Book to Movie Adaptations
There are two sides of this coin, so not to discredit the good ones, but because this is a rant, I am not focusing on the positive. Sorry, not sorry.
In terms of good book to movie adaptations, let me just mention Harry Potter (um, all of them!) and most recently, Catching Fire. Nothing else comes to mind. Everything else I've seen?
Do movie companies literally go: we have no more ideas! Oh, these books are doing so well on the market; let's make them into movies!
And of course, the author is ecstatic because who wouldn't be? What would you do if your book was made into a movie? So author's happy, book has a fanbase that'll pay to see the movie so the company is happy. Everyone is f*cking happy; until they see the goddamn movie. And that's when the guns come out. (Well really, it's more us on computers writing angry letters, but don't underestimate the power of the book nerds.)
Do the companies even READ the book? Do they just hear about the idea and start turning a masterpiece into a two year old's work? I can't...
"Oh, but what if we..."
"Hmm... wouldn't it be cool if we..."
"You can change this and then change that and everything'll be fine..."
My response?
Let me go down the line of book to movies that made me:
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Can I just say that I was super excited for this movie that turned out to be so stupid and a let down. I expected something that was badass and paired with the book. Thanks Hollywood, for f*cking up my love for this series. The lines were so bad, I cringed. Cringed. How about the romance? I have better romance with my dog and I don't even HAVE a dog. So correction: my friend A, has better romance with her dog. And the worst part is that I LOVED the actors, but this movie killed me. And not in a good way.
Screw you, Hollywood, screw you.
Percy Jackson
If you're someone who liked Percy Jackson, it either means you haven't read the books or you aren't a diehard fan who doesn't care. I'm cool with both (opinions, opinions), but I'm neither.
In Percy Jackson (both), the directors chose the cast by playing a game of Mash. And they thought of the plot by reading the synopsis and having a monkey as a consultant. That's how bad it was. If you haven't seen it, go have fun. Bring something to bite down and muffle your screams on, though. And let's appreciate how much this movie stayed true to the book... oh wait.
Note: this is an opinion/sarcasm, don't actually take what I'm saying as a definite fact.
Beautiful Creatures
I actually didn't read the whole book and from what I've been told, it's still terrible.
Okay, Beautiful Creatures didn't get any promo. Freaking Mortal Instruments got a MALL TOUR. And it was still a terrible movie. Beautiful Creatures didn't get anything but a few trailers and posters from what I saw. I only heard about it on twitter, from a few lovers and a few ranters...
This one I'm less touchy on because I'm not really a fan of the books. But the movie was dumb and plotless and just no. The romance killed me because it was awkward and made me feel awkward. I only got to half of the book, but even I know that they screwed around with a bunch of the plot. As if that was necessary.
Can I tell you how excited I am for Divergent? Props to the people who got that sarcasm. Yeah.
Divergent looks a little weird. I'm sorry, but it does. Every initiate (save Tris) looks out of place. Peter is way too old and isn't even attractive *cue pout*. Four is freaking 25, thanks. And he's got a British accent; what the f*ck?And then how's Eric supposed to be the youngest Dauntless Leader if he's the same age? They're starting to screw the logic and it's making Nova:
I am actually VERY touchy on Divergent because I've read it like 40 times. I was hoping it would stay true to the book, but with the weirdly done romance and the accents and bad casting, I don't even know anymore. The trailers were badly explained to people who haven't read the book. Just no. And from what the stills look like and what I know about these book to movie things, I'm expecting something worse that Twilight. I'm a pessimist, kill me. Of course, I have to see the movie (which I will) to have a final judge, but these are just pre-thoughts.
So yeah. This is what I think about Book to Movie Adaptations in a rant. Hope you liked it and I'll try to do more in the future. There's a lot of Bitchy Nova to go around on this blog. Wonderful.
Okay, Beautiful Creatures didn't get any promo. Freaking Mortal Instruments got a MALL TOUR. And it was still a terrible movie. Beautiful Creatures didn't get anything but a few trailers and posters from what I saw. I only heard about it on twitter, from a few lovers and a few ranters...
This one I'm less touchy on because I'm not really a fan of the books. But the movie was dumb and plotless and just no. The romance killed me because it was awkward and made me feel awkward. I only got to half of the book, but even I know that they screwed around with a bunch of the plot. As if that was necessary.
UPCOMING
Divergent.Can I tell you how excited I am for Divergent? Props to the people who got that sarcasm. Yeah.
Divergent looks a little weird. I'm sorry, but it does. Every initiate (save Tris) looks out of place. Peter is way too old and isn't even attractive *cue pout*. Four is freaking 25, thanks. And he's got a British accent; what the f*ck?And then how's Eric supposed to be the youngest Dauntless Leader if he's the same age? They're starting to screw the logic and it's making Nova:
So yeah. This is what I think about Book to Movie Adaptations in a rant. Hope you liked it and I'll try to do more in the future. There's a lot of Bitchy Nova to go around on this blog. Wonderful.
I agree, most movies do not live up to the book. I do think it's hard to pack a book into just a couple of hours, which is why they mess with the plot so much. City of Bones...they messed with the plot in ways that really will affect the future movies, so I'm concerned about that. I didn't think the romance was that bad, but it was just so fast and you missed so much, but again, I think it's the time crunch. I still go to see them, though, and am usually disappointed. I'll be going to see Divergent, of course, and Vampire Academy. Dimitri's hair is already driving me crazy from the pictures I've seen. Ugh. The actor that was cast as Four actually is gorgeous, so I don't mind him. At least he'll be pretty to look at while I eat my popcorn. Fun post! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteLOL. For me being a teenage girl, I don't see the appeal in Theo James. He's wayyy too old to be "hot" in my opinion. But yeah, I'm really disappointed in these movies; save the Hunger Games, which now has my full attention!
Delete- Nova
Ahhh, I love ranty posts.
ReplyDeleteI am actually excited for Divergent and I don't think anything could be worse than Twilight.I'm still not sold on Theo James as Four but I'll have to wait and see how he does in the role before I make a definite statement about that.
THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU, NOVA!
ReplyDeleteYES, YES, YES to Percy Jackson! I didn't watch City of Bones because my mom said it was like The Great Percy Jackson Disaster.
And, sweetheart, Four is almost 30. You can literally add four years to that age guess. He's freakin' 29 years old. It'd be different if he, you know, LOOKED like he could be 18. Just no. I'm not seeing THAT movie in theatres. I won't support a massacre.
I've become so disenchanted with YA book-to-movie adaptations. I JUST WANT THEM TO STOP. So thank you for your post because 1) it's awesome and TRUE and 2) it made me laugh. I had to read parts of it aloud to my mother.
From your entire comment: you are made of awesome.
DeleteI'm excited for Divergent, but I know I'm setting myself up for complete disappointment. I was also excited to see they made Vampire Academy into a movie until I saw the preview. I've never seen a preview for a book to movie adaptation that looked so bad in my life. Will I see it? Yes. Will I want those two hours of my life bad? Most definitely.
ReplyDeleteOh, and as someone who's as old as Theo James looks, I don't see the appeal. I know older people play teens all the time, but there's a line and they crossed it. He is not Four.
Mariko @ The Storybook Kingdom
LOL. I had a lot of fun reading this, Nova.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too keen on book to movie adaptations and for me HP and The Hunger Games are the only ones that truly work. I haven't read the Percy Jackson books, so that's why I thought the movies were entertaining. However, I know a lot of readers pretty much hate those movies.
I didn't even bother watching City of Bones and Beautiful Creatures because the trailers were enough to bore me out of my mind.
