Books We'd Love To Be Movies

[Spartan Girl]

Let's start a wishlist for all the books we think would make great movies!

At the moment, I would really love an adaptation of I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon.  There have already been so many A/U fantasies of Anastasia Romanov surviving that it would be great to get a movie that was (close to) the actual truth -- that Anna Anderson was a fraud.

[anna0852]

I'd love to see "Band of Sisters" by Elizabeth Norman get the HBO miniseries treatment from Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg. 

[Black Knight]

I'd love to see Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds made into a limited-run series. It's an episodic book, so that format would be perfect for it. But it would have to be for a channel or streaming provider that's willing to pony up the budget to do it right.

[Constant Viewer]

On 2/20/2019 at 12:47 PM, anna0852 said:

I'd love to see "Band of Sisters" by Elizabeth Norman get the HBO miniseries treatment from Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg

So would I, but I think they are focusing on the Bomber pilots next, based on Donald Miller's Masters of Air.

[Spartan Girl]

Kindred by Octavia Butler. Why the hell isn't this a movie already?!

Edited March 17, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[DearEvette]

11 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Kindred by Octavia Butler. Why the hell isn't this a movie already?!

Well we do need another Lord of The Rings  and another Dune first.  🙄

But seriously, though, I'd love this.  I had read somewhere than Ava Duvernay was adapting her book Dawn as a movie, not sure what stage that project is in.

[HazelEyes4325]

The book I'd like to see as a movie, The Silent Patient, apparently IS going to be a movie (thanks to Brad Pitt).  Looking forward to that one!

[PaulaO]

On 3/18/2019 at 12:02 AM, HazelEyes4325 said:

The book I'd like to see as a movie, The Silent Patient, apparently IS going to be a movie (thanks to Brad Pitt).  Looking forward to that one!

I recently read the book and loved it. It could be a great movie.

[Black Knight]

On 3/17/2019 at 10:02 PM, HazelEyes4325 said:

The book I'd like to see as a movie, The Silent Patient, apparently IS going to be a movie (thanks to Brad Pitt).  Looking forward to that one!

Well, let's hope he doesn't end up having to make all the compromises on that one that he did to adapt World War Z, which ended up having absolutely nothing in common with the book other than that both had zombies.

[Sharpie66]

I want to see World War Z done right, as a miniseries with most of the book’s stories included.  

[Danny Franks]

I'd love to see The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay turned into a movie - A period movie that explores the birth of the comic book industry with respect, while also still including stories of love and loss, and the delving into the United States Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency comic book hearings.

[nokat]

I'd like to see any of the science fiction books that got me through childhood, made into movies or series. Enough of the Marvel comic books that boys were into.

Books I was in to, Andre Norton, Isaac Asimov (I know, I Robot), Sherri Tepper, and my favorite, Rosemary Kirstein.
 

[Black Knight]

18 hours ago, nokat said:

my favorite, Rosemary Kirstein.
 

If only she weren't nearly as slow as GRRM to finish a series...sigh. Though maybe in her case, if she got a TV deal it might spur her to finish the series before the show caught up?!

[nokat]

9 hours ago, Black Knight said:

If only she weren't nearly as slow as GRRM to finish a series...sigh. Though maybe in her case, if she got a TV deal it might spur her to finish the series before the show caught up?!

I know. I've been waiting on the next book. Sigh. 
 

How could I forget Octavia Butler and Kindred? She's on my list too.
 

[nokat]

The Wheel of Time books I think are being made into a series. Snorts and tugs my braid.
 

[DearEvette]

3 hours ago, nokat said:

Snorts and tugs my braid

Ok Nynaeve.  LOL.  Even if you hadn't prefaced it by 'Wheel of Time' I would have totally known what you were talking about.

* tapping fingers impatiently*  still waiting for the long rumored Rivers of London adaptation to happen!  I was on a twitter discussion where some great fan casting was happening.  Someone suggested Viola Davis for Mother Thames and Luke Evans as Nightingale.  Also Ashleigh Murray as Beverly Brook. I think Peter would be the hardest part to cast.  Someone suggested Aldis Hodge but he isn't biracial and don't think that'd fly for some purists.  And I have had Ruth Negga cast as Lady Tyburn in my head so long that I think I'd pass out if that actually happened.

