Lost in Film Translation

Here's this week's Road Trip Wednesday prompt:

It isn't surprising that this month's Bookmobile selection, Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, has sold film rights; the darkly magical world of the Shadow Fold begs for an on-screen translation! But that got us wondering. We'd like to know, in your opinion, what is it that makes some books seem ideal for a film translation?

(An aside: I haven't read Shadow and Bone yet, I'm still waiting for it from the library.)

So, honestly? Any book. And I could really stop there.

The thing is, when I love a book, I automatically think, this would make a great movie, I wonder who'd play the leads?

In most cases of course, the book is way better than the movie. I've heard they optioned Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. I'd see that movie in a heartbeat, and yet anyone who's read it knows that a movie just won't hold a candle to this book. It's just not possible. A movie will lose all that's really great and special about the book.

When I was thinking about this question yesterday, my first thought was that contemporary books probably make the best movies. Earlier this month I read The Bachelorette Party which really SHOULD be a movie. In fact, I'm surprised it isn't yet. Same with Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married (which I did hear was made into a TV mini-series with Gerard Butler as Gus! I'd like to see that sometime).

But then I realized, contemporary doesn't always make a great movie. Take Speak for example. The movie was good but it doesn't compare to the book because we couldn't really get inside the main character's head. She doesn't speak, so with the movie it's impossible to really get it. I've heard Thirteen Reasons Why could also be a movie, and again, I doubt a movie version will have the same impact as the book.

I think the books most ideal for film translation are plot-driven and fast-paced. Books where we see the character development more through their actions than what's going on in their head. Of course, when I tried to think of an example, I couldn't really. (Because movies rarely are as good.)

The few cases where I enjoy a movie better than the book, are usually adaptations of classics. They cut out a lot of the long-winded description in the movie version and get straight to the point. *cough LOTR cough*

In conclusion... ha, just kidding. I've been long-winded and a bit rambly today (I probably should have stopped above). Browsing my shelves, what books would I love to see made into a movie? Juliet by Anne Fortier. The Gallagher Girls series or Heist Society books by Ally Carter. And Anna and the French Kiss, just because I love that book so much.

Speaking of books to movies, I'm super excited for this movie, coming out in February: