# Books You're Surprised There Aren't Movies Of **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798 "2003-01-10T19:09:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/61 "2003-01-12T08:09:19Z")
I’d like to see Ellison’s original draft of City on the Edge of Forever filmed. I think these days we can handle the idea that someone in the Federation might run drugs. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/62 "2003-01-12T13:50:16Z")
An interesting (if slightly hijacked) note for you Stephen King fans out there: I understand that Stephen King’s (rather long) short story The Mist is going to be a movie. It’s not in production yet, but Frank Darabont (who brought us The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption) has bought the rights. I’m excited. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/63 "2003-01-12T14:09:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lumpy \* > \*\*Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars series. A combination space opera/ barbarian swordsman story? It’s a natural. They’ve done (bad versions of) Pellucidor and The Land that Time Forgot, not to even mention Tarzan, so why not Barsoom? > > Gor might be too kinky for mainstream release, but maybe as a Cinimax (or Playboy Channel) project? \*\* There’s a thread around here with links to a site discussing this. Apparently, it’s in the talking stages to be done. However, I don’t hold much hope for it as the actor they’re looking to sign to play John Carter is (brace yourself) **Tom Cruise**! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![Fiat\_Lux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Fiat\_Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiat_Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/64 "2003-01-12T15:23:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sampiro \* > \*\* > > Books I’m surprised there aren’t film versions of: > GENERATION X (Douglas Coupland) > THE SANDMAN (Gaiman) > GOOD OMENS (Gaiman/Pratchett- they need to do this one before all the Python gang is dead as they could do great cameos) > > \*\* The deal with two of these: There _was_ one attempt at a ‘Good Omens’ film once, but Pratchett and Gaiman and the film producers (forget who) all sort of mutually fell out over how they wanted it to be, and it was eventually given up. Rumour has it that Terry Gilliam is making a try at it now, but then there are always rumours like that. There is a script written for a Sandman movie Neil Gaiman talks about some times, and it’s apparantly horrible. They’ve changed it so it’s basically an action movie about a battle between Morpheus and ‘his archenemy, the Corinthian’. Unless Gaiman can get the rights back, you do NOT want to see a Sandman movie coming out. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/65 "2003-01-12T15:55:04Z")
Every time I read one of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels I think “And why aren’t these made into movies?” It seems so natural–the books are driven by physical gags and hilarious dialog, much of which would translate straight to screen without a hitch. Ironically, the exact same thing can be said about the Fletch books, and while hte first Fletch movie was mildly enjoyable ,they still didn’t capture any of the beautiul thing that is I.M Fletcher. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/66 "2003-01-12T17:18:28Z")
“Rainbow Six” by Tom Clancy. “Ender’s Game” dittoed. ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/67 "2003-01-12T18:30:18Z")
The _Preacher_ graphic novel series. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/68 "2003-01-12T19:59:07Z")
Kim Newman’s ANNO DRACULA an animated version of Ayn Rand’s ANTHEM animated or stop-motion or CGI presetation- as written- not a dramatized interpretation but a graphic literal portrayal of THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/69 "2003-01-12T21:15:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by norinew \* > \*\*Also, with comp. animation getting so good, **Watership Down** would be a natural. \*\* Actually, there _is_ a movie version of _[Watership Down](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0078480)_. I haven’t seen it, though, so I couldn’t tell you if it’s good or not… ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/70 "2003-01-12T22:08:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > \*\* > _I, Robot_ is in preproduction. > > Will Smith will probably play the lead. > \*\* Any bets on whether there will be a rap video with Will Smith surrounded by legions of CGI androids doing Janet Jackson-style synchronized dancing? -Ben “We finished the rap video already. It’s called ‘Slug Slam.’” ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/71 "2003-01-12T22:10:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*Nope, Harlan Ellison _did_, though. Since the plot was essentially the same as an episode of _The Outer Limits_ that he wrote. \*\* I always had a real problem with this. I saw the Outer Limits episode in question (demon with a glass hand, or some such) and as best I can tell, the only similarity is that a) it has a time-travelling cyborg, and b) the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/72 "2003-01-12T22:20:14Z")
_The Terminator_ was a pastiche of a huge number of science fiction works. James Cameron stole his ideas from all over the place. He used ideas from two different _Outer Limits_ episodes that Ellison wrote and one that Ellison didn’t write (and, more importantly, he mentioned in interviews that he got ideas from them, which made Ellison’s case for a lawsuit pretty ironclad). He got ideas from Philip K. Dick’s short stories. He copied plots from everything ever written on the idea of time-travel paradoxes. None of this detracts from _The Terminator_ being a great film, but the plot was firmly in the line of the science fiction tradition. