Bad Book to Film Adaptations - or I expected nothing and I’m still let down

[omori]

The film industry has always looked to outside material to draw The Next Big Idea from, novels in particular. Naturally a huge tome can be a little tricky to adapt into a 2 1/2 to 3 hour movie so the core ideas have to be carefully spliced into a script to fit a respectable runtime without losing the book’s plot. Some movies have done this well (Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings) while many have completely failed.

Young me has experienced this first hand. Long before I came to realize that Christopher Paolini’s works were a mess I was severely dissapointed in Eragon’s adaptation: characters, locations, and situations were missing or completely reworked that would prevent a sequel despite the film leaving off with a sequel hook.

Any of you were let down by something like this?

(Mods if this belongs in a different place go ahead and move it)

 

[REGENDarySumanai]

What was the film from last year that had Oprah Winfrey in it? That was a fucking stinker because they couldn't be arsed to even adapt it correctly.

 

[HiddenFist]

The Percy Jackson series only had characters in name only. The author even wrote letters to teachers to not show the movie in class.

 

[Muttnik]

That godawful adaptation of Guardians of Ga'hoole directed by Zack Snyder. Sure, the animation was gorgeous but did they rip the heart and bones out of a great book series. It's not that hard--WW2 with owls. The books are dark, violent, and full of emotional peril. The movie was a generic soulless action/adventure story with the bare basics of world-building.

And good lord. Whoever thought to insert a friggin' Owl City song during a montage sequence deserves a horrible, awful punishment.

 

[KimCoppolaAficionado]

What was the film from last year that had Oprah Winfrey in it? That was a fucking stinker because they couldn't be arsed to even adapt it correctly.

That would be A Wrinkle in Time.

The Hobbit Trilogy is so fucking atrocious as an adaptation, on so many levels (from the entire point of dwarves just being greedy jerks being ignored by making the Arkenstone a spooky evil rock to the butchering of Laketown and Bard's role therein to LEGOLAS OUT OF NOWHERE and the FUCKING DWARF ANTI-ARROW WHIRLIGIGS) that Peter Jackson should have his director credit for LotR stripped from him. Most of the last film felt like an adaptation of a Warhammer Fantasy novel (which, while that would be kind of cool, ISN'T Lord of the Rings).

 

[Muttnik]

Also The Giver. The book is rich, subtle, and emotionally-resonant. The movie decided to insert Taylor Swift for shits and giggles.

 

[Kunta Kinte]

Nine out of ten are stinkers.

 

[Henry Bemis]

Also The Giver. The book is rich, subtle, and emotionally-resonant. The movie decided to insert Taylor Swift for shits and giggles.

I'm of the opinion The Giver cannot be adapted into a visual medium. Maybe, maybe, you can if you drop the whole "can't see color" thing, but the "can't see color" thing is sort of the goddamn point.

 

[Muttnik]

I'm of the opinion The Giver cannot be adapted into a visual medium. Maybe, maybe, you can if you drop the whole "can't see color" thing, but the "can't see color" thing is sort of the goddamn point.

To be honest, there kind of already was a Giver adaptation. It's called Pleasantville.

 

[HiddenFist]

The Hobbit Trilogy is so fucking atrocious as an adaptation, on so many levels (from the entire point of dwarves just being greedy jerks being ignored by making the Arkenstone a spooky evil rock to the butchering of Laketown and Bard's role therein to LEGOLAS OUT OF NOWHERE and the FUCKING DWARF ANTI-ARROW WHIRLIGIGS) that Peter Jackson should have his director credit for LotR stripped from him. Most of the last film felt like an adaptation of a Warhammer Fantasy novel (which, while that would be kind of cool, ISN'T Lord of the Rings).

It was supposed to be a two part film, but it was supposedly MGM that wanted another sequel so they had to stretch it out even more.

I also didn't mention The Golden Compass in 2007. The moment I heard it was going to be adapted, I figured it was going to be butchered with the anti religious themes and abuse from the church being removed or toned down and turned into a magic and colorful adventure. Not only that, several major events were left out, certain ones happened out of order, the changed ending and the last two to three chapters weren't even adapted. I'm glad it flopped. The best thing from the movie was the salt from religious groups wanting people to boycott believe it would make people become atheists.

