Top 5 Books I'd Like to See as Movies

This week's topic from The Broke and Bookish is Top 10 Books You'd Like to See as Movies. I only picked 5, so you should know that I'm twice as serious about all of these!

Salt & Storm - Kendall Kulper

The gorgeous location near Novia Scotia, would be so visually stunning. I love films that are period pieces for the great costumes. The sea witches magic, raging ocean storms, and Pacific Islander love interest would be great to see as well.

More Than This - Patrick Ness

Lots of twist and turns in this dystopian.

Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson

Superhero movies are all the rage right now. Featuring an evil Superman-like character and the young man who's fighting him, this book would make a great movie. I would love to see the scene where David cleverly bluffs his way out of a tough situation with a weapons dealer.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Saenz

Look - this would have to be an indie-art film. This isn't what I'd call a "blockbuster" plot. But, the friendship between the two boys that slowly turns toward romance and the lyrical slow-pace would make for a fantastic art house cinema piece.

The Burning Sky - Sherry Thomas

Harry Potter meets Downton Abby. Sold! Get this book turned into a movie, stat!

First official Hunger Games trailer

Looks amazing!

The Borrowers movie

The Secret World of Arrietty, based on The Borrowers novels by Mary Norton is due to be released next spring. Here's the official trailer.

Hugo trailer

I love this trailer for Hugo, based on the award-winning children's book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. I know there's a huge backlash against movies in 3-D, but I think that may suit this story perfectly, especially to get the feel of swooping through old Paris, the way the book does.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader trailer

Hurrah!  I'd heard that plans to make the third Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader had been scrapped, but it looks like it's finally come together.  Found the trailer for it earlier today.


Chronicles Of Narnia 3

Diary of a Wimpy Kid multimedia review

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary

by Jeff Kinney

Amulet Books

2010

I have to admit I was skeptical when I heard they were making a live-action movie version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The cartoons, so simple, so expressive, really are the heart of the book. How would it be possible to visualize Greg Heffley without them? My skepticism was only deepened by the fact that I had recently listened to the audiobook for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which had failed to impress.

I had been planning on skipping listening to the audiobook altogether. How could you put such a visual presentation into audio? I was encouraged, however, by Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I'd scoffed (as many did) that it'd be an impossible task to translate that unique Caldecott-winning book into a different format, and was very pleasantly surprised to see that music had been used to skillfully create atmosphere in the story. So, I approached the audiobook of Diary of a Wimpy Kid with an open mind. Sadly, it failed to deliver. The narrator simply read the story. Naturally, without the cartoons, many of the sight gags simply fell flat.

I was understandably cautious when I went to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid but ended up delighted by the film. The movie used just enough of the cartoons to give the flavor of the books. It was true to the story, and honestly hilarious.

Any big fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (and these days, what middle-schooler isn't a fan of the enormously popular series?) will definitely want to take a look at the Movie Diary. It's chock-full of behind-the-scenes info and tidbits about the child actors who play Greg Heffley and his best friend Rowley, including baby pictures and some of the first sketches of Greg that Kinney produced. Many kids have a vague idea of how a movie gets made, but the book really breaks down the process step-by-step. For example, in the scene where Greg and Rowley are sledding, it's not real snow, of course. And it wasn't actually that cold on the day of shooting. The book talks about how make-up artists painted the boys' cheeks red to simulate the look of being out in cold weather. That's a little detail that might have escaped the average movie viewer.

Another interesting detail is how the location scouting was done. When the school was selected, an army of designers and set dressers came up with a school mascot, and created hundreds of items that might be found in the school, including flyers on the bulletin boards.

I enjoyed reading about the thought process behind the design of several of the main character's bedrooms. Rowley's room is supposed to reflect that his family is very well-off, that his rocket ship bed, and other stuff is really, really cool... but also a bit babyish for a typical middle-schooler. The designers had the idea that Greg is the kind of kid who pursues hobbies with a passion and then drops them. They figured that he had just finished a big "pirates" craze, which is why you see so many pirate-themed items in his room. But before that, he went through a "sports" craze, which is why his bedsheets and some items he's had longer are sports-themed. For Fregley, the designers decided that his parents must be older. They created a more old-fashioned looking room, with vintage floral wallpaper and clothes and bedding for him that look like they came from a thrift store. It's interesting to see how the designers take a few kernels of information from the book, and really run with it.

With plenty of photos from the set, original drawings by Kinney, and large hand-lettered type, this book will be a blazingly fast read for most, although I anticipate some readers will want to read and re-read this while they are waiting for the fifth book in the series, due out next fall.

Check out the Monday round-up of non-fiction reviews 
at Charlotte's Library.

I blogged this during the 48-Hour Book Challenge.

I borrowed this book.

Kids Book to Film generator

Travis Jonker, of 100 Scope Notes fame, has created a new children's book to film headline generator.


I got some pretty funny headlines when I tried it, including: 


Frances McDormand and Clark Gable to Star in Bawdy Film Adaptation of 'Kitten's First Full Moon'


Robert Downey Jr. and Steve McQueen to Star in Hindu Film Adaptation of 'Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!'


Billy Bob Thornton and Robert Redford to Star in Melodic Film Adaptation of 'Bridge to Terabithia'

Harriet the Spy Remake

I just heard about the new Harriet the Spy remake that Disney is releasing, Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars.  In this version, Harriet is a high-school student, competing with a popular girl for the spot of official school blogger.  I have to admit, I'm feeling pretty skeptical.  Part of Harriet's charm, at least for me, is she's part of that generation of urban independent girls with hands-off parents.  A bit geeky, and socially awkward, sure, but intrepid and loveable, just the same.


The upcoming film adaptation of Cleary's Beezus and Ramona also ages the characters by about five or six years, which, for some reason, doesn't bother me as much.  Even though Ramona is going from being a five year old, to a ten year old, she's still a kid.


Here's the Blog Wars trailer.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Trailer

New trailer is out! I'm excited. This looks like fun.

Wild Things

It's opening weekend for the movie release of Where the Wild Things are. I'll definitely be seeing it, but not this weekend. I'm excited about the movie, but a little trepidatious too. I'm not much of a movie person, so I think I'll wait a bit to see what other folks have to say about it before I decide whether or not to shell out the money to see it in the theater.

For anyone in the L.A. area who missed their chance to see Terrible Yellow Eyes up in Alhambra, today's the last chance to grab a peek at the Wild Things installation at Space 15 Twenty in Hollywood.

The LAist has some photos of the exhibit, as does Latino Review. The costumes by Christian Joy are amazing! There's more Wild Things goodness to be had on the blog, We Love You So, which features pictures of opening weekends and the like.