Books you'd like to see made into movies..

Started by Callie Del Noire, June 23, 2012, 12:24:48 AM

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Callie Del Noire

Quote from: DeamonAndae19 on July 31, 2012, 05:44:43 PM
No, he won't, and he's my favourite author of all time, one of the few that can write for children and adults... In the same book.

It'll be a sad day when he dies, and I can sense the Yorkshire weather doing for Sir Pratchett what it did for Michael Jackson... And rain for a whole week...

But yeah... I have a TV and Film qual.

I can do better than the films already out there, and my qual's only a LVL 1

His situation has me conflicted. Having had TWO family members with Alzheimer in the past, I know what his wife and daughter are going through. I respect his decision to commit suicide before his mental faculties have diminished to the point my great-aunt suffered with. She was a strong vibrant woman who in the end nearly killed my great-uncle in depression. She didn't recognize anyone except rarely and wasn't even aware that she had hurt herself several times. My grandmother's heart attack a few months into her twilight was actually a blessing.

In other news.. the Honor Harrington comment earlier had me look around. There ARE movie rights optioned out. Thing is as far as I can tell, aside from a few business filings sites, there is no web presence for the company..though they have crushed a few Honor Harrington fan games with the movie option.

Callie Del Noire

Here is a series of books that I think would make a good BBC series. (ie.. 3 to 9 eps a year).

The Laundry Series by Charles Stross. British IT Humor, Spies, Bureaucracy and the Cthulhu Mythos all mixed together.

Rereading the Atrocity Archives this week.

WindVoyager

Stephen Kings' the Cell and his Dark Tower Series. Though the Dark Tower would be better off a mini series given how long the books are and all the marital they cover

Callie Del Noire

#78
Quote from: WindVoyager on August 10, 2012, 12:09:28 PM
Stephen Kings' the Cell and his Dark Tower Series. Though the Dark Tower would be better off a mini series given how long the books are and all the marital they cover

Word is .. The Cell was optioned.. Not sure if it's a TV movie or motion picture.. The Dark Tower series is back in development hell from what I heard.. arguments over budget and writing control is the issue I heard.

I stand corrected..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/03/dark-tower-movie-russell-crowe-ron-howard-stephen-king_n_1737199.html

Sasquatch421

Lately I have been rereading the Gor series by John Norman. I think they would make a decent movie series depending on how they handle some of the stuff in it.

Immortal Flame

Quote from: jake one on June 23, 2012, 12:41:09 PM
I would love to see anyone of the dark hunter novles turned into a movie or maybe a tv seiries. Luckily i think they are making a tv seiries out of it.

I've been to several Sherrilyn Kenyon signings, and I've actually heard that movie and TV series rights have been purchased!  I'm pretty sure the Chronicles of Nick are supposed to become feature films and that the Dark Hunters are supposed to be a TV series, though I have no idea when.  The Dark Hunters are pretty vast, so I feel like a TV show would be awesome to explore that universe.  I'd also love to see a show/movie made with JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood.

ForAlbion

Quote from: DeamonAndae19 on July 31, 2012, 05:44:43 PM
No, he won't, and he's my favourite author of all time, one of the few that can write for children and adults... In the same book.

It'll be a sad day when he dies, and I can sense the Yorkshire weather doing for Sir Pratchett what it did for Michael Jackson... And rain for a whole week...

But yeah... I have a TV and Film qual.

I can do better than the films already out there, and my qual's only a LVL 1

Ugh, yes. Both to his impending and unfortunate passing, and to the general shitty quality of the current film adaptations of his books. I just want to see a Sam Vimes played by Hugh Laurie. Is that so much to ask?

I will grant that Going Postal--although I feel it missed the general feel of the series by a pretty wide margin--did have a perfect, and I do mean perfect Vetinari.

consortium11

I think virtually any of David Gemmell's works could be adapted as a movie fairly successfully.

The reason for this is that despite being my favourite author his plots are essentially simple... and with his later works to the point of derision. Almost without exception there is a small group of heroes consisting of a grizzled, veteran warrior (who may or may not also be one of the world's greatest swordsman), a young, inexperienced, adventurer, a big, blunt warrior who is rough around the edges but has a heart of gold (and uses a big axe), a naive, moral centre of the group (who may turn into a warrior priest), a love interest (who either provides the moral centre or the target of the quest) and a more swashbuckling ladies man/charmer (who often turns into the archer). This group are on a quest that requires them to travel through a hostile/enemy controlled area while possibly being pursued and normally ends in something resembling a siege.

Along with the plots the themes are fairly consistent and simple. The grizzled warrior finds some form of redemption, the young adventurer has a great realisation but is never jaded, the rought around the edges man with the axe commits a great act of heroism (possibly unexpected) and in general it's about loyalty, sacrifice, honour, human will and friendship.

And in perhaps the biggest nod to a Hollywood adaptation there's virtually always a big set piece. Often this corresponds with a siege but for others it's even more strange/evocative... a novel built around a post-apocalyptic Western theme ends with the Titanic sailing through the sky before sinking or a nuclear bomb being sent through time or King Arthur marching the lost Ninth Legion through the mists of time...

Some fantasy novels simply work far better as TV adaptation than a movie... Song of Ice and Fire is the clear example as the 90-120 minute time limit of a movie simply isn't enough time to develop the varied plot points. Gemmell novels are the opposite. They're the summer blockbuster of fantasy, the popcorn film of novels. You can normally see what's going to happen before it actually happens, you know the themes, you know the characters... but you read along anyway because it's so damn enjoyable.

Stella

One of my favourite book series ever is Gemmell's Troy Trilogy. His interpretation of the war, the history, the characters is now my canon for the Trojan war. He breathed such realism into it and did I ever fall in love with Kalliades!