Also I love Space opera and Star Trek/Star Wars has dominated sci-fi movies/tv for so long.  I have loving the adapation of the Expanse series.  It would be nice to see more just pure space opera/space adventure on tv.  Maybe Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series.  Miles is such a fantastic character and is easily one of my top 5 fictional character favorites ever.  The casting for him would have to be on point for anything to work ever. 

I'd also love to see David Weber's Honor Harrington series.  Great opportunity for an actress of Asian descent.  And a tv adaptation can bypass all the technical jargon (kinda like I do when I read the books).

Edited March 26, 2019 by DearEvette

[nokat]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Maybe Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series.

I'd be up for that. Honor Harrington too.
 

[blackwing]

I listened to the audiobook of Artemis, by Andy Weir, the author of "The Martian".  It was read by Rosario Dawson.  It's a mystery set on a colony on the moon called Artemis.  Since she was doing the narration, I thought it would be great if this book was turned into a movie and the main character Jazz was played by Dawson.  I just went to Wikipedia and found out that it indeed is being made into a movie!  Very happy at this news.  Now if only Dawson could be signed on to star.

[thecatmeows]

I've been wanting to see Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey as a movie since I read it five or six years ago. It brought me out of a long reading drought, and I'll forever be grateful for that. As I read it, I envisioned it as a movie or TV series. What's unique about Bright Shiny Morning is the protagonist is really the City of Los Angeles. There are many characters, many who only appear once although there are a few frequent faces who I grew attached to knowing how their story would end. I'm typically not a fan of books with a ton of characters, but this is the exception.

[blackwing]

I wandered into the forum for the upcoming show "Big Sky" and discovered that it is based on C.J. Box's Cassie Dewell novels.  I've never read any of these but have read all of the Joe Pickett books.  I love the Joe Pickett books and I think a TV series or movie based on these books would be amazing.  I know that the first book was supposedly optioned but I haven't heard anything more about it.

As long as Matthew McConaughey isn't Joe Pickett.  He completely ruined Dirk Pitt.

[Blergh]

One must be careful what one wishes, as I spent spent decades hoping for A Wrinkle in Time to be made into a movie.  To say that it disappointed and diverged from the book's intent was only the start of the problems.  

[DearEvette]

Yeah,  adaptations are such a crapshoot.  I think the only time they can really work is if the creative in charge has a real love of the original work and understand its importance to the fandom and has some level of creative control over the output. 

I was super skeptical about the adaptation that Shonda Rhimes is doing for Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series on Netflix.  But from some stuff I read, she actually read the books and loved them.  And then the casting came out and I started to feel better.  And them we got pics and a trailer and now I am very excited.

Same with the Wheel of Time Adaptation.  Long past time, honestly.  But that series is what, 14 books long?  And has a huge cast and covers majors ground and has some major lag in the middle.  But again, the casting news started trickling out and the creators sound like they have read the books and understand what makes for good tv while keeping the core story and characters.  I must say the casting so far has been a revelation and the look of the actors completely fit the characters so I am also cautiously optimistic there.

On the other hand, I was over the moon when I heard there was an adaptation of the Terry Pratchett's City Watch books from his Discworld.  Saw the trailer and I legit wanted to cry.  It is terribad!  Nothing about the characters look right.  Nothing at all.  Not even a little bit. 

[Vanderboom]

5 hours ago, Blergh said:

One must be careful what one wishes, as I spent spent decades hoping for A Wrinkle in Time to be made into a movie.  To say that it disappointed and diverged from the book's intent was only the start of the problems.  

I know. I may never forgive Oprah for the disapointment. I gave Ava Duvernay a pass on this because I love most of her work.

[Spartan Girl]

Although it would be very controversial, Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandenna would make an excellent Netflix miniseries.

[proserpina65]

On 11/5/2020 at 3:27 PM, Vanderboom said:

I know. I may never forgive Oprah for the disapointment. I gave Ava Duvernay a pass on this because I love most of her work.

I blame Ava Duvernay and Oprah equally for that disaster.  They both completely misunderstood what made the book so wonderful.

Edited November 21, 2020 by proserpina65

[Scatterbrained]

A League of Extraordinary Women there are currently only two books with plans for two more.  I recently read them and really, REALLY loved them.  The are historical fiction romance novels following four women who form a friendship while working for women’s rights in the University town of Oxford, England.  