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/73 "2003-01-12T22:35:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben \* > \*\*I always had a real problem with this. I saw the Outer Limits episode in question (demon with a glass hand, or some such) and as best I can tell, the only similarity is that a) it has a time-travelling cyborg, and b) the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. \*\* It’s **not** _The Demon With a Glass Hand_ that Harlan claimed _Terminator_ borrowed from. _TDWAGH_ starred Robert Culp as a man with a computer hand with glass fingers. He spends the episode trying to find the fingers of the hand as he has amnesia and the fingers are data banks and he learns about who he is and what’s going on in the world with each finger he finds and replaces in his hand. At the end of the episode, he finds out that he’s a robot, with humanity stored inside him. The episode that Harlan used in his suit is called _soldier_, IIRC, it involves two soldiers who get caught in an eletrical storm and get sent back in time to modern America. One of the soldiers is a genetically engineered killing machine (I’m going from memory here, so I might not be exactly correct on all the details), while the other is normal. The genetically engineered killing machine is barely articulate, while the normal soldier tries to convince everyone that _he’s_ the good guy and they should let him kill the other soldier. There are a _number_ similarities between the episode and _The Terminator_ and I remember watching the episode and thinking, “That’s where they got the idea for _The Terminator_ from.” Supposedly, what really shot Cameron’s defense was that on the set of _The Terminator_, he said, “I’m ripping off a few old Outer Limits.” Not surprising, since his _The Abyss_ was essentially an underwater version of _2001_. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/74 "2003-01-12T22:58:52Z")
I’ve seen both eps of Outer Limits and I’ve seen Terminator and I’m really surprised anyone could consider Terminator a ripoff of either one. He may have used either or both as starting points, but Terminator was definitely something of his own. Re: Gor Yes, there were movies based on the Gor novels, but about the only thing they kept was the title and the names of some of the characters. I mean, in the Outlaw of Gor movie, Tarl Cabot swears his eternal opposition to slavery. Snerk! IMHO there has never been an adaptation of the Gor novels AS WRITTEN. I think they would make a great basis for some Japanese hentai, which have a tradition of including both sex and storylines, which was what made the Gor novels exceptional. ---
**Author:** ![icescorpion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/0ea827/32.png) [@icescorpion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icescorpion)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/75 "2003-01-13T00:35:43Z")
I think the real question should be: With all the really GOOD books out there, why are their corresponding movies so overpoweringly awful? For instance: Dune, The Mists of Avalon, all those goddamned Jane Austen/Shakespeare take offs… If any one EVER attempts to make a movie out of Ender’s Game, I will personally hunt them down and torture them to death very…very…very slowly…since that’s what they’d do to that book. o:) ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/76 "2003-01-13T00:42:41Z")
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/77 "2003-01-13T01:07:37Z")
Even more than _A Suitable Boy_, Vikram Seth’s _An Equal Music_, (which belongs in the “Which books made you cry” thread, as well, come to think of it.) Poets make the best novelists. **icescorpion** , what makes _Dune_ so hurtful is what it started out as. Alejandro Jodorosky to direct. Salvadore Dali to do artwork _and_ star. H.R. Giger to provide House Harkonen’s design. Moebius to design House Atreides. Douglas Trumbbull (2001) to do the special visual effects. A _Pink Floyd_ soundtrack instead of that awful _Toto_ thing, even. When the project went spectacularly over-budget, largely due to the improbable number of uber-ego’s involved, David Lynch was approached to start over from scratch. He didn’t _want_ to make it-- he only agreed to it because the studio agreed to get behind _Blue Velvet_ as part of the deal. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/78 "2003-01-13T01:55:11Z")
The first I thought of here were the Fafhrd/Gray Mouser books by Fritz Leiber, who allegedy coined the term ‘sword and sorcery’. The stories have both S&S, along with humour and a little sex. Anybody have suggestions for casting? Another that should be made is the _Dancers at the End of Time_ trilogy by Michael Moorcock. A couple of duds that should be remade (that’s “remade properly, so they bear some resemblance to the original”) are _Johnny Mnemonic_ and Poul Anderson’s _The High Crusade_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/79 "2003-01-13T02:00:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars series. A combination space opera/ barbarian swordsman story? It’s a natural. They’ve done (bad versions of) Pellucidor and The Land that Time Forgot, not to even mention Tarzan, so why not Barsoom? There was a brief animated vrsion of John Carter made in the 1930s or 1940s. In color, no less. It may have been only a very brief trial clip. It certainly wasn’t a whole story. But it looked _great_. Too bd they didn’t go through with it. The animation style was a lot like the Fleischer Studio’s **Superman** cartoons, although I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Fleischer doing JC. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798/80 "2003-01-13T02:15:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Mudd \* > \*\* > > **icescorpion** , what makes _Dune_ so hurtful is what it started out as. > > Alejandro Jodorosky to direct. Salvadore Dali to do artwork _and_ star. H.R. Giger to provide House Harkonen’s design. Moebius to design House Atreides. Douglas Trumbbull (2001) to do the special visual effects. A _Pink Floyd_ soundtrack instead of that awful _Toto_ thing, even. > > When the project went spectacularly over-budget, largely due to the improbable number of uber-ego’s involved, David Lynch was approached to start over from scratch. He didn’t _want_ to make it-- he only agreed to it because the studio agreed to get behind _Blue Velvet_ as part of the deal. \*\* Well, the other problem was that Jodorosky couldn’t get his project approved by Herbert. I think one of the big points of contention is that Alia was going to be the product of an incestious relation between Paul and Jessica. Makes you wonder why herbert was upset. I’m rather conflicted as to which one I like better. The movie captures the style, but the miniseries actually had the better plot. Now, if there were only some way to combine them keeping the best of both. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-surprised-there-arent-movies-of/147798.md?page=5)