The movie adaptation of books is not new in the film industry. With each movie coming out, at least one film is adapted from a book without us knowing. Some people think movie adaptations are generally bad, while some do not. Why? As books always have more detail, the readers can create what the characters look like with their own imaginations. People may enjoy a movie adaptation more if they have not read the book first because if they read the book first, they will constantly compare the movie to the book. If some changes are made in the film, that movie will not be considered a good adaptation by those book fans. Everyone has their preferences, but what makes a good or bad adaptation?
Movie adaptations are not always bad as some can become better than the book. Because of the potential of these movies, it attracts many popular actors to play these roles. However, having popular actors does not mean that movie is a good adaptation. A good adaptation always has the book author involved in the screenplay or as a screenwriter for the movie. That way, the filmmaker can choose the most suitable actors for the roles according to the author's description of the book's characters. One example is the movie "The Shining," the director of "The Shining" Stanley Kubrick, approached the author Stephen King to get a piece of his mind on the movie's character casting. After several discussions with Stephen King, Jack Nicholson is cast as Jack Torrance in "The Shining."
Another thing that makes a good adaptation is listening to the existing fan base's opinion. Making changes in movie adaptation is not necessarily a bad thing. After reading the book, fans will write their opinion on some online forums and blogs. It is important to consider these book fans' opinions and make changes to cater to the fans' needs. One example is Deadpool. When Deadpool first appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, many fans laughed at the character and did not take the character seriously. Therefore, a better portrayal of Deadpool is created, making Deadpool one of Marvel's most successful film franchises.
Bad adaptations
A bad movie adaptation is usually movies that are way different from the book. The characters and the stories have little connection to the book. Also, a bad adaptation makes changes that are unnecessary to the plot. One example is the movie “Percy Jackson.” Changes are made to the entire story, character descriptions, and character personalities which causes the plot to be confusing, and the audience cannot engage in the movie because of the unnecessary changes. The filmmaker took away the perfect plot in the books and destroyed the film.
Limitations
Movies and books are two different mediums, so it isn't easy to make the perfect movie adaptation. Because of the time constraint, it is almost impossible to put every detail from the book on the screen. Also, since everyone is different, it is hard to meet all the fans' expectations.
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