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Why isn't this book a film?
What books that you absolutely love--incomprehensibly--have never been made into films?
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. (This needs to be a series on a streaming platform.)
Replay by Ken Grimwood (Ditto)
Breakheart Hill by Thomas H. Cook
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. (This needs to be a series on a streaming platform.)
Replay by Ken Grimwood (Ditto)
Breakheart Hill by Thomas H. Cook
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Since that one did have a (dull and lifeless) film made of it, I won’t count it and will instead mention another fantastic Murakami novel, After Dark. I can see in my head how it’d work as a film when I read it.
I'm a big fan of Murakami's novels. I agree, After Dark feels like his most cinematic book. I can see it too.
There's a film called Burning by Lee Chang-dong which is based on one of Murakami's short stories. It's not a faithful adaptation more than it is inspired by the story, but I thought it worked. I know Kafka on the Shore has been adapted as a play in the past too which I simply can't imagine.
Apart from that, books that would make good movies:
The Secret History by Donna Tartt - Recommended if anyone hasn't read it already. It's about a group of students in a liberal arts college in Vermont who, at the beginning, are revealed to have murdered one of their classmates. I know a few attempts have been made to adapt this one. Given the fact that it's heavily hinted to be set in the 1980s, I can see perhaps another surge of interest in a more period-piece oriented version (compared to if it had been made in the late 90s, that is). Perhaps filmmakers are hesitant to adapt Tartt's work though given the lack of critical/financial success with The Goldfinch a few years back (although I'd argue that was simply a case of the wrong director being hired).
Ada or Ardor by Vladamir Nabokov - A bit of a random one. For those who don't know this is a book set in a parallel universe about an aristocratic Russian family. On a summer trip, young Van (who I think is 15) falls in love with his cousin Ada (who is 12) and they begin an affair which lasts years. It's Nabokov, so much like Lolita there are layers of irony and much criticism is drawn towards the two main characters. In the wrong hands this would be a terrible movie (one section - a long essay about the nature of time- is near unadaptable in a conventional sense) but if someone like Paul Thomas Anderson were tasked with adapting it I think we'd get something very interesting.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl - This is a weird book about a journalist who gets involved in the suicide of a reclusive horror director's daughter (think if Stanley Kubrick made David Cronenberg type films). The novel contains interactive elements such as 'stills' from the director's supposed films, photographs of places etc. There's apparently even a website with audio and clips that adds to how interactive the whole thing is. Gimmicks aside, it's actually a gripping and at times unsettling read. I'd love to see what someone like David Fincher could do with the material.
The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan - Technically it's been made into a film, but it's absolute dogs*it, except for a rather good performance by John C Reilly. It also only adapted two stories from this series of twelve books. For it to work it needs to be a series for TV or streaming. I'm surprised this hasn't been done recently as this series had a cult following when I was younger. For those who don't know it's a series of books about a teen who attends a freak show in his hometown and steals a spider from one of the performers. After his friend is poisoned, the performer (a vampire) forces our protagonist into becoming vampire in exchange for saving his friend. It's Young Adult, but actually rather dark.
Tampa by Alissa Nutting - This is kind of a reverse of Lolita, and is about a beautiful female high school teacher who is secretly a hebephile (which is just a fancy way of saying she's attracted to 14 year olds). It sounds a bit weird, but it's actually a very thought provoking novel, and actually quite funny in a rather dark, tragic way. I can see a film being made out of this. Apparently Harmony Korine was working on an adaptation of this, but many years back now and nothing has materialised. Probably best, but I'd love to see a film version of this from an alternative director.
Colonel Sun (1968). Strong political views aside, this would have been great for Timothy Dalton in the early 90s.
Forever and a Day (2018). The perfect starting point for EON and Bond 7. Have Anthony Horowitz write it and Purvis and Wade not!
Star Wars Heir to the Empire and the original Thrawn trilogy. Should have been made in the 90s, just before the prequels.
That’s all for now.
It's a Cold War satire and more entertaining for adults than children, which is why I'm guessing it's never been adapted to film.
Well, the original Willy Wonka wasn’t just for kids, it was for everyone.
But it was designed to appeal to kids. By the time he wrote Great Glass Elevator, Dahl just didn't seem to care about that. I like the book -- though dated, it's funny and clever -- but it's generally unappealing to children (with some jokes and references that will go right over their heads), which is why it tends to be ignored.
The book also got terrible reviews pretty much across the board when it was first published. Not a big help to its reputation or the potential for a film adaptation.
My turn : I would very much see a movie (or TV series) adaptation of John Gardner's The Secret Generations (not so much Houses and Families, but if they want to do them as well, why not ?). Think Downtown Abbey, but for espionage. I really love the first book.
Then, I would like to see an adaptation of David Gerrold's The War against the Chtorr. The pîtch : Earth is invaded by a whole alien ecology, and the giant worms that are the more visible of the dangerous species are not the bigger danger. An adaptation has been in the talks for quite some time, but as of now, nothing concrete has surfaced.
As for France, an adaptation of one of Jules Verne's lesser-known novel, César Cascabel, would please me. It tells the story of a french circus family who, after a very successful american tour see all of their money stolen. So, given that they can't get to France by the usual way, they decide to join Europe by travelling first to Alaska, and then Russia, by way of the Bering Straits. There was an animated movie adaptation, but I would like to see a live-action one.