5 December 2009
by 
For decades, books and movies have fought for the pleasure of our leisure time. From hits to classics, they’ve been marketed in similar ways and promoted with similar means. Sometimes, when a movie had reached particular acclaim it would be adapted into a book, but more commonly, the movie industry takes up the gauntlet, attempting to convert a popular book to the big screen.
A few weeks ago, I attended my local cinema’s premier screening of New Moon, the second movie in the Twilight Saga – based on the hit book quartet of the same name. The Twilight Saga is the latest book-to-movie adaptation met with fanatical success. A story of passionate love and heart-break, Twilight, and newly released New Moon, are richly emotional.
The original story of Bella Swan in the Twilight Saga targets a late teen audience and, leaping off from the success of the novels, the movie industry went out of their way to increase the appeal to their target audience, females with a heartbeat (or more specifically young women ages 15 to 30). Given the astounding reception each time I’ve seen this movie (ie. the simultaneous swoons of a cinema wall-to-wall women), the producers can give themselves a pat on the back for producing just what fans were eager to see.
But how does story hold true between books and movies?
Every adaptation differs from the original. There is simply no way to convert approximately 600 pages into 130 minutes without performing careful cinema surgery. The New Moon book is richly detailed, woven with soft undertones of subplot and a gentle tug of deep character development. Screen writer, Melissa Rosenberg, and director, Chris Weitz, did an excellent job of taking the surface story and imbuing it with the shadowed tones of the original.
New Moon isn’t the only movie based on a book. Each book-to-movie adaptation is met with varied success. Some movies have improved upon the books, others run alongside the books in pleasant harmony, and unfortunately, some have completely shattered their book companions blasting the originals in the soot and ash of broken promises. Each, however, were faced with the same questions and challenges during production.
Have you considered what your own book-to-movie adaptation might look like? I’ve often wondered if authors, like Stephenie Meyer, ever considered what their book-to-movie adaptation might look like. Did she imagine particular actors playing the roles of her characters? Did she wonder how a particular scene might be recreated on film?
When the first few Harry Potter books were published, mom turned author, J.K. Rowling, was immersed in her story. A fresh flush of passion powered an inexperienced hand. When you read the later books her style, her voice, has altered dramatically. You can see her forward thinking in these books. She knows that these books will be converted to movies and writes differently with the film-version in mind.
Does young author, Christopher Paolini wish he had taken more care in selling the rights to produce the Inheritance Cycle? Had J.R.R. Tolkien considered the book-to-movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings would the original books have contained less exposition? Would Jane Austen be proud of the many different adaptations of her writing that have been produced over the years? Does William Shakespeare roll in his grave whenever someone mentions the 1996 version of Romeo + Juliet?
Do you take special interest in comparing book-to-movie adaptations? Do you have any particular favorites? What do you think is the most important thing a director should consider when producing a movie based on a book?
Our RSS Feed location has changed!
Where did you get your blog layout from? I’d like to get one like it for my blog.
Hey Rick, thanks!
I’m glad you like the blog layout. This is one of my unique theme designs. That means I designed and scripted it myself, just like I do for my clients. If you’d like a custom theme for your blog feel free to email me.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith shares: The Writer-Mother: Two Full-Time Jobs
It’s only very rare that a movie can equal or even outshine a book. For me, The Golden Compass and HP 1 were true to those ideas….I have yet to see another.
Hence, I don’t have any expectations.
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach shares: How kids REALLY have total recall – Today’s Humor of the Day
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Barbara!
I agree that it feels very rare for a movie to outdo the book. And, personally HP and Golden Compass aren’t on my list.
The Golden Compass was a beautifully made movie that captured the essence of the book but there were also significant differences and some of the depth and subplot was missing in the movie version. I’m still hoping the sequels will eventually appear. But over two years after the release of The Golden Compass there is still no mention of a follow up even in pre-production which is a shame.
The Harry Potter series is another excellent adaptation and an exceptionally challenging one. J.K. Rowling wrote an intricate story that developed several characters through seven full and detailed years of teen life. The movies, so far, have done a wonderful job creating a pictoral reflection of those stories but again there are aspects that were cut which added depth and substance. The time constraints forced entire roles to be cut completely but most of the significant plot points remain intact.
My daughter wants to read the final book, having watched the first six movies. She hasn’t read the first six books and I won’t let her read the last if she hasn’t. Not because I don’t think she’d enjoy it or even that I feel there should be a structure to such things, but because there are things in the books that aren’t in the movies and the characters in the books aren’t quite the ones in the movies either. She has almost finished the second book now and mentioned tonight that the Hermione and Ron in the book are different.
The movie that tops my list of “Movie Was Better” is The Lord of the Rings. The books were fantastic, yes, but the movies took those books and cut out the wordiness, the drudgery, and historical rambling J.R.R Tolkien was prone to, and spun the richness and heart of his story and characters. Again, things changed between the two and it was sad to lose some of the subplot but what remained was a masterpiece of technological wonder. It pushed the limits of cinematography to new heights and it set a new level for the movie-going fantasy industry.
Did you know the Alicia Silverstone movie, Clueless, is actually a modern interpretation of Jane Austen’s Emma? Talk about a movie that puts a whole new spin on a classic tale.
I’d love the chance to talk to and perhaps interview the people involved in transforming a book to a movie. I wonder what goes into the process.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith shares: The Writer-Mother: Two Full-Time Jobs
[...] Twilight, New Moon, and the Gauntlet of Book-to-Movie Adaptations. Blog Archive Writer's Round-About… [...]