[OtterMommy]

As I said in the currently reading thread, I think The Arctic Fury would be an amazing movie.  It is an adventure story and a courtoom drama, both of which play well on the screen.  It is also a survival story, which tend to do well.  And, of course, the cast of characters are about 95% women.  There are some scenes I think could be very effective in a visual form and even what bothered me about the book, the sometimes over the top courtroom antics, would do well on screen.

[Haleth]

I'm about half way through Things in Jars by Jess Kidd.  It's a quirky story about a female detective/forensic scientist in 1840s England who is trying to locate the young child of a baronet.  This little girl may or may not be a mermaid.  The detective's sidekicks are a 7' person of ambiguous gender and the snarky ghost of a dead boxer.  So far it's a lot of fun.

This one. It was creepy fun. 

[DearEvette]

@GHScorpiosRule have you heard the news?  Nora Roberts' Brazen Virtue (on of her earliest mass markets) is being made into a Netflix movie starring Alyssa Milano?  I personally would not have gone with that book or even Alyssa Milano but at least one of her books is being adapted to Netflix instead of Lifetime.  Hopefully they'll do it justice.

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

@GHScorpiosRule have you heard the news?  Nora Roberts' Brazen Virtue (on of her earliest mass markets) is being made into a Netflix movie starring Alyssa Milano?  I personally would not have gone with that book or even Alyssa Milano but at least one of her books is being adapted to Netflix instead of Lifetime.  Hopefully they'll do it justice.

I did! And unlike the assholes on Facebook, who lost their minds and filled Nora's page with vitriol, and threats to BURN Nora's books because of this casting (due to Alyssa's politics), I like Alyssa. Always have. But I'm conflicted. Because NONE of Nora's books that made it to television were good. Going back to that horrid CBS adaptation of Sanctuary with Melissa Gilbert/Costa Mandylor, where Belle was portrayed as some child raping slut, to the horrid Lifetime movies. I mean, they hired botoxed up Heather Locklear to play Reece in Angels Fall! And the actor they hired to play Brody, played him as some happy go lucky dude, when he was a broody asshole most times. But in a Nora way, which of course meant I loved him! Of course, these crazies also said they would no longer buy/read any more of Nora's books-as if she has any say in the casting after she sells the rights!

But Nora ripped them a new one and it was Glorious. If you're a fan of Nora, you know she doesn't suffer any fools or intolerance.

AHEM.

Thing is, Brazen Virtue is the sequel to Sacred Sins. Who will they cast to play Ben and Tess? And if they're not well known, if Netflix does Sacred Sins, will they cast different actors? And what about Jackson? (That's the anal retentive in me!) Because Jackson is supposed to be this six foot four/five Paul Bunyan type with RED hair and beard.

Then there's production--this is set in Georgetown. Will they get it right? Or fuck it up and just use one or two stock footage?

Hollywood Reporter already got the blurb wrong. Because Grace was a successful mystery writer, but she's NOT a detective or whatever the blurb said how she solved mysteries as well as writing!

Why no, I haven't read this book umpteen times!🤣😂

[scarynikki12]

Brazen Virtue was never a favorite so I doubt I'll watch it. I am, however, rooting for it because I love Sacred Sins and the success of one could lead to the adaptation of the other. I would assume that SS would be presented as the sequel since it's cleaner that way and, from what I remember, all we get in terms of continuity is that Ben and Tess have married and she's pregnant. I don't think there's anything in BV, story-wise, that depends on being second to SS right?

Even though I'm not likely to watch my hope for BV is the same that I have for a potential SS adaptation: the person in charge (director, producer, whoever) understands how to make a thriller. If the person in charge doesn't know how to do a thriller then there's no point.

[DearEvette]

I honestly wished they had done Sacred SIns first.  It was one of my very favorites because it was one of her first real suspense novels (an the first of her Oxymoron titles). I mean, come on a serial killer who uses a surplice to strangle women? All those ominous religious overtones going on?  Actually if I had my pick, I'd love to see Carnal Innocence adapted.

