February 15, 2011

YA books to film...good idea? bad idea?


I've been hearing rumblings about this for awhile, but now it seems like it's official. Summit Entertainment is bringing Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower to the screen. Not only that, but it will star Ms. Hermione Granger herself, Emma Watson as well as Mr. Percy Jackson, Logan Lerman.

I have mixed feelings about this. I mean, bringing teen novels to the screen is nothing new. Harry Potter, anyone? Filmmakers' success in doing so, however, seems a bit of a mixed bag. I'll give you an example.

For years after reading Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate, I thought it would make a great film. I even toyed with the idea of creating a screenplay myself but am far too lazy to embark on such a quest. Imagine my delight when I heard that it was finally being made into a movie. Imagine my dismay when I actually saw the film. Soooo disappointing! Soooo bad.

On the other hand, I think that Peter Sollett did an excellent job directing the film version of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Michael Cera and Kat Dennings really brought Nick and Norah to life so much so that I think I actually enjoy the film more than the book.

So I'll look forward to The Perks of Being a Wallflower with a grain of salt. If you haven't yet had the chance to read it, I recommend you do so before the film, good or bad, comes to town. There's something special about reading a story before seeing its adaptation on screen. But that's a conversation for another time.

If you'd like to see what book/film pairings the Library has, take a gander here. Otherwise I'd love to hear what some of your favorite adaptations are.

2 comments:

  1. I don't like when they turn books into movies. That's probably because I always have such a clear picture of it in my mind and anything else just doesn't seem good enough. However, I am particularly worried about the Perks of Being a Wallflower because I think it deals with some dificult themes that won't fit well into a Pg13 movie

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  2. Good point. It will be interesting to see how much they tone down some of the more R-rated bits of the book.

    I didn't mention this in the original post, but the author of the book--Stephen Chbosky-- not only wrote the screenplay but is directing the film as well! If anyone is capable of staying true to the book, it's the man who wrote it in the first place.

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