Movie Adaptations You Would Like to See

[Mindymoo]

This is a bit different. These aren't movies that exist, but movies you want to exist, either based off of an adaptation of a book or play, or an interesting story in history.

I pitched an idea of Hunter S Thompson's time with the Hell's Angels a couple weeks ago. He wrote a book about them and was ingratiated into their lives for around a year. So much fascinating stuff happens in that book, and the story alone (if done well) would kick the crap out of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

Another pitch is not an adaptation, but a true story of a bear who was enlisted in the Polish army in WWII. When Soviets released Poles from the gulags saying that they could fight the Nazis with them, they said "thanks but no thanks" and took a long journey through the Middle East. In Iran, they purchased a Syrian brown bear cub from a young boy and raised him as their own. They named him Wojtek (pronounced Voytek.) When the Poles met up with the Brits, they were told that they couldn't have a pet on the battlefield with them, so they enlisted Wojtek into the Polish army. He knocked out an Italian spy, who then spilled where all of his troops positions were. Wojtek also carried artillery shells and never dropped a single one. He got paid in double rations, and he loved to drink beer, smoke cigarettes, and wrestle with his humans. When the war was over, Wojtek lived a life of luxury and minor celebrity in Scotland. Many of the Poles who were in his unit moved there too, and would jump into his enclosure to wrestle and cuddle for old time's sake. But keep this movie away from Disney or Steven Spielberg. It is still a war movie, and just because this kickass bear is in it doesn't mean it has to be sappy.

[ruby24]

I would like to see a WWII thriller about the Australian/British spy Nancy Wake. She has a pretty amazing true life story, and with all the movies made about that era, very few center on a female protagonist. It could be awesome, and her story is just begging for a movie. There was one called Charlotte Gray years back with Cate Blanchett, where she was sort of an amalgamation of several WWII female figures including Wake, but it was supposed to be awful, so there's plenty of room to redo it.

[methodwriter85]

There's some vague talk about it, but I really want to see an adaption of Unwind by Neal Shusterman It's about a world where the fight between pro-lifers and pro-abortion was settled by this- though abortion was outlawed, a teenager can be retroactively aborted through "unwinding", where they are broken up into body parts that are then bought up by the highest bidder. If your parents or legal guardians decide to unwind you, you are then sent to Unwinding camps. If you can manage to escape and make it to your 18th birthday, you're home-free. The story follows three Unwinds- Connor, a rebellious teenager with a bad temper, Risa, an orphan who was made "redundant", and Levi, a guy from a religious community where families offer up one of their kids as "tithes" to be unwound.

 

It's a great story and there are supposedly moves to make it, but I don't know how realistic it can be. It would require a huge budget to be done correctly, as well as a shitload of special affects with the varying body parts and the like. I also really don't know how they're going to handle the abortion angle of it.

[ikmccall]

One of my favorite book genres is time travel and I would love to see an adaptation of Jack Finney's Time And Again. (and, no,it's not the same story as the movie with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour).And I would like a reboot of Michael Crichton's Timeline.  And while I'm at it, I would like a reboot of World War Z without the fast zombies and Brad Pitt.

[blueray]

I want to see the Guardian of Time Trilogy by Marianne Curley turned into movies. It's kind of an obscure book series. It follows a group of teens (and some adults) whose job it is to protect time (or history) and make sure it happens the way it's suppose too. They each have super powers and try to balance their job with during regular teen things like going to school. It's a good vs evil story, that has great character development and plot. It is based in Australia so to do the movie the actors should be Australian.

Edited April 9, 2015 by blueray

[Miss Dee]

I'd like to see a good adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time.

[spaceytraci1208]

I'd love to see the Stephen King/Peter Straub collaboration The Talisman on screen...but it'd probably work best as a miniseries.

Edited April 7, 2015 by spaceytraci1208

[magicdog]

I'd love to see an adaptation of the story of Reckless, a Korean racing mare who was bought by the US Marines to carry their artillery through the battles of the Korean War.  She eventually was promoted to Sgt. and when she went stateside she lived her life out carefree at Camp Pendleton.  I remember reading about her story as a kid and was surprised no one had made a movie about her yet!  Maybe it's in development hell?

