Fiction to Film; Novels or Books I Wish Were Made Into Movies

I know what you're thinking, "Oh no, not another bad book-to-film adaptation", but before you give yourself an aneurysm, read on, you may find, especially if you have read the soon-to-be-mentioned books, that they could be worth exploring in the movie venue.

I'm an avid reader of just about anything, especially history or alternative healing therapies, angels fighting demons, spirituality; good vs. evil, you get the picture; mostly fantasy sci-fi types intrigue me, though I'll read just about anything you put in front of me,

but so many times I've read a book and thought, "that'd make a great film" and yet so many times I've been disappointed in the films that were adapted from books that I hate even to mention it, but I just can't help it.

I guess that makes me a glutton for punishment.

So for fear of complete embarrassment I'll save myself the hurt of even mentioning the names of such terrible blunders that still bring tears to my eyes. Plus, it will spare you, my wonderful and captive audience, any awful reminders of wounds you may carry that still bear scars of disappointment.

What can a girl do- while re-reading her favorite novel- but fantasize about her favorite actor portraying the hero? It's only natural then that we might wish to have those fantasies come to life. And yet I cringe even wishing such things because as they say, "sometimes fantasies are better left at that; just fantasies". Too many times I've had my heart crushed by poor screenplays, actors or directors ruining a would-be great movie that had once been a favorite book, and too many times these film adaptations just don't live up to our high expectations. Nevertheless, I cannot help myself from imagining such things.

That being said, here are three of my favorite books I still wish would be made into films.

I just may get chopped for saying this, but Twilight fans sit down for this one; The Immortal Instruments Trilogy has a better plot (yet a much more twisted love story) and is to me far better and would make a much better film trilogy than any of Stephenie Meyers books. And that's saying a lot...I really love Twilight!

Stephenie was quoted,

"Dear Edward and Jacob, I adore you both, but I'm spending the weekend with Jace. Sorry."

About The Immortal Instruments : from mortalinstruments.com

A thousand years ago, the Angel Raziel mixed his blood with the blood of men and created the race of the Nephilim. Human-angel hybrids, they walk among us, unseen but ever-present, our invisible protectors.

They call themselves Shadowhunters.

The Shadowhunters obey the laws set down in the Gray Book, given to them by the angel: their mandate is to protect our world from the interdimensional parasites they call demons, who travel from world to world, razing and destroying everything in their path. Theirs is also the task of keeping the peace among the warring Downworlders: the human-demon crossbreeds we know as warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and faeries.

This series doesn't leave anyone out and has the coolest way to rid the world of demons ever. I'm dying for this one to be made into a film trilogy, and fans of this series I'm sure would agree.

Jace is just so gorgeous in my mind, that I'm not sure any actor on this planet could portray him, the amazing tatoos ("runes") could be painted on beautifully, but fans so far have been vying for Alex Pettyfer to play Jace....see Alex Pettyfer here http://alex-pettyfer.broken-faith.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_11~0....
and here; http://www.teenidols4you.com/blink/Actors/alex_pettyfer/alex_pettyfer_1175095842...

See what people are saying about casting:

on http://www.librarything.com/topic/58085

on http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Discuss:Will_City_of_Bones_by_Cassandra_Clare_become_a_movie

Latest News;

There will be a movie made as far as I know, but as to if it is only the first book "City of Bones" or what the title will be, I'm still not sure. In The Mortal Instruments:There will be a fourth book, called City of Fallen Angels, that will release in March, 2011. There is also going to be a trilogy of prequels to the Mortal Instruments series, called The Infernal Devices. You can read more about them here. The three books in the new trilogy are The Clockwork Angel, The Clockwork Princess, and The Clockwork Prince.

There REALLY is going to be a movie of The Mortal Instruments, but as to when, or what it's title is, those are other questions I still haven't heard the answer to.

The film rights to The Mortal Instruments have been optioned by Unique Features. This is a film production company set up by former founders and co-presidents of New Line Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, who oversaw the production of the Lord of the Rings movies--probably my favorite fantasy movies of all time. They're very dedicated to fantasy and they understand it, and I definitely trust them with the story of the Mortal Instruments.

Answers to questions like "Who does the author want to play the characters in the movie?" and "Can I be in the movie?" can be found here.

And below Neil Miller spills about the movie’s newly hired writer:

Variety is reporting that Unique Features and Constantin Films have signed writer Jessica Postigo, writer of the hostage drama Operation Checkmate, to adapt the first three novels in the four-book series The Mortal Instruments, from author Cassandra Clare.

You can check out Jessica’s IMDB Page for some information. Right now, she looks promising. I cannot handle the wait for the movies already!

You can view The Mortal Instruments Movie at IMDB.com page.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1538403/

If you have not had the pleasure of reading the magical imaginings of Mr. Clive Barker, then you are definitely missing out. I'm not talking about the macabre images of Hellraiser and his Books of Blood, but two of my all time favorite epics Imajica and Weaveworld.

Here's a snippet of a great review of Imajica by Cory Williams I think sums it up perfectly:

All the fantasy trappings are here -- magic, sorcerers, parallel worlds and evil villains. What aren't here are any other fantasy author's visions; this world is Barker's and Barker's alone.

The Imajica consists of 5 realms, or dominions. One of these worlds, the fifth dominion, is Earth. The other four are "reconciled," which means people can travel between them easily. Every two hundred years a chance comes to reconcile the dominions, but it takes some pretty horrendous magic to do it.

