Books That Became Movies

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

Have you considered adapting your own book?

Film reviewer Leonard Maltin reminded his TV audience last week that faithfully adapting a movie from a book takes a special kind of talent.  Indeed, translating one medium into another to adapt it into a new form of entertainment is a challenging task, but one which introduces a good story to millions who never knew about the book.  It's a safe bet that the number of movies we've seen in our lives far outnumber the books we've read.

In a full-circle way, films often inspire moviegoers to read the original book on which their favorite flicks are based, so the two make a great partnership.  In that spirit, I thought it would be enlightening to scan the list of some top movies which were adapted from the printed word.  Do you remember seeing these books (prior to the movie coming out)?

JURASSIC PARK by Michael Crichton
THE PRINCESS BRIDE by William Goldman
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris
DELIVERANCE by James Dickey
DANCES WITH WOLVES by Michael Blake
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess
FIELD OF DREAMS (based on Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella)
FORREST GUMP by Winston Groom
MILLION DOLLAR BABY (based on a short story by F.X. Toole)

In more recent years. Hollywood gave us:

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (based on The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich)
WAR HORSE by Michael Morpurgo
WE BOUGHT A ZOO by Benjamin Mee
HUGO (based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick)
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen
THE LINCOLN LAWYER by Michael Connelly
BEASTLY by Alex Flinn
I AM NUMBER FOUR by Pittacus Lore
JACK REACHER by Lee Child
CLOUD ATLAS by David Mitchell
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK by Matthew Quick
ONE FOR THE MONEY by Janet Evanovich
LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL by Deborah Moggach
LES MISERABLES by Victor Hugo
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky
THE HOST (in theatres now) - Stephanie Meyer, of Twilight fame

Soon to come:

THE GREAT GATSBY — the fourth screen retelling of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic
THE SEVENTH SON — based on Joseph Delaney's The Spook's Apprentice
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY — based on a short story by James Thurber
DOROTHY'S RETURN (2014) — based on Dorothy of Oz by Roger S. Baum

Worth noting is that some of the biggest blockbusters like Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Twilight and The Hunger Games were all series, and were all aimed at young adults.  Does this say something about book-to-film potential?  It definitely says that the younger generation is reading books, and I find that pretty encouraging.

In any given year, Hollywood translates dozens of books into film. As you're writing your next bestseller, it may not hurt to visualize being on the NY Times Best Seller list at the same time Meryl Streep accepts her Academy Award for playing your heroine. 

Which reminds me, add THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, JULIE & JULIA and THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY to that list.

I Love Loglines

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

While it’s primarily a screenwriting term, the logline is of great value for every writer. This one-line description captures the concept, main character and main conflict of a story. By reducing the entire movie or novel to its most basic elements, you can quickly see what it’s about and whether you’re interested in it. Think of it as the old TV Guide one-line synopsis.

Since the Oscars were on this weekend, I found it interesting to examine the loglines of the nine Best Picture nominees:

THE ARTIST

A silent movie star struggles during Hollywood’s transition to the talkies.

THE DESCENDANTS

A land baron attempts to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE

A nine-year-old searches NYC for the lock that matches a key left behind by his father, who died on 9/11.

THE HELP

An aspiring author during the civil rights movement writes a book detailing the hardships of African-American maids.

HUGO

An orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

A struggling novelist discovers, through midnight walks in Paris, what could be his ultimate writing inspiration.

MONEYBALL

A baseball manager creates a successful baseball team on a budget by using computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

THE TREE OF LIFE

In this impressionistic work, the eldest son of a Midwestern family tries to reconcile with his father while seeking the meaning of life.

WAR HORSE

The extraordinary journey of a horse who inspires the lives of many during WWI.

A good logline – says screenwriter Blake Snyder in his highly entertaining and informative book Save the Cat – is rich with irony. What could be more ironic than a silent film star facing an age of talking pictures? Or a busy executive forced to reconnect emotionally with his family? A white girl writing about racial strife, a sports manager turning a team around with technology, and a frustrated novelist for whom a world of inspiration opens up, all overflow with contrast.

Conflict is essential to keep readers/viewers engaged. As Elizabeth S. Craig reminded us earlier this month in Suite T, we have to give our main character an industrial-sized challenge. Fill your story with the right amount of tension and everyone will stick around to see how the protagonist prevails.

Though the audience themselves may not be orphans trying to solve a mystery, they readily identify with anyone facing a struggle, especially one in which the hero is out of their element.

For your next novel, short story, screenplay or stage drama, break it down into its simplest logline and evaluate its power to hook. Is it rich with irony? Do you find the premise absolutely compelling? More importantly, will your reader?

Get your logline right from the get-go and maybe someday you’ll be sitting next to George Clooney at the Oscars. (Feel free to give your acceptance speech with a foreign accent; that’s pretty popular lately.)