# Books made into Movie's/ Series



## AceHBK (Aug 5, 2009)

What book would you like to be made into a movie and if u could pick the lead role who would it be?

In my Harry Potter thread people suggested books to better if they are made as a series rather than a movie.  I never thought of that and that is a good point.

So pick your book and state moive or series and lead actor'actress.

Should be interesting...

My book would be Nelson Demille's  _The Lion's Game._  As for the lead actor I have no clue, maybe George Clooney.


----------



## CoryKS (Aug 5, 2009)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson
The Terror by Dan Simmons

No guesses on who would play, but my wife and I frequently revise our lists of actors for RJ


----------



## Frostbite (Aug 5, 2009)

I'd really like to see a movie remake of Without Remorse by Tom Clancy but I doubt it'd do that well.

I also wouldn't mind seeing a Splinter Cell movie.


----------



## MA-Caver (Aug 5, 2009)

A fantasy series (nine --huge) volumes written by Stephen R. Donaldson. "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever."  IMO a truly amazing fantasy epic... it was starting out to be a film but it's so complicated and so in depth with it's plot and characters that it was deemed too difficult (read: costly)... so probably if broken down to a mini-series or a direct to DVD set maybe.


----------



## celtic_crippler (Aug 5, 2009)

"Roadmarks: Last Exit to Babylon" by Roger Zelazny

I think Viggo Mortenson would make a good Red Dorakeen. 

I've always wanted to see this as a movie since reading it in the early 80's. Still a favorite of mine.


----------



## Omar B (Aug 5, 2009)

Atlas Shrugged.  I would love if it's a full series and takes a whole 12-20 episodes to tell the story or they could go mini-series and do the book in 3 sections much as how the book itself is divided.  It's surely too much story for a single movie like they have been trying to do for years.

Song Of Fire And Ice.  Well, it's being made, and by HBO no less!  I can't wait, quite possibly the harshest series of books ever.  http://winter-is-coming.blogspot.com/

James Bond.  Because save for 2 exceptions (Casino Royal and OHMSS) non of the movies have told the stories that are in the books, some even have no resemblance to the source material other than the name (Moonraker, TSWLM, etc.).  Also, considering how the movies were done out of order and all the connective tissue that connects the books made them great for non-literary-Bond fans, but for us who like the books I would love to see it done right.  CR leading into Bond going after them in the US with LALD, etc.  Bond as a harsh, uncompromising killer, not a jolly playboy, his boxing and judo skills later augmented by his learning ninjitsu.

Mack Bolan/The Excecutioner.  Great series, can be made into an ongoing series that would slay anything 24 has ever done.


----------



## AceHBK (Aug 5, 2009)

Omar B said:


> James Bond. Because save for 2 exceptions (Casino Royal and OHMSS) non of the movies have told the stories that are in the books, some even have no resemblance to the source material other than the name (Moonraker, TSWLM, etc.). Also, considering how the movies were done out of order and all the connective tissue that connects the books made them great for non-literary-Bond fans, but for us who like the books I would love to see it done right. CR leading into Bond going after them in the US with LALD, etc. Bond as a harsh, uncompromising killer, not a jolly playboy, his boxing and judo skills later augmented by his learning ninjitsu.


 
You know I have never read any of the James Bond books.  Have the movies not done them any justice at all?  Am I missing a lot by not reading the books?  I may have to go find the audibook online if there is a big difference.

I will say as only a movie watcher I like the direction they are going with Bond now and Daniel Craig.  He brings a lot more grit and roughness to the role which has lacked in the past.  He made me remember that Bond is a killer and not some playboy out there playing a spy.


----------



## Big Don (Aug 5, 2009)

CoryKS said:


> The Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson


I like the way you think
I could play Abe...


----------



## CoryKS (Aug 5, 2009)

Big Don said:


> I like the way you think
> I could play Abe...


 
I'll bring the Entenmann's.


