Agent Elaine Spencer has an excellent post up at Kwana Writes about the possibility of your novel getting made into a movie. The prospects are not great, but the post is very comprehensive about explaining why.
That’s not to say the news is entirely dismal. But the movie production industry works very differently from publishing, and what looks excellent on paper might not translate well to film, yada, yada. That said, it does happen, and not just for Stephen King. Gemma Halliday’s HIGH HEELS MYSTERIES series is being developed into a TV series for the USA Network, and Ally Carter’s Young Adult novel, I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU has been optioned for film.
Have you read any books you think would make excellent movies? What are they, and why do you believe they would translate well to film?
I just read a book I think would make a great film. Bobbie Faye’s Very (very very very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey.
Not just because it was sooooo good, but because it was action-packed, with plenty of stuff that would translate to a visual medium. There’s a car chase, and a big explosion, and a TON of really distinct, unique, fabulous characters. It seems like it would be great fun to film, from any side of the process.
Sounds excellent, Natalie. And I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. A reason a lot of romances, for example, might not translate well to film is because of all the internal conflict. Film, ‘natch, is a visual medium, and emotions flit across the face pretty darn quickly. You can have less plot in a novel and still have it rich with characterization, etc. Movies, for the most part, require action to keep most audiences today captivated.
Hi Cindy,
What a dream – to have your novel turned into a movie. I’d love to see Annie Solomn’s, “Black Out,” turned into a movie. It’s a fabulous, fast-paced intrigue. 🙂
Diana Cosby
http://www.dianacosby.com
Thanks for the shout out Cindy. It is a really tough thing to get your book turned into a movie and a real dream come true. I see all the books that I write a movies in my head but you really can’t go into it thinking that it will turn out that way. If that’s the case you might as well be a screenwriter.
Hi, Diana,
You do have to give up a lot of control when you sell movie rights. So what you see in the book might not end up in the movie version. There have been writers who have turned down movie rights deals because of this. I don’t think I would be one of them, though. I’d love to see either HEAD OVER HEELS or BORROWING ALEX made into a romantic comedy movie.
Sigh. Someday. Like when I’m 91.
Hi, Kwana.
Yes, I admit, when I wrote HEAD OVER HEELS and BORROWING ALEX, I thought of how they might unfold across the screen, as in I thought of them as book versions of romantic comedy movies. I didn’t do this so much because I felt they SHOULD be movies, though, or you’re right, I might as well try writing the screenplays (although I’ve heard it’s more difficult to sell a screenplay than it is a book). I wrote the books that way because they ARE comedies, and keeping the feeling of romantic comedy movies in mind as I wrote kept the comedy at the forefront–for me as the writer. The reader’s experience might be different, though. The two aren’t always the same.