# Good Book, Horrible Movie



## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

There's the glass half full types, then the glass half empties. And on Kindle Boards there's the "Good Book, Better Movie" thread, then the "Good Book, Horrible Movie" thread. So which of your favorite stories have been massacred by Hollywood?

To grease the wheels, here's an Onion article about just that:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/lost-in-translation-20-good-books-made-into-notsog,2079/


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

The Prince of Tides.

Great book.  Horrible movie.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Great book.  Movie -- not so great.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

According to some Harry Potter fans, none of the movies live up to the books.  

How about I, Robot being added to the list?  (I know it's just a short)


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Starship Troopers


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

lacymarankevinmichael said:


> How about I, Robot being added to the list? (I know it's just a short)


Hated it.

But the all time worst movie made from a book (two books, really) has to be _Queen of the Damned_.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

Daniel Arenson said:


> Starship Troopers


The worst thing about Starship Troopers is they actually bothered to make a sequel.


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## Thayerphotos (Dec 19, 2010)

lacymarankevinmichael said:


> The worst thing about Starship Troopers is they actually bothered to make a sequel.


2 sequels actually, and I hate to admit this but I actually BOUGHT the 3rd movie on DVD, and it actually bears more resemblance to the book than both of the 1st 2 movies combined, but that's mostly because 1.0% is infinetly more than 0.0%

here's a link to a thread dedicated to discussing the book, and movie : 
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,45967.msg802270.html#msg802270


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## Thayerphotos (Dec 19, 2010)

The lawnmower man

The original story by Stephen King is about a man who hires a company to mow his lawn only to find that it's actually a Satyr who murders him.

The Movie is an early cyber space diatribe that bears so little resemblance to the original story that King successfully sued to have his name removed from the movie.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

"*I am Legend*" by Richard Matheson.

One of the scariest books I've ever read. The movie wasn't very scary, nor was it at all faithful to the book.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Daniel Arenson said:


> The Prince of Tides.
> 
> Great book. Horrible movie.
> 
> ...


I didn't think The Prince of Tides was a horrible movie, but the book was extraordinary, and there's no way the movie could be that Just my opinion.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

With the foreknowledge that there will be cries of outrage, _Blade Runner_. I saw it on opening night in 1982 and all I can remember is the stupid happy ending and walking out of the movie theater with my buddies, all of us vastly disappointed. But it's biggest offense was driving me away from the novels of Philip K. Dick for twenty years.


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2010)

Daniel Arenson said:


> Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.


Yes. Worst editing in a movie ever. So choppy. Unfortunate too because that was waaay my favorite book.

also

*THE TWO TOWERS*


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## nicuknitter (Dec 28, 2008)

It was pretty long ago, but "The Clan of the Cave Bears" was horrible.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I think the first two "Harry Potter" movies are awful.  Chris Columbus is a hack and has no imagination.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Geemont said:


> With the foreknowledge that there will be cries of outrage, _Blade Runner_. I saw it on opening night in 1982 and all I can remember is the stupid happy ending and walking out of the movie theater with my buddies, all of us vastly disappointed. But it's biggest offense was driving me away from the novels of Philip K. Dick for twenty years.


No outrage - but to be fair, the director's cut removed that horrid ending and it became a much different movie.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Geoffrey said:


> No outrage - but to be fair, the director's cut removed that horrid ending and it became a much different movie.


But you never get second change to make a first impression. I did see the director's cut but the first horrid ending is what remains.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

JimC1946 said:


> "*I am Legend*" by Richard Matheson.
> 
> One of the scariest books I've ever read. The movie wasn't very scary, nor was it at all faithful to the book.


Not only was the Will Smith version not scary, it just wasn't good on any level. It's a shame to, because the concept is good.


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## ValeriGail (Jan 21, 2010)

I'm gonna throw in the twilight movies.  The books were fun and cheesy... but the movies are, umm.. they take the cheesy to a whole new level.  I will watch every one of them though


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

ValeriGail said:


> I'm gonna throw in the twilight movies. The books were fun and cheesy... but the movies are, umm.. they take the cheesy to a whole new level. I will watch every one of them though


You're not the only one. I'm sure there's some teenagers lining up for the next installment outside a theater near you. Let the brooding begin.


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## kcmay (Jul 14, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> But the all time worst movie made from a book (two books, really) has to be _Queen of the Damned_.


Along that line, Interview With the Vampire. I _loved_ the book, hated the movie.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

kcmay said:


> Along that line, Interview With the Vampire. I _loved_ the book, hated the movie.


But the book didn't have Brad Pitt.


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## ValeriGail (Jan 21, 2010)

lacymarankevinmichael said:


> You're not the only one. I'm sure there's some teenagers lining up for the next installment outside a theater near you. Let the brooding begin.