----------



## celtic_crippler (Aug 5, 2009)

You know what I'd really love to see as a mini-series or series of movies?

The "Incarnations of Immortality" series by Piers Anthony...now those were cool.


----------



## Omar B (Aug 5, 2009)

AceHBK said:


> You know I have never read any of the James Bond books.  Have the movies not done them any justice at all?  Am I missing a lot by not reading the books?  I may have to go find the audibook online if there is a big difference.
> I will say as only a movie watcher I like the direction they are going with Bond now and Daniel Craig.  He brings a lot more grit and roughness to the role which has lacked in the past.  He made me remember that Bond is a killer and not some playboy out there playing a spy.



If you like DC as bond you'll like the books.  Though he does not look like the character as described he plays him as the rough, cold blooded killer he is in the books.  He's not nice, or jokey or any of that sort of thing.  As I said, only 2 of the movies got it right (OHMSS and CR).  No the movies do not do them justice, in fact Fleming himself referred to the movies as mere parodies.

In fact, the Bourne movies are the closest thing to the actual literary Bond after CR and there's a reason why.  After Fleming died Robert Ludlum wanted to write the series but he was not allowed to.  So he created a character exactly as Fleming left Bond in You Only Live Twice and The Man With The Golden Gun.  At that point he lost his memory, was brainwashed and was going after his own employers thinking them the enemy.  Ludlum just took that same thread and changed the name of the man with the memory loss and the locale.  People say Bond stole from Bourne, it's because they never read the books, it's Bourne who's a pastiche of Bond and Ion Productions (who owns the rights to Bond) finally getting the balls to make the character like he should be in the books.

I would not recommend the audiobook route though.  Fleming's writing is very journalistic and at times dry, you have to adjust to his style but once you do it's gorgeous.  Hearing it read it's very sparce though.  And don't forget it's a series, something the movies failed to remember, the events of one book bleed into the next rather than how the movies removed everything that connected one to the other.  Like how Live And Let Die should follow Casion Royal where Bond tracks SMERSH to the US then to the Carribean.  They are separate stories but the whole ark of Bond is one large story that the movies butchered.


----------



## Darksoul (Aug 5, 2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camulod_Chronicles

-Some of the best stuff I have ever read, King Aurthur's realm as it could've been! The book starts with Arthur's forefathers as the Romans are preparing to leave Britain. Excellent characters, never a dull moment. Admittedly, with the first book, I had a little trouble getting into it, cause it wasn't what I expected but I came back to it later and couldn't put it down. Just finished reading the very last book a few days ago. It does take the 'magic' out of the story but I think its better this way. The way the story unfolds is magical all on its own. Well written!

-Would love to see it as a series, although the attention to detail in the book makes me think it would be a costly undertaking. Plus, there is so much story, it would have to be more than a mini-series. Have no clue who could play the lead roles.


Andrew


----------



## ArmorOfGod (Aug 5, 2009)

Omar B said:


> Song Of Fire And Ice. Well, it's being made, and by HBO no less! I can't wait, quite possibly the harshest series of books ever. http://winter-is-coming.blogspot.com/


 

That was my first thought when I saw this thread, but I decided a long time ago it was a bad idea (although the zombie scenes are pretty awesome).  Those books have far too much incest and underage sex to make it to the big or small screen.  Still, in book form, they are hands down the best thing going around right now.

I am reading "The Warded Man" by Peter V Brett and am being blown away by the perfect flow of the book.  It is book 1 of a new series and would be an incredible movie.

AoG


----------



## Omar B (Aug 5, 2009)

Well it's getting made so your concern about incest, underage sex and whatever else seems to be a non issue with HBO.  The network that gave us The Sopranos, Oz , Deadwood and Rome (closest to this series in tone) could do it.  I see it coming in somewhere between Rome and The Tudors, but a lot more brutal.


