Top Ten Books I Want
to See Adapted to Film
Many people make the false assumption that I am primarily a
movie guy, but I am actually primarily a writing/book guy. I always have a book
on the go, and I’m always writing, and when I mean always, I mean always. While many of my favourite books
have already been adapted to the big screen, these are ten that have yet to
make their way to a theater near you, and once (or if) they ever do, you can
bet I’ll be first in line to see them.
10. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-time – Mark Haddon
I read this mystery novel for the first time last year, and
the way the events unfold made me imagine it like a movie. The premise is Christopher,
a teenager with a form of autism, is trying to solve the mystery of his neighbour’s
dog’s murder, which leads him on a path of discovery about those closest to him,
and about himself. I don’t want to give too much else away, because it’s quite
a fascinating mystery—one that switches gears about halfway through and becomes
less about what the title refers to and more about the family dynamics at play.
The point of view is one of the most interesting aspects of the novel, and one
that would have to be done in the right way for it to work on film. If this
ever gets made into a movie, which is the eventual plan as far I know, they
would need to find just the right director, and if they did, I think this could
easily be one of the best films of the year.
9. Prey – Michael Crichton
Most of Michael Crichton’s novels have been made into either
movies or TV shows (now even his own movies
are being remade, with the new miniseries Westworld
coming to HBO next year), largely thanks to Crichton’s way of writing cinematic
action scenes that leap off the page and just beg to be turned into big-screen
blockbusters. Though one of his greatest works, Jurassic Park, became an excellent film, many of his novels were
turned into forgettable, lackluster movies, such as Sphere, Congo, and Timeline. However, there’s a particular
novel of his that’s one of my favourites, and it has yet to be made into a
feature film. Prey is about nanobots
that travel in deadly swarms and are evolving at an alarming rate. Think Terminator Genisys only good. This
premise is ripe for adapting in this day and age of ever-evolving technology,
and the visual effects could be accomplished simply enough. Get the right cast
together, a director who knows how to handle suspense and action (David Fincher
or Christopher Nolan would be amazing) and you could have the best Crichton
novel-to-film adaptation since Jurassic
Park. 20th Century Fox holds the rights, so it’s just a matter
of waiting.
8. The Neanderthal Parallax – Robert J.
Sawyer

7. At the Mountains of Madness – H.P.
Lovecraft
Long considered an unfilmable masterpiece, At the Mountains of Madness is among
sci-fi/horror writer H.P Lovecraft’s most recognized works. Published in the
early 1930’s, it has been the inspiration for many other works of fiction,
including graphic novels, video games, and even the quasi-prequel to Alien, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro co-wrote a Mountains screenplay which he hoped to
direct back in 2006, but with the release of Prometheus, the project, which was seen as too similar, was
scrapped. It’s a shame, because as much as I liked Prometheus, I would much rather see a filmmaker take a crack at
bringing the epic and harrowing tale to the big screen as a proper adaptation. The
story features incredible alien creatures, horrific encounters with them, and
would make for a chilling and thrilling film. Hopefully one day a filmmaker
like Del Toro gets the green light on the project, or even Del Toro himself
returns to give it another shot. The material is right up his alley, and I
think he would do the source material justice, as well as make it more
accessible to general audiences.
6. The Gingerbread Man – various

5. Weet – John Wilson

4. The Quintaglio Ascension – Robert J.
Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer’s other trilogy of novels, which were among
his earlier works, also happen to feature dinosaurs, but not the typical giant,
toothy, roaring kind that are trying to eat every human in sight. This series
takes place on another planet, where dinosaurs have evolved to near-human
levels of intelligence, and have established a complex society. In this world
are many other types of dinosaurs, though more in-line with what you’d see at Jurassic Park, but the main dinos, the
Quintaglios, are evolved tyrannosaurs, with developments such as ships,
telescopes, and many other technological advancements, but they still rely on
their teeth and claws as weapons, and are discovering shocking facts about
their world. Robert J. Sawyer does some of the best world building I’ve ever
seen in a sci-fi novel. The Quintaglio world is so fully realized, it’s no
effort to believe this could all be real. Ten years ago, I would have said a
book like this would be impossible to make into a movie, but with the motion
capture technologies now available, I think it could be easily accomplished.
Plug in the right visionary director, someone like Peter Jackson or James
Cameron, and this could be the next big film series. I haven’t read the second
or third book (all three of which are hard to find these days, unfortunately),
so that’s all the more reason to make them into movies, so I can find out how
it ends!
3. Meg series – Steve Alton

2. The Dark Tower series – Stephen King
Next to Michael Crichton, Stephen King is my favourite
author—certainly my favourite horror writer. Like Crichton, many, many, many, of his books have become movies,
and like Crichton, not a lot have been good. Though typically known for writing
horror and thriller novels, one of King’s most popular series of novels is the
fantasy epic The Dark Tower, which
starts out with The Gunslinger, and
spans eight novels. A unique blend of fantasy and western and horror and drama,
The Dark Tower series is ripe for a
filmmaker to bring to theaters. I’m currently working my way through the
series, and it’s obvious why this series has, much like Meg, been in development hell for quite some time. It’s a sprawling
narrative that, given the trend lately, would probably result in each book
getting split into two, which would mean a sixteen-part film. I know what
you’re thinking, “ain’t nobody got time for dat!” and I agree, splitting each
book would be stupid, but I think if each book became one film, and each film
was directed by a different director, it could be a really compelling
franchise. The main element of The Dark
Tower that’s so compelling is the characters, so A-list actors would be a
requirement. Daniel Day Lewis as Roland the Gunslinger would be my ideal
choice, and for those familiar with the books, I think Octavia Spencer, Oscar
Isaac, and Javier Bardem would be excellent in the roles of Susannah, Eddie,
and The Man in Black, respectively. As far as I know, Sony is moving ahead with
the first film, which will be called The
Gunslinger, and I can’t wait to see Roland’s pursuit of the Dark Tower on
the big screen.
1. Raptor Red – Robert Bakker

The gingerbread man method to children weight loss sounds like a great idea! ;)
ReplyDeleteHollywood should just start paying me now, am I right?
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