Do you ever read books just because they'll "soon be a major motion picture"?
Saturday, May 2, 2015 at 10:16AM That's today's burning question since the April Foolish charts for both screenplays are up this May 2nd (shut it - I tried to finish by April!) and, as per usual, the year's Adapted Screenplay competition looks fairly robust while the Original Screenplay competition is harder to parse since the films don't come with as much pre-release prestige. My whole life I've tended to prefer films written originally for the screen -- this year I'm most curious about what Diablo Cody has written for us with Ricki & The Flash -- but Oscar feels differently and Adapted Screenplays are often where it's at for them.
See the two charts here and tell me this:
Have you read any of these books that are 'soon to become major motion pictures' in 2015 do you plan to? And which book-to-film for 2015 do you suspect will only become a "minor motion picture"?
Reader Comments (30)
When are you going to give the people what they want : best actress? You know that's all what we care about anyway.
Before (like in ten years ago) I used to read beforehand the books in which movies were based. I preferred to know beforehand what was going to happen to have a broader perspective and understanding of what was happening on the screen. Nowadays I do not have as much time to read, so I usually go to the movies and if the movie is good, I might read the book.
I read Gone Girl, not because of everyone saying how good it was but because it was Fincher's next. My book club just chose Ready Player One after the Spielberg announcement.
I do read books before seeing movies sometimes - Gone Girl, Atonement, Revolutionary Road, The Hunger Games. This year I'd like to read The Danish Girl and The Price of Salt before seeing the movies.
I just finished The Martian and loved it. I think it will be hard to make into a movie, but if done right it could be amazing. I have read lots of books in the past after loving the movie, The Perks of being a wallflower, Hideous Kinky, Atonement, The Painted Veil, etc.
I had read both Wild and Gone Girl before seeing the movies last year, and loved both movies, it seems like a great time to be a book and movie lover :)
murtada -- that sentence always depresses me.
Why? Dont be depressed .. Its out of love for actresses and th guy who came up with "actressexual".
I read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. It was funny in some parts, but overall it had a bit too much immature humor for my tastes. However, I am very much looking forward to the movie.
Brooklyn, In the Heart of the Sea, and The Price of Salt (Carol) are all high on my reading list, but I have a while before those come to theaters.
No I've never read a book just because it was going to be adapted into a movie. I read mostly way sooner or way later than the movie adaptation.
Personally I don't want to feel "pressed" to read something just because it will be made into a movie, not even if my favorite actress or actor is cast there.
Murtada -- it's just that when people say that i think 'all of the work that goes into this sight is for naught!' we can't just predict Best Actress... you have to have the full range of categories for Oscar madness.
daisy - people do seem to be happier these days with adaptaitons of their favorite books than they used to be
I definitely try to read books if the upcoming movie sounds good, especially if it's a just announced thing and they haven't reissued any tie-in cover art yet. I forget the last time I did this, though (but I just picked up a used copy of the first "Outlander" book...)
I couldn't be more excited for "Brooklyn". It sounds right up my increasingly middlebrow alley, will watch anything Ronan does, and I was impressed with Hornby's contribution to "Wild".
I am a book lover first and foremost, so naturally I read books before the movie/TV adaptation comes out. And it's tough to keep up!
1.Sometimes it's a pleasure - discovering a new writer (Gillian Flynn) or re-discovering a classic(Thomas Hardy, E.M.Forster).
2. Sometimes it's a slog. (GR Martin - Dance of the Dragons -ugh)
3. Sometimes you read the book and it is so bad you don't bother with the movie.
(The Da Vinci Code)
4. Sometimes if you fall in love with the book,(Atonement/The English Patient) it does set up the whole problem of whether it's a good adaptation or not. But it makes me appreciate a movie even more for getting it right or mostly right. (loved those films)
So far on my reading list I have added Carol, The Dressmaker, & Brooklyn because they are they intrigue me the most.
I can understand your disappointment over original screenplays not being more numerous and not getting as much attention. But book lovers provide such a ready made audience that film producers can't resist.
Minor motion picture? Hank Williams - just because bios of country singers has been done so often, it's hard to get excited about yet another.
