When a Movie Becomes a Book...

What with all the buzz about the movie adaptation for The Hunger Games being underway, I've been wondering -- how do authors react when they learn their book's being adapted?  Sure, in one way, it'd be great, as a measure of success and a way to attract more readers and all.  But what about when the movie doesn't live up to the book?

    Usually, when a book's converted into a movie, you get a group of people happy with it, and a mob of disgruntled readers.  I've been one of those readers several times over (They gave Annabeth dark hair?  There's no unicorn in Inkheart!), as I'm sure most every has.  So for the author, it makes sense to assume that it'd be much worse. 

    I really think that it's all about how you handle it, though.  If you go into things, deciding beforehand that it's going to be different from the book -- maybe something else entirely -- then you'll probably fare much better.  And have more hair when it's all through.  This is someone else's interpretation of your darling -- isn't that cool in its own right?  Seeing something through someone else's eyes, seeing how your words, your worlds, characters, inspired someone and took shape in their head? 

    Once I read an interview with an author -- I think it was Cornelia Funke, but it was several years ago, I can't find the interview now, and I've slept since then, so I can't be 100% sure -- and a question came up about a movie based on the book the author had written.  (Again, I'm fairly certain it was for the Inkheart movie.)  The question was about how different the movie had been from the book, and the author said something to the effect of not really minding, because, "The movie isn't mine.  It's the director's project, so I just view it as something else completely."

    Even though I can't link to the interview, though I can't promise if the author was Cornelia Funke, and I don't have a direct quote -- it's the same basic principle, isn't it?  The movie isn't yours.  Distance yourself from it. 

    Anyway, you can worry about all that after you've finished the book, gotten it published, hit it big, and gotten a movie in the works.  And for most people, that's still far enough away to have plenty of time to worry about it later.

Spy Kids 4 and Slightly-Related Book Series

Maybe you've all heard -- maybe you haven't -- maybe I'm the only one who cares.

    But there's going to be a Spy Kids 4.

    Okay, I love those movies.  Always have.  I was probably in kindergarten or first grade when the first one came out, and everything about it -- the gadgets, the missions, the fact that the kids were spies -- fascinated me. 

    Also, the thumb-people and the guy with too many heads really freaked me out. 

    I really don't know about this fourth movie, though.  Carmen and Juni are adults now, and according to a Yahoo! article (which is how I found out about the movie in the first place), they're "still with the OSS and give the new kids -- Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook) -- some pointers and much needed spy gadgets in their battle against the fiendish Timekeeper".

    All this kind of reminds me of what they do in books sometimes -- finish a series, then start a new, slightly related one, usually with an original character's kid as the new main character.  I hate it when they do that, so I figure I won't like this movie, if I even convince myself to watch it. 

    So really, in a small way, this has to do with writing.  Granted, the connection is pretty slim.  And sort of tacked onto the end, almost like an afterthought. 

    But mostly, it wasn't.
   

Wisdom From Flynn Rider

Okay, so all that Tangled talk is having some kind of effect on my blogging.

    On the other hand, it's giving me things to actually, you know, blog about, so there you go. 

    Here's a quote from one of the main characters, Flynn Rider: 

    "Whoa.  Sorry, lady, I don't do back story."

    Maybe we should all take a note from Flynn -- there are worse things for a book than back story (say, sparkling vampires?), but not too many of them.  It messes with the pacing and interest of a story, and has the potential to put readers off before they ever really give your novel the chance it deserves.  But can you blame them?  If you had to sift through pages and pages, wouldn't you toss the book back into the library drop-off box?

    Knowing me, I wouldn't.  More likely, the book would get kicked under my bed or something, and I'd only find it after accumulating lots of nice late fees. 

    Anywho, remember to avoid unnecessary back story at all costs.  And now, a freebie:

    "Frying pans! Who knew, right?"

Dragons, Vampires, a Princess in a Tower...Oh My?

Thank you, Disney. 

    The fact that one of your movies -- Tangled -- came out on DVD today, actually inspired this post.  (Whether or not that's good remains to be seen.)

    But back to my point.  In case you're living under a rock, venturing out for the occasional peek at a Geico billboard sign, I'll tell you -- Tangled is basically a revamped Rapunzel story. 

    Among authors and Hollywood, warped classics -- fairy tales, folk tales, kiddie stories -- are obviously really popular.  You just have to look at a few of the more recent movies in theatres and stores, plus the upcomings, to learn that much:  Snow White, Little Red, Rapunzel, Robin Hood, Alice, Beauty and the Beast, blah, blah, blah.

    In most cases, I don't really mind the revamps.  But I almost choked on my Cheez-Its when I heard Amanda Seyfried whisper, "What big eyes you have," and the previews for Beastly definitely made me groan. 

    To be fair, I never got over my inital bias enough to, you know, watch either of those movies, so I really shouldn't judge.  Much. 

    On the other hand, I absolutely adored Tangled and Alice in Wonderland, so there you go.

    I guess my thing is, it has to have a fresh enough twist to it, preferably in a way that doesn't completely kill the orignal.  Someday, I'd love to make my own version of one of the less-covered classics -- but only if I can find an original hook. 

    The last thing this world needs is another vampire story, but the second-to-last is definitely a trend-riding, maniac author. 

    But what do you think?