Seeing as it seems almost every movie plotline out tehre today has come from a book, I've decided to ask some questions.
Do you generally like books turned into movies?
Or do you *dislike* them?
What is your favorite?
Which did you *dislike* the most?
What is something you like about books turned into movies?
What is something you don't like about books turned into movies?

*Edited* to remove the word hate because some scrollers had an objection to the word.

[ January 30, 2003, 12:08 AM: Message edited by: Frozen in Iowa ]

Do you generally like books turned into movies?
- depends on if i've read the books beforehand

Or do you hate them?
- hate is such a strong word! grrrrr!

What is your favorite?
- LOTR & Harry Potter

Which did you hate the most?
- "It" "Firestarter"- many Stephen King books that were made into movies or mini-series, except
"The Stand"

What is something you like about books turned into movies?
- i don't have to turn pages

What is something you don't like about books turned into movies?
- When they miscast actors & actresses as characters (imo)

Or do you *dislike* them?
- as long as the books aren't being turned into movies against their will (books have feelings)

Do you generally like books turned into movies?
Or do you *dislike* them?
It depends on the adaptation, I guess

What is your favorite?
hmm...hard to say. maybe Murder on the Orient Express. Maybe LOTR

Which did you hate the most?
Gosh, there have been so many. Watership Down was just ill-advised.

What is something you like about books turned into movies?
Seeing things come to life.

What is something you don't like about books turned into movies?
The movie format is really too short to treat a book well. I think tv miniseries work a bit better for conveying the feeling and atmosphere of book. While the Pride and Prejudice starring Greer Garson was a very good movie, the only true to the novel adapation came in the form of the miniseries that came out about 5 or 6 years ago.

Do you generally like books turned into movies?
Yep - I really enjoy books that have been turned into movies - i get really excited about it, unless i haven't read the book yet. Seeing the movie before reading the book is irritating because even though I really want to read it to be about to say that I've read the book too, I really can't be bothered... i mean what's the point when you know what's going to happen!?!

What is your favorite?
My favourites were the Harry Potter books (so far so good) and The Sheep Pig which turned into the movie Babe.

Which did you *dislike* the most?
I guess.. Shiloh because it was made into a crummy TV movie which didn't give the book enough credit cuz it was a great book! And Lord of the Rings - though the movies were well done, it's very confusing and overwhelming... especially if you haven't read the books before seeing the movies (like me). And i already mentioned how i feel about seeing the movie before reading the book... tho i tried to avoid it as much as possible, it's kind of hard.

What is something you like about books turned into movies?
Your imagination comes to life which makes the story seem even more wonderfully true to you.

What is something you don't like about books turned into movies?
Sometimes they cut bits out of the book, add things, change around events and when they're meant to happen in the book, cut out characters, change the dialogue, the actors may not portray the characters very well, the actor may distort how you imagined the character, and the film may just be craply done.... which is sad when you really liked the book.

Aw, man, I can't say hate when it's not directed at a person? Drats.

Do you generally like books turned into movies?
-- It depends, some adaptations are so off the spirit of the book that fanfic groups would be screaming about canon and OOC. Others capture the spirit of the books, and still others are sometimes better than the books.

Or do you *dislike* them?
-- That would go with the above question.

What is your favorite?
--No real favorites, though I think A&E's Hornblower was a lot easier to digest than C. S. Forester's books (despite the presence of Mariette... what were TPTB smoking when they created her, let alone cast her?). A&E's Horatio is actually a nicer guy, in the books he's kind of bland. While he has his eccentricities, he's just kind of a depleted and melancholy person in the books.

I haven't seen "Chamber of Secrets" yet but I was much impressed with the first Harry Potter movie! I think they did a very good job with them. Very much in the spirit of the books but not word-for-word blow-by-blow. It makes kids who saw the movie first want to read the books.

Which did you *dislike* the most?
-- Pretty much every movie version of "The Three Musketeers". UGGHHH. Though I did like the one with Oliver Platt and the '80s Brat Packers, it was a send-up and a very amusing one at that. Plus it sported Paul McGann in two roles and I can never get too much Paul McGann .

I am not a big fan of Fellowship of the Ring" because I enjoyed the books far more. In the movie there was too much noise and clatter and special effects in the movies for my taste. It was in a way like watching a video game or a Shockwave animation with pauses for conversation.

And I don't know what was up with "Bone Collector". I wonder why they pointedly had to make Lincoln Rhymes black when he was white in the books (much as I love Denzel . What was up with using Angelina Jolie to play a woman (forgot her name) who in the books was basically described as tall, husky and tomboyish. Maybe they thought the book character was too "masculine". As if they have to appeal to a bunch of drooling teenage boys? I know that movies do take license, in fact I'd be disappointed if they did the books verbatim but still... come on.

What is something you like about books turned into movies?
--Sometimes it gets people to crack a book. Also I like to see people's interpretations about how the people, setting and general feel of the books translate onto screen.

What is something you don't like about books turned into movies?
--Sometimes the moviemakers just really foul things up.

[ February 10, 2003, 02:25 PM: Message edited by: Herculena ]

Do you generally like books turned into movies?
Or do you *dislike* them?
- Well, it depends, doesn't it? Some books are positively screaming to be realized on screen and some resist translation like an alien language.
That's why I also don't mind a movie only losely based on a loved book when I can see the necessity... and the sincerity. Better the book beeing distilled down to crucial, or even different aspects and brought well done to screen than having to suffer a true-to-the-letter monstrosity.
But there's also a dark side to this.
Let's just say, I like adaptations, but I'm also very suspicious of them. Especially Hollywood always had the infuriating habit of buying a piece for a hefty sum (often half of it for the option to take 'liberties' with it), the author sometimes even gets to formulate the first draft, but then an experienced screen hack gets wheeled in to jazz it up a bit. (official term: Make it more visual).
Some get re-written so often that only the title survives in the end. Only massive bestsellers or books from dead famous authors are safe from that, i.e. 'The Old Man And The Sea' won't end up as a movie about the eternal question: Did Poseidon wee into the ocean when he had to take a leak?

What is your favorite?
-Currently, it's 'The Hours'.
A few favs readily springing to mind: 'Blade Runner', 'The Remains Of The Day', Emma Thompson's adaptation of 'Sense & Sensibility', 'Orlando', 'Clockwork Orange', 'Naked Lunch' & 'To Kill A Mockingbird'.

Which did you *dislike* the most?
- 'Great Expectations' (Hawke, Paltrow, DeNiro) is the most recent pile of pretentious dren I had to endure.

What is something you like about books turned into movies?
- Speech & Expression. It's the one dimension a book can't cover. I can imagine and visualize what's written down, but I can only hear my own 'voice' interpreting the sound of the words. It's also the dimension where either the most damage or the most improvement can be done. I can write/read the most impossible dialogue, but once it's spoken, it becomes obvious at once if it's good, bad or simply 'unspeakable'.
I can read the opening of Henry V and get a kick from the power of the words, but that's just a feeble shadow of what's in store for lucky me, when, for instance, Derek Jacobi gives life to the muse of fire.

What is something you don't like about books turned into movies?
- A big budget substituting skill & imagination.

picky
The Xenatizer