My son started reading the series before me, and I figured it would be a good idea to read them so I knew what he was reading.. anyway.. I took him to the first movie. We sat in a theater packed full of 13-17 year old girls. They snickered and giggled through the entire movie. My son kept shrinking down in his seat as if to try to be invisible. Cracked me up. But the funniest thing of all.. one of the girls in front of us whipped out her phone and took a picture of Edward with his shirt off! When we left my son said "lets never do that again! Girls are scary!" HAHA. He was only 12 I think.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

ValeriGail said:


> My son started reading the series before me, and I figured it would be a good idea to read them so I knew what he was reading.. anyway.. I took him to the first movie. We sat in a theater packed full of 13-17 year old girls. They snickered and giggled through the entire movie. My son kept shrinking down in his seat as if to try to be invisible. Cracked me up. But the funniest thing of all.. one of the girls in front of us whipped out her phone and took a picture of Edward with his shirt off! When we left my son said "lets never do that again! Girls are scary!" HAHA. He was only 12 I think.


Girls are going to get a lot scarier the older he gets.


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## TheRiddler (Nov 11, 2010)

Not sure HP or Twilight count as horrible movies - sure, they aren't great, but they did an 'ok' job at replicating the books.

My shout goes to another Steven King story that was mercilessly murdered by the Hollywood fraternity - Running Man.

Why they felt the need to redo the whole film so it no longer resembled the book, I have no idea. It wasn't a horrible movie as such, it just bore such little resemblance to a great book.

As for Blade Runner, I guess I was lucky enough to only have seen the directors cut.


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

Of course there's always the opposite...

Other than the first one and a half pages when he describes the shark, Jaws is a pretty bad novel.  The changes they made to the story for the movie make it much better.


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## Joel Arnold (May 3, 2010)

Tom Wolfe's *Bonfire of the Vanities* was a great novel - but crappy movie, imo.
Also King's (writing as Bachman) *Thinner*. I enjoyed the book, but the movie sucked.


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## meinken (Oct 17, 2009)

Actually, for me, it is that they took a great book about citizen rights and responsabilities,with great descriptions of armor and the jump suits and turned it into a horrible semi-comedy about pretty people.



lacymarankevinmichael said:


> The worst thing about Starship Troopers is they actually bothered to make a sequel.


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

_The Da Vinci Code_

I know not everyone likes Dan Brown's books but I really enjoyed _The Da Vinci Code_ and the movie was absolutely horrible IMO.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

lacymarankevinmichael said:


> There's the glass half full types, then the glass half empties. And on Kindle Boards there's the "Good Book, Better Movie" thread, then the "Good Book, Horrible Movie" thread. So which of your favorite stories have been massacred by Hollywood?


Pretty sure we've also had a thread about good movies from books that were only so so. . . . .I'm waiting for the thread about horrible books that were made into worse movies.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Pretty sure we've also had a thread about good movies from books that were only so so. . . . .I'm waiting for the thread about horrible books that were made into worse movies.


Well Ann, should I do the honor of creating that thread, or leave it to you?


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

To the person who hated "The Two Towers,"  You have to watch all of those movies in the uncut form on DVDs.  I agree that Two Towaers was a terrible mess in the theater.  But the long form (not sure if they call it "director's cut" or not) is nearly an hour longer and completely coherent.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

I liked the Two Towers.  It was Return of the King with the ten endings and hobbit slumber party vibe that wore me down.  Some movies should not be three and a half hours.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2010)

kindlegrl81 said:


> _The Da Vinci Code_
> 
> I know not everyone likes Dan Brown's books but I really enjoyed _The Da Vinci Code_ and the movie was absolutely horrible IMO.


YES! They took all of the spine out of Tom Hanks's character. I was super upset and on the way out of the theater this woman practically attacked me! Details here: http://powerlessbooks.com/blog/?p=28


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## BoomerSoonerOKU (Nov 22, 2009)

I'll introduce an animated film into the mix...

"The Black Cauldron"

I LOVED this series of books as a child.  In fact, I'd have to say I remembering enjoying this series more than the Narnia books.  The film from Disney dumbed it down and removed a lot of the action.  Interestingly enough, they had to do this to make the film not have a PG-13 or R rating even thought the film is based on a book(s) for children.


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## Straker (Oct 1, 2010)

_*Dune.*_

The movie comes off as a frat boy's parody of 1930's Flash Gordon serial. Incredibly, some people consider it a classic.

There was was a TV miniseries adaptation about ten years ago that was somewhat better. At least Sting was mercifully absent.


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## Bigal-sa (Mar 27, 2010)

The day of the triffids - it certainly bears very little resemblance to the book I own.


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## jhendereson (Oct 22, 2010)

Stephen King hated the screen version of Shining, which I thought was a great movie, one of Jack's best. My all-time favorite novel, Sounder, was literally hacked to pieces in the film. No where in the novel was there singing and laughing--heart-breaking. A kid watching the movie version, I was devastated, wondering how could you mess up a great work of art. I've read that Hollywood has been trying for years to make a film version of A Confederate of Dunces, and I hope they never succeed.


