I love books. I also love movies. One might think, therefore, that I love when books turn into movies! Well...sometimes. Yes, it is always extremely exciting when a book (or comic) gets a movie deal. That means more press for the book, which means more people will read it. And that is ALWAYS a good thing.
Except of course, when the movie sucks. Which DOES happen. Take for example, the Eragon movie. Now, the original source material wasn't that fantastic to begin with, and may have seriously resembled Star Wars but instead of light sabers there were dragons. Really, I could predict the next plot point/outcome on that book based on my knowledge of Star Wars. Way to go Paolini. But that is beside the point.
The point! Is that one of the main reasons that movie tanked was because the movie adaptation failed to remain faithful to the original source material. Big. Effing. Mistake. For a reason I cannot entirely fathom, something in the Eragon books resonates with people. That is why a fan base exists in the first place. If you deviate from the book, you are taking a big risk that what you are doing doesn't even improve the story in the first place, and an even bigger risk that you are gonna piss off the fan base- who are the very reason you have a movie to make in the freaking first place. And they usually they are fairly... devoted. As in, they have the book memorized and every minute detail is considered sacred and changing anything even a little bit is considered sacrilegious. So.
Now, sometimes changes/artistic liberties work. Like changing the batmobile in Batman Begins. I am a little biased, because I think anything Christopher Nolan does is genius. It worked though! Fans were initially skeptical, but it worked out. But as a general rule of thumb, it's best to remain faithful to the book/comic you are basing your movie off of. Especially if you have a rapant fan base. Because, believe me, they WILL notice if you deviate from their beloved books. The twilight fandom was all in a tizzy the other day just because it appears Edward's volvo is now slate gray in New Moon/Eclipse, as opposed to the silver it was described as in the book. ........
I'm just saying.
But then there are the times where the movie version doesn't really stray from the book, and it's still not very good, like some of the Harry Potter movies or the first Twilight film. Now, before you all come after me with pitchforks and torches, I actually liked these movies. As in, I enjoyed myself while watching them. But I understand that just because I like something does not necessarily make it good. I mean, I liked Timeline for crying out loud. ANYWAY. These adaptations did remain faithful to the books, and yet those who hadn't read the source material were left scratching their heads going, "Huh?" But the fans are happy. And since they are the people who see the movie over (and over and over and over) again, it's probably best to try and please them.
However, I for one am not satisfied with that. Yes I always have fun watching Harry Potter, and yes I enjoy tearing the Twilight movie to shreds. But that doesn't keep me from wanting to watch a movie that is BOTH a straight adaptation and a quality movie. See: Lord of the Rings, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile. These movies were all faithful, and they were good. Great even. It can be done! It's just really, really hard. And that's what every movie lover wants. An awesome movie. And that's what every book reader wants. A faithful adaptation.
So, pay attention Chris Weitz (New Moon), David Slade (Eclipse), Peter Jackson (Lovely Bones), Andrew Niccol (The Host), and Nina Jacobson (The Hunger Games). We are expecting a lot from you. Perfection isn't asking too much, is it? So don't screw up...
Or you WILL be seeing pitchforks and torches.
The sad thing is that I'm not even kidding.
Aha!
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