Another great post, I’m adding you to my RSS feeder so as to never miss
your excellent blog.
Twilight is the best movie i ever watched. I really love the vampire love story theme and i like Bella Swans character.
Thanks Miles.
Thanks for your comments, Seychelle.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith shares: Dynamic vs. Static Website Content
Kristen Stewart is the perfect Bella .. All around the casting was perfect, everyone had so much so much angst that they fit the story perfectly
I agree, Kristiene. They did well casting for Twilight. I’ve seen Kristen Stewart in other roles and she has a lovely face for the emotionally charged roles she seems to prefer.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith shares: Evaluate Your Business In 2010
Aw, this was a really quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too – taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never seem to get something done.
Thanks Tom! I know it is very easy to fall into the procrastination trap. That’s where BIC is key! Sometimes you just have to decide to STOP procrastinating and get it done. The good news is it really doesn’t take long or require much sweat and tears when you focus on getting one thing and one thing only finished at a time.
I was very pleased to find this site.I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
Thanks Marla, I’m glad you enjoyed it and look forward to reading your comments and getting to know you better in the future. Welcome to Writer’s Round-About.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith shares: New Beginnings And WRA’s Theme Tweaks
Doing some browsing and noticed your website appears a bit messed up in my K-meleon internet browser. But fortunately hardly anyone uses it any longer but you may want to look into it.
Thanks for the heads up Katie! I checked browser compatibility across the “major” browsers but didn’t dig deep to check it across all platforms. Unfortunately, I can’t recreate any specific issue with K-meleon but I really would like to know more so I can, hopefully, fix the problem.
May I contact you by email? Are you able to get a screenshot of the problems you’re experiencing and tell me more about what is going on at the time when you have issues?
Thank you again! I truly value feedback like this and appreciate you taking the time to mention the bugs you come across. I can’t fix them if I don’t know they exist.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith shares: New Beginnings And WRA’s Theme Tweaks
Wow, great info here, glad to have found your awesome blog, I’ll be bookmarking you to keep abreast of your ideas here.
Megan
Twlight is really a great movie and i watched it several times. I love Kristen Stewart and also the rest of the cast of Twilight, they are really superb.
I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post. I sometimes wish I could write as well as you.
Bill
This movie was exactly what I had hoped Twilight to be. They cut out the annoying cheesy music and much of the awkward acting moments that just made me laugh in Twilight. So glad a REAL director had this one. Sorry Catherine, but you butchered the first movie with the jumpy scenes and awkward cinematography. I felt like I was watching an actual professional movie in New Moon, not a documentary.
i will watch every sequel of Twilight because i find this movie so good. the graphics is good, the cast is good and of course the storyline is great.
i really love Twilight. this movie is super great that we watched it several times with some of my friends. :
@Meg Mills21: Thanks Meg! I hope you’ve been enjoying our other posts too.
@Janice Yu: I’ve seen Twilight a few times now too, Janice. The character development is fascinating.
@Bill Snyder: Thanks Bill. There isn’t anything special about the way I write, it just takes practice. So, keep writing yourself.
@Adam Ronchi: I have to say I actually enjoyed the production of Twilight better than I did New Moon. While I agree that the new producers put together a more professional production they used a great deal more “creative license” and as such, some of the richness of the books was lost. The first Twilight movie held truer to the books and I connected with the characters far more.
@May Jaca: It’s great to find movies you can really enjoy.
@Patria Beurskens: It’s a good movie to share with friends, Patria.
J.K Rowling must still be pinching herself with the massive success of her Harry Potter books…simply amazing what started as a bedtime story for her son!
Hers really is an amazing and inspiring story, Marjorie. One I know many writers wish was easier to duplicate. We hear of a hands-on Mom doing the Mom thing day in and day out managing to pull together not one but several captivating books. It makes it sound simple. I’m sure Joanne would be the first to tell other writers that it was no cake-walk. It takes plenty of blood and sweat.
Of course, while J.K. is pinching herself, her fans (me included) are wondering if she has anything else up her sleeves.
This is a great post. I enjoyed reading on this topic, not only on the twilight adaptation. I wished on the New Moon movie that they didn’t end the movie so fast after Edward and Bella found each other again at the end. I really enjoyed reading about their lovely reunited …… scenes, what is the word? I wished they somehow could have caught that in the movie, it was so sweet and tender. It’s what makes everyone love the books, or is it just me? I guess you can’t please everyone, the men would hate it….
mona@ twilight shares: Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion
One of the most difficult challenges I think novel-to-movie adapters face is in deciding what should stay and what cannot for time limitations. For example, The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series both had a great many scenes, even entire sub-plots that did not make it into the movie. It’s not that those scenes aren’t valuable but that there simply is not enough time to do them justice. Movie-goers are time-aware, many could not enjoy a movie that was over two hours the Lord of the Rings pushed three per movie.
With New Moon they faced similar time constraints. They needed to get the meat of the story, and they did a wonderful job holding to the integrity of the emotional devastation Bella faced and included the greatest keys scenes in a conscious and elegant manner. Book readers will almost always find various parts of the books they loved that couldn’t make it into the movie. But, the movie isn’t the book and their differences is one way we can get additional enjoyment from the two unique mediums.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mona.
Additional Enjoyment!!!Yes!I totally did not think of it that way and I thank you for your most helpful insight. I guess you can’t please every movie goer and every book reader, that would be impossible. Although I wouldn’t mind a three hour twilight movie……am I the only one?