Books to Movies: Love Em? Hate Em?

So, I'm sitting here watching The Golden Compass on tv, and I started thinking about why some books that are made into movies succeed, and others tank.

Movies like The Golden Compass, Eragon, and Percy Jackson didn't get very good reviews. Others, like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Princess Bride are just spectacular*.

I was SO excited when they announced the making of The Golden Compass, and when it fell flat I was disappointed.  But I couldn't quite put my finger on why it (and others) have fallen flat.  I think when it comes down to it, it's the ability of the director and screenwriters to translate the book into a movie.  Honestly, the acting in The Golden Compass was pretty good (plus there were lots of big actors in it), and the same can be said for Harry Potter.  Seriously, Daniel Radcliff's performance in the first Harry Potter was far from oscar-worthy (luckily his acting improved a million times with each film). 

So I think the key lies in whether the director knows how to translate the book into a movie.  He/she has to know what to put in and what to leave out.  They have to know what can be changed without angering the audience too much, and how to flesh the dialogue out and adapt it for the screen. 

I absolutely fell in love with Lyra and Pan, Lee and Iorek, and the relationship of Lyra and Will in subsequent books in Phillip Pullman's series.  The book itself is so complex and riddled with political commentary, but at the same time weaving a beautiful world of fantasy and souls that live outside the body.  I wonder if it was just too much to put in a PG film.  (Okay, and honestly, as I'm watching it- it's not too bad.  But maybe because I read the book- it's bringing back all those emotional feelings I felt while I read it.)

I always said the problem with Eragon, was it was just a "skeleton" of the book.  There was no flesh, none of the rich history to it

 

Percy just changed a whole lot of things, even though the kid that played him was wonderful in my opinion. 

So now I'm a little worried about The Hunger Games movie- what will happen with it? Will it go the Harry Potter route, or the Eragon route?  I've also heard rumors about a Sabriel movie which worries me even more- what if it's awful?  What if Garth Nix waited all this time (like Phillip Pullman) only to have a not-so-good movie?  I just hate that it might not do the book justice, and it will turn people off from reading it. 

It also seems like nowadays people are jumping to make all these YA books into movies.  They should let them simmer a little...get people excited about the book, let it become a classic, and then they can choose who they want to make the movie.  I think part of the problem is many authors have almost no say in how the movie is done.  Meg Cabot had pretty much nothing to do with Princess Diaries and Avalon High (which premiered on the Disney Channel the other night) and they were drastically changed with not-so-good reviews.

So what do you think?  What books-to-movies did you like or not like?  Is there a certain formula they have to follow, or is it just luck/bad luck on how well they do?


*Um, yeah, so I didn't mention Twilight for a reason- so many people loved the movie, but c'mon glittery vampires with make-up lines on their necks, looooong teenage angsty pauses, and dude...where the heck did Carlyle get that accent?  So, Twilight's kinda in a league of it's own.

Awards!

Thought I'd acknowledge the wonderful awards I got recently.  You guys are so awesome and I really am truly thankful we've become friends through our blogs!

Erica and Christy gave me two awards:

Thanks Girls- hope on over to their blog, they are two funny moms who teach, and you get two bloggers for the price of one!

Colene from The Journey gave me the Irresistible Blog Award!  Thank you to a great Crit Partner!

I also got the beautiful Magical Blog Award from Alexia Chamberlynn over at The Life and Literary Persuits of Alexia Chamberlynn  Thank you so much Alexia- and it's a gorgey award.

And then I just got two Honest Scrap awards- one from Kelly Dexter over at Nerdville Rhapsody, and the other from Lisa Galek over at Read.Write.Repeat.  Thanks so much girls- go check our their blogs.  Kelly recently started back up again from a hiatus (we missed you!) and Lisa is brilliant and is a Religious Studies major like me!



So I think I'm supposed to say some facts about myself for some of these, but I answered this a while back when I got the awards earlier, so I'll link you to that post: 7 facts about Me.

I'll go ahead and do 3 more to get to 10:

1. I am obsessed with all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer- my computer is named Buffy

2. My husband has an identical twin

3. I have a minor in communication, but have terrible social anxiety- go figure.

So now I'd like to pass these on to these wonderful bloggers:  You can choose any of the awards or all 4 of them!

