I am beyond excited about The Hunger Games movie. I devoured all three books in the series and love that it was filmed in North Carolina. If it wasn't for my "mom duties," I would have camped out, swung from trees, or whatever else it might have taken to land a part as an extra.All this has me thinking about other books that became movies. We readers have great expectations and clear pictures in our heads, so I'm curious which ones worked for you. Two of my favorites were The Princess Bride and The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe. I've read both books too many times to count and was amazed at how brilliantly the story on the big screen reflected the one I'd grown to love.
What about you? What are your favorite book to big screen transformations? Will you be standing in line to see The Hunger Games on opening night? Comment and let us know!
Posts
Here's another question for you: What book would you most like to see turned into a movie?
ReplyDeleteI very much want to see The Mysterious Benedict Society as a movie.
DeleteI love the Harry Potter books but now love the HP movies in a different way. I wish The EarthSea trilogy could be made into a good movie. I wish someone else would give A Wrinkle in Time another try. I just started reading something called Fever Crumb which reads like a great movie. And I'm totally against the way overly slick-looking Lorax - the trailer makes it obvious they didn't get it at all! Interesting question. And I'm also waiting hungrily for the Hunger Games!
ReplyDeleteThanks for chiming in, Constance. My girls and I still like the old video version of the Lorax, so I'm in no hurry to see the newer one. And it's funny you should mention A Wrinkle in Time, because I'm about to read it for the first time with my oldest daughter. I've heard it's well-loved.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly, Percy Jackson and the Olympians was a middle grade book but clearly a YA movie. The scriptwriter for the movie took a lot of license and changed a lot of things. But I thought both the book & movie were good. Writers can learn a lot by watching movies to see how the plot and characterization changed between the movie and the book. It shows us that that the book could have been written 2 ways (or more) -- a good thing for people like me to remember when forced to consider replotting, or changing a character that I'm too attached to in my writing.
ReplyDeleteGreat insight, Janelle! Reminds me of how picture books can change after the illustrators add their interpretations.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to see Hunger Games on Saturday, so excited! Congrats on the request over at Cupid! I'm #6, nice to meet you :)
ReplyDeleteYAY! You're back!
ReplyDeleteAnd hmmm... I am not so sure how much I love the movies after the books. BUT - the Narnia movies far exceeded my expectations! I admit, I haven't read the Hunger Games. I know, I know. Beat me with a wet noodle. I've been reading more younger books lately (if at all). BUT - I do want to see it!
Hope- Thanks so much! I'm very excited about the requests I've gotten so far. It's a great opportunity. Hope you loved The Hunger Games, and good luck in the Secret Agent Invasion. :)
ReplyDeleteDonna- I loved the movie, but I loved it especially because I'd read the book first. They did a fabulous job, but there was so much action to pack in the film that I missed some of the character development that was in the book. So yes, go see the movie. But read the book first. You'll fly through it, and it's great writing.