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Two Cents Tuesday: Which books should've NEVER been adapted for the movie screen?

11/8/2011

20 Comments

 
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So for Two Cents Tuesday, pipe and let me know which books should have NEVER been made into movies because the directors, creators, actors, took a GREAT book and slaughtered it on the big stage.

Here are a couple of books that should've been left alone (the book was great. The movie, not so much):

1) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (I don't even need to say anything about this one--we all know this one should have been left alone).


2) The Lovely Bones (The book was weird in its own right, but still, it was a good read once you got past all that. The movie, though, was just plain bizarre).

3) Where the Wild Things Are (The movie, though interesting, was BORING. My kids hated it. Who decided to take a ten page children's book and turn it into an hour plus long movie?).


4) My Sister's Keeper (What the crap! The movie didn't even end the way the book did. That's not right. I was so disappointed in that. The book ending doesn't make for a good ending to a movie, I get that. But come on).

5) Flowers in the Attic (Okay, I get that incestuous behavior is a touchy subject--as it should be--but the movie, even if it didn't touch on that issue, it still flopped as a whole. This is a book based on a mother who betrays her children which leads them to . . . do . . . things . . . they . . . shouldn't--need I say more? The book series isn't the best written, but the movie was completely off the mark).

6) The Cat in the Hat (Again, I say, WHAT THE CRAP! This was a child's book and then was turned into a film--directed towards kids, mind you--that had adult, sexual innuendos. Umm . . . fail. My kids still repeat the part when the cat chops off his tail and says, "Son of a BLEEP" Thanks Cat in the Hat. Thanks a bunch). See clip below.

What do you think? What books do you feel should've been left alone? Pipe in. Give me your two cents.
20 Comments
Elizabeth link
11/8/2011 03:46:49 am

With you on "Hitchhikers". And until Peter Jackson's comes out, "The Hobbit". HATED the cartoon. It wasn't supposed to be a cute story.

Reply
Lane Diamond link
11/8/2011 04:11:04 am

I wish to add THE BOURNE TRILOGY (in which Matt Damon stars) by Robert Ludlum.

I've had friends say, "But wait, I liked those movies."

Maybe, but beyond the names, they had almost NOTHING to do with the books. They might as well have called it THE JOHN SMITH TRILOGY.

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AJ Sikes link
11/8/2011 07:31:50 am

Um...Atlas Shrugged? Just sayin'.

Reply
Natasa
11/8/2011 08:31:55 pm

Hmmm, I actually thought The Lovely Bones was pretty moving despite and in spite of the sci-fi aspect. To each their own I guess.

IMHO, the worst ever book-to-movie adaptation is Eragon. The book was pretty mediocre to begin with, but the movie turned it into the laughingstock of 2006. And the stigma follows Paolini to this day...

Reply
Rebecca L. Fisk link
12/28/2011 05:11:44 am

Oh dear...trying to find a polite way to say this....Leave off Eragon and Paolini. The book was engaging, delightful, creative, etc. anything BUT "mediocre." The MOVIE was mediocre, but at least part of that is because they chose Rachel Weisz to be the voice of Sapphira, SUCH an inappropriate and unfitting selection, and a random blond girl to be the elf princess when clearly she should have been a feisty brunette. It is, however, a favorite on my DVD shelf, the bright spot being Garrett Hedlund, who I desperately wanted to see more of!

Reply
Marni Bates link
11/9/2011 02:41:23 am

Cheaper by the Dozen (one and two) irritated me to no end. What makes the book fantastic is the ridiculous way the father organizes the family and bribes them to succeed. I especially loved how he convinced them to learn morse code. Instead of that, we got Steve Martin. Sigh.

Reply
David Powers King link
11/9/2011 08:13:28 am

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Battlefield Earth yet. I'll just leave it at that. :)

Reply
Ashley Young link
11/10/2011 04:23:24 am

I'm in agreement with you about My Sister's Keeper. I was so angry they changed the ending!

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Melissa link
11/17/2011 04:11:39 am

I think that the worst I've seen is without a doubt-Eragon!

♥ Melissa @ <a href="http://melissaseclecticbookshelf.blogspot.com">Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf</a>

Reply
Shay Fabbro link
11/22/2011 04:03:28 am

Battlefield Earth!!! One of the best books I have ever read and yet the movie was a complete disaster topped with utter and complete lameness with a sprinkle of ludicrous thrown in for good measure. I also agree about Hitchhikers Guide and Eragon.

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Jessica Hack
11/29/2011 04:25:27 am

I'm gonna go ahead and say it... Twilight.

And pretty much and Nicholas Sparks books. They screw up the book so bad in every one.

Reply
Michael Offutt link
12/1/2011 04:05:07 am

Ender's Game. It's being made into a movie right now. I think it will be terrible.

Of the ones that have already been made... Fantastic Four and the sequel. Ugh.

Reply
Dani link
12/1/2011 04:08:46 am

I thought The Notebook was very good--but I also haven't read the book. If the movie made me cry, I don't think I could handle the book lol

Hmm...How about Movies/shows that are better than the books?

I think Bones and True Blood are better than the books are. It happens sometimes.

Reply
Christy (Love of Books) link
12/1/2011 04:12:03 am

The Time Traveler's Wife. It just pisses me off. The book is my most favorite book, and the movie is like someone giving you a crappy summery of it while getting parts wrong.

Reply
Shannon Dittemore link
12/8/2011 04:03:18 am

The Count of Monte Cristo!

With the exception of the bit in prison, it is NOTHING like the book, which is sad cause it's an incredible story.

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Kai St. Claire link
12/8/2011 10:44:50 am

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. They ruined that book in every way possible. I don't think they could even continue with the series with how badly they screwed up the first one. Sigh. That was an awesome book.

Reply
Rebecca L. Fisk link
12/28/2011 05:13:58 am

Sigh. Sadly, I have to agree with you. I SO wanted to love the movie, but it was just not lovable.

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Paul link
12/18/2011 04:13:57 am

Probably most Stephen King books that have been turned into films. Somehow one of his novels can be captured in a movie.

Paul

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J. Joseph Wright link
12/28/2011 04:31:17 am

I'm with Paul on this one. Seems only a small percentage of the King books to movies have actually hit the mark. Some of the movie renditions are so bad that they may have even turned off some potential readers, though something tells me King still does fine. Here are the major King movie misses in my opinion: The Stand, It, Storm Of The Century, The Dark Half, Graveyard Shift. There are others. Those are just off the top of my head.

Reply
Odessa link
12/28/2011 04:51:45 am

Possession by A.S. Byatt. The film failed to capture the complexity and beauty of the novel, not sure why they even tried. It's not a terrible movie, but it pales in comparison and adds nothing to the conversation.

Reply



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