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

Great Book, Horrible Movie (the epitome):

Catch-22


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## Thayerphotos (Dec 19, 2010)

jhendereson said:


> Stephen King hated the screen version of Shining, which I thought was a great movie, one of Jack's best. My all-time favorite novel, Sounder, was literally hacked to pieces in the film. No where in the novel was there singing and laughing--heart-breaking. A kid watching the movie version, I was devastated, wondering how could you mess up a great work of art. I've read that Hollywood has been trying for years to make a film version of A Confederate of Dunces, and I hope they never succeed.


Here's a link to a cracked.com article about the confederacy of Dunces movie:

http://www.cracked.com/article_15072_the-10-most-awesome-movies-hollywood-ever-killed_p2.html


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## MissStar (May 4, 2010)

kindlegrl81 said:


> _The Da Vinci Code_
> 
> I know not everyone likes Dan Brown's books but I really enjoyed _The Da Vinci Code_ and the movie was absolutely horrible IMO.


I agree...also Angels and Demons. So sad, because that was a GREAT book...

Any Dean Koontz book into movie was horrible, but _especially_ Watchers. I couldn't last 5 minutes. When the husband and wife in a book are mother and son in a movie, you know it's going to be bad...


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

MissStar said:


> I agree...also Angels and Demons. So sad, because that was a GREAT book...
> 
> Any Dean Koontz book into movie was horrible, but _especially_ Watchers. I couldn't last 5 minutes. When the husband and wife in a book are mother and son in a movie, you know it's going to be bad...


I have to admit that I was really disappointed in the movie _'Salem's Lot_. The book was so terrifyingly wonderful that I wanted the movie to be the same way. It was a bit scary, but was more cheesy than frightening, in my opinion. (Had the movie scared me half as much as parts of the book, I'd have probably had a heart attack while watching it, so maybe it's a good thing that the movie paled by comparison.)


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## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

The Emma Thomas movie version of Sense and Sensability cut out one of the main (but failed) romances.  If you can't edit a movie well enough to stay true to what everyone loves about a book, why bother?


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## Bigal-sa (Mar 27, 2010)

I just watched War of the Worlds again, so had to re-read the book too. Apart from the alien vehicles, there is absolutely no correlation between the book and the movie. And that constantly screaming child in the movie - it drove me up the wall...


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## dltanner99 (Sep 9, 2010)

Starship Troopers. Okay CGI series afterwards from the original producer (followed elements and relationships from the book), but the movie was just awful. They made two sequel, the third again with Casper Van Dien. Each worse than the one before it.


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

I have to agree with quite a few of the posters already.

Starship Troopers - Heinlein's work was turned on its ear to make one of the worst movies ever.

Harry Potter - I have only seen one decent Harry Potter movie, yet most of the books are terrific.

Anne Rice books - The only thing I can say about the movies is that at least the vampires didn't sparkle.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - The book had a lot more to it and it was only the re-edited "Director's cut" that was worth watching.

I have to say though that there are many films that have been better than the books or at least equal to (Fight Club, American Psycho, Bourne).


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## Thayerphotos (Dec 19, 2010)

Bleekness said:


> _IT _was also turned into the equivalent of regurgitated semi-digested carpet moss. _Bllllllllaaaaaaaaah_.


This could be an entire thread unto itself, "Why was Stephen King so committed to bland PG Televison versions of his obvioulsy R rated work?" I wouldl ove to see either It, The Stand or Under the Dome made into 10 to 12 hour mini series on HBO or Showtime


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

nicuknitter said:


> It was pretty long ago, but "The Clan of the Cave Bears" was horrible.


That one gets my vote.


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## RobertK (Aug 2, 2010)

Congo. Liked the book as a kid. HORRIBLE movie.

Also, Queen of the Damned—movie was an abysmal failure, not even factoring its retreat from the book's story.


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## MissStar (May 4, 2010)

RobertK said:


> Congo. Liked the book as a kid. HORRIBLE movie.
> 
> Also, Queen of the Damned-movie was an abysmal failure, not even factoring its retreat from the book's story.


I second both of those. I had forgotten all about Congo...


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

Straker said:


> _*Dune.*_
> 
> The movie comes off as a frat boy's parody of 1930's Flash Gordon serial. Incredibly, some people consider it a classic.


Took the words right out of my mouth. Great book, seriously garbage movie. It takes the prize for me, so far.

Mike Moorcock's The Final Programme was made into a film some long while ago; and I kinda liked it - almost as much as the book (it's almost the same). Also Blade Runner/Do Anderoids Dream' (totally different). I, Robot, I'm cool with (though no idea, never read the story). All to prove it can be done.


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## MissStar (May 4, 2010)

Thayerphotos said:


> This could be an entire thread unto itself, "Why was Stephen King so committed to bland PG Televison versions of his obvioulsy R rated work?" I wouldl ove to see either It, The Stand or Under the Dome made into 10 to 12 hour mini series on HBO or Showtime


Another Stephen King....the Langoliers. I loved that story when I was a kid...scared the crap out of me...especially since I read it the night before my flight back home. The movie, on the other hand, just annoyed me.


