After hearing that The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier was made into a movie in the late eighties, I immediately sought out this film. When I finally found it (it's available on Netflix instant play if any of you want to watch for yourselves, see the preview here), I sat for the entire one hour and forty-five minute duration of the film- enjoying it for the most part up until the last fifteen-or-so minutes. For those of you who've read it, you know that it has a dark, intense ending. The movie version, however, ends with (go figure) Jerry beating Archie to a pulp. I was furious. The central question of the entire novel, "Do I dare disturb the universe?" was completely left out of the movie! Not only did they completely warp the book's central themes, but it also lost a lot of the great points of view the reader gains in reading the book from the teenager's perspectives.
Now, one of my favorite books of all time, Ned Vizzini's It's Kind of a Funny Story, has been made into a movie that comes out October 8th. Now, I've read Ned's positive blog entry about the film, but I'm still petrified it will not live up to my expectations.
BUT THE HUNGER GAMES?! I recently read that The Hunger Games has been optioned by Lionsgate Films and is slated to be released in 2012-2013. Frankly, I am anything but ok with this thought. I adore The Hunger Games series, and am relieved that Suzanne Collins is writing the script, but I am tired of Hollywood killing my favorite books. I know that these movies are often the best way to get the book to a large audience, but I hate having my imagination's renderings of the novels destroyed.
So what do you all think of this? Is Hollywood where our favorite books go to die, or do these movies provide new life to them? I think it's obvious I am not a fan, but are you?
-Shannon Hunt
Hey Shannon,
ReplyDeleteI can understand your frustration, but why can't books and movies based on books be viewed as two separate entities. The are both forms of art, both ways an artist can express him or herself. Although "The Chocolate Wars" movie may have been different from the book, it may have been good in its own unique way. It's unfair to compare on art form to another. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it would be silly to compare a picture to a thousand word poem, and it wouldn't be fair to both artists. Although I can understand your problem, I don't think its fair to call a movie bad just because it deviates from the book.
-Amer Rasheed
I definitely agree that books and movies should be judged as separate entities, but when a movie claims to be based on a book I think it should represent it correctly. I guess it's just a pet peeve of mine.
ReplyDeleteI personally would love to see the Hunger Games as a movie, but some other books--not so much. I hope with the Hunger Games, though, that the only do the first book. It would be enough to get people into the series and then still uphold the books themselves. I also want to add that I would LOVE the idea of Jack Black as the character of Haymitch just to randomly toss that in there. But I also agree with you, Shannon, that movies should stay closer to the books. Changing the ending of The Chocolate War and similar things done in other movies ruins the hearts of these stories.
ReplyDeleteShannon, you struck a nerve with me on this topic. I wish I could be as sanguine as Amer in appreciating movies for what they are, but I remember being numb when I watched the changed up ending of THE CHOCOLATE WAR. I was stunned that they would pervert the end of the story in that way. Even more heartbreaking was that my ninth grade students back in New Jersey yelled, hooted, cheered, and practically jumped out of their seats when they saw Jerry get his revenge. I'm sure I had no idea how to get them to reflect on the ways the movie had manipulated them. Patty Campbell argued that CW is a book that needs to be TAUGHT. As a first year teacher, I really didn't know how to do that. Our discussions focused on plot points far more than theme. I feel so disappointed in myself when I look back on that time.
ReplyDeleteTo this day, I haven't been able to watch any Harry Potter movies, and I doubt I'll watch THE HUNGER GAMES either. Couldn't touch THE GOLDEN COMPASS when it came to theaters. I guess the one place where I've made progress on the topic of books-turned-movies is that I can now better appreciate that at least movies do bring new readers to books. That's one silver lining, and there's another: authors get a lot of money when their book is optioned to become a movie. More money=more room to quit their day jobs and write. Maybe we do need these books-turned-movies after all.
I never know what to think about books becoming movies. I love the pictures that I create in my mind, but sometimes I think it is nice to get a different picture...one I didn't think of.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Hunger Games becoming a movie, I'm not sure if I like that or not. I love this series, and I love the picture that I have in my mind of the characters. I think it would be awesome to see how they create the arena, the Capitol, and district 12, but my biggest fear would be the people they cast as the characters. After reading Danielle's post about Jack Black being Haymitch, the idea has grown on me. Jack Black is not who I picture as I read, but the more I think about that particular character, the more I think Jack Black would suit him. As for Katniss I have no idea who I would want cast. I think she would describe herself as plain, but Peeta and Gale do not see her that way. I picture her as attractive, but not drop dead gorgeous. I think I would be equally mad if they cast Megan Fox or Kristen Stewart. The idea of who they would cast makes me very nervous because for me that can make or break it. I must admit I read the entire Twilight Series and really enjoyed it, but the casting of the movies had continued to make me dislike them all the more...but I have seen all the movies and I know I will see the last two along with the last two Harry Potter movies. I just hope that if The Hunger Games movie doesn't live up to my standards, I can place it into a separate part of mind away from the books.
Alisa
Shannon I agree with you, every book I have read that was then turned into a movie lost almost all of its appeal as a movie. I always prefer the book version better. I don't know if this is because I sincerely enjoy reading and would rather read than sit in front of a TV screen or because you can relate to the characters better while about them. I have to say though this is probably not every one's point of view. I know my younger brother hates reading but generally loves movies that were books first. So I think it depends on the person, but for me Hollywood should stay away from turning books into movies (even though I still go to see the movie version of my favorite books!).
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