Film has kind of taken over my life where books once were, so I tend to just not read the books beforehand. If I really enjoy the movie, I'll check out the book. I haven't had much time to read lately anyways (and I really don't like reading on the subway to work).
I also prefer original screenplays greatly; books and film are too different a medium and the transition to film can often be disappointing. Who wouldn't want an original story more anyways??
Looking at your original screenplay chart, it does look promising. I am predicting a Bridesmaids-type scenario with Trainwreck and Amy Schumer as well. I guess that would be a long shot at this point.
I rarely read something just because it's an upcoming film. Often I'll read the book after or have read it long before and am usually disappointed by the adaptation. Sometimes both the book and film, for instance Three Days of the Condor and the original book Six Days of the Condor are wonderful with only minor differences but that's not the usual result.
All that said I did just read The Light Between Oceans because I saw that there was an upcoming film version with Rachel Weisz, love her, and Michael Fassbender, like him, unfortunately the book fell apart in the second section so now I'm leery of the film. I had already had the book in my Goodreads queue but I did bump it up because of the movie.
I forgot to add that I also have high hopes for Ricki and the Flash. I want it to be a slam dunk for the talent involved. I'm not sure how I feel about that August release date but I guess Streep films typically do well then. Maybe it will be too commercial for Oscar though?
The snubs for Young Adult (Cody, and Theron) still smart. The competition that year was just too much.
I do it a good bit. There are so many books and it's so hard to choose! So, if I see something that's going to be filmed, I'll often pick it up reasoning that there must be something worthwhile to it to have captured someone's imagination so much that they want to build it and to look at it.
It can backfire for the film though- I read Atonement before the movie came out and it was good but no way was I going through that again.
The only one from your predictions that I've read is Macbeth and I'm really looking forward to the adaptation. You can go so many ways with it. How will they handle the Witches?
I'm actually currently reading A Hologram for the King and I am totally picturing Tom Hanks as the main guy. Is this on the Oscar radar at all?
Years ago I was in love with the novel "The English Patient," which is poetically written and mysterious and intimate -- you might even say "experimental." Then I saw the film which was an epic romance where every beat was emotionally amped up with music and picturesque cinematography, and I absolutely hated it. I suspect if I saw the film first, I'd have appreciated it for what it was, instead of feeling betrayed.
So now I often avoid movies if I love the book -- or wait for all the dust to settle and see it much later than its release date.
Or, I just read the book after the movie, which feels like an expansion, as if the book is "adding" a lot the movie didn't include.
If a book was already on my 'to read' list and a movie version is coming out, that will usually push the book up the queue. That's what happened with The Price of Salt/Carol, as well as Oryx and Crake which was being turned into an HBO series but I'm not sure if that's still happening.
I'm grateful for all the predictions you work on every year, Nathaniel but, indeed, *especially* for the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
I have, some times, read a book just, ot mostly, because it would soon become a promising movie. Examples: Atonement, The Lovely Bones (I know, right? Liked the book, though), Gone Girl. This year I don't know if I'll actually read any of them but I'm interested in The Price of Salt, Tulip Fever, The Light Between Oceans and Brooklyn.
You have the wrong Dressmaker. That one is about a woman who get's a lucky break and get's herself on the Titanic, and I'm pretty sure Kate is not getting back on the Titanic any time soon. You want The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham, unless both movies are coming out this year.
Very rarely do I read a book just because they are turning it into a movie, but often hearing the news that they are adapting a book will tip my decision in favor of reading the book. Almost always, I don't end up seeing the movie. Examples: enjoyed reading Rabbit Hole, Cloud Atlas, and Gone Girl-yet to see any of them. Read Robopocalypse when I heard Spielberg was adapting it, just started Ready Player One.
As I've mentioned here several times, Room was on my radar, but it jumped to must-read when I heard Brie Larson was starring in it. It is very, very good, and the reviews would have to be terrible for me to miss it.
