind as I read, I highly doubt a big budget is even needed to create what I'm picturing. So I propose to screenwriter's that they sit with the book in front of them, and begin their script by just turning the novel into a screenplay format. It just makes good sense.
Issue #2: "Almost" Getting It RightMy second issue is this. Why, and this happened a few times in
Twilight, why would the scene look perfect and the actors all be in place for a scene directly off the pages of the book... and then the scene plays out differently and ends up shorter, and all the good dialogue that worked so very well in the novel is moved to a random other place in the film?
Why
ALMOST do a scene straight from the book? It seems ridiculous. You're not going to waste any extra budget; you have the setting and the characters in place, just have them discuss the right things as they're there. Fans would be so much happier. Any time something happens in a movie that is right from the pages of the novel, fans go crazy for it (in a good way!). Give the fans what they want: if you're ALMOST doing a scene from the novel, then just go for it - do the scene as it was written originally. Authors have spent a lot of time having their novels edited to ensure flow and character development; perhaps having the scenes in the movie play out their way will allow for better flow and character development in the film
(hint hint to Twilight makers, this was a huge flaw! Not enough character development due to choppy and short scenes!)Issue #3: Do You Think We're Stupid?Before a film adapation of a popular book gets released, in a lot of the interviews the filmmakers make comments like, "Well, just remember that the film is always a little different than the novel, but we've still
tried to stay true to the story". Multiple times I heard, "Remember, it's
Twilight the Movie, NOT
Twilight The Book The Movie". Except... it IS
Twilight The Book The Movie because without the book, there'd be no movie, so I propose everyone stops saying douchey things like this.
I mean seriously, how condescending and rude. Guess what, filmmakers? If you're going to adapt a book to film, start consciously making the decision to keep it the same as the book (see issue #1). I never understand why they "prep" fans for the changes they've made. Why don't they just... oh, I don't know,
stop making pointless changes! The books work for a reason, we don't need random extra scenes (*cough*diner scenes in
Twilight *cough*) or (issue #2) well-loved scenes changed around. It doesn't add action or make the film more interesting, it just ticks fans off. I'd like filmmakers to stop preparing us for changes, and to start keeping films more similar to the book. We're the ones paying to see the movie, we're the ones buying into the franchise, make the films
for us. This brings us to issue #4...
Issue #4: Why Aren't You Listening To The Fans?Google... powerful tool. Do you know how easy it is to find out the SuperFans opinions about their favourite books that are soon to be released as films? From the nanosecond that a film is announced, there are a billion blog posts and websites started up devoted to the film. As I said before, it's the fans who buy into the franchise. It's the fans money that determines if there will be sequels made or not (in the case of the
Twilight saga, this was absolutely true). The fan's opinions are quick and easy to get, and if you make your film the way the fans want it ... which means, making your film closely match what happens in their beloved book... just think of the billions of dollars extra you will make. Because the moment an amazing book-to-film adapation is made, fans will see it multiple times in the theatre and rush to buy the DVDs and merchandise. Fans will hook other people into the franchise over their excitement that "FINALLY! A movie was made that put my novel onto the screen!". Fans are waiting for this "FINALLY!" moment to happen... and I'll never understand why filmmakers aren't giving in.
Books draw people in emotionally. They are most often read alone, they are more intimate than a film. When people read, they form a deep connection with the story and fall in love with the characters. When a beloved novel is being turned into a film, a reader cannot help but feel excited to see their
passion on the big screen. If the movie adapation is done right, this fan will re-watch the film many times, because the bond felt as they turned the well-worn pages of their beloved novel will be felt with the live-action version. I feel that filmmakers are forgetting the intimacy of the novel-and-reader relationship, and I am too often disappointed when I see "my novel" played out completely wrong.
I understand that filmmakers feel that by making some changes in the adapation, they will appeal to a broader fanbase than just the novel readers... but for the most part they don't or won't. The changes are unnecessary because the majority of those who flock to see the film will already be readers of the novel regardless of how they market the movie, and if the adaptation is done right, anyone who does see the movie having not read the book should
want to read the novel seeing it. The audience of the film will be those who've enjoyed the novel or will enjoy the novel, regardless of what filmmakers want to believe. They were not going to turn my boyfriend into a
Twilight fan, regardless of any extra little so-called "action" sequences they threw in there.