Andy Thompson over at Writing Myself Crazy

Colene Murphy over at The Journey

Melissa Wideen over at Throught The Lookingglass

Lisa Galek over at Read.Write.Repeat

Jennie Bailey over at Garden Full of Lily

Donea Lee over at Queen of Procrastination

Anne Kenny over at Writers Quandary

Jen Daiker at Unedited

Maggie at The Juniper Breeze is Blowing In

Sam at One Sparkling Star

Angela Darling over at Chasing Fairydust

*edited- OMG I am so sorry to Sam and Maggie- I mixed up their blogs!  *facepalm*  See, this is what I get when I try to rush and do a million things at once!  Love you both!

You all rock, and seriously- I love all of you that read my drivel blog.  If you're not on the list (honestly because I got tired of doing all the links), go ahead and take any of these awards for yourself because I love you too!

Come back Monday because I've got an awesome Aspiring Author interview with our bloggy friend Jennie Bailey!

Word Count Wednesday!

Can't believe it's Wednesday again!  My word count for NaNo so far is 9,124.  So that brings me to 88,789 words total for my novel.

I didn't get as far as I wanted to in a week, but I have a great excuse- it was my nephew's 1st birthday this weekend and we had to travel a couple hours away and spend some much needed time with him (and my sister and brother-in-law, but seriously...who cares about them when there is the cutest little boy smacking you and head-butting you while you try to take pictures with him?)

BUT- I did get a butt load written today.  I think around 4,000 words?  I was on a roll!

Anyway, I know some of you overachievers are already finished with NaNo. *cough cough* Jen Daiker *cough cough* Melissa Wideen *cough cough*

And some of us, are a little slower *cough* me.  But that's okay.  We all have our own writing pace. 

I do want to say congratulations to my crit partner Andy Thompson for plugging away at NaNo.  I am so proud of him- he's been keeping up his daily word count goal since the beginning of November.  This is huge for him since he had kind of been in a writing slump, and I think his wife (the fabulous GreenBeanTeenQueen) and I were starting to sound like broken records- "you need to write!"  "dude, stop watching Project Runway and write!" "I don't care if your new puppy Zedd is totally cute, you need to write!".  So yeah, pretty awesome. 

Tell me your word count!  I know lots of you have so much done and I love reading your updates!

What's Your READ Book Choice?

The fabulous GreenBeanTeenQueen blogged the other day about celebrities promoting books and how many of us just want to know why they picked the book they are reading in those famous READ posters.  Has Catcher in the Rye really shaped that many people's lives, or was because it's required reading in school and is the only book they remember reading?

It's hard to tell.  Some probably have read the book and have a great reason for picking it, like Nathan Fillion:

Nathan is a co-founder of KNTR (Kids Need To Read), and he's reading a book by his friend and co-founder YA Sci Fi author PJ Haarsma.  The book is Softwire: Awakening on Orbis.  You can really tell this is something he has a passion for, and is not afraid to talk about it.

But some may argue, at least they are promoting reading and it shouldn't matter what book they pick.  Which is totally true- at least the celebrity is taking the time to promote a book.  But if you are taking the time to do a READ photoshoot, give us a little line about what you loved about the book, or why you chose it for the poster.

So this brings me to my question.  What would you choose as your READ book?

I've had to sit and think about this one for a while.  There are so many books that I love, that have shaped and influenced me, and I want to hold all of them!

I narrowed it down to four:
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (the Dragonriders of Pern series really launched my love of fantasy)
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman (I bawled like a baby at the end of the 3rd book, and I still ponder it sometimes)
Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn (I grew to love the characters throughout the series, and waited with baited breath for each subsequent book to come out- I again, bawled like a baby at the end because I was losing my friends)

But my choice would be Sabriel by Garth Nix. 




This is what the cover looked like back when I read it



 Sabriel struck a certain chord with me, that is still hard to explain to this day.  I still remember when I read it in Junior High and thought if I ever wrote a book, this is what I would want it to be like.  I never thought I would be a writer at the time, but this book pretty much is what permanently glued me to YA fantasy.  Garth Nix just has the natural ability to weave a fantasy adventure story with a little bit of romance, all the while doing it under 90,000 words.  Sabriel is what I would consider the perfect "formula" for a YA fantasy.