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## crash86 (Oct 8, 2010)

The Shining.  Great book, crappy movie. to be honest most of King's books are great reads but the movies don't live up to the potential that could have been great movies left in the hands of bad directors.  Also gotta go with Coma, good book so so movie.


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## D. Nathan Hilliard (Jun 5, 2010)

Peter Straub's Ghost Story.

It was a great book that got made into an egregiously bad move that even changed the nature of the "haunt."


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

It's a graphic novel, but Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was brilliant.  The movie was just a complete waste of time and money.  I admire and marvel at how Moore keeps his name off all Hollywood projects based on his work, at enormous financial loss.  But watching what the studio marketed as "LXG" really put his attitude in perspective.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Percy Jackson - UGH.  Horrible, horrible, horrible.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> But the all time worst movie made from a book (two books, really) has to be _Queen of the Damned_.


'tis true - they butchered the book.



Daniel Arenson said:


> Starship Troopers





lacymarankevinmichael said:


> The worst thing about Starship Troopers is they actually bothered to make a sequel.


But... I lurve Starship Troopers. How can you not?


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## Mike McIntyre (Jan 19, 2011)

Shutter Island

No way they'd make a movie that could hold a kindle to the ebook


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

lacymarankevinmichael said:


> There's the glass half full types, then the glass half empties. And on Kindle Boards there's the "Good Book, Better Movie" thread, then the "Good Book, Horrible Movie" thread. So which of your favorite stories have been massacred by Hollywood?
> 
> To grease the wheels, here's an Onion article about just that:
> http://www.avclub.com/articles/lost-in-translation-20-good-books-made-into-notsog,2079/


In my opinion, most of Steve King books gone movie have failed.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

STH said:


> It's a graphic novel, but Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was brilliant. The movie was just a complete waste of time and money. I admire and marvel at how Moore keeps his name off all Hollywood projects based on his work, at enormous financial loss. But watching what the studio marketed as "LXG" really put his attitude in perspective.


He still gets paid for the adaptation. He just has his name expunged.


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## Chris Barraclough (Jan 25, 2011)

Starship Troopers was quality brain-free entertainment, although I've got a massive soft-spot for Michael Ironside which helps!



Zell said:


> In my opinion, most of Steve King books gone movie have failed.


I like quite a few of the films based on his books - Shining, Carrie, and the TV adaptation of IT scared the hell out of me as a kid! I think his drama works better on the big screen though - Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile and Dolores Claiborne were great films, helped a great deal by fantastic acting.

No denying that most of them are pants though. The Langoliers is a great example for sure.


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## romac (Jun 23, 2010)

I loved Crichtons JP sequel The Lost World, but the film was way off the mark. Characters weren't the same, reason for the entire thing taking place was not the same, all in all I feel like they broke it. Some movies suffer because they can't get everything the book has stuffed into it, The Lost World hardly had anything to do with the book.


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## Chris Barraclough (Jan 25, 2011)

romac said:


> I loved Crichtons JP sequel The Lost World, but the film was way off the mark. Characters weren't the same, reason for the entire thing taking place was not the same, all in all I feel like they broke it. Some movies suffer because they can't get everything the book has stuffed into it, The Lost World hardly had anything to do with the book.


Oh yeah, good pick. I loved the book, but the film was a massive let-down (with the exception of the scene where the trailer's being pushed off the cliff by the T-Rex). Annoying kids were a big reason.


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## SuzanneTyrpak (Aug 10, 2010)

I loved *Shutter Island* as a book. The movie didn't work for me.


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## Russell Brooks (Dec 23, 2010)

The Tommyknockers. The book was good, but the movie sucked.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

Russell Brooks said:


> The Tommyknockers. The book was good, but the movie sucked.


Then again, what was the last Steven King adaptation that rocked?

On a sidenote, yay for Montreal. I was born in Pointe Claire. Miss the West Island.


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## Steven L. Hawk (Jul 10, 2010)

Straker said:


> _*Dune.*_
> 
> The movie comes off as a frat boy's parody of 1930's Flash Gordon serial. Incredibly, some people consider it a classic.
> 
> There was was a TV miniseries adaptation about ten years ago that was somewhat better. At least Sting was mercifully absent.


^^^This!

One of my favorite books of all time -- a huge letdown in film version.


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## Cherilyn (Dec 27, 2010)

The Lovely Bones
My Sister's Keeper
White Oleander
House of Sand and Fog
Midwives
Misery
Mists of Avalon

The list can go on and on and on. I don't think I'd watch a movie of Outlander or The Hunger Games because I already know I will be disappointed. 

Cherilyn


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## xandy3 (Jun 13, 2010)

tim290280 said:


> Harry Potter - I have only seen one decent Harry Potter movie, yet most of the books are terrific.
> 
> Anne Rice books - The only thing I can say about the movies is that at least the vampires didn't sparkle.