 

I also would love to see the story of Maximilian Kolbe brought to the screen as well.  When I was a catechist at my parish, I noticed a pile of comic books which told his story.  Kolbe was a priest who saw a vision of the Virgin Mary who offered him two crowns:  a red one for martyrdom and a white one for purity.  Kolbe told her he'd take them both, and then on lived an exemplary life in the priesthood.  He eventually died in Auschwitz  after having sacrificed his life for that of another prisoner who begged the Nazi Commandant to spare him.  Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1982 as the prisoner he saved looked on.  As a Catholic, I'd never heard his story before and I have no reason why!   It's quite a beautiful story of devotion, sacrifice and protecting the weak. 

[methodwriter85]

I'm going to expand this a little to adaptions of life stories/real events we'd like to see...

 

Ross Ulbricht, Creator of Silk Road, Sentenced To Life For Drug Platform

 

Andrew Garfield should SO try to get this made while he's still young enough to pull off the part.

 

Although if it takes awhile, Logan Lerman would be great.

Edited May 30, 2015 by methodwriter85

[spaceytraci1208]

They need to make a live-action "The Jetsons" movie before Danny DeVito gets too old to play Mr. Spacely"

[magicdog]

I'm not sure I'd want a live action Jetsons.  I think it would be better animated - as long as Tiffany doesn't reprise her role as Judy Jetson.  I was so pissed when I heard Janet Waldo had completed her readings for the character for the 1990 film, only to have Tiffany redub them because she was "a thing" at the time.  I suppose today it'd be Taylor Swift.  I also hope the CGI isn't done to distraction. 

[Spartan Girl]

I would kind of like to see an adaptation of one of my favorite novels, Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna. It's a spectacular novel, although the plot is slightly controversial. I don't want to spoil anything for those that haven't read it yet, but one of the main characters does something very horrible that may not translate well to the big screen.

Still, highly recommend the book.

Edited June 30, 2015 by Spartan Girl

[GreekGeek]

I keep hoping A Confederacy of Dunces will someday make it out of development hell. It's been booted around for so long that many of the potential Ignatiuses (Ignatii?) died: John Belushi, John Candy, Chris Farley, Philip Seymour Hoffman--died. 

 

I think Roy Orbison's story would make a good movie. Lots of both heartbreak and triumph, plus terrific music: http://www.royorbison.com/roy-orbison-official-biography/

 

One fascinating challenge would be Sondheim's Assassins. It's not "realistic" in that the assassins and attempted assassins interact with each other across their various time periods, and they're simultaneously in their own time and in some sort of carnival shooting gallery. Movies are much more literal than the stage, so I'd like to see what a creative power would do with the material.

[methodwriter85]

Inside Amazon- A New York Times Article

 

I think this should be the next Alan Sorkin/David Fincher collaboration.

[methodwriter85]

I found this video about a companion service that pays guys to act as the "Dream Guy" to women, called ManServants.

 

 

This is DYING to be a romantic comedy.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I keep hoping A Confederacy of Dunces will someday make it out of development hell. 

 

The Cather in the Rye has never been adapted either, which I think is weird:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye#Attempted_adaptations

Edited April 17, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[GreekGeek]

The Cather in the Rye has never been adapted either, which I think is weird:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye#Attempted_adaptations

I can kind of understand Salinger's point in refusing film rights: so much of the power of the book lies in Holden's narration, which wouldn't translate well to film.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm a fan of the movie Igby Goes Down -- I would never declare it as reaching the quality of Catcher or anything - but the themes remind me of the book.

[ChromaKelly]

If I knew anything about optioning a book and making a movie, I would get Wench: A Novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. It's one of those books that stuck with me and I could not stop thinking about after reading. It's set prior to the Civil War and looks at the lives of enslaved women who were the "favorites" of their masters. After I read it, I was mentally casting the movie.
I would love to see Hamilton as a movie, but I more just want to see a good filming of the staged production than an actual movie adaptation.

