How many are there until now? Have you ever counted the number of books being torn into pieces, thrown into the wild fire of a producer’s film set?
I won’t waste any time to make lists, because I am sure that everyone has at least a few names in mind.
As, unfortunately, there are so many “no-no’s” in this category, I will try to think at what couple book/movie that made me cringe in agony and led me to this article, but also at what, in fact, makes a movie spoil a perfect written story.
I started to think about this a while ago, due to the ugliest experience of filmed book: the infamous “Fifty shades of grey”. Man wasn’t it a disaster? I am very disappointed but I have also expected it to turn into shhhht…. The actors, the cut scenes, the shortened version of summarized hotness turned into a cold shower to the spectator’s disgust and horror. It was like sex without orgasm.
Then I read the first two books of a cool series: Shelly Crane’s Significance 1and 2. I really enjoyed reading them. I chose the first book randomly and was very pleased with the surprise that I discovered between the pages. Now I find out that this October there will be a movie made out of the first book. I knew from the start, when I saw the cast, which it is doomed to the same destiny as the previous shady one that I wrote about before. Why? How? It’s just a gut feeling. The results will be most likely different because the producers won’t be forced to cut out all the thrills that the book had awakened inside the readers. But still… when you promise a blue eyed boy, hot as hell, tall, sweet, sensitive and give us a brown eyed boy, short and less attractive, with a look that says more evil than good team… I want to zap. Don’t you?
Another point is the girl… she is too old, too unflavored, plain…
The evil characters are played by ugly boys… O.K. This is enough! Why does ugly equal evil in the Hollywood dictionary?
Can you believe that the feminine role of the best friend is way hotter than the main character? Say what?
They meant well but they threw another load of money on a movie meant for people who are too lazy to read. Sorry guys but this is too pathetic not to mention.
On the other hand we have kudos to give to The Notebook, written by Nicholas Sparks and produced by Nick Cassavetes. The movie was better than the original book, 123 min of pure bliss.
Another that makes the list of film wins over book: Just like heaven, written by Marc Levy, produced by Mark Waters.
Those are just examples… don’t get me started on the classics… there may be a point in making a movie out of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Bronte sisters, Emile Zola, even Shakespeare. They are too complex and complicated for some readers, or maybe too outdated for others, but the new, hot, simple stuff that is written nowadays, should be read as it is because the movies some are making are giving the authors a bad reputation.
After reading my share of classics, I can guarantee that if you have the taste for reading, you should not skip the book and go straight to the movie. It is kind of insulting for those artists who are a part of the world’s literary history.