You mention Melissa Gilbert and Heather Locklear as bad casting choices.  And that is why I would not have gone with Alyssa Milano.  For some reason the casting go-to for her books seems to be these same sorts of actress -- those who have had older tv series but haven't done anything in awhile and are of a certain age and have slipped to D-list.  Her heroines are usually in their mid-to-late twenties (Alyssa is 48).  The casting is always just so wrong for her stuff.  I wish they had taken a page out of the Bridgerton book and had gone with up-and-comers even if they hadn't had a lot of name recognition.

But I honestly think Netflix will do a much better job than Lifetime. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, scarynikki12 said:

I would assume that SS would be presented as the sequel since it's cleaner that way and, from what I remember, all we get in terms of continuity is that Ben and Tess have married and she's pregnant. I don't think there's anything in BV, story-wise, that depends on being second to SS right?

Except for the fact that Jackson is single in Sacred Sins; and was half way in love with Tess. Though the romance was very low key in this one, Jackson gave Ben the kick in the ass he needed. And if those who haven't read the books or aren't familiar, will wonder what happened to Grace?

I suspect they'll update it to Ben's brother dying in Afghanistan/Iraq, since Vietnam would make it dated.

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

You mention Melissa Gilbert and Heather Locklear as bad casting choices.  And that is why I would not have gone with Alyssa Milano.  For some reason the casting go-to for her books seems to be these same sorts of actress -- those who have had older tv series but haven't done anything in awhile and are of a certain age and have slipped to D-list.  Her heroines are usually in their mid-to-late twenties (Alyssa is 48).  The casting is always just so wrong for her stuff.  I wish they had taken a page out of the Bridgerton book and had gone with up-and-comers even if they hadn't had a lot of name recognition.

I totally agree. But it's not as if Alyssa disappeared into obscurity. She was in that show Mistresses, I think it was? from a few years ago. And she's got the kind of face/bone structure that makes her look younger than she is.

That aside, I'd rather they go with unknowns. Also, there's nothing on imdb; she seems to be the first one cast.

But I'm very skeptical. All because I've been burned one too many times. It's why I REFUSED to watch Carnal Innocence, which is one of my favorite books! Yes, Gabriel Anwar played Caroline.

[DearEvette]

I have never successfully sat through a Nora Roberts tv adaption.  The longest I got was that one with Leann Rhimes.  It was horrible.  Just couldn't.  Had to tap out at 20 mins.

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

I have never successfully sat through a Nora Roberts tv adaption.  The longest I got was that one with Leann Rhimes.  It was horrible.  Just couldn't.  Had to tap out at 20 mins.

Northern Lights. Horrible. Ghastly.

[scarynikki12]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Except for the fact that Jackson is single in Sacred Sins; and was half way in love with Tess. Though the romance was very low key in this one, Jackson gave Ben the kick in the ass he needed. And if those who haven't read the books or aren't familiar, will wonder what happened to Grace?

Oh I know but they'd swap it so that Grace and Jackson are the established couple if SS were to be the sequel. Jackson was mildly into Tess but there wasn't a triangle or anything. He can just kick Ben's ass as a married man instead of a single one.

Is Brazen Virtue Alyssa's favorite and that's why it got the green light? I'm also assuming that her playing Grace is contingent on this happening at all but I'd rather her be in a producer role and leave the part available for another actress.

I forgot to add in my earlier post: if you get some decent people involved then most of Nora's Oxymoron series (perfect title) would make for great movie/miniseries thrillers. My three favorites are Genuine Lies, Carnal Innocence, and Sacred Sins so I'd vote for them but any would work in the right hands. But, as mentioned, Nora adaptations tend to go poorly.

Given the HUGE success of Bridgerton I would also include the Cordina series as a potentially good adaptation. Actually, a few of her earlier series are connected to each other so, if Netflix were willing (and could get the MacGregor rights), doing simultaneous series with select characters crossing over (Chantal to Cordina, Reed to MacGregor, Freddie and Nick to O'Hurley, Davidov to Stanislaski, etc) could be really cool.

[Spartan Girl]

I would love it if The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen was made into a movie. It’s a retelling of Turandot and in my opinion is way better than the original plot of the opera.

And since Circe is getting the HBOMAX miniseries treatment, how about one for The Song of Achilles? That would be spectacular.

