Movies based on books
 

I know most people say that movie versions of books are never as good, and its true in some cases, but there have been some good movies based on books. and there are some new ones coming out (Runaway Jury, Timeline). And some authors get more of their books turned into movies then others. So what are everyones favorite authors who have had their work turned into movies? (some that come to mind are Grisham, Crichton, King and Elmore Leonard).

Lord of the Rings

I am looking forward to both Timeline and Runaway Jury! There are a lot of good movies coming out in the fall/winter that I think will be good to see.

To Kill a Mockingbird has been my all-time favorite book ever since I read it in 7th grade. I loved the book and I adored the movie. It was Gregory Peck's best role. A young Robert Duvall played Boo Radley and the child actors who played the parts of Scout, Jem & Dill (based on Truman Capote as a child) were fantastic.

Oh...and the author, Harper Lee...she's a Chi Omega!

I'm really looking forward to seeing The Human Stain when it comes out; I read the book (by Philip Roth) over a year and a half ago, and it was great.

Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones' Diary was a book before the movie... I loved the movie, but the book was way better.

what about movies based off of short stories? if that counts too, i have to say Memento. oh! what a movie!!

but for books, i loved Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. (pity that it's not available in region 1!!!)

Harry Potter series! :D

I had seen Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood several times. It is a great movie! I would like to read the novel it was adapted from as well as Little Altars Everywhere.

http://smilies.jeeptalk.org/otn/wink/smily012.gif

I've read both of them -- the movie is not as good.

very rarely is the film version of a book better then the book itself..some examples i can think of were white oleander, divine sisters of the ya-ya sisterhood, flowers in the attic, etc

the one book that i've read that i actually enjoyed the movie more was girl, interuppted

that being said, last christmas i read house of sand and fog and really enjoyed it..the film is set to be released this christmas, i can only hope it does the book justice.

I'll vote for "Stand by Me," based on Stephen King's short story "The Body," and for "A River Runs Through It," based on the novella by Morman McLean.

Imthachamp...
 

Lord of the Rings are by far the best of the bunch. Are you going to get the Extended Edition TTT dvd? From what I have read, it is going to have added scenes that bring it closer to the book. PJ veered a little from the book on the theatrical release, but mainly to tell the story in the allotted time frame.

Re: Imthachamp...
 

Don't know about Imthechamp, but sure want it. My kids gave me the extended version of FotR for Christmas last year, so I'm expecting the extended Two Towers this year. The extended FotR definately is worth it -- a lot of extra scenes that those of us who love the books will appreciate and that fill out the story for those not as manic about the books.

And I'm pumped for Return of the King!

My two favorite books have both been made into movies -- Lord of the Rings and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. (Well, P&P was an A&E miniseries, but whatever.) It very much irritates me when a movie doesn't closely follow the book it's based off of, like in LOTR...but I'm still excited for Return of the King and the extended Two Towers DVD to come out! The P&P miniseries is pretty much just like the book and maybe that's why I love it so much -- I have it on both video and DVD!

The Lord of the Rings is NOT a good adaptation of those amazing books, but the movies are amazing in a different way.

The Harry Potter movies were equally as good as the books.

Bridget Jones was an OK adaptation of the book.

Agreed. The movie was great. I have seen it but never read the book. I might have to purchase it.

The Lord of the Rings movies are great, but the books are greater still. The movies have to be appreciated on their own merits, for the movies can never live up to the greatness, power and richness of the books.

I thought the BBC version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was just about as good an adaptation of a book as you can do.

Wonderful adaptation....love watching it over and over again (and it's 5 hours long!!!:eek: )

Gotta love the Harry Potter movies, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Holes (even though I think I liked the book better, the movie stayed pretty close to the storyline)

Was Pride and Prejudice done by BBC? Oops. For some reason I thought it was A&E. Either way, it's great...
I was just reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and there's a part where she and her friends keep fastforwarding P&P to get to the point where Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) is coming out of the lake after swimming -- cracked me up because one of my sisters watches that scene ALL THE TIME!

The BBC's version of "Pride and Prejudice" is excellent. "Emma" and "Sense and Sensibillity" were also excellent adaptations.

"Like Water For Chocolate" is also one of the best movie adaptations of a book I've ever seen. The movie really captured the whimsical, romantic quality of the book. I guess it helps that the director of the movie was the husband of the author of the book. :)

My experience is that you always prefer the version you read or saw first: if you read the book first, you prefer it over the movie, or vice versa.

I love both versions of Dr. Zhivago. The only places where it doesn't run true to form (Lara is a brunette in the book) are turned into wonderful symbolism in the movie.

I can't wait to see the Shoppaholic movie!!

there making it into a movie?? i hadn't heard that..

omg! how could i have forgotten about that!! i totally agree with you.

What I think, is that restrictions on the timeframe PJ was allowed to work with can really work against the plot of the movie. The books are very complex, and to do justice to them, the movies would have to be at least 4-5 hours long. I think PJ did well in converting them with repect to the books. The Extended should be more in depth, and really add to the characters, etc. Wait to see the Extended Edition in November b4 coming to final opinion. That is what I am doing... Peace...

LOTR are great books and have been made into great movies.

Pet Cemetary is one of the scariest movies I ever saw.

Just finished reading timeline and am looking forward to that.

I forget who said it, but someone here said Momento was a bood first. I didn't know that. I really liked that movie though.

I read Bridget Jones Diary long before I saw the movie, and felt that the movie didn't do it justice at all.

If any of you remember the Postman (1998-ish?) with Kevin Kosner, it was adapted from a book by the same name. If you didn't like the movie, I highly recomend the book.. I also read it years before the movie came out.

I agree w/ Bridget Jones...
 

I read BJD before it came out as well. No Justice, BUT... I did think Renee did a great job. It wasn't her fault. Timeline looks great bafromkc!!

TTT is cool b/c I feel that Peter Jackson really does everything that he can to really follow the novels. Such a hard thing to do in such a complex storyline. Great!

here we go...
 

Runaway Jury comes out this weekend. followed by a bunch of other books that became movies. a certain peter jackson film will do pretty well but it was be interesting to see how jury compares to timeline when it is finally released in november.

SigKap - I agree that the BJD book was way better than the movie but I still enjoyed the movie. I am looking forward to seeing the second movie when it comes out soon. I just saw a picture of Renee Zellweger in a magazine and she had already gained like 20 pounds for the film. Her face and chin look so different.

I also think Timeline will be pretty good. Paul Walker is hot....I'll be eager to see if he is good in this movie. I haven't read the book yet though....should I do that before I see the movie? Is it necessary?

I read Runaway Jury a few years ago and the book was really good. But I can't remember the ending which is good...I want to be surprised when I see the movie!

don't tell any of my friends this but i thought BJD was pretty funny. never read the book but liked the movie.

the main reason i think timeline will be better then runaway jury is because richard donner is a good director.

The Green Mile was the only one of Stephen King's books turned into movies that I thought was EXACTLY like the book. They casted the characters perfectly.. they all looked like I had pictured them while reading the book.. Great Movie!

Dee

O Brother Where Art Thou is loosely based on Homer's Odyssey and it's by far my favorite movie. Such odd and uncanny parallels. Other than that...Fried Green Tomatoes the movie is terrible compared to the book. Also it leaves out an important detail from the book that really colors the whole story.

Really? I always figured you to like Sweet home Alabama.:p

movies are better than books.

If you play close attention, it is more closely based on the story than you think. The theatrical release for TTT is the same way, once the Extended Edition DVD is released next month, it will be a lot closer to the Tolkien books. We will just have to wait. By the way, how 'bout that soundtrack from O Brother...?