But if I could be holding Sabriel, and have the other three stacked next to me with the spines showing, that would be perfect.

So, what would be your pick for your own READ poster?

Interview With Aspiring Author Angela Darling

Hello bloggity bloggers! 

It's been a while since I've done an Aspring Author Interview, so without further ado, here is the awesome Angela Darling from Chasing Fairydust.  Angela is so awesome, she has TWO blogs.  The other is all about yummy cocktail concoctions and 20-something dreams.

1.      When did you realize you wanted to be an author?

I have always loved writing. When I was in elementary school and finished my work early, I would always write stories. I just never believed in my writing enough to think about publishing it. Finally, when I met my bf (he's an illustrator), he looked at me one day and said, "Why don't you try to do this for real?" So, I just thought, what do I have to lose? I could spend a lifetime wondering what it would be like to do it, or I could actually give it a whirl. So, here I am, trying to make my childhood dreams come true.

2.      What genre do you like to write?
 
Most of my novels are a cross-breed of realistic fiction and fantasy. My characters usually deal with situations that we all have gone through as children and teens, but their thoughts tend to bleed into the world of fantasy.

 3.      What authors inspire you?

Without a doubt, Jerry Spinelli is my favorite author. Every single time I finish one of his books, I'm left with that warm and fuzzy feeling that I want to do something to make the world a better place. I also love Sarah Dessen.

4.      How often do you write?

I tend to write in spurts.  I'll go a week writing every single blessed day. Then I'll go another 2 weeks without writing a word. I write when I feel inspired to do so. If I don't feel much of anything, I pop in a movie and plop down with a big ole bag of chips and french onion dip. After a good movie, I can get back to thinking creatively.

 5.      Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Both -  I usually start out with an emotion, that develops into a scene. Then, sometimes I want to know exactly where I'm going with it and other times I just go with the flow.

6.      Where do you write best, and do you listen to music while you write?

I seem to do my best work in the middle of the night (I'm a bit of an insomniac.) When I'm all tucked in under my covers with my laptop and a movie playing in the background, that's when I seem to write something that I won't throw into the trash two seconds later. If I write during the day (which is rare) I listen to some creation of Danny Elfman. His compositions get the writing juices going.

 7.      What is on your TBR pile?
 
 WAY. TOO. MUCH!! At every store I make the mistake of going down the book aisle - such a dangerous move for my bank account. Just like the last aspiring author you interviewed, I have an addiction to buying books. Sitting on my nightstand right now you'd find Oh My Gods, The Summoning, The Secrets of Peaches, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, Beach Blondes, and Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism. I swear my nightstand's going to crumble under the weight of all the books one of these days. That's not including a pile of books on the floor.

8.      If Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling got in a cat fight, who would win?

Hmm... I think Meyer would try to clench her teeth into JK. But, my girl JK would wave a wand at her and cast a spell on Meyer that would give her writers block. With the fate of teens no longer knowing whether to drool over vampires and werewolves, the school of Hogwarts prevails. JK continues to write her fantastic stories and Daniel Radcliffe eventually becomes way too old to be playing a teenie bopper. JK ends up the richest woman that will ever live. 

9.      What is your “day” job?

By day, I'm a sub elementary teacher and sub school librarian, and by night and weekend (get your head out of the gutter) I am a server. I hope that changes to full-time school librarian ASAP, because I'm going to freak if one more person complains about a "mysterious curly red hair in the food". Funny, dear customer, you have curly red hair. Hmmm.... perhaps, and I'm just going out on a limb here, perhaps that hair is yours! Oh, yeah, it's definitely time to hang up the ole apron.

10.  What can you not leave home without? (cell phones are off limits- NO ONE can leave home without one of those)

Chapstick is a must. I cannot live without it. I should own stock. I also carry about a zillion hair ties in my purse. I'm a sporty girl and never know when I'll need to whip up that hair. I'm always up for a pick-up game (except for basketball.. just leave me on the sidelines... unless the goal really ISN'T to get any points. I'm really good at that! haha)

 11.  Mac or PC?

I love MAC's. I've had fewer problems with them. Plus, the majority of schools I work in use them.

12.  Favorite dessert?

Try not to die of shock, I don't really care for sweets. I'm a salty girl. The only dessert I usually request is jello poke cake. YUM!