 

[omori]

And good lord. Whoever thought to insert a friggin' Owl City song during a montage sequence deserves a horrible, awful punishment.

Eragon had fucking Avril Lavigne for the end credits. Shit on the shit sundae.

 

[Y2K Baby]

What was the film from last year that had Oprah Winfrey in it? That was a fucking stinker because they couldn't be arsed to even adapt it correctly.

Shut up, Britbong.

The Giver. The book is rich, subtle, and emotionally-resonant

Lol, no. Of all things, especially not subtle.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

What was the film from last year that had Oprah Winfrey in it? That was a fucking stinker because they couldn't be arsed to even adapt it correctly.

Wasn't just that they couldn't adapt it right, the whole film was just unwatchable. Really shouldn't have been allowed to be shown in theaters, it was so amateurish that I don't see the Sundance Film Festival even accepting it.

Low-hanging fruit until I can remember other book-to-film adaptations off the top of my head, but Twilight in general. Bad books becoming bad movies shouldn't have been a no-brainer but you can tell they just didn't give a shit. The Host was also a fucking boring movie, but I was never able to read the book past chapter three or something because that, too, was boring as hell. When Brad saw it with a friend for Midnight Screenings, the woman (can't remember her name, fuck) said the book was so much better, hard as it is to believe.

 

[REGENDarySumanai]

The Hobbit Trilogy is so fucking atrocious as an adaptation, on so many levels (from the entire point of dwarves just being greedy jerks being ignored by making the Arkenstone a spooky evil rock to the butchering of Laketown and Bard's role therein to LEGOLAS OUT OF NOWHERE and the FUCKING DWARF ANTI-ARROW WHIRLIGIGS) that Peter Jackson should have his director credit for LotR stripped from him. Most of the last film felt like an adaptation of a Warhammer Fantasy novel (which, while that would be kind of cool, ISN'T Lord of the Rings).

From what I've heard, it was so bad that Tolkien's grandson wants Jackson's head on a pike for shitting all over his grandfather's book.

 

[Kunta Kinte]

You come up with the LOTR trilogy, and I raise you "Atlas Shrugged".

 

[dunbrine47]

Lord of the Flies 1990. One of the biggest complaints I had with it was the story beats were dished out at a much quicker pace then the book. Example: In the book it takes the boys a while to go to Civil War (couple weeks to a month) while in this adaptation they are already split is what is assumed to be a few days.

 

[Kamov Ka-52]

I know I'm going to get flak for this, but Fight Club is not a good adaptation from a narrative perspective. The way the film handles having a unreliable narrator ultimately tears the plot apart at its seams.

 

[KimCoppolaAficionado]

It was supposed to be a two part film, but it was supposedly MGM that wanted another sequel so they had to stretch it out even more.

Even if you disregard everything in Battle of the Five Armies, it's a shit adaptation. There's barely enough meat in The Hobbit for two 90-minute movies (which is the point: it's not a sweeping epic, it's a goddamn bedtime story that Tolkien wrote for his kids: the stuff with Gollum and most of the conversational sort of things were added in later), much less a trilogy of 2 hour+ long films.

From what I've heard, it was so bad that Tolkien's grandson wants Jackson's head on a pike for shitting all over his grandfather's book.

Good.

You come up with the LOTR trilogy, and I raise you "Atlas Shrugged".

Didn't that trilogy never get finished? Besides, Atlas Shrugged is impossible to adapt because you'd need 2 hours just for Galt's longest speech.

 

[Kunta Kinte]

[Basically every fucking book adaptation] "One of the biggest complaints I had with it was the story beats were dished out at a much quicker pace then the book."

Ladies and gents, the thread seems to be over.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Okay, I just remembered Ella Enchanted was a thing, but I only saw the movie once, and far as I can remember, it had little to do with the book, or what little I do remember. But given it bombed, people didn't like it either whether they had read the book or not.

There was a Nancy Drew movie years ago, but nobody remembers it and I never saw it, didn't care to since Nancy wasn't a strawberry blonde. Heard they're making another movie, but I'm not looking forward to it.