LUCID FORGE

Everyone and their brother knows that Peter Jackson did not think up the Lords of the Rings trilogy out of thin air. He acquired the rights to the J.R.R. Tolkien books and wrote what the film industry calls adapted screenplays. The films went on the amass millions of dollars, several awards, and a huge following of fans.

Adaptations might seem like a loss for literature, but, if you really think about it, the phenomenon has a two-way effect. Adaptations of novels are a way of translating and connecting to an increasingly visual-oriented, technology-centered culture. Fans of the books became fans of the movies, and, just as importantly, fans of the movies became fans of the books. In recent years we have seen film versions of classic novels and new titles. We have also witnessed the lucrative trend of translating the works of notable authors and the long terms successes of the adapted book series. Every once in a while, a film will come along that goes beyond just adaptation, and experiments with the genre beyond what is expected.



This year has so far seen and will see its share of adaptations, perhaps more than people realize. Brideshead Revisited, the romantic pre-WWII drama starring Emma Thompson, was originally a classic English novel by Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. While some critics have panned the filmmakers for being unfaithful to the book, that may only increase moviegoers’ interest in uncovering the inconsistencies by reading the literature themselves.
Other classics to grace the silver screen have been Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. It may surprise some of you to know that the great Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece, Psycho, was originally based on a book by the same name; a 1959 crime thriller written by Robert Bloch, which was inspired by the real life horrors of serial killer Ed Gein.

Film studios seem to be jumping on this genre, catching the potential novels-turned-movies as early as possible. Take Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, a youthful comedy about one eventful night in New York, starring promising Canadian actor Michael Cera. Only a short two years ago, Knopf had published David Levithan and Rachel Cohn’s book by the same name in May 2006. Other adaptations released this year from relatively new titles are Miracle at St. Anna, The Secret Life of Bees, and Appaloosa. Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, both the book and the movie will gain attention while both versions are still considered new releases.



There are now some authors whose names have become synonymous with film. Nights in Rodanthe, the newly released drama to again pair Richard Gere and Diane Lane as the romance leads, signals the fourth adaptation of one of Nicholas Sparks’ books. His previous adaptations are Message in a Bottle (1999), A Walk to Remember (2002), and The Notebook (2004). He has at least three other adapted screenplays from his novels in the works that may soon be picked up by filmmakers.

Of course, I must mention the large catalogue of films and miniseries inspired by Stephen King’s novels and short stories. The chilling 1976 film Carrie marked the first King novel to be adapted to the big screen. Since then, over thirty films based on his work have been released. King himself enjoys the idea very much, making the comparison between his writings and the films as “apples and oranges; both delicious, but very different.” Film series are as popular as ever. This is evident with The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the second instalment in an anticipated sequence of seven, which was released this summer. The C.S. Lewis children’s series was originally published in the 1950s. The Narnia series not only inspired the films, but also a children’s television miniseries in the late 80s, a series this writer watched as a child with great delight. Some film companies are so gung-ho about securing the blockbuster, money-making series that the Harry Potter situation occurred. J.K. Rowling allowed the adaptation of her series to begin before she had actually finished writing it. She was still working on the sixth book in early 2005; the first three books had already been made into films at that point. It has already been confirmed that the last book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be adapted into two movies. The final count will be eight films to seven books.

There have been some exceptional films that accomplished more than just simple adaptation, taking it to another level. This perception on the adaptation is a fairly recent development; it was only natural, after years of translating literature into films, inventive screenwriters and directors to finally play with the idea: Capote, the Oscar-winning and critically-acclaimed film, follows along the same timelines as the real life crime story In Cold Blood. The film’s perspective focuses on the events from the viewpoint and opinions of author Truman Capote as he was writing the non-fiction novel. As the movie progresses, we learn some truth behind the close relationships Truman developed with the accused and with the residents and police of the small town where the horrific murders took place.

The 2006 British comedy, A Cock and Bull Story, is a film-within-a-film about trying to adapt the inadaptable novel. Starring comedian Steve Coogan (who essentially plays himself in the film, as do several of the other actors involved, including Rob Brydon and Gillian Anderson), the plot revolves around an increasingly frustrated cast and crew as they try to film a baffling adaptation to Laurence Stern’s 18th century novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, a book considered post-modern before modernism was pioneered. The set is continually halted by constant rewrites of the screenplay and the actors themselves, who allow their egos and personal lives to get in the way.

One author’s struggle to adapt a novel is explored in the 2002 film Adaptation. Nicolas Cage plays both Charlie Kaufman (the real-life screenwriter of the movie) and his brother twin brother, Donald (completely fictional). In the film, Kaufman is trying to adapt Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief (real author, real book), and having quite a hard of time of it, while he deals with his rather sad and lonely life. Reality and imagination blur together when Orlean and John Laroche (the subject of her book) begin a romance and delve into a secret life that Kaufman becomes ensnared in. This film is a post-modern satire that takes real people and real ideas, and spins everything into a fictionalized tale that distorts the line between truth and invention. Adaptations have become a way to find common ground for film buffs and bookworms. Filmmakers and writers have developed an interesting relationship concerning the two mediums; a mutual respect and understanding of each other’s craft. Perhaps more and more authors are writing their novels with adaptation in mind.

Be that true or not, the separation and connection of film and literature will endure an interesting ebb and flow that will endure, grow, and shape the future of entertainment.