Actually, my enjoyment of the first 3 HP movies made me want to read the books. But yeah, the books are so much better. The films are like "cliffs notes" of the books (except the HUGE change they made in OOTP regarding Veritasirum (sp?) and other inaccuracies which made me kind of angry.)

Anne Rice books...Oh yeah, absolutely! Especially Interview with the Vampire. TC was NOT my idea of Lestat.


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## ZombieEater (Nov 2, 2010)

Hannibal, by Thomas Harris. The movie was so flat and rushed, compared to the book, that I actually left the theater angry!


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

xandy3 said:


> Actually, my enjoyment of the first 3 HP movies made me want to read the books. But yeah, the books are so much better. The films are like "cliffs notes" of the books (except the HUGE change they made in OOTP regarding Veritasirum (sp?) and other inaccuracies which made me kind of angry.)
> 
> Anne Rice books...Oh yeah, absolutely! Especially Interview with the Vampire. TC was NOT my idea of Lestat.


Strange, I was the opposite with HP. My wife dragged me to all of the films and it was only with gritty Order of the Phoenix movie that I felt the books might be worth a shot. I ended up reading from Goblet of Fire to Deathly Hallows back to back, couldn't put them down. I agree the books do feel like cliff notes versions, especially when it comes to some little plot points. The first film felt like a deus ex machina ending, yet the book has this set up nicely. My wife continually states that the HP books will one day be made into a blow-by-blow miniseries to make up for the adaptations the films were. She thinks that the audience would prefer it that way.

The strange thing about the Vampire Chronicles is that they should have been fantastic films. Somehow they managed to take interesting characters and an epic story and throw it in a New Orleans swamp in favour of cardboard cutout characters/acting and a wafer thin plot.


Cherilyn said:


> My Sister's Keeper


I actually thought both were pretty good. Admittedly there are a lot of changes to the film, but I thought both were very powerful.


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## MissStar (May 4, 2010)

Cherilyn said:


> Mists of Avalon


I completely agree. The book is fantastic, as are the rest of the books in that series. I am just thankful they haven't tried to make movies out of the rest.


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

Contact by Carl Sagan. I really liked the book, but, the movie just didn't really work for me.

The Postman. I liked the book,  but the movie didn't seem like it followed the book all that much.

All the movies, besides The Hunt for Red October, that are based off of the Tom Clancy novels. None of them are all that good.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Not sure if anyone else said it but, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. I liked the book - LOATHED the movie. I cringe whenever I see it.

I agree with Cherilyn - The Lovely Bones. I liked the book, movie was not good at all.


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## Belle2Be (Aug 29, 2010)

Just about ALL of Stephen Kings books. I don't think even the best producer and an infinite budget could make a movie as good as the books though, so it may be an unfair advantage


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## Mike Dennis (Apr 26, 2010)

No doubt on this one: _The Bonfire Of The Vanities_ by Tom Wolfe.

Great book, dreadful movie.

Followed closely by _The Black Dahlia_ by James Ellroy.


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## CateAdams (Jan 26, 2011)

The Great Gatsby! (I think somebody said it, but I had to say it again!!!)


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## xandy3 (Jun 13, 2010)

Forgot to Mention Johnny Neumonic and Smooth Talk (Joyce Carol Oates' _Where are you Going and Where have You Been?_. Well yeah, they were both short stories but still...

I understand it was hard to translate to film the way _Where are you Going..._ ended though, but still...
And the portrayal of the protagonist in the film made you not empathize with her. I like Laura Dern as an actress, but she was not supposed to be annoying, and the character was supposed to be carefree and maybe flirty, but not "a tease." And, Treat Williams was too handsome an actor to play "Arnold Friend."


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## johnmedler (Feb 1, 2011)

Battlefield Earth.  I really liked the book.  But the movie, starring John Travolta, was terrible.  In fact, the movie won the Razzie award in every category in 2001.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

CateAdams said:


> The Great Gatsby! (I think somebody said it, but I had to say it again!!!)


They're taking another shot at doing Gatsby as a movie. I don't think that'll work. The book is so heavy on description and atmosphere, but light on action.


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## TheRiddler (Nov 11, 2010)

Belle2Be said:


> Just about ALL of Stephen Kings books. I don't think even the best producer and an infinite budget could make a movie as good as the books though, so it may be an unfair advantage


I'd almost agree with this, but for Shawshank Redemption, and Stand By Me.
Also, the Shining was excellent, as was Misery. And from memory Carrie wasn't too bad either.

You can argue whether the books or the movies were better, but none of these movies were 'horrible'.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

What?? No one mentioned _The Golden Compass_?? That was an atrocity. 
Another butchered YA book - _Inkheart_.
HP movies are just inadequate, not really horrible (except #3), IMO.
I must admit I like _Starship Troopers _ and I am probably the only living, breathing person who loves _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen _ (I don't read graphic novels). OK, it was bad and silly. But beautiful. I could live in that world and have long inane conversations with Mina and Dorian


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

anguabell said:


> I am probably the only living, breathing person who loves _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen _ (I don't read graphic novels). OK, it was bad and silly. But beautiful. I could live in that world and have long inane conversations with Mina and Dorian


You're not the only one - I love that movie.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

julieannfelicity said:


> You're not the only one - I love that movie.