I always feel ridiculously cool when I read a book first and then hear a few months later that they are adapting it. I don't care how hipster lame that makes me sound. Loved Unbroken and Wonder, but not confident that the adaptations will live up to the book. I tried to watch Hugo, but the Invention of Hugo Cabret is so far superior, I could only make it about 20 minutes. I loved Still Alice and look forward to finally seeing that one.
FINALLY, I love the Caldecott winning children's book The Man Who Walked Between the Tours, and consider it FAR superior to Man on Wire, and because of that, can't muster much enthusiasm for The Walk. I just think it is strange that this children's book beat the cinema to such a great story, and remains the best telling of it.
yes, Carol
"When are you going to give the people what they want : best actress? You know that's all what we care about anyway."
Jeez, I hope that's not true. I think there's more to this fine blog than that.
I haven't read any of these potential nominees. I often plan to read some but then change my mind to avoid losing that element of surprise when I watch the film.
Jeff -- thank you for that correction. Fixed. Had no idea there were two different books for that title and that the other was Titanic connected which makes the Kate Winslet starring role even more coincidental.
James & Murtada & Shaun -- i purposefully saved actresses for last because that gave me more time to think about them and they're the biggies for me. They're up next. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe Monday
The Family Fang it's really a good one to read. Don't know how will translate into film.
I basically read The Family Fang years ago because Nicole was attached to it at the time and now it'll be out soon. Yay. I usually don't read books because they'll be movies but if i hear about the movie, read the description and think "that sounds like a great book", i'll probably pick it up.
Plus, nearly every book I read, i usually attach an actor to a character. Rachel McAdams and Amy Adams have been huge parts of my reading experiences over the past few years.
I was 2% paranoid a while back because MANY of the books I happened to read ended up being turned into books.
Love this. Plan to read as many as I can!
I never read a book because it has been optioned. I'm usually disapointed with adaptations.
Of the books in your gif, I've only read Tulip Fever. I picked it up years ago when Spielberg was attached. Interesting story. A piece of history most don't know about.
I expect the Jobs. Hank Williams, Danish Girl and Black Mass to sputter.
Yes! I read a LOT of books before they become movies. Started back in 1999, the year of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, THE GREEN MILE, THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY and (ahem) ANGELA'S ASHES and SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS. Initially it was because of the long wait before some of these films were released in Australia, but it's also fun to compare book to film. Often I never get round to the films when they're finally released.
I prefer reading novels and plays to non-fiction and biographies and there's usually one key Oscar nominee I end up skipping, such as AMERICAN SNIPER (I tried but bleugh), LINCOLN (too long and not so interesting to a non-American) and I only made it halfway through the biography that 'loosely' inspired THE IMITATION GAME (too much mathematical theory). This year, it will probably be JOBS!
This year I've so far read the books behind: THE MARTIAN, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, MR HOLMES (A Slight Trick of the Mind), END OF THE TOUR (And of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace), IN THE HEART OF THE SEA, PAPER TOWNS and CONCUSSION (based on a magazine article). I'd already read SUITE FRANCAISE, FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD and MACBETH. So I haven't started on the heavy hitters like BROOKLYN or THE REVENANT or CAROL yet.
I would add THE END OF THE TOUR to your chart: the Sundance reviews were good and the literary aspects of it (it's about two writers talking a lot) might resonate with the Writers' Branch. And LADY IN THE VAN is based on an Alan Bennett play so is not Original. I didn't realise BRIDGE OF SPIES was based on a book, so I will definitely add that to my list.
Other possibilities are: A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING (book by Dave Eggers), EVEREST (book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer), OUR KIND OF TRAITOR (John Le Carre), HIGH RISE (JG Ballard) and ROOM (Emma Donoghue), though of course some of these may not come out this year or be any good.
If Mo'Nique and/or Isaiah Washington receive some attention from the critics groups for their performances in Blackbird, the film's adapted screenplay might have a shot at a nomination and would certainly deserve to be in the final five. I read the novel nearly 30 years ago and, while I was a little skeptical about the location (Cali to Mississippi) and time (1970s to today) changing, the film manages to turn the very stale teen-grappling-with-sexuality narrative on its head and come up with something fresh.