----------



## FearlessFreep (Aug 5, 2009)

MA-Caver said:


> A fantasy series (nine --huge) volumes written by Stephen R. Donaldson. "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever."  IMO a truly amazing fantasy epic... it was starting out to be a film but it's so complicated and so in depth with it's plot and characters that it was deemed too difficult (read: costly)... so probably if broken down to a mini-series or a direct to DVD set maybe.




Was going to recommend the same series

Also from Donaldson, the Gap series would be great Si-Fi and his Mirror series could actually be fantasy that could be handled


----------



## Big Don (Aug 5, 2009)

I'd love to see Simon Green's Deathstalker books as a TV Series. Espers, Wampyrs, and the friggin' Stevie Blues!


----------



## arnisador (Aug 5, 2009)

celtic_crippler said:


> "Roadmarks: Last Exit to Babylon" by Roger Zelazny



The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny (the first five books, which could make three good movies)--casting could be a lot of fun with this one--there are a lot of princes and princesses in the series.

Logan's Run--a remake that is true to the original. There are other books in the series but only the second one is of any value at all.

Shibumi by Trevanian--a martial arts thriller that goes deeper than most.


----------



## Steve (Aug 5, 2009)

John Rain series could be really good and are written in a way that would be relatively easy to adapt.

A fantasy series I've always loved since a kid was the Elric of Melnibone series by Michael Morcock.  That or the Corum series.  Either would be completely badass, but would have to be done well or it would be just another cheesy fantasy movie.  
I like many of your suggestions, but cringe at the expectation some of you seem to have that the movies be true to book.  In my opinion, the best adaptations of books are ones that capture the themes and the broad strokes, but aren't bound to address every detail.  

For example, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest was a fantastic book, and Jack Nicholson's movie was equally fantastic even though many of the details had been changed.

If anything, the Harry Potter books suffered from the burden of being too true to the books.  Honestly, every one of the movies was bloated and overly long, but it was clear that the director tried to pack too much in.  LOTR trilogy was the same way, and I've read the books several times over the years.  I mean, really...  at times it went from being a New Zealand tourist movie to gay, softcore, hobbit porn, to just being a very slow, boring homage to classic fantasy novels.  

Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever could be really, really good, but they'd have a hard time marketing movies in which the main character is so unlikable an anti-hero that he doesn't truly redeem himself until well into the final chapter.  It's been decades since I read those books, and I truly loved them at the time, but I remember him being kind of a jerk throughout the entire series.  

Ender's Game would be AWESOME.  Finding a group of young kids who could play those geniuses would be a real challenge.  

F Paul Wilson wrote some great books.  Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing The Touch as a movie, either.  That would be cool.

Ultimately, if nothing else, you guys are reminding me of novels I read long ago that I loved but haven't really thought about in years.  Thanks for that!!!


----------



## Blindside (Aug 6, 2009)

stevebjj said:


> John Rain series could be really good and are written in a way that would be relatively easy to adapt.



You might want to look at the trailer then....


----------



## Blindside (Aug 6, 2009)

Christopher Hinz's "Paratwa" books, particularly the first "liege-killer."  Good future fiction, martial arts, guns, future tech, it has it all.  

S.M. Stirlings "Dies the Fire," modern day folk having to relearn ancient skills like farming and fighting on medieval level technology. 

And one of Steve Perry's books, probably Matadora, good martial arts and character developement.  While I liked "the Man Who Never Missed" it wouldn't translate to a movie very well.  If it was Matadora, I think Jada Pinkett Smith would be good, age is about right, just have to make her look good dong martial arts.


----------



## Joab (Aug 6, 2009)

Frostbite said:


> I'd really like to see a movie remake of Without Remorse by Tom Clancy but I doubt it'd do that well.
> 
> I also wouldn't mind seeing a Splinter Cell movie.


 
"Without Remorse" is in preproduction. It is scheduled to be released in 2011. I think it will do very well if done right.


----------



## Joab (Aug 6, 2009)

Robert A. Heinlein's "Glory Road" Hopefully they wouldn't screw it all up as they did "Starship Troopers" Tom Cruise might be a good one for the lead, he seemed to do a good job with a sword in "The Last Samurai".