13.  Favorite desert?

One that has magical unicorns that fly you to water and food.. yeah, I know, that was a really random thought.

14.  Where is your dream vacation?

I'd like to spend a few months in Greece. Any place with that much history and romance is bound to conjure up some serious creativity.

15.  Finally, link us to your website, blog, fb, twitter and anything else you might like to shamelessly plug for yourself J

     If you'd like to drop by and say hello, you can find me at http://chasingfairydust.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much Abby for taking the time to interview me. This was fun! Hugs n' Squishes :)

Word Count Wednesday

I've decided to dedicate Wednesdays in November to word count!  I'll post my updated word count, and you all do the same!  We can cheer each other on.  I won't get up to 50k though, because I don't need that much to finish my WIP.  And if I do, my crit partners have my permission to beat me over the head with my future novel, because it would be WAY too long (only if they appear in a DeLorean).

I'm at 1431 words (80,988 total for my WIP). 

(So I didn't write any yesterday, but I can't help it if I was glued to Anderson Cooper's lovely white hair all night)

Also, please consider donating to NaNo if you are participating- I am going to do that today.  They run on donations only, so anything you can spare will help NaNo be even better in years to come. 

Here is a great anti-NaNo pep talk from Maggie Stiefvater.  She makes some really great points, and even though I feel like I could agree, I think NaNo is fun and brings writers together.  I think it will help push me to sit down and write, rather than watch 5 episodes of House Hunters back-to-back.


So what's your word count?  Even if you aren't doing NaNo, what's your word count on your current WIP?

Writing Schedule

I figured, if I write down a schedule on here, then I have to stick to it right?  Because the internet's always right.

So, here is my weekly schedule I'm trying to hash out.  So far I followed it pretty well on Monday with a few setbacks since I got off work a little later than normal.

Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays:
7:30am-12:30pm: Work at the "day job"
1-1:30: Walk the dog and eat lunch
1:30-3:10: WRITE
3:10-3:45: Pick Little Monster up from school (I KNOW, I sit there for like, 10 years.  When it's nice out, I walk and it cuts out a lot of that waiting time)
4-6: Catch up on blogs, emails, internet schtuff, etc all the while entertaining Little Monster (Thursdays is gymnastics at 4:30-6 but luckily the Y has internet etc)
6-8:30: Dinner, relax and watch some tv or read, get Little Monster ready for bed
8:30-9:30: Get myself ready for bed, sit in bed and read crit partners ms, go to sleep.

Tuesdays:
7:30-5:30: WORK for 10 hours straight at the "day job"
6pm: die (and then get Mcdonalds for Little Monster who has been at the babysitters since school let out)
7:30-8:30: Little Monster bed routine
8:30-?: WRITE, blogs, read, catch up on shows till I can barely keep my eyes open (I'm off on Wednesdays)

Wednesdays:
7-8: "Sleep in", get Little Monster ready for school
8-8:30: Drop Little Monster off at school
8:45-10: write lets be honest- go back to bed
10-12: WRITE
12-1: eat, walk the dog
1-3:10: WRITE, blogs, internet blah blah
3:10-3:45: pick up Little Monster
Same 'ol same 'ol

Saturdays and Sundays:
Clean the pig sty house
Hang out with Little Monster
Catch up on blogs
Playdates
WRITE

Doesn't seem like much time to write when I put it all down, but at least it's something!

So you may be wondering, isn't there a husband in there somewhere?  Erm, I think so.  He's basically MIA until after Christmas since he's like Uber-"Customer Solutions Manager" of a HUGE chain store.  10 hour days, 6 days a week.  He takes Little Monster to school in the mornings, and then he doesn't come home till like, midnight.  So yeah.  Christmas season is AWESOME.  I wonder if I'll remember what he looks like in two months?

Oh, BUT we both have the 19th off together!  And you know what that means? 

We get to be super cool and see Harry Potter at like 9:30am with all the old people who need those special ear thingies while Little Monster is in school!  But, it's totally opening day and we get to go!  Woohoo!  (old people see HP right?  I mean, if I was 80, I'd totally go.  I bet I'd have a thing for Dumbledore)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog- I'm going to do Word Count Wednesdays during November.  Post your word count tomorrow!