Working in a library, I often find myself asking “The Book or The Movie?” more often than other other arena. With my friends I can usually tell if they mean the movie or the book, but working in a library has made me realize just how many movies based on books or writing there really are. I’ve started getting into the habit of borrowing one book related movie for every other kind of movie I borrow. I’ve decided that any book or writing related movie can be put into one of three categories.
- Adaptations:
These are the most common ones that come up. This is basically any movie that has a book or written version of it somewhere. Increasingly, the trend seems to be for Hollywood to make movie adaptations of books (and even short stories) rather than taking a risk on a story that has no previous following. These are probably the most popular version of Bookish-Movie: Jurassic Park, IT, Ready Player One, or any number of YA trilogies that make the bestseller list.
Now, naturally, just because they’re popular doesn’t mean they’re necessarily good. These days, every fan of the book approaches even the trailer of a book adaptation with a certain amount of cautious hope. The true test is often how ‘faithful’ the book is to the movie. Major plot overhauls, forgotten characters or overlooked thematic elements, or movies that only take the title and not much else. Sometimes, regardless of an authors involvement, the ‘faithfulness’ of the movie comes down to the studios. These are the most accessible, but also most prone to disappointment. - Books about Writers:
These are stories where a writer is the main character. Rather than a biopic (discussed next), this tends to focus specifically on the writer and their struggles with the creative process. There can be a lot of crossover in this regard (writers seem to enjoy making their characters writers, since it’s something they understand). The Words is a good example of this, focusing on a writer’s struggle to be seen by the publishing industry and the risks he’s willing to take to ‘make it’.
These are often overdramatized. No one would want to watch a man struggling in front of his computer for two hours, trying to figure out how to make a paragraph flow better. Still, these can sometimes be uplifting movies when an author gets to take his work to the world and they get recognition they deserve. - Author Biopics:
The last category is movies about specific writers. These are movies that can be hyper realistic documentaries, like Salinger, or they can be dramatized versions of an author’s life, such as Tolkien. These can be sad at times, seeing all the struggles a person goes through (especially dramatized for Hollywood) can be difficult. Still, learning the histories of writers and seeing how it relates to their writing can be interesting. In addition to the story of the author, these movies also tend to reveal a lot of the story of the book. Knowing the lives of our favorite creators can help us appreciate their stories even more.
What are some of your favorite bookish movies?
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