I would love for this to be made into a three season tv series more than one or three movies. There's so many rich characters to explore!

Sasquatch421

I started reading Tom Clancy's Dead or Alive and it got me thinking since they moved Clark and Ding from Rainbow to The Campus. I figure Rainbow Six could make a good movie or it would make a great TV series as well.

Arohk

I have always wanted an amazing, honest-to-God live action DragonLance movie. I think it could be the stuff of legends and be as good, if not better, than Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. DragonLance is my all-time favorite book series and I've always wanted to see a well casted and fully fleshed out Silver Screen version. I know a lot of people disagree just because of the level of immersion that is needed, but if they took their time and divided the series similarly to what they did with Lord of the Rings, I think they would have a serious blockbuster.

I would freak.

consortium11

Quote from: Stella on November 02, 2012, 08:19:21 AM
One of my favourite book series ever is Gemmell's Troy Trilogy. His interpretation of the war, the history, the characters is now my canon for the Trojan war. He breathed such realism into it and did I ever fall in love with Kalliades!

I would love for this to be made into a three season tv series more than one or three movies. There's so many rich characters to explore!

I loved the Troy series mainly because it was a real return to form. He'd clearly been treading water up to that point with many of his more recent novels being almost entirely derivative of his earlier work; I think it was the second Skilgannon book where it really kicked home; as I read it I felt well... ambivalent, as I'd read it all before. When you compare the inventiveness he's shown in the Sipstrassi novels (and his way of interpreting legends which bled into the Troy series) and compare it to some of his Drenai and stand-alone work where he played it very safe the difference is dramatic.

With regards to TV series, I think a couple of his works could be done. The actual plot of the Jon Shannow series may be a little ambitious for a TV series but the basic theme is made for episodic TV (Vigilante "white hat" rides into a town and slays brigands, collecting an array of characters around him) and the Rigante novels could work well (especially considering the understated endings of the first and third novels, which screamed "sequel!") but on the whole I think TV would struggle with the widescreen nature of much of his work. Game of Thrones is an excellent series and Blackwater is an excellent episode... but because of the nature of episodic TV (and the budgets) it was never quite as epic as I imagined/hoped it would be. Trying to do say the end of Legend, Waylander, King Beyond the Gate or The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend without that scale would simply be a bit underwhelming I fear.

Naiah

Way of Kings and Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson!

Funguy81

Quote from: Arohk on November 02, 2012, 07:14:21 PM
I have always wanted an amazing, honest-to-God live action DragonLance movie. I think it could be the stuff of legends and be as good, if not better, than Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. DragonLance is my all-time favorite book series and I've always wanted to see a well casted and fully fleshed out Silver Screen version. I know a lot of people disagree just because of the level of immersion that is needed, but if they took their time and divided the series similarly to what they did with Lord of the Rings, I think they would have a serious blockbuster.

I would freak.

You are the love of my life! lol.

I always wanted to see a life action movie as well. the animated cartoon they made truly sucked. If they went with a live action movie, I would be the first in line to see it.

Arohk

Funguy- :D Awesome to see another person who wants to see this happen! Whenever I have brought it up elsewhere, people have been like
'Nope, too hard and they would ruin it and blah blah blah.'

So I am happy that someone else sees the light. XD

You'd be second in line if I have anything to say about it! :P

stormwyrm

Neuromancer. It seems William Gibson hasn't had much luck getting his work on film. New Rose Hotel was much too subtle to have had more than cult appeal, and Johnny Mnemonic was so badly done that the best thing about it was Gibson's script. Count Zero (I've always imagined Bruce Willis in the role of Turner, ever since I first read it years ago) and Mona Lisa Overdrive couldn't hurt either.

Neal Stephenson's books could also use a film version. Reamde, Snow Crash, or the Diamond Age. Cryptonomicon, while my favourite of his books so far, probably will not translate well to the big screen, to say nothing of the Baroque Cycle.

I still have not seen a feature film adaptation of the Vicomte of Bragelonne (the Man in the Iron Mask) that was even remotely faithful to the book.

I see someone has already mentioned Dragonlance... That was my second fantasy trilogy after Tolkien, and I would love to see it.

And speaking of Tolkien, The Children of Húrin looks like it might work on screen, but it's a tragedy on a Wagnerian scale.
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Callie Del Noire

Quote from: stormwyrm on November 04, 2012, 11:12:16 AM
Neuromancer. It seems William Gibson hasn't had much luck getting his work on film. New Rose Hotel was much too subtle to have had more than cult appeal, and Johnny Mnemonic was so badly done that the best thing about it was Gibson's script. Count Zero (I've always imagined Bruce Willis in the role of Turner, ever since I first read it years ago) and Mona Lisa Overdrive couldn't hurt either.

Neal Stephenson's books could also use a film version. Reamde, Snow Crash, or the Diamond Age. Cryptonomicon, while my favourite of his books so far, probably will not translate well to the big screen, to say nothing of the Baroque Cycle.

I still have not seen a feature film adaptation of the Vicomte of Bragelonne (the Man in the Iron Mask) that was even remotely faithful to the book.

I see someone has already mentioned Dragonlance... That was my second fantasy trilogy after Tolkien, and I would love to see it.

And speaking of Tolkien, The Children of Húrin looks like it might work on screen, but it's a tragedy on a Wagnerian scale.

Yeah.. you're more likely to see his new stuff over the old. I know that Neruromancer has been and out of development hell since .. like the 80s. Add in things like New Rose Hotel .. which was a firmly 'okay' movie.. (it's in my dvd colleciton.) and I doubt we'll see any decent Gibson movies with the current studio temptation to 'make things relevant'.