----------



## jks9199 (Aug 6, 2009)

stevebjj said:


> I like many of your suggestions, but cringe at the expectation some of you seem to have that the movies be true to book.  In my opinion, the best adaptations of books are ones that capture the themes and the broad strokes, but aren't bound to address every detail.



That's a great point.  A lot of great novels would make lousy movies -- if translated directly.  But they'd be a great movie if made by someone who can translate from the literary to the visual world of movies.  It's one thing to be faithful to the source material; it's another to be enslaved by it.

There's a lot stuff that has to move from internal dialog or wordy explication and be shown or otherwise brought out.  Think about the opening of *Nine Princes in Amber*.  How do you show the memory flashes, the automatic, instinctive paranoia, and so on that's going on with Corwin?  (And, yeah, I'd love to see a movie(s) made of the Chronicles of Amber!  To do it decent, I think you'd have to combine a couple of the books, both for reasons of practicality and simple storytelling.)


----------



## Ken Morgan (Aug 6, 2009)

MA-Caver said:


> A fantasy series (nine --huge) volumes written by Stephen R. Donaldson. "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever." IMO a truly amazing fantasy epic... it was starting out to be a film but it's so complicated and so in depth with it's plot and characters that it was deemed too difficult (read: costly)... so probably if broken down to a mini-series or a direct to DVD set maybe.


 
One of my all time favorite series of books. I read them several times years ago, and I still hold them in high regard.

Theres books by Raymond Feist, Terry Brooks, Charles De Lint, and countless others that I would love to see, but I dont think the general public would be willing to pay to see most of them. 

Oh, wait, John R. Maxims series about Bannerman. Great series about a team of assassins, kinda like a James Bond rolled into Jason Bourne. Those would be some great movies.


----------



## Big Don (Aug 6, 2009)

Joab said:


> "Without Remorse" is in preproduction. It is scheduled to be released in 2011. I think it will do very well if done right.


That is sad. Clancy's books have suffered more than most in the transition to film. Come on, John Clark is supposed to be dark haired with a large build, who played him? Will Dafoe...
They started with Hunt for Red October, with Jones and Adm Greer being changed into black men for no good reason. Clancy had black people in his novels, the main character's best friend is black, Jones could be, his race was never mentioned, but, ADM Greer was NOT black, he just could not have been. He was a US Navy officer during WWII, he wasn't black.
What skinny, pasty little blond are they going to have play Clark in Without Remorse? Are they going to leave in the bits where he tortures people in the decompression chamber?


----------



## Joab (Aug 6, 2009)

Big Don said:


> That is sad. Clancy's books have suffered more than most in the transition to film. Come on, John Clark is supposed to be dark haired with a large build, who played him? Will Dafoe...
> They started with Hunt for Red October, with Jones and Adm Greer being changed into black men for no good reason. Clancy had black people in his novels, the main character's best friend is black, Jones could be, his race was never mentioned, but, ADM Greer was NOT black, he just could not have been. He was a US Navy officer during WWII, he wasn't black.
> What skinny, pasty little blond are they going to have play Clark in Without Remorse? Are they going to leave in the bits where he tortures people in the decompression chamber?


 
There are rumors it will be Brandon Routh, the actor who played Superman in "Superman Returns". He only tortured one in a decompression chamber, don't know if it will be included.


----------



## Omar B (Aug 6, 2009)

Brandon Routh would be a great John Clark.  Actually i think the best version of him thus far was Liev Schrieber in The Sum Of All Fears.  But yeah, Clancy generally gets butchered.  I firmly assert that Rainbow 6 should have been an hour long series, shows like The Unit, Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis proved that military shows can be done well and relativly cheaply.  Thow Rainbow 6 on HBO or Showtime.


----------



## girlbug2 (Aug 6, 2009)

I wish they'd make The Time Traveller's Wife into a series rather than a movie.

