What book would you like to see made into a movie or tv show?

There are so many great stories out there in books. Yet they keep regurgitating the same stuff over and over on cinema and tv like they're out of ideas. So if you could pick, which story would you make into a movie or tv show?

I've been interested in reading Red Rising after I'm done with Hyperion. After reading a little about Red Rising, I thought it would be very interesting if they made it into a tv show, or movie series.

How about you?

 

I don't really like the idea of the books I like being turned into movies. We've all heard, "The book is better," I'm sure. I mean have you ever heard, "That movie was so good, I hope they turn it into a book?" Movies and novels have different approaches to storytelling. And watching a movie and reading bring me different types of enjoyment. This is just the way I look at it.

 

They usually mess something up when they turn the book into a visual medium. They are also two different ways of telling stories, which sometimes won't translate well. But still there are some stories which would be pleasing for the eyes, ears, and mind if they could capture them onto the screen.

There is also the potency of reaching more people through the screen than what you do with the written word nowadays. Some important stories are out there in the dust of unrecognition simply because they are written and not on a screen. I think the world would be richer if more books were adapted for the screen audience as well. If nothing else, people could perhaps learn more.

 

It's a conundrum, because I would only like it if it was done right, but there was a time in the 90's when I really wanted to see a Fahrd and the Gray Mouser series, made similarly to Xena and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Though in a way, the Hercules show almost was that, since Herc was a big, long-haired guy who had a small partner, with the big guy being the strong barbaric one and the little guy being more of a fast-talking, agile city-bred thief. I'm sure that template comes from Conan, like in the DeLaurentis movie where Ahnold travelled with the little thief Subadai. That was the same kind of pairing. But I didn't like the kinder, gentler nice-guy Hercules from the TV show, he was too much of a pacifist (until he decided to use his strength to hurl guys around like tenpins). Actually I'm glad they never did it though because they would have screwed it up. Plus much of the magic of it was in Lieber's writing. You can't translate amazing prose to a screen except maybe in dialogue.

 

Well, I think that another big reason is that the author isn't always involved with the adaptation. And of course, the original creator will always know more than anyone else. Not only that, but the original author will have feelings for the story. That's not something that can really be replaced.

Having the author be directly involved in the adaptation helps a lot. I was under the impression that J.K. Rowling had helped create the Harry Potter movies but she didn't. Which isn't a surprise I guess, given that a vast majority on this Reddit post agree that they aren't as good as the books.

I haven't watched Harry Potter (or any movies for that matter) but I have watched animated adaptations and I can confirm that the adaptation can be good, but almost never as good because it often leaves out details. Still, seeing a book come to life through an adaptation can be fun!

I really enjoyed Tunnel to Summer and I saw recently that it received an animated adaptation. I haven't watched it because I'm scared it will ruin the good taste the book left behind, but I'm probably just paranoid.

 

I can think of a few. Mostly sci-fi and fantasy of course, since I am a genre sicko. I know there is a movie in development for Project Hail Mary, which pleases me very much.

There's so much excellent, untapped IP out there. It's frustrating seeing all the remakes and sequels and crap when there could be, say, a series based on John Varley's Gaea trilogy (admittedly this one could be tricky to put on screen). Or a series based on Piers Anthony's Xanth. I'd love to see more Heinlein adaptations, like my favourite novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

I get that these would be riskier than putting out another stupid superhero movie, although that might be changing for the better following The Marvels recently having the worst opening of any MCU release. I'd love to see another Ender's Game movie, or more from the Master and Commander series, but those individual movies didn't make enough money to justify more. But somehow, there's always enough money to try rebooting freaking Fantastic Four AGAIN.

 

Fox kept cranking out deliberately bad versions every so often for contractural reasons, just so they could hold onto the license for the IP. They apparently had no intentions of making good movies with it, only of preventing Marvel from getting it back. I think he covers it in this video:

• That Time a Major Studio Intentionally Made a Crappy Fantastic Four Movie

 

There was a 1994 movie that was made on no budget for I'm sure was for licensing reasons, but the last three movies had massive (talking $100 million+) budgets. The last one from 2015 had the biggest budget (Wiki says $120-155m) and was a massive flop. But guess what, we're getting another kick at the can in 2025.

 

I would love to see a good film version of The Night Circus, but it would be tough to pull off. The book was so sumptuously cinematic in its description that I'd worry the visuals wouldn't live up to what I saw in my head. Still, it's such a lovely romance that I could forgive some generic CGI if the performances are good.

I guess that's what I really want to see in an adaptation - memorable characters brought to life by great performances. I've long thought that Connie Willis' Doomsday Book would make great Oscar bait; it's such a powerful, emotional story, and the two main characters are just begging for star performances. But it's so depressing, the studios would have station therapists in every theater. Maybe they could show it as a double feature with her rom-com To Say Nothing of the Dog to pick people back up afterward.

 

The Bible. I'm not going to get around to reading it, so I wouldn't mind a 90 minute version with... Peter Weller? Ideally something that encompasses more than the usual biblical stories.

 

I’m thinking an action franchise of Elisha and his two bears prowling Bethel for punkass kids… like a Bronze Age Death Wish 3.

 

One of my favourite authors is the late Wilbur Smith. His first book was titled 'When the Lion Feeds.' That would be a good story to turn into a film.

 

My basic take is that films based on books are like illustrations, they don't replace the book and if they're done well they can stand alone as art. The considerations that go into making a good movie are different from a book. I think we can all think of movies based on books that are excellent films but aren't necessarily "faithful" adaptations- nor, I think, should they try to be such. Nosferatu, The Godfather, Naked Lunch etc all stand perfectly well on their own merits. I recently saw a Russian miniseries of The Brothers Karamazov which was painstakingly faithful to the book. It's really well-produced, well acted, etc but.... I can't really say it made great television.