Hah!! We should form a secret society.


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## Chris Barraclough (Jan 25, 2011)

anguabell said:


> Hah!! We should form a secret society.


It's definitely a hell of a lot better than the Avengers movie. Man that was bad. Only reason I saw it was for Eddie Izzard. I don't even think he had a single bloody line.


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## MartyS (Feb 3, 2011)

Yet another Stephen King one: *Cujo*

The dog was a real character in the book, by the end you feel more sorry for the dog than it's victims.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

Just about all of Stephen King books turned into moves fall into this category.  The books are fair to good and their movies royally stink, in my opinion.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

Belle2Be said:


> Just about ALL of Stephen Kings books. I don't think even the best producer and an infinite budget could make a movie as good as the books though, so it may be an unfair advantage


Did not see this. I'm with ya.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

Who thinks the new version of the Stand will fall into this category? Oh, Hollywood, thanks for nothing.


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## Thayerphotos (Dec 19, 2010)

lacymarankevinmichael said:


> Who thinks the new version of the Stand will fall into this category? Oh, Hollywood, thanks for nothing.


There's a "new" version of The Stand ? Seriously ?


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## xandy3 (Jun 13, 2010)

MartyS said:


> Yet another Stephen King one: *Cujo*
> 
> The dog was a real character in the book, by the end you feel more sorry for the dog than it's victims.


I liked the movie when it came out, because unlike all the Freddy/Jason/Michael Meyers slasher stuff that was around at the time _Cujo_ was something that could really happen...
But aside from that, I completely agree with you. I actually cried for the dog at the end, each time I've read it. Cujo really wanted to be a _good dog._

Plus, there are so many levels to that book, and ways to interpret it...that the movie just didn't (or couldn't) convey...


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

Number one on my list and I don't think it was mentioned here is "Fur"... the horrendous film about photographer Diane Arbus that was quote _inspired_ by Bosworth's excellent biography. As soon as they announced Nicole Kidman had been cast in the lead I knew it would be horrible. I think Nicole is a decent actress but this would be like casting Penelope Cruz to play Grace Kelly, just wrong. Even still she may have been able to carry it off if they had not tried to be so fricken artsy! Diane's life was quite interesting and I don't know why they felt compelled to create this mess of a movie.

 

I actually have a post about a the bio and another good book about her on my  blog today.


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

Ben X, the book which is a story about an autistic guy is turned into a movie about a schizophrenic guy... How they did it, I don't know... Also having a 30 year old guy play a 16 year old doesn't work... loved the book, hate the movie >.<


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## valleycat1 (Mar 15, 2011)

Circle of Friends.  The dynamics of the relationships, development of the main character's strength, and where they cut off the moview only partway into the book.  Even my daughter who was a pre-teen when we saw it (she'd also read the book ahead of time) was incredulous that the movie was a totally different (worse) story.


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## Laura Ruby (Feb 22, 2011)

A lot of good kids' and YA novels get hacked to pieces by Hollywood; ELLA ENCHANTED and THE GOLDEN COMPASS to name a couple.  

I loved the novel THE ROAD, but the movie version of the story was so relentless that not even Viggo could save it. 

STARDUST was TERRIBLE -- yikes.  I usually like DeNiro but he was so miscast.  And the leads were so dull.  

Count me in as one of the people who hated the movie version of the THE SHINING.  Part of what worked so well in the book was the idea that Jack might be able to resist the pull of the hotel (and he sort of does, for a moment).  But one look at Jack Nicholson's Jack and you knew that he was a goner.  Also, I couldn't forgive the replacement of the topiary for a maze, or what they did to Halloran.  

-- Laura


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## GBear (Apr 23, 2009)

Laura Ruby said:


> Count me in as one of the people who hated the movie version of the THE SHINING. Part of what worked so well in the book was the idea that Jack might be able to resist the pull of the hotel (and he sort of does, for a moment). But one look at Jack Nicholson's Jack and you knew that he was a goner. Also, I couldn't forgive the replacement of the topiary for a maze, or what they did to Halloran.
> 
> -- Laura


Hmm, I don't like horror flicks in general, but I put The Shining (along to a somewhat lesser extent with Poltergeist, American Werewolf in London and maybe The Birds) at the top of my list of excellent movies even for people who don't like horror movies.

That said, I didn't read The Shining, and I don't think I've ever even read a Stephen King book, since I tend not to like the supernatural or horror genre in books, either. Does King transcend the genre enough that I should give him a try anyway?


