If your book became the next movie, would you want to have control of it's creation? If you would, what aspect(s) would you want to control? My answer: I would love to have control over it all, but I'd especially enjoy the character aspects, like casting.
Absolutely not, I wouldn't want any control over the film adaption whatsoever, save one requirement, that Johnny Depp not be in the movie! Filmmakers are artists. I'd want them to interpret the material as they see fit.
Hope people won't be mad that the movie is only half finished......*cough cough* For enough money I'd let the filmmakers do what they'd want....to a point. What is that point? I dunno, haven't even seen the money yet.
Yeah, I'd have to take control of the movie. That is, unless I can have Brad Bird be the director, that's the only person I'd trust not to fuck it up like somebody did with LotR. Just look at Jackson's stupid face, don't you just want to slap him? Damn you, Peter Jackson, damn you, and you got paid for that. It's unforgivable. I will not allow this to happen to my story, nope.
I consider filmmaking an untranslatable medium from literature. After seeing the depths to which it can distort source material (Game of Thrones), I'll have it written in my will that no play, movie, show, or any medium other than writing be allowed to use my works until they enter the public domain. What did he get wrong? I've never read the books, so I'm really quite curious.
Well, pretty much everything. It's like a different world and different story with just the names of the characters from LotR being used. Sure, a lot of events were correct, and yes they did them in the proper timeline, but lots of those events were changed, depicting a completely different scene than the books did. Every second of those movies was filled with some manner of suspenseful music, or an underlying "uneasy feeling". That wasn't what the books were all about, and there were plenty of times when the characters were just hanging out and having fun. The movies were mostly action or suspense, but that's like the opposite of the books. Yes, there were intense moments in LotR, but not all the time, especially not in The Hobbit, c'mon. Just awful. I could shit a better cool-aide commercial. That's why I don't want some hack director, who even ruined King Kong for us as well, to get his grubby little hands on my book. XD
The minute you sign your film rights over you lose all control. That's why they call them "rights," as in you ain't got none anymore. Studios don't invest a hundred million dollars in someone until they've proven they can make hundreds of millions more. Even most directors don't have "creative control" over their movies. The studio approves everything from casting to title to the final cut of the movie. There are exceptions for the Spielbergs of the world, but most of the big directors own their own production companies anyway. Look at what happened to GRRM. He had to give up the goods on the ending to his story before they'd sign anything and he's being beaten to the punch.
Realistically, I know I wouldn't get to have control, but if there were one aspect I would appreciate having a say in, it would probably be casting.
Examples? That's your argument? The movies don't have the same tone? Here's a summary of how GoT insulted its source material: Dany's Meereen storyline is ruined and reduced to senseless filler. Jon's storyline is ruined and made into more 'awesome' when he fights zombies and 'shock factor' when he gets stabbed. Tyrion's storyline after the Blackwater is ruined and as a result so is his character development. Tywin is made into a soap opera 'overbearing father.' Sansa's storyline becomes a mockery in season five. Littlefinger is one of the most careful and patient characters in the books, and an utter idiot in the show. Everything in the show Dorne is a disgrace to the book Dorne. Every character, every event. Cersei is now another soap opera character with none of the book Cersei's personality. This makes her storyline in season five meaningless. Euron Greyjoy is one of the most frightening and mysterious villains in the books. In the show he's an idiot Renly. There's no sense of history, of what brought all these characters to their current situation. Oberyn just comes out of nowhere screaming for vengeance. The show has none of the book's ethics. Daenerys talks about generic things like 'breaking the wheel of oppression' because she is The Chosen One and even the idiots need to root for her. Oh, look at how she tricks that slaver guy. In the books, things have consequences. You can see how horrific Astapor is. You can see the greed with which the Lannisters treat fleeing peasants in King's landing, or Tywin's utter ruthlessness. And you can also see the destructive consequences of vengeance - Rhaegar's family being killed results in more people dying later, Astapor descends into civil war and butchery after Daenerys leaves, Robb's crowning leads to his death, etc. The showrunners, on the other hand, have realized that watching good people get killed horrifically brings a lot of viewers in, so they've decided to milk it for all it's worth.
From what I have noticed and see is that the overall story remains the same. Since movies on average 1 hour and 30 minutes they usually always condense the story taking out little non important scenes where you get to know the characters. Look at harry potter if you compare the book to the movie. The book follows the characters alot closer. But the movies is kinda like straight to the point main plots and all.
Yeah, they can't include every little detail from the book. It takes longer to read a book than watch a movie usually. Both provide a different experience with the same story. Some people prefer the book experience, some prefer the movie experience. That's how it will always be.
IDK. I like some others, would let them do as they will. Though I am sure they would ask me to consult, which would probably mean me thumping them on the head, because they are getting things wrong.
