It is believed that all book lovers hate movies based on books. Even though what I am about to discuss might seem like a lie, we do not have a problem with the movies. Our real problem exists with the improper representation of the storyline.
We love the stories that we read from the bottom of our hearts. We recognize the characters as a part of our lives and relate to their stories. Following this, when we see the same stories represented in movies with our favourite scenes cut off or with the character traits changed, it seriously breaks our hearts.
When I love a great story and hear that a movie is being made, based on it, the anticipation makes me excited, but also scared. I would love to watch my favourite characters come to life and the scenes I imagined with a smile on my face, played out in front of me. It scares me because if the representation is improper, it might even spoil the story for me forever.
This is why, when any producers or directors choose to make a movie based on books, they harbour the responsibility of matching the imaginary world that the readers have built in their minds. Besides this, making a movie means that following its release, whenever someone reads the book they will imagine the actor’s faces as the characters. This places further importance on even choosing the right actors for the part who would match the description in the book.
For instance, while reading the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” series, I couldn’t help but imagine Lana Condor as Lara Jean and Noah Centineo as Peter Kevinsky. Another movie that is about to come and people have high hopes for is the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us”. Everyone is holding their breath to see the result of this bold decision to make a movie on the controversial book.
Most of the readers that I have talked to till now agree that they would happily binge it again and again if a series was made based on their favourite books. All they ask is for the movie to be just towards the story. Even though it is only a trending Twitter post till now, it would truly be a dream come true if I come across a series based on a trending book where each chapter is a different episode. It would help me imagine and get further into the story, making it all the more real for me.
Movie adaptations of books are good, it is just a matter of how the story is represented and if it justifies the readers’ love for the story.
PS: Are any directors or producers or actors reading this? It would be great if you make a series instead of a movie.