NaNoWriMo Support Group discussion

What is your favorite movie that was based from a story or a book? What do you like best about the film that really captures the books feel?

I thought the Tale of Desperaux was done well, I read it in elementary and I was surprised to find it well done. Now Hunger Games was good too, but there are some parts that are arguable haha, I thought that to get everything important to keep it as close to the book they did ok, small details that were changed were annoying but I pushed those aside and looked at it at a full scale instead i'm excited for number 2!

I liked the Tale of Desperaux too! but i never read the book, and I actually found to many things wrong with the Hunger Games and it didn't turn out to my liking.

Gone with the Wind - So well done. I really do feel like the movie captured the essence of the book. I also think that the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice was an awesome adaptation of the book.

I agree with you, Victoria, I had some issues with the Hunger Games initially. I think by the third time I saw the movie, it didn't bother me as much any more. I think the key is to have as much distance as possible between seeing the movie and reading the books.

I thought the Harry Potter franchise was great for that. Enough years passed between the books and the movies that mostly I forgot enough of the details that it didn't bother me when they were missing from the movies until I went back to reread the books.

Also, the movies were well-spaced. Not to totally hate on the Twilight Saga, but their movies all came out in a small time frame. And if that were the case with Harry Potter...well, too much of a good thing can be bad.

I am like ThHernandez and T, the HP movies were spaced out enough, that you did not feel like as soon as the book came out, 6 months later the movie was here. and 2) in my mind I separated the books and the movies. It was more like, okay, I read this book about these people, now this movie is telling a slightly different story of their lives. Although, that stupid True Blood.....couldn't do that, I got sick of the books after about the third book (but kept reading to see if they would get better, lol) but had to trash the show, it wasn't worth it.
And I have learned with myself, typically, if I like a book first, I (usually, but not always) will not like the movie. If I watch the movie first, (again, usually but not always) will not like the book. There are quite a few exceptions, but few and far between.

I don't think movies ever quite get the books details exactly right, so I've had to learn to be happy with the big picture and the feel of the books in the movie, as Haley said. That being said, I loved the HP movies for their devotion to the books even into the later books--that's probably my favorite movie series.

I also enjoyed the Hunger Games, though I still had plenty of critique. But overall, they did a good job keeping the themes of the book, and portraying the horror of the games.

Lord of the Rings, I think, are very well done, though I am such a Tolkien nerd I have many, many critiques for the movies. They are well done and portray many of the major themes and elements from the books, but there are a lot of smaller details that were added.

And I shall see how the Hobbit goes in a few days :)

I want to see the Hobbit so much!!!!!! It's killing me it looks so good!! <3 <3 <3 <3

IKR???????????

I just saw it two days ago! loved it!

I loved it!! Don't go in as a purist-it-must-be-exactly-like-the-book, but I think Jackson keeps to the spirit of things :) Not perfect, but I definitely loved it!

:) I think the only thing i didn't like is that they didn't show the dragons whole body! lol

Well of course they're going to wait till last minute to show that Xp stupid dramatic entrances haha

Haha, yeah...cliff-hanger and all. I seriously sat there predicting the ending for ten minutes--and it just kept going! Smaug makes sense though, everyone wants to see what he'll look like :P

Heck yeah!!!!! I am waiting for that moment!!!!!

Isn't there supposed to be like 3 parts to the hobbit or something

Yeah, the last part comes out June or July 2014...so long!!

Yes, it is a trilogy in movies.

I just saw the hobbit for my first date and it was so good!! I don't like the. lift hanger though cause now we have to wait for part 2 DX noooo lol

that was supposed to say 'cliff hanger' haha

IKR???? I LOVE that movie!!!!!!!!!

:D I acutally haven't seen the lord of the ringer trilogy yet... i think i saw the first... idk but I really want to watch them

Damien wrote: "Blade Runner, despite it's deviation from the source text it remains a wonderful film"

huh I've never seen it. what's it about?

Hands down the best movie version of a book is To Kill a Mockingbird. A movie can never equal the experience of a book because a book happens in your mind, but this movie is done with real love and respect for the story. If you want to try writing a screen play for your book, this is a pair that is worth review.

I understand. Being forced to read something can be the death knell. Most things are better taken as a whole rather than broken down into parts. Horton Foote was a heck of a screen writer, though. He lived past 90, so I guess writing is good for you. We're all on the right track.