 

To answer OP though, and contradict what I said above... I'd like to see a more faithful adaptation of Carmilla. I've seen a few of the Carmilla-inspired films- The Vampire Lovers, The Curse of Styria and, further afield, Vampyr, Daughters of Darkness, and The Bloodspattered Bride, all worthwhile on their own merits but not quite capturing the very strange, melancholy sweetness I felt in the relationship between Laura and Carmilla in the book (Hammer's Vampire Lovers actually follows the book fairly closely in terms of plot but leaned a bit more on the lurid/ exploitation angle than what I have in mind). I'm aware of a recent film Carmilla that sounds more like what I'm thinking but from synopses I've read it removes the "supernatural" element which is a huge misstep IMO.

I remain hopeful that Guillermo del Toro will get to make his At the Mountains of Madness and that he will do it well.

I'd love to see a Book of the New Sun miniseries that does not shrink away from the weird and nasty stuff and also retains the archaic/ florid dialogue.

Likewise would love to see some of Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories brought to the screen, retaining the bizarre dialogue. "Liane the Wayfarer" would make a great short film or part of an anthology film.

I like the 70's Logan's Run but I think the book really has a vicious edge to it that the film shied away from- would love to see another go. (On a side note the idea of a dystopia ruled by the youth might have seemed plausible in the 60's-70's but nowadays seems almost fantastic.)

 

The Borribles adventure would make a great 3-part series of movies.

Clans of delinquent children turned into Borribles, who live on the streets of England and never age, with pointy ears they hide lest the coppers catch them and "clip their ears" turning them back into normal children.

The #1 rule: Don't get caught!

The Borribles discover that the Rumbles are moving into their territory. They're rat-like creatures that can speak and fight with their 'rumble-sticks' and live in their underground bunker called Rumbledom

The books are a trilogy that spans one long adventure, each book picking up where the last left off, or shortly thereafter. Something of a modern day telling of The Fellowship of the Rings set on the streets of early 20th century England.

It would make a great movie!!

 

That is something to look forward to with some hope. I don't know if you saw this when I posted it a while back, but we've already had two pretty amazing adaptations of At the Mountains of Madness that almost nobody realized were that (and yet are many people's favorite horror movies):

• Are Alien and The Thing Lovecraft adaptations?

And in some ways, a good adaptation is better than just straight up making a movie based on the story, because it avoids the illustration syndrome you mentioned (which is very true). Ultimately unless Del Toro's version is really excellent (which in many ways it could well be) I'd rather have Alien and The Thing. But I am glad I saw that video and understand that's what they are.

 

I would like to see movies or tv shows based on Poul Anderson's Dominic Flandry books, but like Xoic, only if they are done right. Maybe with Tom Hiddleston as Flandry. I have no idea about producer/director spotss, though, except NOT Shyamalan.

 

I've heard the sentiment before and they certainly share a wavelength with ATMOM. In fact I recall Del Toro himself remarking that Scott's Prometheus might render his ATMOM redundant. I don't know. Maybe I just really want to see elder things and their city on screen.

 

Never heard of those books until now. Looked them up and they seem like something I would be interested in. Thanks for mentioning them.

 

Well there could be a four hour Snyder cut released afterwards.

 

Anderson also has a series with MCs Nicholas Van Rijn and David Falkayn set a thousand years earlier in the same setting. In this series, Van Rijn is a very mercenary trader prince and Falkayn is his main troubleshooter.

 

WE by Yevgeny Zamyatin... Would be beautifully sad.

And The Running Man by Stephen King. I love Arnold Schwarzenegger and enjoy this film, but it's quite different from book and Ben Richards is an Everyman type. Sure he's got a hate for authority and he's crafty, but he's average in most ways. A great character to root for.

Oh and Swan Song by Robert Mccammon. God would I love this if done right.

 

When a film based on a movie comes out, everyone says "The book was better" ... and that's true, for a given value of 'true'.

A book can be as long or as short as the author wants it to be. The author can also say whatever he/she wants -- philosophy, action, whatever. As long as he/she gets published, and the book does well, and lots of people read it and love it, who the heck cares?

Movies can't do that. A movie script can't be 800 pages, like The Fellowship of the Ring etc. Things need to be condensed, cut down, minimised. A movie character can't philosophise about something. A three-paragraph soliloquy has to be turned into a one-sentence sound-bite.

Books and movies are completely different media. Instead of saying "The book was better", it'd be more accurate to say "I liked the book better."

Having said that, I'd love to see The Three Musketeers done realistically (i.e. the way it was in the book). The 2011 film, with airships and zeppelins and so on, was rubbish. The 1993 film was average. Last year's French film was good.

Likewise, I'd like to see Les Miserables the way it's supposed to be: without any singing. I'm sorry, but I was turned off the 2012 film when Hugh Jackman started singing 'Bring Him Home'.
This song should start off in a tenor’s falsetto, emanating Valjean's quietly tortured state. He is desperate, begging God to return the sleeping Marius to Cosette. But Jackman starts off too loud with a wide vibrato that undermines the sensitive piano passage.

I much preferred the 2000 made-for-TV film. John Malkovich is a superb Javert (quite creepy and frightening), and of course Gerard Depardieu is very good as Valjean. It's also good to hear mostly French rather than British accents -- it makes the film seem more authentic than the English-language versions. (Yes, it's dubbed with subtitles).

Other books I'd like to see translated into films? Anything, please, from the Discworld oeuvre, which is sadly neglected.