Against this backdrop, Barker tells the story of three people: John "Furie" Zacharias (who is universally known as Gentle), Judith Odell, and Pi oh Pah. Zacharias is a Don Juan with his own issues who makes money forging the paintings of famous artists. Judith is a woman whose husband has hired an assassin to kill her for leaving him. Pi oh Pah is that assassin, an androgyne who can assume the shape of anyone's greatest fantasy.

These three must face the evil of an organization that wishes to destroy both all magic on Earth and the Autarch the evil and misunderstood ruler of the reconciled dominions. Along the way, all three characters unravel their own histories and the history of all humankind. And if they are good, they might even meet God along the way. To read the rest of the review click here.

So now that you have the basics of the story, can you see now why I would love to see this made into a film? Yes? No? Well, probably not if you haven't had the pleasure of actually reading it.

Clive has a way of describing the surroundings in such vivid detail that forces the brain to conjure light, love, color and magic in an entirely different way. He truly creates a world unlike anything we've ever seen or even imagined. I think the only major problem with creating this book into a movie would be Pi oh Pah's character because she/he becomes whoever your greatest fantasy is. How can you depict something that's different for everyone? But with the great minds of CGI in today's film industry, I'm sure they could create something wonderful, mercurial and glorious.

As for Weaveworld being a movie; Clive Barker has stated publicly on several occasions that Weaveworld is going to be made into a mini-series for television, but so far that hasn't happened. Showtime, had expressed an interest, which gives me hope since they could keep the intense eroticism and violence in tact. I'd much rather see it on the big screen with lots of super CGI and no expense spared. But these musings may all be for naught if no one else shares my gusto for Barker's fantasies made real.

If you haven't read Weaveworld here's a short synopsis;

Weaveworld is a complex tale involving a clever rug, a potter, a pigeon racer and a man-baby called Nimrod. A salesman with a jacket that gives you anything you desire, a dead sister and a worshiped vixen. All this and more.The Weaveworld is a rug - although not your normal run of the mill rug you pick up in Crate and Barrel - it holds a race of magical people, concealing them from the rest of the world. These magic folk needed to be protected from a beast that wants to kill them called The Scourge. When our hero and heroine Cal and Suzannah accidentally discover the secret of the weave (and inadvertantly release some people from it) the story really begins.Once you pick this one up, you won't be able to put it down until the last page has passed.

Angelology by Danielle Trussoni;

A thrilling epic about an ancient clash reignited in our time- between a hidden society and heaven's darkest creatures... There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Genesis 6:5

I think this novel would be perfect for a movie; an ancient church, a nun, a smart history-buff hero type (think Langdon in Angels & Demons), bad guys and a great plot, plus lots of old angels shackled up in a cave far below civilization...sounds like a winner to me.

The Shack by William P. Young:

A stirring and personal novel,about a man who, through the death of his young daughter finds God in a most unusual way, showing him the true meaning of life and unconditional love.

Personally, this one would just be fun to see who they would cast for the roles of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. After reading this book twice, all I could picture for casting was a guy like Neil Donald Walsh playing the main character, and Queen Latifa as God, Jim Caveizel as Jesus and Lucy Liu as Spirit. (sorry if I've spelled any names wrong!). If you haven't read the book yet, I'm sure you're still scratching your head as to why I've chosen those actors as those characters...read it for yourself and you'll see why.

American Gods ; By Neil Gaiman;

Synopsis: After three years in prison, Shadow has done his time. But as the days, then the hours, then the minutes, then the seconds until his release tick away, he can feel a storm building. Two days before he gets out, his wife Laura dies in a mysterious car crash, in apparently adulterous circumstances. Dazed, Shadow travels home, only to encounter the bizarre Mr. Wednesday claiming to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Together they embark on a very strange journey across the States, along the way solving the murders which have occurred every winter in one small American town. But they are being pursued by someone with whom Shadow must make his peace... Disturbing, gripping and profoundly strange, Neil Gaiman's epic new novel sees him on the road to finding the soul of America.

This one's just cool, and as a movie would be even cooler. I love Neil Gaiman and this book would make one hell of a big action flick. Robert Rodriguez could really take the reigns and run with this one. He'd be a perfect director for this type of movie.

Ender’s Game Orson Scott Card

Taken from home at the tender age of 7, surrounded by enemies, with no hope and impossible odds, he is Earth’s last hope. Ender excels in the field of combat. The invasion of the alien insects ‘buggers’ looms over the Earth. Ender is put to the test when he leads Earth’s defensive and retaliatory attack against the aliens. The dialogue, visuals, and details bond you to the characters and make this story incredible.

I read Orson's entire Ender series and was very impressed. It's not your typical sci-fi story and I love the underlying morality choices and unique alien interactions throughout the series. Truly unique and un-put-down-able! Even tho' It is a young adult series, with all the animated films already out there, I'd like to see this one done without animation, just CGI and a great child actor...Haley Joel Osmond would be perfect for this role.

Wicked; The Live and Times of the Wicked Witch of The West; By Gregory Maguire

Gregory Maguire's debut novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West the story of a little green girl who grows up to become the Wicked Witch of the Westearned the author rave reviews and a dedicated literary following.

I loved Wicked so much! I mean, c'mon, how would YOU like to grow up being green!This one would just be a riot, and it's already been on Broadway, so it's not too far off asking for a movie format.

List of Books Already Made Into Movies

(For more information on books made into movies check the Internet Movie Database.)
Using the Internet Movie Database to verify a Book-to-Movie title.