As for Divergent, I was never keen on the cast either. I really don't like Shailene Woodley (I don't even know why and I think she's overrated as an actress) and yeah I'm with you on Theo James. He's a very attractive man, but he's just not Four to me. The trailer makes it seem like it's a romance more than anything else and Tris has the same sad expression throughout the entire trailer. I know Tris was sad and all, but I don't remember her being so filled with angst in the first book. VA is another book to movie adaptation I'm worried about. I thought the teaser trailer was fun, but the more I watched it, the more I disliked it. They've made it seem more of a parody (like that movie Vampires Suck) and whenever I see it at the movies I cringe.
Anyways, I think that most readers aren't fans of book to movie adaptations and it's understandable since Hollywood pretty much screws everything up. Now, if only there were more directors like Francis Lawrence!
Great post, Nova!
Aw thanks! I had so much fun reading yoru comment AHHHH!
DeleteBut yeah, you are so right! I have no problem with Shailene because she hasn't actually acted in a movie I've seen yet, but Four.. OH GOD. I'm 13, so I don't find him attractive at all. And there is no way he can pass for 18. No. Freaking. Way.
I kind of LOVE Francis Lawrence, just because he stayed so true to the book unlike Percy Jackson. Which is a joke. A joke.
Thanks so much for commenting!!
I'm reading City of Bones now and my chemistry teacher has already told me to not bother with the movie. And Percy Jackson? Can I just say I couldn't stop talking about that movie for days... in the worst way possible. I was so excited for the movie adaption and then I saw it. Complete let down. My mom loved the movie, but she never read the books. I could make a whole blog dedicated to my disappointment on those movies!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on Catching Fire being well made. Also, the Hunger Games, the Help, and the Great Gatsby were pretty good adaptations.
Love this post! The bookish community needs to go on a strike and stop letting Hollywood ruin our books!
I love rants! Yeah, Beautiful Creatures (the movie) was awful. I loved the book though, so maybe that's why I didn't like the movie at all.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I was too happy with some of the Harry Potter movies. However, one of the best book adaptation I've ever seen in my life is BBC's Pride and Prejudice. You know, the one with Colin Firth? Yeah, I am still waiting to see another adaptation as good as that. Of course, you can say that I've said it all by mentioning BBC and Colin Firth but hey, it still counts, right?
You're right though, there needs to be a person in charge of slapping the director because some adaptations are just bad. I am weary a bit of Divergent since I saw the clip on Yahoo Movies, the one with the tattoo. Not what I expected, honestly. I was super excited when I saw the trailer, but now I'm not so sure anymore. I will be patient and wait for the movie, though.
I haven't seen Pride and Prejudice... More because I don't like classics... HEHE.
DeleteAnyway, for Divergent, i saw that clip. God. The song kind of makes sense for the scene, but you know it's called "Dead in the Water"? That's kind of a mood killer. Yeah. And they have ZERO chemistry. LOL
I seriously LOVE you for writing this post Nova! I've been meaning to write this kind of post for AGES, but you've written it way better than I ever could!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Creatures: After the little promo it had, can you believe that the lead female actor honestly thought she was going to become Kristen Stewart famous? Like, she was consulting people with how to deal with the fame she'll get after the Beautiful Creatures movie. Like whaat?
Divergent: I am not sold with ANYTHING in the movie. I don't like all the actors, the two trailers I saw was a flop (I DID NOT feel any chemistry between Tris and Four in the second trailer - all I saw was a young person with an old person) and I have a feeling that the Divergent movie will be like City of Bones - a flop.
And why, WHY do directors not realize that there is A REASON why books get famous the first place because they are the way they are and people LIKE IT THAT WAY. Why, WHY do directors want to change things - they're basically changing the things WE people love about the books and the reason WHY we love the books, which will not work EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
/ends rant.
aw! love you too! This post was written like a month ago, so that Divergent clip wasn't even posted yet. God, I hate it so much. I'm probably going to have to watch it anyway, LOL.
DeleteAnd that thing about the Beautiful Creatures girl, I didn't even know that. OMG lol. Ego much? Having your face on a bus does not equal to Kristen Stewart fame. Sorry to disappoint, lol.
And yeah! I figured that a lot of people feel this way, so I still can't believe so many directors don't get the memo.
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