Sitting in the movie theater recliners with an Icee on one side and a popcorn bucket on the other as the lights dim and the trailers begin is a feeling of anticipation like no other.
When that movie is an adaptation from a book, if you’ve read that book, it’s as if you’re in on a secret — part of a special club that, in theory, knows what’s going to happen in the movie. Yet, like all moviegoers, you’ll still leave the theater discussing what you liked and didn’t like.
Book to movie adaptations have been popular for years and have spawned multiple movie franchises. “The Maze Runner,” or “Divergent” being some that may spring to mind.
“I’m sure there are other movies that are based on books, but ’Harry Potter’ was the only adaptation that I was aware of before ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ got popular,” Ted Connelly, a Eugene resident, said. “My kids were really into those books. I remember when the movies came out they begged me to go see them.”
If you’re a fan of adaptations, or want a movie you can get a sneak peak on by reading the book, here are a few to keep an eye out for that are hitting the big screen in the upcoming months.
“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” (based on the book by Helen Fielding) and “On Swift Horses” (based on the book by Shannon Pufahl) both had theatrical releases in the past few months and are now available to stream. “Jurassic World Rebirth” is set to be released in July, which incorporates parts from Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” books.
“The Life of Chuck” is a movie to highlight. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024. It will be theatrically released on June 6. The film is based on a story in “If It Bleeds,” a novella by Stephen King.
Readers follow Chuck, first seen in adulthood and dying in a hospital, through the story and it ends on Chuck as a child with a love of dancing, who sees himself as an adult with a brain tumor.
The movie stars Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill and Karen Gillan, and is directed by Mike Flanagan. Flanagan has experience with popular adaptations such as “The Haunting of Hill House.” At the Toronto International Film Festival, it won the People’s Choice Award, which is known as an Oscar’s bellwether.
“The Long Walk” is a movie based on another work of Stephen King’s, a book of the same name. The movie will be released on September 12. The book is set in a dystopian alternate universe following a group of 100 teenage boys who participate in a televised contest where participants walk until they can’t anymore, with deadly consequences.
Ben Wang, Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson star, with Francis Lawrence directing. Lawrence has directed four of the five “Hunger Games” films and “I Am Legend,” all movies based on books.
Moviegoers may be familiar with the name “Wicked: For Good,” a movie set to come out this November and a follow-up to “Wicked,” which came out last November.
Both “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good” (and the eponymous musical) derive their stories from the book “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire. Maguire’s book in turn is based on Frank L. Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” In other words, the story has a long literary history before it made it on screen.
“Wicked: For Good” adapts the second act of the musical in which Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (Ariana Grande) becomes the Wizard’s spokesperson as Glinda the Good.
But what is the process behind these adaptations? How did these stories make it from page to screen? The first step is optioning a book, which means a studio buys the rights to the book from the author with the option to make the book into the movie; it does not guarantee that a movie will be made.
Choosing which book to option is strategic — “certain authors are cautious about what you do with the content of the book,” Adam Fields, a movie producer, said. “Most authors have a hard time adapting their book because they might have spent 300 pages describing something that in a movie could be one scene and that’s really hard sometimes for them to let go.”
Fields optioned the books that were adapted into the movies “Vision Quest” and “Great Balls of Fire!,” both of which he produced. He also attempted to option a Stephen King book — “Gerald’s Game,” which he managed to get an early look at.
“I thought, ‘this is an easy book to adapt, we can shoot it primarily on a soundstage,’” Fields said. “By the time the paperback came out, I could be in the theaters, and you’d have the muscle and the marketing strength of the publisher and studio.”
After a lengthy back and forth between Fields and King’s agent over whether or not the potential movie would have Stephen King’s possessory credit (ex. Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game), Fields let go of the project.
Even if a producer options a book, that isn’t a guarantee it’ll be made. If the optioned book does go into development, a range of things happen during this stage, including finding a screenwriter, getting financial backing, and putting the team together. Hopefully, this stage ends with a greenlight to go into production.
If you’re interested in book to movie adaptations, and want to appreciate the aforementioned process, consider going to see those movies soon — and if you want a sneak peek, read the books!
“Adaptations are really about finding that book that has a great story and that lends itself to a cinematic adaptation,” Fields said. “Movies aren’t just about great stories but great entertainment.”
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