The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hobbit and the top ten books on their way to becoming movies
As an avid reader, I always find it entertaining to see pages come to life in the form of TV or movie; to see someone else’s interpretation of a tale come into fruition. The phrase “the book was better” has always rubbed me the wrong way, because the book will always be better. The characters pictured in your mind’s eye are going to be varied than what the filmmakers can produce. Not sure if you were aware of this little fact: books and film are two different mediums.
With the recent release of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, CLOUD ATLAS and TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2, I realized that there are more than a handful of films that feature titles directly from the shelves of my local library. I am extremely giddy; how will filmmakers interpret the text to something more tangible? Below are the top ten books to film that are coming soon to a theater near you.
10. FIFTY SHADES OF GREY – Word is that this TWILIGHT fan fiction has a movie scribe (Kelly Marcel, writer for television’s Terra Nova) and will be a feature film before we know it. The idea of watching this book come to life makes me want to poke out my eyeballs. The horribly written, absurd trilogy should not receive praise or recognition and each time I hear people reference this book I want to cry a little. What will be interesting are all the rumors surrounding who will play what character (Mila Kunis as Anastasia Steele?) and how the studios will market this naughty novel.
9. GONE GIRL – Speaking of rumored books to film… GONE GIRL is a flick I can get behind. An intriguingly smart and creepy storyline coupled with Reese Witherspoon holding producing rights to this picture makes me want to jump for joy. I can totally picture Witherspoon as beautiful and crafty Amy and Witherspoon’s real life ex- Ryan Phillippe as Amy’s husband, Nick. I’ve got goose bumps just thinking of how awesome this picture could be as a feature film.
8. JACK REACHER – After MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL, I rediscovered how much fun Tom Cruise is on screen in an action role. With Cruise taking on the role of Reacher, a former military police officer turned drifter, the film sounds almost more fun than the books penned by Lee Child. Will these films become a series much like the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise? If this flick is as good as it sounds, I hope so.
7. THE HOST – TWILIGHT author Stephanie Meyer brought us another teen lit book, except this synopsis actually sounds interesting. With Saoirse Ronan in the lead role, it is encouraging to see a proven actress in this film. Almost every film she is in is excellent (from HANNA, ATONEMENT, LOVELY BONES and more) so I cannot fathom that she would pick a poor role. I am not much of a SCI-FI fan, but think I’ll make an exception for this flick
6. ANNA KARENINA – All of the fabulous costumes that surround Leo Tolstoy’s novel will soon enough grace the silver screen. Until then, they are getting me geared up for the release of ANNA KARENINA. Another book that I’m not too keen on, there are elements within the pages that I think will be better on screen than in the book. The costumes of course and seeing Jude Law play 20 years Keira Knightly’s senior as her affluent husband are all very interesting. Plus, I’m curious to see the chemistry between Knightly and semi-newcomer Aaron Taylor-Johnson (KICK-ASS).
5. THE GREAT GATSBY – With one of the all time greatest actors (read: Leonardo DiCaprio) on board, already I’m interested in the movie. Add the very capable and impressive Baz Luhrmann (MOULIN ROUGE!) to the mix and I already know that I’ll be watching this flick. If the glitz and glamour of the trailer didn’t grab your attention, perhaps the star studded cast will. Tobey Maguire seems like the perfect fit to play the Midwest honest man caught up in the craziness of Gatsby’s world.
4. THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK – Bradley Cooper. Jennifer Lawrence. Just those two names alone make me excited to see this film adapted from Matthew Quick’s novel of the same title. The premise of one man returning to his childhood home after spending time in a mental institution and believing his silver lining is to reunite with his estranged wife, pulls on my heart strings. Add a slew of talented actors and David O Russell directing (THE FIGHTER), I am eager to see how they transform this awesome story to screen.
3. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY – Who else is excited for another visit to Middle Earth? I became enchanted with Peter Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS long after the films were released thinking it was a genre outside of my scope of interests. Sad I pushed off the series for so long, yet happy to have finally watched them; I’m thrilled to see more of Jackson’s work in the upcoming film surrounding Bilbo Baggins and a new set of adventures with our hobbit friends.
2. LIFE OF PI – I must confess I have not fully read this book. My husband’s favorite novel, I am ashamed that I cannot get past India to see what else happens to Pi outside of his family’s zoo. However, I’m beyond intrigued to see the film (even if I haven’t made it through the book) after seeing the trailer to Ang Lee’s adaptation of this book. Coming out right in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, we might be front and center to watch this picture come to life after eating some turkey and stuffing.
1. THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE – The young adult trilogy is smart and easy to read and filmmakers gave us a great show with the first motion picture. Since the studio and actors provided such an excellent production, I’ve got nothing but great expectations for what will come when the second installment hits theaters. I cannot wait to see Sam Claflin as Finnick. Watching Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson reprise their roles makes me super happy too. TEAM PEETA!
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