Adapting a book into a movie is something that’s been around since the birth of the moving picture, and it definitely should not be considered a sin. Some of the best films ever made were either influenced or inspired by the pages of a book which came before, and quite often, the release of a movie brings more attention towards the book and the author. However some atrocities have also been created based on the works of an author, more specifically, all these frickin young adult movies!
First off we have to acknowledge that some of the best movies ever made would simply not exist without the works of the author. Whether it be Mario Puzo with The Godfather or Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings Series, books have provided us with some absolute gems on the big screen and this article is by no means disregarding them. However we are just taking a focus on the need for films like Twilight, Percy Jackson or that god damn Divergent series.
To look at why all these YA books are being turned into bad films we have to go back over a decade a go when the folks over at Warner Bros decided to take JK Rowlings Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone to the big screen, 10 years and over 10 Billion dollars later it is without a doubt that Warner Bros struck gold on that one, not just financially speaking as well, Harry Potter is a worldwide household name, even if you haven’t read the books or seen the movies you know about that wizard from Hogwarts with a scar on his forehead. Other studios such as Lionsgate (who recently acquired the rights to Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronichles) and Paramount saw this and wanted in. Paramount made their move earlier with Twilight and the rest is history…one that we’d all so desperately love to forget. But all these movies based on books coming out post 2010 were influenced by the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter Series. But what we want to know is why are the vast majority of them simply not that good?
To answer that we have to take into account that every one has a different take on a book, especially when its a book that you love, after reading it, you hype it up so much so that whatever the studio releases is bound to be a disappointment. Another factor that should be considered is how often studios simply get it wrong, whether it be choice of director or casting decisions. One of the reasons Harry Potter was so successful was the cast, we got a very young cast, so that over the course of the 8 films, we grew up with them, they were relatable, whereas the producers behind Percy Jackson went with a predominantly older cast.
It should be fairly easy for studios to make a good film adaptation of a book, the story and the fan base are already their, the fans are fans of the book, not the studio, that is why everyone loses their minds when the studio takes the film adaptation in their own direction, Harry Potter stuck to the books, Hunger Games stuck to the books, Godfather* stuck to the book, Lord of The Rings* Stuck to the Books and that is why they all succeeded.
*Yeah I know Godfather and LotR aren’t YA they’re good examples of why sticking to the already successful source material brings success.
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