Edited February 4, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[Wiendish Fitch]

I would love for the Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale to be a movie or TV series. The Goose Girl is absolutely wonderful, one of the best fantasy novels of the last 20 years.

I think a film version of Number the Stars would be lovely. If Wikipedia is to believed, Sean Astin has been trying to get one greenlit for ages. Hopefully Lois Lowry has forgiven the hatchet job adaptation of The Giver from a few years back to give it the go-ahead (I mean, the recent adaptation of The Willoughbys was quite good, so why not?)

I normally hate remakes, but since the 2015 film version was a total shit show, I think Ron Rash's Serena deserves one more chance (I just love the book so darn much). I'm thinking HBO miniseries starring either Jessica Chastain, Elizabeth Debicki, or Emma Stone. Remake bad stuff, not good stuff.

The Blue Castle is the most underrated L.M. Montgomery book, IMO, and I would love to see an adaptation. It's so rare when stories handle themes of women with early mid-life crises correctly.

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 1/27/2021 at 10:44 PM, scarynikki12 said:

Is Brazen Virtue Alyssa's favorite and that's why it got the green light? I'm also assuming that her playing Grace is contingent on this happening at all but I'd rather her be in a producer role and leave the part available for another actress.

I have no idea. And I think she's executive producer on it? Anyhoo, there's nothing on imdb; she's the only that's been cast. And hooboy! Nora ain't got any more fucks to give, with her FB page deluged with vitriolic, nasty posts about hatred against Alyssa. It's no wonder why Nora is my hero.

And of course talking about this, I sat my ass down and started reading Sacred Sins, and found myself laughing my ass off at the passage between Ed and Ben in the car--with Ed listening to Tanya Tucker and Ben brooding. It's so realistic and the dialogue is how real, relatable people talk! Here it is:

"That's fifteen," Ed said mildly.  "You ain't gonna get anywhere if you keep stewing about that press conference."

"I'm not stewing about anything. I like to smoke." As proof, he drew deep, but resisted blowing the smoke in Ed's direction. "It's one of the few great pleasures of mankind."

"Right up there with getting drunk and throwing up on your shoes."

"My shoes are clean, Jackson. I remember someone toppling like a goddamn redwood when he downed half a gallon of vodka and carrot juice."

"I was just going to take a nap."

"Yeah, right on your face.  If I hadn't caught you--and nearly given myself a hernia in the process--you'd have broken that big nose of yours.  What the hell are you smiling at?"

If you're bitching, you're not feeling sorry for yourself.  You know, Ben, she handled herself real good."

"Who said she didn't?" Ben's teeth ground into the filter as he took another drag. "And who said I was thinking about her anyway?"

"Who?"

"Tess."

"I never mentioned her name." Ed gunned the engine as a light turned amber, and blinked through it as it switched to red.

"Don't play games with me, and that light was red."

"Yellow."

"It was red, you colorblind sonofabitch, and someone should take your license away.  I take my life in my hands every time I get in the same car with you.  I ought to have a suitcase full of commendations."

*****

"What do you know about a woman's mind? The last one you dated had the IQ of a soft-boiled egg.  And what is this crap we're listening to?"

Ed smiled, pleased to have his partner back on track. "Tanya Tucker."

"Jesus." Ben slid down in the seat and closed his eyes.

Me: 🤣😂🤣

Don't JUDGE ME!

Edited February 4, 2021 by GHScorpiosRule

[Ohiopirate02]

5 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I have no idea. And I think she's executive producer on it? Anyhoo, there's nothing on imdb; she's the only that's been cast. And hooboy! Nora ain't got any more fucks to give, with her FB page deluged with vitriolic, nasty posts about hatred against Alyssa. It's no wonder why Nora is my hero.

And of course talking about this, I sat my ass down and started reading Sacred Sins, and found myself laughing my ass off at the passage between Ed and Ben in the car--with Ed listening to Tanya Tucker and Ben brooding. It's so realistic and the dialogue is how real, relatable people talk! Here it is:

"That's fifteen," Ed said mildly.  "You ain't gonna get anywhere if you keep stewing about that press conference."

"I'm not stewing about anything. I like to smoke." As poroof, he drew deep, but resisted blowing the smoke in Ed's direction. "It's one of the few great pleasures of mankind."