Here's the deal: the book is very complex and has a lot of underlying dark themes, even though on the surface it's a romance of sorts. The hero, Henry, has to become a thief in order to survive as a time traveller. There is also implications that he's an alcoholic, a womanizer, and has rage problems. But with his sweetheart Clare he seems like a perfect gentleman and a dream boyfriend/husband (no that's not a spoiler, it's revealed very early on in the book). Henry and Clare also do some things in the main plot that would not put them in a sympathetic light for the romance-moviegoer audience.

Also, there's a great deal of philosophical exploration into the nature of time travel, the meaning of fate and destiny, and free will. 

Although the movie hasn't been released yet I can tell they've botched it. It's being marketed as a sweet romance. Rachel McAdams is cast as Clare-that should tell you loads. Look at the poster--nothing in it hints at the kind of people Clare and Henry are in the book. I am in despair that a major Hollywood version of the Time Traveler's Wife could possibly do justice to the complex and dark themes of this book.

HBO, on the other hand, yes. That would be fitting, I think.


----------



## Nomad (Aug 6, 2009)

FearlessFreep said:


> Also from Donaldson, the Gap series would be great Si-Fi and his Mirror series could actually be fantasy that could be handled



The Gap series would definitely be rated "R" (at least!), but would be fantastic with the right screenplay & Ridley Scott directing.

Count me in on Ender's Game as well (go ahead and skip the Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide, but come back with his Ender's Shadow series about Bean).

I really want to see The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay made into movies; hands down the best fantasy books I've read.  Please get Peter Jackson on board to direct.

Nearly anything by David Gemmell (Druss the Legend, Waylander, etc) _could_ make very good movies... with decent screenplays and actor/director combinations.  They could also end up really cheesy if not handled well.


----------



## Big Don (Aug 6, 2009)

Omar B said:


> I firmly assert that Rainbow 6 should have been an hour long series, shows like The Unit, Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis proved that military shows can be done well and relativly cheaply.  Thow Rainbow 6 on HBO or Showtime.


I could see that. Hell, I'd like to see that. With a three night pilot miniseries, covering the events in the book.


----------



## Ken Morgan (Aug 6, 2009)

Nomad said:


> I really want to see The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay made into movies; hands down the best fantasy books I've read.


 
Agreed!


----------



## Omar B (Aug 7, 2009)

Big Don said:


> I could see that. Hell, I'd like to see that. With a three night pilot miniseries, covering the events in the book.



I hear you man, there is enough story and action to make 3 episodes at 2 hours each and have lots of action and plot in each.  Plus the book ends at the perfect spot with the team fully established and everything in place to work as a well oiled machine.

One thing I loved about Rainbow 6 was the entire time reading it all I had in my head was Larry Hama's run on the GI Joe comics.  It felt as if Clancy read those and was doing his version of it.  I always thought GI Joe should be heavy on the Clancy vibe.


----------



## Big Don (Aug 7, 2009)

never been a comics guy, myself, but, I'd love to see Ding and John bag the guys on the plane (before the title credits, night one) and the amusement park, (culminating night two) and the evil hippies in the rain forest (night 3) Damn, that would be cool.


----------



## Omar B (Aug 7, 2009)

No man, the plane is the opening scene!  Remember it starts on the plane then they defuse that situation then land and have the first briefing.  I say Plane, first briefing, separating into 2 teams, first training and the next action scene (was it the amusement park or the house with the helicopter in the back?) all interspersed with the kidnappings of the homeless and the testing.


----------



## Big Don (Aug 7, 2009)

Omar B said:


> No man, the plane is the opening scene!


 YES! Before the Theme song! Like the 10min bit before the themesong in everyh bond movie...





> Remember it starts on the plane then they defuse that situation then land and have the first briefing.  I say Plane, first briefing, separating into 2 teams, first training and the next action scene (was it the amusement park or the house with the helicopter in the back?) all interspersed with the kidnappings of the homeless and the testing.


