# Ever read a book or short story and thought "they HAVE to make this into a movie!"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2010, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706 "2010-12-19T10:27:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/41 "2010-12-21T02:47:47Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > But seriously: > Susanna Clarke’s book Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, two early-19th century English magicians that bring magic back to England. Great story. I would go and see the movie. I would. But I just don’t think it’s POSSIBLE to make a movie that’s anything like the book. You could get the story in there and a really determined writer and director and designer team could get the melancholy and the setting, but the infinitely creepy (and infintely long) build would either make an incredibly dull movie or need to get cut. And the book doesn’t really _climax_, per se. Stuff keeps building slowly, building more slowly, building, building… and then it sort of eructates. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love this book and I would love to see any movie based on it. I just don’t think it can be done. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/42 "2010-12-21T04:36:18Z")
I’m reading _Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell_ right now, and am about 100 pages in. I’d love to see a movie of it, but suspect that it would suck. Or, almost worse, given its ambitions, that it would… disappoint. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/43 "2010-12-21T13:44:42Z")
_Finnegan’s Wake._ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/44 "2010-12-21T19:42:58Z")
_Manhattan Transfer_ by John Stith. Aliens take Manhattan; not in a “troops seize the city” sense but literally take Manhattan Island out of the Earth and into their ship. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/45 "2010-12-21T19:49:02Z")
I’d love to see a version of _The Master and Margarita_. It has tons of visual imagry which would work well in a film … Satan comes to Stalinist Russia and, literally, all hell breaks loose … complete with a pistol-packin’ Cat fighting it out with the KGB. 😃 I’ve heard there was a Russian made-for-TV version made, but I never saw it. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/46 "2010-12-21T20:38:40Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Stephen King’s _The Long Walk_. 100% agreed. Love to see a miniseries based on _The Belgariad_ quintilogy, too…and now that David Eddings has kicked the bucket, it may actually someday happen! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/47 "2010-12-21T20:48:35Z")
I started a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=519652) about how they would go about making _Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell_ into a movie, based mostly on how they would show one character walking around in two worlds at the same time. At the time someone posted that there was info on IMDb that they _were_ going to make it, with Don Cheadle attached to the project. The link in Post #12 of that thread is now dead. ---
**Author:** ![gang\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f07891/32.png) [@gang\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gang_green)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/48 "2010-12-21T22:11:19Z")
[Howl’s Moving Castle](http://www.amazon.com/Howls-Moving-Castle-Diana-Wynne/dp/0061478784/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292969209&sr=1-1). When I read this, I thought it would make an incredibly charming children’s movie. There is a [movie](http://www.amazon.com/Howls-Moving-Castle-Chieko-Baish%C3%B4/dp/B000CDGVOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1292969269&sr=1-1), animated by Miyazaki. I read the synopsis when it was still in production, and it seems Miyazaki took many liberties with the plot, even to the point of adding a war, to add his own personal political subtext. But because I love Diana Wynne Jones and Miyazaki so much, I can’t bring myself to watch it. Another is [Bridge of Birds](http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Birds-Novel-Ancient-China/dp/0345321383/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292969405&sr=1-1). Not a live action movie, or even a movie, but a series. This book is so full of stuff that trying to cut it to 90 minutes would be a travesty. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/49 "2010-12-21T22:14:05Z")
_Gates of Fire_ by Steven Pressfield. _300_ was a good, fun popcorn movie, but _Gates of Fire_ is the movie that needs to be made. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/50 "2010-12-21T22:26:12Z")
_Waverly_ by Sir Walter Scott. _Braveheart_ was such a hit, I really don’t see how another piece of historical fiction with REALLY A LOT OF HIGHLANDERS wouldn’t do well. There are parts where the book reads almost like a screenplay. Plus, drawing and quartering. Yay! ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/51 "2010-12-21T22:27:03Z")
OMG! _The Master and Margarita_ would be an AWESOME film! The flashbacks to Pilate, the asylum, the grand Satanic Ball-all would be so great. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/52 "2010-12-22T00:29:21Z")
Not fictional, but I’d love to see what Spielberg or Gus Van Sant would do with [this.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_Massacre) ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/53 "2010-12-23T21:20:15Z")
> [@gang\_green](#): > > Another is [Bridge of Birds](http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Birds-Novel-Ancient-China/dp/0345321383/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292969405&sr=1-1). Not a live action movie, or even a movie, but a series. This book is so full of stuff that trying to cut it to 90 minutes would be a travesty. Came in here -just- to say this one. I think visually alone it could be stunning, and the quirky interactions with Master Li would be very fun. Only problem I have is, if it made any bank, they’d make the sequels into movies… Which … Uhm… Well, let’s just say if Hughart could just make the sudden reveal in the later books… A little less predictable… That’d be nice. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/54 "2010-12-23T22:42:31Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > H. Beam Piper’s **Little Fuzzy**. Especially now, when CGI has advanced to the point where CGI Fuzzies would be feasible and believable. The merchandising money alone should make the movie a hit and probably spawn at least a couple of sequels! They already made a movie of **Little Fuzzy** - it was called ‘Return of the Jedi’! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/55 "2010-12-24T04:07:40Z")
> [@Neidhart](#): > > Not fictional, but I’d love to see what Spielberg or Gus Van Sant would do with [this.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_Massacre) Yes, I always thought that incident could make a horrifying, gripping film. The Collyer Brothers also deserve a big-budget movie, perhaps based on the recent Doctorow novel. I suspect there could be Oscars in it for a pair of older actors: > **[Collyer brothers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers)** > > Homer Lusk Collyer (November 6, 1881 – March 21, 1947) and Langley Wakeman Collyer (October 3, 1885 – c. March 9, 1947), known as the Collyer brothers, were two American brothers who became infamous for their bizarre natures and compulsive hoarding. The two lived in seclusion in their Harlem brownstone at 2078 Fifth Avenue (at the corner of 128th Street) in New York City where they obsessively collected books, furniture, musical instruments, and myriad other items, with booby traps set up in c ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/56 "2010-12-24T04:38:37Z")
I’m surprised none of John Sandford’s Prey novels haven’t been made into a film. ---
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/57 "2010-12-24T12:46:47Z")
Glory Road. 'nuff sed. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/58 "2010-12-26T00:33:15Z")
The Eyes of the Dragon. Could never be done, but it would be great if done well. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/59 "2010-12-26T03:09:34Z")
The Dragons of Pern, any of the books, preferably the trilogy starting with Dragon Quest though. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706/60 "2010-12-26T03:47:06Z")
_The Body_, a novella by Stephen King. Happily, Rob Reiner took it on and made _Stand By Me_, one of the few King book-to-movie successes. _The Milagro Beanfield War_, by John Nichols, probably the funniest book I ever read (four or five times). Robert Redford turned it into a movie, but it lost a lot in the transition. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-read-a-book-or-short-story-and-thought-they-have-to-make-this-into-a-movie/564706.md?page=4)