Monday, September 13, 2010

Why Books Make Such Good Movies

"A book is a human-powered film projector (complete with feature film) that advances at a speed fully customized to the viewer's mood or fancy. This rare harmony between object and user arises from the minimal skills required to manipulate a bound sequence of pages. Each piece of paper embodies a corresponding instant of time which remains frozen until liberated by the act of turning a page."
~ John Maeda




And there you have it! Now you know why books make such great movies!


I love the idea of characters and stories being frozen, suspended in time, waiting for us to turn the page. It reminds me of Cornelia Funke's Inkheart series - one of my all-time favorites.

Which of your favorite books would you most like
to see on the big-screen?

(provided it's done well and not Hollywood-ized to death like Inkheart was!)

P.S. Check out the contest giveaways for the epic contest of awesomeness at:

Shannon Whitney Messenger
Elana Johnson
Casey McCormick's Literary Rambles
LiLa's
Jen Stayrook
Jamie Harrington

34 comments:

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

I'd love to see Leaving Paradise on screen! Love that book :)

Diane said...

Thanks for the links! Happy Week :O)

Mariah Irvin said...

I really want the SHIVER series to be filmed!

Jennie Englund said...

Adult fiction: THE POISONWOOD BIBLE! I'd love to see the scene where the mom is throwing her treasured china plates out the window of the African hut.

YA: GODLESS. Shin, the snail-farming goob, HAS to be brought to the big screen some day!

Bethany said...

I'd love to see Lynn Kurland's "Stardust of Yesterday" on the big screen. I'd also like to see Georgette Heyer's book--any of the 3 (or all) on the big screen: "Beauvallet", "The Grand Sophy" or "These Old Shades" (But I'd want them to be true to the book, of course--not that they have to have every single page in the movie, just not change it up a lot).

Stephanie Damore said...

Oooh, Jennie, THE POISONWOOD BIBLE would be a good one. Yep, it'd be awesome to see those characters on the big screen.

BK Mattingly said...

LOVE the quote! One of my favorites yet. I'd like to see The Hunger Games Series as a movie. It would be EPIC :)

Catherine Denton said...

Blackbringer by Laini Taylor!

Shelley Sly said...

That is such a great quote! I agree with those who said The Poisonwood Bible -- personally, I think that has awesome movie potential.

Stephanie Thornton said...

I would like to see Mistress of Rome on screen. And the Hunger Games (but I know that one's going to get butchered).

I like the idea of frozen characters too- I sometimes feel like my characters are frozen in a scene until I get back in to finish it.

Unknown said...

I would like to see more of Somerset Maughm's books on screen.

CD

Susan R. Mills said...

I'm not a big fan of books being made into movies. I usually like the book way better than the movie. Thanks for the links for the contest.

Melissa said...

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White! I just finished and want more of it.

PJ Hoover said...

Besides mine :)

I have to admit I'm looking forward to seeing how Hunger Games comes out!

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

I'm going to cry if they don't make Leviathan into a movie - it's a fantastic story, and would be gorgeous on screen.

Patti Lacy said...

An Irishwoman's Tale!!
LOL.

Little Bee.

Tere Kirkland said...

Ooh, I think Paranormalcy would make a great movie!

Fun post!

Jen said...

I always have mixed feelings when a book goes to film. Lots of times, it's done wonderfully and lets me "see" what I've been imagining. Of course, there are the other times....

I would LOVE for someone to do a quality (as in PJ's version of The LOTR quality) version of James A. Owens "Here, There be Dragons". One can never have too many fantasy movies to get lost in :)

Cheers,
Jen

Karen Lange said...

Good point! There are so many I would like to see on film. First one that comes to mind is The Blue Castle by L.M.Montgomery. I also think William Henry is a Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke would be another good one.

Thanks for the links! :)

Theresa Milstein said...

I thought The Hunger Games would be a great movie when I read it, and I just watched the trailer this weekend. Last week, I read Paranormalcy, and thought that would be great on the big screen.

Vicki Rocho said...

Why is it whenever I'm asked a question like this I completely blank out? I read. Maybe not as much as some, but I do read. I've even finished a book thinking, "this would make a great movie" but you want titles and I'm unable to produce them. Frustrating

Anonymous said...

I get a little frightened when a favorite book of mine is made into a movie. So, I think I'd have to say none. But I do love movies--purely written for the screen!

Liz @ Cleverly Inked said...

I would like to see restoring harmony. It was a great book.

Carolyn V. said...

Ohhhh, that is an awesome question! I'm not sure which book I'd want to see on screen. I'd hope they wouldn't ruin the book for me. =)

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm always terrified when they take my favourite books and put them on the screen. I want the characters to look like they do in my head. I want them to pick the 'right' sections of the book to put on film. I don't want them to mess with the theme, the mood or the setting.

I'm fussy. :)

There are quite a few I haven't watched because the trailers turned me off.

Now, if they would only consult me before they make crucial decisions... :)

Kelly Polark said...

Books do make good movies, and even better books. :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Books make great movies, but not the other way around ;)

I think I'd like to see the old Pern books put into a movie. That would be awesome. (I love dragons)

Nicole said...

My book!!! Would make SUCH an AWESOME movie on the big screen. Peter Jackson would have to direct and all the special effects will be done by Weta ;p

http://damselinadirtydress.blogspot.com

Jody Hedlund said...

When I'm writing, I tend to think of my books in movie-like sequence and how it would play out on a screen. To our screen-loving generation, we just can't avoid the book-to-movie love affair!

Mary Aalgaard said...

That quote reminds me of the commercial where a boy is suspended in a dive because his mom never takes the photos off the camera or makes prints of them. My boys are also suspended in time. I like the visual of releasing the story by turning the page. I think the drama I'm writing would make an excellent movie. I just finished "Oh my Stars" by Lorna Landvik. I'd go to that movie.

Tales of Whimsy said...

Dark Divine :)

Bethany said...

In addition to what I said, I agree with Karen Lange. LM Montgomery's "The Blue Castle" would make a good movie :-)

Catherine said...

I have so often been disappointed with the film version of a great book - last year I read Revolutionary Road before I saw the film and the book was a million times better - the film was a real disappointment. We read Small Island by Andrea Levy for our book club this month and I am almost afraid to watch the tv-adaptation of it as it might ruin the images I have from the book. I would say read the book before you watch the film! Same for the YaYa sisters and many others I can't even think of now.
All the best, Catherine

Anonymous said...

I can't think of any books I'd like to see on the big screen really (well, I'd love to see mine make it up there, but hey lol). I think it's cause "the projector in my head" is so much better at making a story a great film already. We all see things slightly differently when we read and I tend to feel let down by someone else's vision when they turn my favorite books to films. I know that all the details can't make it in, but still... Just my grumpy opinion!

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