Oh, that's just my main complaint I guess. The suspense thing in LotR was so bad though, I think it also started a meme. From Bilbo's birthday party to the time they spent in Rivendell, and the mines of Moria to the Ents in the forest. Like none of the shit happened the way it did in the book. That battle they had with the Troll in Moria, yeah, I don't remember that at all. The only thing they encountered in Moria was they could feel something following them (Golem), and then the Balrog at the end. There's a lot more, in fact, it's worse than I thought. I forgot about the age problem with Frodo during the films. The films are very loosely based on the books. Here's a list of a bunch of stuff that I found: Tolkien book vs movies. And it's so much that this article links to different articles for in-depth stuff. It's like someone massacred Middle-earth. Tolkien damn near rose from his grave after this shit was released.
But how does that make it worse? What beauty or meaning is there in the books that the movies do away with?
I'd hate my story being on screen to begin with because I just don't see the appeal in it. I don't like combining films and books which is why whenever I pick out a new book to read, I always avoid the ones that are now a major motion picture. If I did though, and realistically had control over the film I'd want control over the cinematography (the overall picture, camera angles, amount of cgi, etc). Basically, the directing. I'd prefer Funny Games, Shotgun Stories and There Will Be Blood over Carrie remake, Enders Game and Pacific Rim.
Who was it that said that selling the rights to her novel to a movie studio was like lovingly restoring a classic car so that somebody could film it being driven off a cliff?
I remember that Richard Hornberger, one of the writers of the book MASH would complain bitterly about the television show based on the book. One assumes that the truckfuls of money that regularly appeared at his door would have eased the pain somewhat.
Best Boy Rigging and Honeywagon Driver. To be serious though, I agree with this ^^. Let the filmmaker do his/her thing with your source material. If they understand and respect it, you get the joy of seeing your work on the screen, if not, at least you get a paycheck (5% of the production budget is apparently industry standard, but more on that later.) And speaking of selling your work, a few years ago I got an email from the admin of a site that had published a couple of my flash pieces. They'd been contacted by a student filmmaker who wanted to make a film of one of my stories. I was over the moon; I mean, yeah, student film, but what the heck, I'm pretty much a student writer, so it sounded like a reasonable match of expectations, right? I would have given her a one-time, non-exclusive for the pleasure of owning a copy or ten of the DVD when it got made, but she sent over a contract for me to look at, and.... Well, that's where I learned about the 5% thing, and student film budget can run (I did my research) from about a hundred bucks to about five grand, so a paycheck of between $5 and $250. Plus copies of the DVD that I couldn't sell or distribute except to family and friends, but yeah, that's all good. All I had to do was: Except there were no rights reserved to the Owner in the contract. I sent her an email back asking about that, and she said she'd look into it and get back to me. That was November 2014, so I don't think it's going to happen.
Everything would have to be approved by me. Heck, if they can't stick to the book, I'll write the screenplay myself. I'll leave the technical stuff to them. I'll give them a list of my first choices for actors but ultimately leave the casting to them, reserving, of course, the right to veto a casting decision-- or any other decision, for that matter. The mo-cap budget would be through the roof, I imagine... I don't foresee my little old book being turned into a movie.
Personally, I think the LOTR movies were a fine adaption of the source material and enjoy them both-- unlike the Hobbit trilogy, whose most fatal flaw was the fact that it was a trilogy, and that's the first in a long list of things wrong with it. I could go on and on about The Hobbit. Not that there weren't parts I didn't enjoy-- the riddle scene was mercifully well-adapted from the source material, the end credits songs were amazing (I hate the fact that The Desolation of Smaug exists, but we wouldn't have Ed Sheeran's I See Fire without it, so when all is said and done I'd prefer to pretend it didn't exist rather than wish it were so) and if it were an original story instead of an adaptation of Tolkien's work it might have been a decent fantasy trilogy that I would enjoy thoroughly. The LOTR trilogy's biggest crimes, by comparison IMO, are cutting out the "slow" parts (like Tom Bombadil and the barrow-wights, the most egregious omission in the opinion of many) and not giving Gollum clothes.
Nice post.If my book became a movie, at the very least. I would have them follow the book until the ending, keeping the main characters untouched. Meaning if my main char (Male 6'0 foot and has red hair) when the movie comes out he's a short female with blonde hair I wouldn't want that to happen. To many good stories get made that way (DBZ's movie made me cry) off topic tho I think there should be a law saying if you not a fan of the work you shouldn't be able to make the movie.
I saw The Hobbit Part I: We Made Gandalf Cry in the theater. I streamed The Hobbit Part II: The Dwarves Go "Home Alone" on Smaug. The only way I'm watching The Hobbit Part III: No One Cares Anymore is like this:
The best part is when it's over. No, literally, that's the best part. You may want to watch this to get a good idea of what you would have ahead of you should you come to view it.