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## Mcfergeson (Apr 3, 2011)

Phantoms, by Dean Koontz, was a marvelous and scary book. The movie was scary for all the wrong reasons. It was a real dog.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

xandy3 said:


> ... Smooth Talk (Joyce Carol Oates' _Where are you Going and Where have You Been?_. Well yeah, they were both short stories but still...
> 
> I understand it was hard to translate to film the way _Where are you Going..._ ended though, but still...
> And the portrayal of the protagonist in the film made you not empathize with her. I like Laura Dern as an actress, but she was not supposed to be annoying, and the character was supposed to be carefree and maybe flirty, but not "a tease." And, Treat Williams was too handsome an actor to play "Arnold Friend."


I really liked that movie but I never read the original.


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## Laura Ruby (Feb 22, 2011)

GBear said:


> Hmm, I don't like horror flicks in general, but I put The Shining (along to a somewhat lesser extent with Poltergeist, American Werewolf in London and maybe The Birds) at the top of my list of excellent movies even for people who don't like horror movies.
> 
> That said, I didn't read The Shining, and I don't think I've ever even read a Stephen King book, since I tend not to like the supernatural or horror genre in books, either. Does King transcend the genre enough that I should give him a try anyway?


I can see why people love film version of The Shining; it wasn't for me, however. (Though I do like both Poltergeist and An American Werewolf in London).

I love horror and the supernatural in books (and movies) so this is a hard question for me to answer. Less terrifying than the supernatural elements in King's books are the very human horrors he points out. You might try reading some of his shorter fiction, like "The Body." (Technically a novella, I think. The movie "Stand by Me" was based on this one).

-- Laura


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## paisanofthedead (Apr 16, 2011)

I have to repeat this, I Am Legend: horrible movie, great book. The same plague haunting some of these books is rampant in horror movie remakes. Take every single Texas Chainsaw Massacre that was redone, They're horrible! They might as well had Leatherface chasing people with a feather duster.


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## candide (Feb 15, 2011)

Forrest Gump. The book was acerbic, biting, witty and very subversive. The movie was limp, sanitised, uncontroversial and moralising. I absolutely hated it.


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## jongoff (Mar 31, 2011)

Someone has already mentioned it, but it deserves double billing. Battlefield Earth.  What Travolta did to that book is a crime, and if it were a just world, they would allow the death penalty for the murder of books by Hollywood.  People might be more careful when making a movie.

I'll add to the list the Jason Bourne movies, not that they were bad, but they had nothing at all in common with the books except the title character's name.  If you're going to make a movie based on a book, shouldn't you actually base it on the book


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

paisanofthedead said:


> I have to repeat this, I Am Legend: horrible movie, great book. The same plague haunting some of these books is rampant in horror movie remakes. Take every single Texas Chainsaw Massacre that was redone, They're horrible! They might as well had Leatherface chasing people with a feather duster.


Hated I am Legend. I'm tired of the new zombie sprinters that have taken hold of Hollywood. They're supposed to be slow.


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## Mjaydakid (Apr 3, 2011)

Relic.
A twist here.  I loved the movie so much I had to buy the book.  I found out that the movie changed everything in the book except the setting.  Even the ending was changed.
I still love the movie, but concider it a separate story from the book.  And I thank it for introducing me to Preston and Childs.


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## paisanofthedead (Apr 16, 2011)

lacymarankevinmichael said:


> Hated I am Legend. I'm tired of the new zombie sprinters that have taken hold of Hollywood. They're supposed to be slow.


Duly noted, I don't think someone who has been dead for so long has the capability to run like Bruce Jenner. Yet, if there was ever an Undead Olympics then athletic zombies would be more appealing. Picture the 100 meter dash with lumbering zombies, the starter pistol is fired and they're off......sort of. I can hear the announcer now "Oh, look there's Bruce Jenner....Recently infected, He's been waiting all his life and afterlife to compete today."


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## Elizabeth Black (Apr 8, 2011)

The remake of "The Haunting" was dreadful. The book The Haunting of Hill House is one of my favorite books. Now, the original "The Haunting" is a fantastic movie that stuck very close to the book. See the original. Skip the remake.


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## Elizabeth Black (Apr 8, 2011)

Daniel Arenson said:


> Starship Troopers


My husband loves that movie as a guilty pleasure. I thought it was funny.


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## emalvick (Sep 14, 2010)

I really think it is difficult for any movie to do a book justice.  Movies generally require abridgement of the original, even if they want to be faithful to the original.  Granted that should excuse them for making a complete disgrace of an original as is often done and referenced in this thread.

I see a lot of dislike towards movies based on Stephen King, but I actually love Shawshank and thought that movie did a decent job of capturing the story.  Then again, I think the shorter book, story, novella format lends itself much better to a script and movie.  I think that is why many of the Childrens Books can do so well in a movie format.

As for the topic of this thread.  I think Sphere (Michael Crichton) was a horrible movie.  This is partially because I loved that book and thought it would be a fantastic movie only to find the movie lacked all the excitement present in the book.  However, that seemed to be typical of Crichton based movies.  I just didn't care for other Crichton books enough to be disappointed by their movies.  The Lost World as discussed earlier was interesting in that I saw the movie first and finding that many elements in the movie were actually plot elements in Jurassic Park that were never in the movie for Jurassic Park.  When I read The Lost World, I actually thought to myself that the book would never have made a good movie, at least not in terms of what Hollywood considers a good movie.  Yet, The Lost World was a fairly good book.