[Blergh]

Anyone up for "All in the Family" or "Barney Miller" adapted as movies? "Get Smart"  was actually fairly good as an adaptation.

[methodwriter85]

On 4/18/2016 at 1:21 PM, ChromaKelly said:

If I knew anything about optioning a book and making a movie, I would get Wench: A Novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. It's one of those books that stuck with me and I could not stop thinking about after reading. It's set prior to the Civil War and looks at the lives of enslaved women who were the "favorites" of their masters. After I read it, I was mentally casting the movie.
I would love to see Hamilton as a movie, but I more just want to see a good filming of the staged production than an actual movie adaptation.

As I said in the race thread, any Hollywood production of Hamilton would completely ignore the whole "POC are playing Founding Fathers" deal. It just would. Maaayybbbe have a Latino guy playing Hamilton, but he'd just be a token.

[ChromaKelly]

4 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

As I said in the race thread, any Hollywood production of Hamilton would completely ignore the whole "POC are playing Founding Fathers" deal. It just would. Maaayybbbe have a Latino guy playing Hamilton, but he'd just be a token.

I don't think Lin-Manuel Miranda would allow a white Hamilton movie.

[Trini]

Speaking of... is the 'In the Heights' movie still in development?

[methodwriter85]

On 5/4/2016 at 8:29 PM, ChromaKelly said:

I don't think Lin-Manuel Miranda would allow a white Hamilton movie.

He wouldn't, which is why it'd be interesting to see which Hollywood studio would actually take the material.

Anyway, I found this article about a hiker who disappeared from the Appalachian Trail and survived for weeks before succumbing.

Hiker Who Died After Disappearance Lived For Weeks; Wrote Journal

Oh my god, Meryl Streep would rock the ever-living shit out of this story. And she's the right age,

Edited May 26, 2016 by methodwriter85

[Lugal]

Personally I would love to see an adaptation of Allen Steele's V-S Day, a WWII alternate history where the US and Germany are racing to make spacecraft rather than A-bombs.  HBO was interested in the original short story "Goddard's People" but nothing ever came of it.  And if it were up to me, I would cast Aldis Hodge (Hardison from Leverage) as Jack Cube.

I'm also surprised with the popularity of fantasy that no one ever made a decent movie version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Although given how Gods of Egypt turned out, that may be for the best (but is still think the Horus-Set story would make a cool movie).

[methodwriter85]

If the planned Eleanor and Park adaption ever happens, I'm totally picturing Barb from Stranger Things as Eleanor.

Unfortunately, I think if it does happen, they'll completely ignore what Eleanor is supposed to look like and cast a conventionally pretty and thin girl, like they'll whitewash Park.

[methodwriter85]

After watching Shannon Purser in Sierra Burgess is a Liar, I'm completely taking that back. I don't think she could handle that role.

Although Eleanor and Park still doesn't seem to be having any movement.

I'd love to see the song "Christmas Wrapping" adapted into a movie. I mean, hey, "Honey Honey" basically formed the spine of Mama Mia 2.

[AimingforYoko]

4 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I mean, hey, "Honey Honey" basically formed the spine of Mama Mia 2.

Emma Thompson wrote Last Christmas based on the Wham! song.

[methodwriter85]

Right. I think in the right hands, "Christmas Wrapping" would make a fantastic romantic comedy.

Edited July 22, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Danny Franks]

I'd love to see an adaptation of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. It's been bounced around by a few studios, I think, but no one has done it. It could be really great - an overt exploration of Jewish mythology and the birth of comic books, crossed with the Second World War and the Cold War.

Edited July 23, 2019 by Danny Franks

[methodwriter85]

I could see this as a quirky indie dramedy starring Michelle Williams and Ben Foster.

[Robert Lynch]

On 4/17/2016 at 10:21 PM, GreekGeek said:

I can kind of understand Salinger's point in refusing film rights: so much of the power of the book lies in Holden's narration, which wouldn't translate well to film.

I kind of wished there was a movie going on with Catcher In The Rye, but knowing JD Salinger, it would never happen at all. Too bad. I like the 1950s setting and just to hear the music from that time period would be cool to hear.