"Right up there with getting drunk and throwing up on your shoes."

"My shoes are clean, Jackson. I remember someone toppling like a goddamn redwood when he downed half a gallon of vodka and carrot juice."

"I was just going to take a nap."

"Yeah, right on your face.  If I hadn't caught you--and nearly given myself a hernia in the process--you'd have broken that big nose of yours.  What the hell are you smiling at?"

If you're bitching, you're not feeling sorry for yourself.  You know, Ben, she handled herself real good."

"Who said she didn't?" Ben's teeth ground into the filter as he took another drag. "And who said I was thinking about her anyway?"

"Who?"

"Tess."

"I never mentioned her name." Ed gunned the engine as a light turned amber, and blinked through it as it switched to red."

"Don't play games with me, and that light was red."

"Yellow."

"It was red, you colorblind sonofabitch, and someone should take your license away.  I take my life in my hands every time I get in the same car with you.  I out to have a suitcase full of commendations."

*****

"What do you know about a woman's mind? The last one you dated had the IQ of a soft-boiled egg.  And what is this crap we're listening to?"

Ed smiled, pleased to have his partner back on track. "Tanya Tucker."

"Jesus." Ben slid down in the seat and closed his eyes.

Me: 🤣😂🤣

Don't JUDGE ME!

That passage makes me want to pick up the book, and I rarely read contemporary romantic suspense.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

That passage makes me want to pick up the book, and I rarely read contemporary romantic suspense.  

It's one of my favorites. I just love the characters. Ben has issues with psychiatrists, so I love when he finds out that Tess is one and says sarcastically, "You're a Shrink?" And Tess, just snaps right back "You're a cop?" I love that Nora rarely creates heroines or heroes who are TSTL (Too Stupid To Live). That's why I wish, whoever approached Nora, had bought the rights to both books. With Sacred Sins being first. Because we do see Ben and Tess get involved in the murder/mystery/investigation, with call backs to the story/murder from their story.

Ask @DearEvette or @scarynikki12 or @BkWurm1 if ya don't believe me! 😁 You know, because I'm biased.

Edited February 4, 2021 by GHScorpiosRule

[BkWurm1]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:45 AM, Wiendish Fitch said:

 

The Blue Castle is the most underrated L.M. Montgomery book, IMO, and I would love to see an adaptation. It's so rare when stories handle themes of women with early mid-life crises correctly.

I popped in to support GHSCORPIOSRULE but this caught my eye as well and YES!!!! This book reads almost as if it was written in the modern era. 

Also, it's entertaining as hell.  And who doesn't love a good underdog story?

 

 

Edited February 6, 2021 by BkWurm1

[Wiendish Fitch]

19 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

I popped in to support GHSCORPIOSRULE but this caught my eye as well and YES!!!! This book reads almost as if it was written in the modern era. 

Also, it's entertaining as hell.  And who doesn't love a good underdog story?

 

 

Valancy Sterling is fabulous: snarky, vulnerable, romantic, and proof that, no, society, life for a woman doesn't end at 30!!

[BkWurm1]

On 2/4/2021 at 3:22 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

It's one of my favorites. I just love the characters. Ben has issues with psychiatrists, so I love when he finds out that Tess is one and says sarcastically, "You're a Shrink?" And Tess, just snaps right back "You're a cop?" I love that Nora rarely creates heroines or heroes who are TSTL (Too Stupid To Live). That's why I wish, whoever approached Nora, had bought the rights to both books. With Sacred Sins being first. Because we do see Ben and Tess get involved in the murder/mystery/investigation, with call backs to the story/murder from their story.

Ask @DearEvette or @scarynikki12 or @BkWurm1 if ya don't believe me! 😁 You know, because I'm biased.

Nora Roberts writes reliably solid characters and stories.  My complaint is too often when they have been made into movies they get the ten dollar treatment and that's reflected in imperfectly cast actresses that are there because their name is known not because they are the right ones for the part but even more than that, the shoestring budgets and rushed production values seen and felt in bumpy screen plays and weird directorial choices and scenes that are rushed to get done, not done correctly. 