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## Kimberly Van Meter (Apr 22, 2011)

xandy3 said:


> Especially Interview with the Vampire. TC was NOT my idea of Lestat.


Agreed! It was a tragedy! I was so glad they didn't do a film adaptation of the Mayfair Witches (my fav series of all time). Anne Rice is brilliant!

Kimberly V.


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## xandy3 (Jun 13, 2010)

Cuechick said:


> I really liked that movie but I never read the original.


You can probably find the story on the web, if you want to read it. I came across it not to long ago via a google search.


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## SailorMerry (Dec 18, 2010)

Ella Enchanted

Seriously, that was (and still is) my favorite book from my childhood and Hollywood took a powerful, dramatic, magical, romantic, and moving story of a brave girl's struggle and turned it into a kid's rom-com filled with stupid jokes and cheap gags.


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## xandy3 (Jun 13, 2010)

Am I the only one who was disappointed by Harry Potter 7 part 1?  
I don't hate it, I'm just sorely disappointed. 

I realize the film(s) could never match up to the one I visualized as I read the book, but still...
I don't know if it was the moments of bad CGI, the feeling of vagueness since they cut out so much....or what. 

And, really if you're going to cut out half the book anyways...why split it up into two different movies?   

I really hope I'm not as disappointed by HP7 part 2.  *sighs*


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## Nebula7 (Apr 21, 2011)

TH3EE by Ted dekker


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## Seleya (Feb 25, 2011)

Not _horrible_ really, but watching the Lord of the Rings movies (extended version) while reading the book (it had been a few years since the last time), made me realize how much Peter Jackson & C. have changed the _spirit_ of the novel:

Aragorn is indecisive and has to be prodded each step of the way towards claiming his birthright, Elrond has become a liar trying to keep his daughter with him, Faramir is just the ovelooked brother (and a very bad military commander as well), his men are a bunch of thugs beating a bound captive, Gimli is more or less the comic relief, Sam turns back leaving Frodo with Gollum (never!), and I really really hate (and I always have) the 'stew' scene between Aragorn and Eowyn. 'She wants to be a warrior and doesn't know how to cook'... come on! That's silly, gratuitous and really, really grating for me, what purpose does that scene serve, exactly?


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## Alexandra Sokoloff (Sep 21, 2009)

Someone mentioned _Watchers _- I completely agree. Also _Pet Sematery._ Wish Darabont would make that one.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

paisanofthedead said:


> Duly noted, I don't think someone who has been dead for so long has the capability to run like Bruce Jenner. Yet, if there was ever an Undead Olympics then athletic zombies would be more appealing. Picture the 100 meter dash with lumbering zombies, the starter pistol is fired and they're off......sort of. I can hear the announcer now "Oh, look there's Bruce Jenner....Recently infected, He's been waiting all his life and afterlife to compete today."


The slow/fast zombie debate depends on what zombie story you're trying to tell. Fast zombies pretty much leave you with a thriller because there isn't much time for retrospection. I like the zombies slow because it makes it easier for social satire to make its way into the story.


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## brianspringer13 (Apr 24, 2011)

Sleepers, book by Lorenzo Carcaterra, movie by some big time director. 

The book really resonated with me, so maybe I'm being too harsh on the movie, but it did nothing for me. Sort of like Mystic River. One of my favorite books of all time, subtle writing despite its melodramatic intentions, but the movie was like a sledgehammer to the gut, and not in a good way. No subtlety whatsoever.

Springer


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## davmillh (Mar 31, 2011)

Any Stephen King book that has been made into a movie!


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Being a nearly life-long Stephen King fan, for a long, long time you could sum up the good movies made from his books with three words: Carrie, The Shining.  Then, finally, Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile came along.

For the record, I say my own novel, RIG, is a b-movie novel...and would LOVE for SyFy to make it into one of those awful Saturday movies they show (like Sharktopus) or for Roger Corman to turn it into a direct-to-video thing.  I am not above my work being turned into schlock.  I love a good bad movie!


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## jaimee83 (Sep 2, 2009)

Bonfire of the Vanities


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

A good maxim to go by:

Q. Which is best - the book or the movie?
A. Whichever came first.


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

[the] Poor _Twilight _saga...where, I watched it and during all the drama/serious parts I had to fight laughing...something's wrong there *rolls eyes*


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

THE HANDMAID'S TALE by Margaret Atwood is a thought-provoking dystopia about women and their place in the world.

The MOVIE version with Natasha Richardson (whom I like) was just a weird, nonsensical story with a B-movie vibe.  The book's messages didn't translate to the screen, so it just seemed like the strangest movie ever.

Julia


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## Marie August (May 16, 2011)

Jumper. The book seemed to share almost nothing in common with the movie except that the main character was named David and he could teleport. I remember really enjoying the book when I read it years ago, but the movie was just plain awful.


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