Listen to the fans. These stories are theirs, and they need to be done
right. And we really don't mind if you pop into our blogs and websites to find out "what we really think". Seriously... do it.
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Book-To-Movie That I Loved: The Notebook,
Bridget Jones' DiaryThe Notebook was incredibly well done. Yes, there are some minor changes, but they made the film
better, not worse. I am absolutely fine with a few changes, if they actually do enhance the story. In this case, more detail was added to Allie and Noah's early romance, which just lends to better character development. The characters and the setting was spot-on to what I pictured as I read this novel. Absolutely wonderful, a cinematic gift to Nicholas Sparks fans everywhere.
For
Bridget Jones it was well done for all the reasons that Confessions of a Shopaholic will not be well done (see below for more about Shopaholic). The characters were spot-on, the setting was perfect, and the story kept the same rhythm as the book (including the voice-overs and her recording her weight, etc). Very entertaining and close to the novel in all of the important ways.
Book-To-Movie That I Am "Okay" With: A Walk To RememberWhile this film was ... well, nothing like the book because the time period of the book would have made this and
The Notebook be
very similar... I enjoyed this movie because it flowed nicely and I was able to enjoy it for what it was. I don't consider it the same as Nicholas Sparks' A Walk To Remember because other than the character's being similar in personality and a general similar storyline, it's just way too different from the book. But I don't dislike it, because I liked the film (mind you I was a teen when this came out, so I might not have been as critical as I am now).
Book-To-Movie That Ticked Me Off: Twilight,
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,
Confessions of a ShopaholicMy gripe with
Twilight has been discussed in enough detail on my other blog. It was the cinematography that bothered me, and the random extra scenes that I felt were pointless. I feel that if fans are heard, the rest of the series of these films could be extremely well-done. The cast was fantastic and the setting was great; they just need to follow the books a little more closely and allow for some scenes to flow better in order to create character development, and then they've got a good film.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban bothered me for a similar reason as
Twilight. I was quite a fan of the third book in the Harry Potter series, and there was just enough missing detail in this movie to really bother me. Key scenes and characters were cut down too much. The rest of the Harry Potter films I've enjoyed much more; but something about this third one really irked me.
Confessions of a Shopaholic has yet to be released (it comes out in February of 2009), but I was pissed off about this one the moment I read the details on IMDB.com . They've butchered it. This comes from a series of fantastic novels from one of my most favourite authors (Sophie Kinsella). They've changed the characters and the settings too much, and combined storylines from multiple books, thus ruining any chances for this to become a series of films like it very well could have been. I mean, Becky is going to be AMERICAN, for crying out loud. I actually love Isla Fisher for the role, but honestly... British films are made all the time, why is this film not British? Isla Fisher could very easily play Becky British. I'm appalled by everything I read about it. I'm a die-hard Shopaholic fan, but I'm not interested in this film adaptation at all. Total let-down before I even have to see it. Perhaps I will be able to enjoy it like I did
A Walk To Remember... but that means enjoying it as completely seperate from my favourite novels. Disappointing. I don't understand why Sophie Kinsella agreed to this, and why she didn't hold out for a screenwriter who would do justice to her fantastic books.
Book-To-Movie That I'm Hoping Will Be Done Right: The Lovely Bones and The Time Traveler's WifeThese are two books that I really enjoyed, and from what I've read about the movies so far, I do hope they'll fare better than some adaptations have. Peter Jackson has made
The Lovely Bones, and I have faith in his abilities since
The Lord of The Rings really was well-done as far as adaptation goes (I just wasn't a LoTR fan in general, but I can appreciate Peter Jackson's talent). The casting is so well done for this film, I'm very eager to see it and hopefully walk away satisfied.
I haven't heard as much information about
The Time Traveler's Wife, but I'm simply holding out hope because the casting is quite well done and the screen captures I've seen so far look perfect. Perhaps I'll be in for disappointment again, but I sincerely hope not.
