What on earth are they waiting for??10 BOOKS THAT SHOULD BE TURNED INTO MOVIES - immediately, if not sooner:
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Agent Zigzag by Ben MacIntyre
Blackout by Connie Willis
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
The City and the City by China Mieville
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
The Dreyfus Affair by Peter Lefcourt
Do you agree? Disagree? What books would you like to see turned into movies?
Let's make a deal, if I win the Super-Duper-Gadzooky-Gazillion Dollar Lottery, I'll option one of these books just to get the ball rolling. How's that sound?
Note: I know His Majesty's Dragon was optioned by Peter Jackson, but I haven't heard anything further. And The Dreyfus Affair has been optioned several times but nothing's come of that either. Don't you think that instead of just re-hashing old tv shows into films, Hollywood would pay more attention to the wonderful books that are positively languishing, waiting to be adapted to the screen? I know that not every good book makes a good movie, that's been proven, but my feeling is that most of the time, it's not the book's fault.
So far I'm loving the Amelia Peabody series (I'm now listening to the 2nd one on audiobook), but I'm afraid that a movie just won't be able to catch all of Amelia's thoughts (which are priceless) and asides, I can't see a movie catching that subtle wit. Still, it would be delicious to see who they'd cast. Who do you image as Emerson and Amelia?
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, I'm not surprised you're enjoying this Amelia book. I have it on audio also, as it happens. Though I read the book first. It's so much fun. It would be difficult to film these books, but not impossible. They're so full of adventure, comedy and all kinds of visual excitement. At first I would have liked Judy Davis as Amelia, but she's too old now.
ReplyDeleteI think, possibly, Jennifer Ehle would make a good Amanda. What do you think? The age is right at the moment. As for Emerson, that's tricky. He is SO over-the-top, though I adore him. Hugh Jackman, possibly or John Barrowman. I like these two because they can play broad comedy as well as drama. What do you think? Who do you see in the roles?
Amanda? Where did that come from? Of course, I meant Amelia. It's late and I'm worn out from the heat. That's my excuse. Ha!
ReplyDeleteYears ago I was on email lists which talked about who would play the Elizabeth Peters characters and who would play the Laurie R. King characters. I remember thinking that Billy Connolly who was in Mrs. Brown would make a perfect Emerson. And for Mary Russell I thought the woman who was in MI 5 would be good - Keeley Hawes. I wouldn't be surprised if the BBC did a production of Major Pettigrew and then we got it on PBS. Have you heard that there is going to be an Inspector Banks story - the series by Peter Robinson? Interesting choice of actor and I bet he'll be great. More here: (sorry I don't know how to do the link thing)
ReplyDeletehttp://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2010/02/
peter-robinson-banks-adapted-for-tv.html
Billy Connolly would have been good, but I think he's too old by now. Keeley Hawes looks good for Russell, though maybe a little too old?
ReplyDeleteMaybe if they hurried up and made the movie. Ha! I like Jeremy Irons for Holmes, or maybe Ralph Fiennes, they can age him with make-up.I'm not all that familiar with the Robinson books, but it is interesting to see they're going to be adapted. I've heard it's an excellent series.
I came over here from Simon's blog, and found a fellow Connie Willis fan -- hooray! I'd love to see To Say Nothing of the Dog as a movie before Blackout, mainly because I don't know what's going to happen in All Clear just yet. Plus To Say Nothing of the Dog seems like it could be a fantastic movie, less cinematic but much funnier -- like Gosford Park, but with time travel!
ReplyDeleteOH my gosh, yes, I revere Connie Willis. Nice to see you over here, Bix. You might be right about TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG. I think if done properly it could be a visual delight. Better than GOSFORD PARK, it has laughs, slapstick, time travel and an atmospheric English river, to say nothing of the dog. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I picked BLACKOUT, I simply assumed Willis wouldn't let me down with ALL CLEAR. I'm expecting a terrific ending. So it would be a two picture deal. I trust Willis to deliver.
I am a Connie Willis fan because of Nancy Pearl. She's the one who first wrote about Willis's books in her anthology BOOK LUST. I'm not even a big science fiction fan, but CW transcends genre - don't you think?