I didn't watch the Oscars yesterday evening; I spent most of the time putting together this week's coursework for a class I'm teaching at MSU. I did, however, follow along via comments on Twitter.
I've been quite interested in just how many of the Best Picture nominees this year are adapted from books. I'll admit, I haven't seen any of them. Hugo is on my list (and the girls are both excited about it as well), particularly as I think that The Invention of Hugo Cabret (and author Brian Selznick) is one of the most gloriously written/illustrated books I've ever read. Can I tell you another secret? I still haven't seen The Help either, though it's a novel that I just loved. See, that happens a lot. A novel that I love will get made into a movie, and then I'm so scared to see the movie because I'm afraid it will end up ruining the book for me. I've heard wonderful things about the movie, but I don't know -- something about it just makes me wary. I think it is because all the trailers make it look so funny and lighthearted, and that's not what I took from the novel at all. (Two of my most favorite books of all time, The Time-Traveler's Wife and Possession have both been made into movies that I've never seen, and I'll probably never work up the nerve to see them, to tell the truth.)
There are a significant number of books being adapted for the big screen this year; while I don't watch a lot of movies (I always have PLANS to watch them but I just never get around to it -- maybe I should change that?), I am looking forward to several of these.
Of course, Cass and I are excited about The Hunger Games. I think Collins' book will make for a great adaptation, like several other YA series: the Harry Potter books and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief both come to mind. Speaking of those two movies, their stars Emma Watson and Logan Lerman (who I think is just TOO CUTE) are starring in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is one of my most favorite YA novels. I think this one has so much potential, especially since Chbosky wrote the screenplay and was actively involved in the entire process.
I'm excited for The Hobbit, of course; I think LOTR was phenomenally done. There's a remake of The Great Gatsby hitting theaters at the end of year. This has always been one of my favorite books to teach, so I'm interested to see how this will stack up against Redford's Gatsby. Baz Luhrmann is directing, so it has the potential to be a hot mess, but I think most of the casting is just stellar (I'm still on the fence about Tobey McGuire, and I think I might have preferred Michelle Williams as Daisy, rather than Carey Mulligan).
Another one I'm interested to see is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. That book has been at the top of my to-read list for ages; I'm heading to the library later this week, in fact, to finally make a point of finding it and reading it. Life of Pi is also being adapted; I enjoyed the book, but I'm just not sure I'm interested enough in seeing a movie adaptation, especially one that will be in 3D (I HATE 3D movies!)
One of the releases I'm actually most excited about is The Secret World of Arrietty, based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton, which I ADORED as a young girl. (I am currently convincing Cami that she needs to read these books, and since she wants to see the movie, she knows that she needs to read the book soon). The minute we saw the trailer, we knew it had to be a Studio Ghibli film, and we were thrilled to see that Miyazaki did the screenplay. We've seen every Miyazaki film we can get our hands on (I'm waiting for the day when I can find a collection of EVERYTHING he's done); we particularly love My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle.
What about you? What are your thoughts on movie adaptions of your favorite books? What books have been adapted well, in your opinion? What adaptations have been terrible? Are there any books-turned-movie that you are excited to see this year?
We are BIG Miyazaki fans as well. My kids are older but they list his work as some of their most favorites! I am looking forward to The Hunger Games! We loved the Lemony Snicket books but found the movie to be so-so.
Posted by: Shelley Haganman | February 27, 2012 at 06:04 PM