I subscribe to numerous feeds as I refuse to pin myself down to one area of interest. I like to be as well rounded, and well read, as I can.

Recently, I came across an article on Variety.com titled “London Book Fair to bow: Agents look for package deals to adaptable tomes” by Adam Dawtrey.

Initially, my reaction was a great big “Grrrr.” However, as I read, I began to relax as I realized it wasn’t what I thought.

You see, time and again  I’ve had the unfortunate experience of being excited about a favored book put onto film, then being let down by its failure to live up to what the book offered me as a reader.

Eventually, I came to the sad realization that many film adaptations of books fail miserably at conveying  one medium to the other. There are exceptions of course, but they are just that – exceptions, not the rule.

Don’t get me wrong, there are several books I’ve sought out and purchased because I watched the movie and found out through the credits it was based on a book. Knowing the book is usually much better, I make the effort to get my hands on a copy.

It just seems that when it comes to literary works, something invariably gets lost in translation. Makes sense really.  It’s just not possible to adapt anything word-for-word.

Unless the screenwriter and director work closely with the author, as they did for Harry Potter, you end up with something like Benjamin Button which barely resembles the story from which it derives. Granted, F. Scott Fitzgerald wasn’t alive when they movie was made, but still, I would expect the screenwriter to take away more from the short story than simply its title.

It must be a tough choice deciding how much of the audience has read the book and which have not; who will expect a character to be in the movie or left out; killed off, even though the author had them breathing all the way until the end. (The one thing that still ticks me off about watching The Hunt for Red October.)

But it seems Hollywood is finally coming around to this way of thinking.

A good book is still very attractive, but a good book with a good screenwriter attached is much more so . . . More and more books these days are picked up because of the talent attached. Some books may be wonderful and literary, but they need an interpretation to reveal the film.
– Tally Garner from Curtis Brown’s film and TV department.

Could this be the light at the end of the tunnel?

I’m not sure. There remains a nagging part of me that wonders if that glow is the proverbial oncoming train. You simply cannot please all the people all the time – or readers. Ultimately, it is left to the screenwriter on how well the translation is done, and whether or not it remains true to the author’s work.

Yet, there remains hope. One of Stieg Larsson’s popular Millennium Trilogy, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,  is being brought to the U.S. Thankfully, they’ve decided not to reinvent the wheel by making an American version. We will get to see the Swedish adaptation, which I hear is excellent.

I’m not sure what the answer is to this dilemma. Or if there is any. Novels and film are two mediums that attempt to do the same thing. The success of any movie or book is dependent upon its originality, creativity, and ability to touch upon the audience’s imagination in such a way they are transported into the story completely.

No reader wants to be insulted by a studio failing to respect their knowledge of the story. This, along with increasing ticket costs, are the two main reasons why I no longer go to the movies.

I’m glad to see changes are occurring. I just hope its not too little too late.