I want a Nora Roberts book or series to get the love and INVESTMENT that Bridgerton received.  And I'm hopeful that it's success will spill over. And that the Netflix produced movie will be good but without Shonda's name behind it, will it?   Romances (of ALL plotlines and varieties) rarely get taken seriously.  They, with rare exceptions, have been deemed only deserving of the Hallmark or Lifetime Channel treatment, spit out at a rapid pace knowing the audience just doesn't have much choice when it comes to quality.  Netflix has now been doing it's own line of just slightly better quality movies.  Do they see Brazen Virtue as important enough to get right?

The Romance label really only means we are getting a happy ending for the couple (or happy enough, lol).  That's the promise made before I open the book. It should not mean people get to write off the quality of the story told before that end point. People are there for the journey and Nora Roberts uses love and romance as a way to further deepen the connection of her characters to each other and to the reader but it's only an aspect of the tale.  She writes everything from action, sci fi and fantasy, sweeping family sagas, who-dunnits, suspense, odes to search and rescue dogs, police procedurals, cozy small town tales, ghosts of the past, even what I'd call horror.  Her prolific body of work is brimming with possibilities for movies and multiple tv season series. But so far I don't think anything that has been optioned and taken from the written medium to the visual, put the right amount of work in before the end product was finished.   

But I'm dying to see it done.  WIll it be done this time?  Yeah, I want to believe but do I?

 

Edited February 6, 2021 by BkWurm1

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Nora Roberts writes reliably solid characters and stories.  My complaint is too often when they have been made into movies they get the ten dollar treatment and that's reflected in imperfectly cast actresses that are there because their name is known not because they are the right ones for the part but even more than that, the shoestring budgets and rushed production values seen and felt in bumpy screen plays and weird directorial choices and scenes that are rushed to get done, not done correctly. 

I want a Nora Roberts book or series to get the love and INVESTMENT that Bridgerton received.  And I'm hopeful that it's success will spill over. And that the Netflix produced movie will be good but without Shonda's name behind it, will it?   Romances (of ALL plotlines and varieties) rarely get taken seriously.  They, with rare exceptions, have been deemed only deserving of the Hallmark or Lifetime Channel treatment, spit out at a rapid pace knowing the audience just doesn't have much choice when it comes to quality.  Netflix has now been doing it's own line of just slightly better quality movies.  Do they see Brazen Virtue as important enough to get right?

The Romance label really only means we are getting a happy ending for the couple (or happy enough, lol).  That's the promise made before I open the book. It should not mean people get to write off the quality of the story told before that end point. People are there for the journey and Nora Roberts uses love and romance as a way to further deepen the connection of her characters to each other and to the reader but it's only an aspect of the tale.  She writes everything from action, sci fi and fantasy, sweeping family sagas, who-dunnits, suspense, odes to search and rescue dogs, police procedurals, cozy small town tales, ghosts of the past, even what I'd call horror.  Her prolific body of work is brimming with possibilities for movies and multiple tv season series. But so far I don't think anything that has been optioned and taken from the written medium to the visual, put the right amount of work in before the end product was finished.   

But I'm dying to see it done.  WIll it be done this time?  Yeah, I want to believe but do I?

 

Unfortunately most of the time when books get made into movies that's exactly what happens. The quality isn't that good and/or they change stuff that makes doesn't work. Lifetime has been making VC Andrews books into movies the last few years and none of them have really been what they should be. There are important details in the books that don't end up in the movies. Like Heaven's hair color which is important its a clue to who her father really is. Or Cathy in the Flowers in the Attic knowing her mother was lying about baking the pie to show she always had her mother's number. Ah, no Corinne had started out a mom who loved her kids that's what made her part in what happen so shocking. The only times it seems like they get it right is either when the author is able to make it happen or if the producer or screenwriter is a fan of the book or books so they will make it the way it should be or as close as you can get. 

[BkWurm1]

On 2/6/2021 at 5:14 PM, andromeda331 said:

The only times it seems like they get it right is either when the author is able to make it happen or if the producer or screenwriter is a fan of the book or books so they will make it the way it should be or as close as you can get. 

Visual media is so very different than what can be done in a book so I think it takes that showrunner/producer/screenwriter being the fan for it to have a shot even more so than if the author is there since it's a learned skill to translate books to screenplays.  I love Nora but I don't have evidence she'd be an expert at how to make it work.  That's sometimes the most glaring "wrong" thing in a book to movie situation, putting in something that visually doesn't work without all the set done with inner monologues. 

