Tuesday, May 1, 2012

To Film or Not to Film: Top Ten Future Book to Movie Adaptions

Image from The Broke and the Bookish

The week's Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, poses a bit of a challenge for me.  I am supposed to list the top ten books I would like to see a movie adaptation of; however, I am always wary of book to movie adaptations.  They could be fabulous, like The Hunger Games, or horrible, like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, and nothing is worse than having one of your favorite novels tainted by a poor film adaptation.  Good or bad though, these are the books whose film adaptations I would have to see.

1. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty - I hear a screenplay for this is in the works!  If done right, it would be  hilarious!

2. Bumped by Megan McCafferty - I have raved about this book, and I think the futuristic, over-the-top plot points would work really well on the screen.

3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman - A tear-jerker for sure, but with the right actors and a killer soundtrack, this would be an awesome movie.

4. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss - Also in the works I hear - I imagine it will be hard to capture the deep emotional quality of the novel evoked by the prose, but the characters are so vivid and their stories so moving, it would make a good film.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - A movie narrated by death that is not grossly overdone (i.e. Final Destination...), yes please!  I also have an interest in all things Holocaust - it is a morbid interest but one I have cultivated over the years nonetheless.

6. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher - Another sad story, but this would be a powerful and compelling movie.  I just checked imdb.com, and it says it's coming soon, but with Selena Gomez as the lead...see what I mean about book/movie adaptations being hit or miss?

7. Another one of Sarah Dessen's books!  I love How to Deal, which is a combination of her first two novels, That Summer and Someone Like You.  Her books are perfect for a summer flick, and what's more, there is not a dystopian bone between the pages - there has been a little too many futuristic movies for my taste recently.

8. Speaking of dystopia though...I think a re-adaption of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 would be very effective with today's movie magic and the current clime.

9. Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney - Time-travel and a love story?  Yes please!

10. The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan - In honor the The Serpent's Shadow release today, I would like to see Riordan's homage to the Egyptian gods and goddesses immortalized on the big screen, but please, no epic failures like the Percy Jackson adaptation.  I am still stunned by how poorly that was executed. 

What are your must see book to movie adaptations?  Do you share my trepidation about poor adaptations?

10 comments:

  1. I would love to see 13 Reasons Why as a movie. I'm unsure about Selena Gomez though. Hmmmm.

    Here is my Top Ten.

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    1. Me either... I pictured the main character as blond. Also I am unimpressed with Gomez on Wizards of Waverly Place.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by! I have been meaning to read the Jessica Darling series. I had better get on that if they are making a movie. The Book Thief could be a really cool movie too.

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    1. You won't be able to put them down once you get started.

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  3. If I Stay would be such a good movie. I agree about the actors being spot on, because they'd have to be powerful performances. :)

    Amelia @ Regal Reads

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  4. The only book on your list I've read is The Book Thief, and even though I didn't include it on my list I would love to see it made into a movie.

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    1. I highly recommend them all! They are great reads.

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  5. Oh I'm not sure if I could handle 'The book thief' as a film. With a book I can hide in my room and cry and ruin the pages. If it went to cinema, I'd have to go and cry in front of people. Well, at least I wouldn't be alone.

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  6. I agree Ciara - I would have cried so much harder at The Hunger Games movie if I hadn't been surrounded by so many people. That's a movie to rent and watch at home where you can cry as freely as you like!

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