If you have ever read a book, you know that at some point it could be turned into a movie. I bring this up because I just recently read a book and decided to watch the movie based on said book. I thought to myself, "How bad could it be?"

I know you're sitting there thinking, "How could you be so naive? Why would you put yourself through that kind of pain?" I knew what I was getting myself into. In fact, I went over the idea that it probably was going to be 10% true to the story and 90% whatever the the director/film company wanted to do. 

I'm not new to this. I'm well aware of the pain that comes in the form of film and promises that my imagination will be shining on a white screen. There has been anger and disappointment but I thought that all the material was right there for a good movie.

... Two minutes in, everything was wrong. Characters were wrong (Why does this person show up now?), events were wrong (Why does this person have to die so soon?), and I yelled at the television. Poor little television, it's really not your fault...

So this Manic Monday goes out to all of the frustrated and upset people out there. Not because work was crazy, but because someone destroyed your favorite book on the silver screen. You are not alone.

If you feel like you need some therapy time please feel free to leave a comment about your disappointment below. I'm listening...

The Wakeful Dreamer
9/12/2011 02:32:13 pm

AAAAHHHHHH My petpeeve!!!! You have hit it right on the nose. Rest assured that I too am that naive person that thinks "how bad can it be?"

The answer is BAD very bad....

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9/13/2011 12:28:13 am

I feel your pain. Eragon wasn't the greatest of books but decent enough that I was excited for the movie. I walked out in a stupor, completely mystified at what I just watched -- not only from a book-to-movie adaptation point-of-view but also from a purely fantasy movie critic point-of-view. The Golden Compass was another bad one!

What book/movie are you talking about? Nowadays, I just tell myself to think of whatever adaptation I'm watching as a movie first, book second. It helps a little bit because even if it was a bad adaptation, it still has the potential to be a rockin' movie.

The Game of Thrones HBO show is an example of a 99.9999...% accurate adaptation. Entire scenes & chunks of dialogue are lifted from the pages of the book. It's awesome!

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9/14/2011 04:52:53 am

Sadly, i'm not a very avid reader. I can only imagine what frustrations could come out of some hollywood movie ruining the essence of a really good book. I see that. I understand your pain. Sadly, more often than not, i tend to see movies before i even encounter their lengthy counterparts in book form. I'm not very proud of it but I can only say that i've been a victim in these situations, but only because i have chosen to be. I wanted to make that clear. I do desire to read books for what they are and glean as much of the imagery and the rich plot from the author themselves rather than just accepting what some hollywood director or producer thinks would be more profitable. We live in a sad sad age. I think it was also a product of my upbringing. Reading books weren't as big of a deal in my household growing up. When i have my own family someday, i do plan on getting my children into books. I feel that their vocabulary and imagination would surpass anything that my brain could ever process in my time. Thankfully, for me and for my future children, it is never to late to get my head into a book. It's the habit that needs to stick. So here's to reading more and never relying on a movie to do justice to a book. I think it is simply just impossible... You can only fit so much material in a movie as opposed to a plethora of wonder and beauty in a book. Good post Sis! looking forward to more!

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inquiringmind
9/17/2011 07:46:01 am

Books and movies are simply different media. One has to just evaluate them on their own merit rather than trying to compare them.
This ongoing book vs movie debate reminds me of the following:
Two goats are on the back lot of one of the Hollywood studios when one of then finds an old film reel and proceeds to eat the whole thing.
The other goat asks "how did you like the movie?" The first goat replied "Not bad, but I liked the book better!"

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Nicole
9/23/2011 10:20:36 am

@Nhi... best part of the whole Game of Thrones season: The first scene with Arya and Syrio. The whole time I was just like "OHMYGOSH this is so identical..." and then it just keeps going! I guess that's easier to do with a TV series than a movie, since they have so much more time, but I'm always wishing they'll put dialogue straight into the script with movies and sometimes you get like, a line here and there. But I thought the Golden Compass movie wasn't too bad. Maybe that's because I hated the book...

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