When I was younger I held book to movies to a higher standard.  I wanted the book to come alive scene for scene and word for word.  I still want a lot of that lol but I've accepted that no book can be fully realized in a movie without a lot of cuts.  Give me a mini series and it's a lot more doable as BBC's Pride and Prejudice proved.  But that's not normally well, the norm, lol.  I've learned to accept a lot of cuts as long as the feel and intent of the book is still there.  And frankly, I'll even take something that doesn't entirely fit the feel and intent as long as the end product ends up good in it's own right.  Though that is a VERY rare thing.

[scarynikki12]

I think our best bet is to hope that either Shonda or a member of her production team turns out to be a huge Nora fan.

I am legit surprised that no one (as far as I'm aware) has given Genuine Lies a try. Hollywood loves making movies and shows about the industry and this story is all about industry legends so they could get a huge group of actors to play the young and old versions of the characters. To me it's a slam dunk project so OF COURSE it hasn't been adapted.

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Visual media is so very different than what can be done in a book so I think it takes that showrunner/producer/screenwriter being the fan for it to have a shot even more so than if the author is there since it's a learned skill to translate books to screenplays.  I love Nora but I don't have evidence she'd be an expert at how to make it work.

Nora has been very honest how she isn't interested in writing screenplays--and once the author sells the rights, he or she don't have any say in how their book is transformed into a movie or television. And she's said she has NO say in casting, the changes made, etc.

Like you, I've yet to see anything of hers that actually is good television. They all suck.

There was talk, many moons ago about the In Death series coming to one of the premium cable networks, and that Mel Gibson's production company was interested. This waaaay before Mel revealed himself to be the racist abusive asshole he is; and the person involved was supposedly a  HUGE fan of the series. It went nowhere. I read more recently, maybe early last year, or maybe in 2019, some more interest, but then the pandemic hit, and so either it fizzled or they're in a holding pattern. I don't expect the actors to look EXACTLY like their book counterparts--such as some I've read expect the actress they choose to play Eve, have that "slight dent" in her chin. PUHLEAZE. But I do expect them to look like them. Like for Brazen Virtue, Ed Jackson sure as HELL be a 6'+++ red-headed giant, instead of Hollywood "handsome" blonde.

9 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

I think our best bet is to hope that either Shonda or a member of her production team turns out to be a huge Nora fan.

I am legit surprised that no one (as far as I'm aware) has given Genuine Lies a try. Hollywood loves making movies and shows about the industry and this story is all about industry legends so they could get a huge group of actors to play the young and old versions of the characters. To me it's a slam dunk project so OF COURSE it hasn't been adapted.

I know! 

[dubbel zout]

44 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

once the author sells the rights, he or she don't have any say in how their book is transformed into a movie or television.

Depends on the contract and the author. Some insist on creative input and can get it, whether by clout or the adaptor wanting the rights badly enough.

What I hate is authors who sell the rights and then bitch about the adaptation. Then insist on creative input! Or be more careful about who you sell the rights to (not that there's any guarantee). But don't take the money and then complain about the end result.

[GHScorpiosRule]

24 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Depends on the contract and the author. Some insist on creative input and can get it, whether by clout or the adaptor wanting the rights badly enough.

What I hate is authors who sell the rights and then bitch about the adaptation. Then insist on creative input! Or be more careful about who you sell the rights to (not that there's any guarantee). But don't take the money and then complain about the end result.

Right. I should have clarified that Nora has said that once she sells the rights, it's out of her hands, as she doesn't want any creative input as it's more work, and she's got her hands full writing books--which is her one and only job.

And she's also on the record is saying as these movies are not the books. Just a different medium. Watch them. Or not. It's up the fan. She never bitches about the outcome of the movies. Only praises them (which I suspect she has to do--I mean she actually said that Heather Locklear's casting of Reese in Angel Falls? that Heather "had the bones of the character" which is just bullshit, what with her face being botoxed to hell and back and she couldn't move it; nor did she, to me (and others) successfully portray Reese's PTSD/fear of thinking she was going crazy/anger at being gaslighted). And being 20 years older than the character.

I think I already went off up thread about the casting choices, so won't repeat myself.