Movie Adaptation To The Movie Industry

BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATIONS

The movie industry is a fast-growing business. Especially, since the release of Harry Potter Series and The Twilight Saga—both of which originated from two book series with the same titles—became a huge hit, adaptation is the new trend in the film industry. Not only does classic literature successfully make it to the big screen, but many contemporary novels published during the 21st century also have their film versions produced. Despite its thriving popularity, one common remark people usually give when it comes to adaptations is either “that is not how it happened in the book” or “the book is so much better than the movie.” People often forget that producing a movie based on a novel is not simply about being faithful

The following paragraphs will elaborate the several steps to making book-to-movie adaptations. The first step is the pitch. It means the literary agents turn in the books proposed to be adapted into films to the movie companies. Upon receiving the books from the literary agents, the movie companies will assign their agents to send the works to several producers known to adapt books. If the producers are interested and agree to pick up the projects, then a meeting—which will be further explained in the next step—among the movie companies, the producers, and the authors will be held. It is important to note that before the movie agents deliver the books to the producers, they will run a selection and opt for which books to send out for consideration because not all books translate well into movies. Some books are more ideally suited for TV series than for feature films. Usually books with big fictional worlds, such as outer space, will be selected for movies as they require an expensive budget to produce. Meanwhile, books that tap into current events and deal with social issues will be more apt for TV series. In addition, it is also crucial for authors to stay alert regarding the free-rights status of their books’ films. According to a literary agent Ann Rittenberg in the article “How a Book Becomes a Movie” written by Jane Friedman, she advises that if authors are asked directly whether

Do not start at the wrong foot by assigning actors who do not suit the characters’ attributes described in the book versions. The characters’ attributes include physical features, traits, and habits. Actors need to be able to portray how the characters are pictured in the books. A good example of characters portrayal is Stephen Hawking by Eddie Redmayne in the movie The Theory of Everything. Redmayne plays the character of Stephen Hawking very well. He is able to mimic the traits and posture of Hawking’s condition suffering a motor neuron disease. Another important point to note related to the plot and characters imaging is the directors’ decision to add or omit certain characters from the books to the screenplay versions. They often do this to overcome books with first person point of views. In order to be able to visualize the main characters’ story, the films need helps from already existing characters or new characters. However, the process of creating new characters or omitting the existing characters has to be done justifiably. Lynne Pembroke and Jim Kalergis also agree later in their article pointing out that “when essential plot information is presented only in a character 's thought or in the character 's internal world, one solution is to give this character a sounding board” (par. 4). In other words, adding another character, to which their thoughts can be voiced aloud, is