The Book to Film Phenomenon
The phenomenon that sparked armies of fans – such as those for “Lord of the Rings” and “Twilight” – continues to captivate audiences. The premiere of “Catching Fire” – adapted from the Susan Collins “Hunger Games” trilogy – marked yet another popular series brought to life on the big screen.
Urbana Middle School English teacher and noted local movie reviewer Chuck Koplinski believes one of the main reasons these adaptations are so popular is that they have a built-in audience.
“The popularity of the books means that the film studios are more willing to bet on these movies, as they know that – at the very least – they will have readers initially interested in them,” he said.
However, a successful book doesn’t always translate into a successful film.
“There have been plenty of successful novels that have bombed at the box office: ‘Lemony Snickett,’ ‘Beautiful Creatures,’ ‘Ender’s Game,’ ‘The Mortal Instruments,’” Koplinski said. “It’s still a bit of a crapshoot, but Hollywood is devoid of imagination and tends to be scared to bet on most anything that doesn’t have some sort of pre-sold audience involved … yet it still blows up in their faces.”
There are some who feel that reading the book should be a prerequisite to viewing the film, while others prefer to let each stand on their own.
“Well, I guess that depends on the individual. I read the first two Harry Potter books and when the film adaptations of those came out, all I did was knitpick in my mind what was missing or what they changed. After that, I didn’t read the books so I could sit back and enjoy the films without worrying about what they may have gotten wrong. Besides, in the end, the novel and the film are separate productions and should be judged as such,” Koplinski said.
Koplinski credits advances in special effects for these types of films’ popularity in recent years. Intricate landscapes and complex action sequences now appear believable.
The most successful of these to date, according to Koplinski, is the “Harry Potter” series.
“Warner Brothers spared no expense on these films and as a result they looked as fantastic as Rowling imagined them. But more importantly, they hired very intelligent filmmakers and actors to bring it all to life,” Koplinski continued. “Beautiful Creatures and Ender’s Game both had budgets of over $100 million and had Academy-Award winning actors in their casts and still bombed at the box office and were not treated well critically. There are just no guarantees.”
Whether or not these films can continue to live up to the book-to-movie adaptations of the past that are well-known and well-loved remains to be seen.
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