Plane, BANK, house, Park, Hospital, Olympics, Jungle, IIRC... The Olympics thing would FREAK people out...


----------



## Omar B (Aug 7, 2009)

Awesome, you got the order right!  By the way, the hospital action scene is my favorite, not only a great shootout, but a Michael Bay worthy car chase/helecopter chase and post chase standoff in the hospital.  Plus that scene with Ding wanting to make that guy into a girl.  That book is so damn sweet.

But yeah man, if you like Clancy you should check out Larry Hama's run on GI Joe.  He's the first guy who wrote the title and I swear there's so much stuff I'm sure Clancy lifted right out of GI Joe.  By the way, Hama's Japanese/American, a marital artist (perfect for writing Snake Eyes), a marine who served in Nam.  The dude's got the cred necessary to write a great war story.


----------



## CoryKS (Aug 7, 2009)

Nomad said:


> Count me in on Ender's Game as well (go ahead and skip the Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide, but come back with his Ender's Shadow series about Bean).


 
OSC has been working on a script forever, and he has said that it will encompass the story lines of both Game and Shadow.  To get an idea of how long it's been in the works, they were originally talking about getting the boy who played Anakin Skywalker in Ep I.  Who is now in his twenties.


----------



## Big Don (Aug 7, 2009)

Omar B said:


> Awesome, you got the order right!  By the way, the hospital action scene is my favorite, not only a great shootout, but a Michael Bay worthy car chase/helecopter chase and post chase standoff in the hospital.  Plus that scene with Ding wanting to make that guy into a girl.  That book is so damn sweet.


OK. We've done a pretty good rough outline of a Mini Series for Rainbow Six, now, who pays us the big bucks and when do we get them?


----------



## Omar B (Aug 7, 2009)

My question is when's Clancy gonna get off his butt and give us another book actually written by him?  It's great to have the ones plotted out by him under the "Tom Clancy's" banner but it does not count.

Nobody's gonna pay money for a Rainbow 6 series.  Clancy's a conservative and the book makes the environmentalists look pretty bad, it'll never fly in Hollywood.  Maybe if it was an English production with an American cast, but I find it hard to see it happen over here.


----------



## Big Don (Aug 7, 2009)

Teeth of the Tiger II? Maybe he could explain where the cousins came from...


----------



## Nomad (Aug 7, 2009)

CoryKS said:


> OSC has been working on a script forever, and he has said that it will encompass the story lines of both Game and Shadow.  To get an idea of how long it's been in the works, they were originally talking about getting the boy who played Anakin Skywalker in Ep I.  Who is now in his twenties.



Hmmm... think they might want to recast that.  I don't think I'll hold my breath waiting or anything.  I could easily see how this would be a very difficult one to translate properly onto film.


----------



## Frostbite (Aug 7, 2009)

Omar B said:


> My question is when's Clancy gonna get off his butt and give us another book actually written by him?  It's great to have the ones plotted out by him under the "Tom Clancy's" banner but it does not count.



I don't know but his last couple of been disappointing anyway, so he's sort of fallen off my radar for the time being.  I really felt like he just phoned Teeth of the Tiger in, compared to the quality of some of his previous works.


----------



## Satt (Aug 7, 2009)

There is one graphic novel and two book trilogies I would love to see made into movies...

Graphic Novel: "Y The Last Man" (I think they are talking about making this into a movie actually.) http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=1736

Books: "The Circle Trilogy" by Ted Decker. Books are titled "Black", "Red", and "White". (I love the concept for this story.)
http://www.thecircletrilogy.com/ 

Book Series 2: The "Myst" trilogy based on the video game. (Even though it's based on a game, it's acutally a really interesting and entertaining read.)


These three stories are some of the most interesting fiction concepts I have read.


----------



## Omar B (Aug 7, 2009)

Love _Y The Last Man_, and it is being made into a movie by the way.  Shia Lebouf is going to be the main dude.


----------

