Books to Movies (and vice versa?)
Watching Narnia this weekend got me thinking...
I just went and saw Prince Caspian this weekend, which I absolutely loved! And me, being the hopeless romantic that I am, loved the chemistry between Caspian and Susan. But of course, whenever there's an unrequited romance, I just have to go get my fix and my happy ending in fanfiction (hello, Frank and Nancy, anyone??) Imagine my surprise when I found that not only were there people out there that weren't on board with the Susan/Caspian pairing, there were people that downright despised it!! And then, to my shock and horror, there actually seemed to be more of a preference towards a Lucy/Caspian pairing! (If anyone has seen the movie, then you'd understand the horror part -- can we say "cradle-robbing"??)
Well, after doing more research -- thanks to wonderful friends who have actually read the books, unlike me, as well as the all-knowing Wikipedia -- I found that these other Narnia fans aren't so far off. Apparently, there is absolutely no foundation for a Susan/Caspian pairing in the books. And Caspian (unlike the movie version depicted by the delectable Ben Barnes) in the books is between Susan and Lucy's ages. So it's understandable that readers who have been faithful followers of the books are appalled at the turn that the story has taken on the silver screen. But, to be fair to the filmmakers -- romance sells. No ifs, ands, or buts about that. So do attractive actors (not to ignore Ben Barnes' acting skills, but really, who doesn't think that one of the reasons that boy got the role was because he is excellent eye candy on all of those posters they've got hanging around?) So, given that they cast an attractive, young adult Prince Caspian, the only logical choice they had for a potential romance was Susan/Caspian. And thus, a controversy was born.
Not that Disney was the first to do this. I distinctly recall hearing that when The Last of the Mohicans was converted to the big screen, they had Cora be in love with Hawk-Eye rather than her original love interest from the book. The thought appalled me so much that I have never watched the movie, despite how much I loved the book. Which then begs the question: if you've read the book, is it worth watching the movie? Or will it just cause you unnecessary bouts of frustration, disappointment, and possible arrest because you chucked your popcorn at the theater screen?
I guess for me, the answer is, just take the movie with a grain of salt. I've found that when I watch a movie for which I've already read the book, it helps if I treat it as a completely separate story from the book. There may be a lot of overlap, but at the end, it's just not one and the same. Like the Harry Potter movies for example. I love the books, and I love the movies, but I do not love the movies as portrayals of the books. They're each separate entities in my mind.
And speaking of books to movies, does anyone know if the reverse has been done? Has a book been written off of a movie? I know TV shows are frequently novelized -- they've done that with X-Files, Alias, Roswell, to name a few. But as much as I racked my brain, I couldn't think of a movie that had been novelized.
I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts about the whole book-to-silver screen business. Any "two thumbs up" for books turned into movies?
(And wow, I just realized this is an incredibly long post for a new blog -- who knew I had this much to say?!) :)
I just went and saw Prince Caspian this weekend, which I absolutely loved! And me, being the hopeless romantic that I am, loved the chemistry between Caspian and Susan. But of course, whenever there's an unrequited romance, I just have to go get my fix and my happy ending in fanfiction (hello, Frank and Nancy, anyone??) Imagine my surprise when I found that not only were there people out there that weren't on board with the Susan/Caspian pairing, there were people that downright despised it!! And then, to my shock and horror, there actually seemed to be more of a preference towards a Lucy/Caspian pairing! (If anyone has seen the movie, then you'd understand the horror part -- can we say "cradle-robbing"??)
Well, after doing more research -- thanks to wonderful friends who have actually read the books, unlike me, as well as the all-knowing Wikipedia -- I found that these other Narnia fans aren't so far off. Apparently, there is absolutely no foundation for a Susan/Caspian pairing in the books. And Caspian (unlike the movie version depicted by the delectable Ben Barnes) in the books is between Susan and Lucy's ages. So it's understandable that readers who have been faithful followers of the books are appalled at the turn that the story has taken on the silver screen. But, to be fair to the filmmakers -- romance sells. No ifs, ands, or buts about that. So do attractive actors (not to ignore Ben Barnes' acting skills, but really, who doesn't think that one of the reasons that boy got the role was because he is excellent eye candy on all of those posters they've got hanging around?) So, given that they cast an attractive, young adult Prince Caspian, the only logical choice they had for a potential romance was Susan/Caspian. And thus, a controversy was born.
Not that Disney was the first to do this. I distinctly recall hearing that when The Last of the Mohicans was converted to the big screen, they had Cora be in love with Hawk-Eye rather than her original love interest from the book. The thought appalled me so much that I have never watched the movie, despite how much I loved the book. Which then begs the question: if you've read the book, is it worth watching the movie? Or will it just cause you unnecessary bouts of frustration, disappointment, and possible arrest because you chucked your popcorn at the theater screen?
I guess for me, the answer is, just take the movie with a grain of salt. I've found that when I watch a movie for which I've already read the book, it helps if I treat it as a completely separate story from the book. There may be a lot of overlap, but at the end, it's just not one and the same. Like the Harry Potter movies for example. I love the books, and I love the movies, but I do not love the movies as portrayals of the books. They're each separate entities in my mind.
And speaking of books to movies, does anyone know if the reverse has been done? Has a book been written off of a movie? I know TV shows are frequently novelized -- they've done that with X-Files, Alias, Roswell, to name a few. But as much as I racked my brain, I couldn't think of a movie that had been novelized.
I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts about the whole book-to-silver screen business. Any "two thumbs up" for books turned into movies?
(And wow, I just realized this is an incredibly long post for a new blog -- who knew I had this much to say?!) :)