Many ideas for movie plots come from bestselling books. Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mocking Bird and The Color Purple became movie blockbusters, winning numerous awards and breaking box office records. The main problem with turning a wonderful book into a movie is that it usually strays from the original storyline.
Turning a book into a movie is quite difficult to do. Books rely on written descriptions and movies rely on imagery. Books inspire the reader's imagination. They dig in-depth into conversations, motivations and scenery. The book delves into the character's thoughts and emotions. The reader begins to envision what the character looks like and imagines the settings of the storyline. Each reader has their own individual vision of the story. A movie presents the characters, story and settings from one point of view - the director's. This can be disappointing to the reading public. Often the movie does not stick to the original plot. One dilemma screenwriters face when converting a book into a movie is taking the narrative and changing it into dialogue.
A book I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed was Water for Elephants. It is set during the depression and follows the story of a young man who dreams of being a veterinarian. His parents are killed forcing him to abandon college. To survive he joins a traveling circus. The movie version of this book opens April 22. It will be interesting to see how one person's vision of this story translates onto the big screen. The following link is the movie trailer of Water for Elephants.
http://www.chasingthefrog.com/catalog/video.php?vid=5261
I love when a book I read becomes a movie. I think it is great to read and watch that movie. When you read a book you get your own pictures, watching a movie sometimes it is similar, but also can be the complete opposite. It is great to get someone's own picture.
ReplyDelete