# The Why isn't this Book a Movie Already Thread? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686 "2017-03-21T14:23:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/81 "2017-03-22T20:34:51Z")
For Heinlein, I would go with _The Rolling Stones_. I think you could do that on a relatively modest budget. Zelazny’s _Lord of Light_. Moorcock’s “eternal champion”. I would like to see Elric on the big screen, but some of the other incarnations would be cool also. Poul Anderson’s _Fire Time_. How about some “hollow earth” stories? Burrough’s Pellucidar, or Grell’s _Warlord_. I would like to see some of the old matinee serials re-made as big-budget HBO series. _Buck Rogers_, _Flash Gordon_,\* Undersea Kingdom\*, _The Phantom Empire_. We are long overdue for re-makes of _Beau Geste_, _The Prisoner of Zenda_, and _Arsenic and Old Lace_. I want to see a movie in which Fu Manchu is a humble Ch’ing Dynasty civil servant, saving the world from the diabolical mad scientists, Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/82 "2017-03-22T20:37:33Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > For Heinlein, I would go with _The Rolling Stones_. I think you could do that on a relatively modest budget. > … Funny thing is people would complain they were knocking off tribbles with the flat cats. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/83 "2017-03-22T20:44:37Z")
I’d like to see _The Rook_ as a movie. Plus, _The Golem and the Jinni_. ---
**Author:** ![icantdraw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3ec8ea/32.png) [@icantdraw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icantdraw)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/84 "2017-03-22T20:48:17Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > For my money, I’m betting that _The Eyes of the Dragon_ would make a great flick. Totally agree with the above. I’ve always thought **Shantaram** would make a great movie. But has anyone other than me even read that book? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/85 "2017-03-22T23:56:05Z")
I know _The Fountainhead_ has already been made into a movie (in 1949), but IMO it sucked. I think it’s a great story, and would love it if a competent & talented filmmaker would remake it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/86 "2017-03-23T00:37:10Z")
I’ll put in another vote for _Starship Troopers_. Yes, I acknowledge the existence of the Verhooeven flick, but that’s irrelevant, since it was not in any sense whatsoever “the book made into a movie”. I mean, we’re talking about a director who’s actually _proud_ that he never read the book, because he wanted to avoid all influence from it. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/87 "2017-03-23T01:55:37Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Come to think of it there would be a few of Alan Dean Foster’s books that would translate well into movies: Glory Lane, the Humanx series (I’d loooove to see that on screen!), Spellsinger! > > For a series, **Callahan’s Cross Time Saloon** or **Stainless Steel Rat**! yes ! could see those being acceptable tv series … Mine is : metrophage … I had this thought out as a cgi/anime type of series … hell I even had brando playing/voicing conover And the alienist… I know they were going to do it at one time because I seen the coming soon preview …but never heard about it again What I wondered about was how they were going to handle the squicky underage male prostitution angle … ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/88 "2017-03-23T11:47:56Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > We are long overdue for re-makes of _Beau Geste_, _The Prisoner of Zenda_, and _Arsenic and Old Lace_. I think [Marty Feldman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Remake_of_Beau_Geste) hammered a stake through the heart of the first one (or at least I hope so). \*Zenda \*would probably end up as one of those horrible all-action, no-plot eye-candy films (see: every version of “Man in the Iron Mask” ever) with the princess transformed into an emancipated sword-fighting daredevil. And while I wouldn’t mind an AaOL revival I’m not convinced that farce is commercial enough for cinema these days - odds are you’d just end up with another _[Oscar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_(1991_film))_. Plus, who gets Taft jokes anymore? I occasionally wonder if Brian Daley’s \*\*[Fitzhugh and Floyt](http://grandcentralarena.com/on-my-shelves-brian-daleys-hobart-floytalacrity-fitzhugh-trilogy/)\*\*books would work for television - they’re too light for full-scale film but as a semi-whimsical series there’s something there, and the characters are certainly engaging. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/89 "2017-03-23T13:09:22Z")
Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/90 "2017-03-23T14:33:10Z")
There are a lot of votes for Lovecraft. There have been a lot of abysmal Lovecraft adaptations over the years, but recently there have been some very good ones – _The Call of Cthulhu_, _The Whisperer in Darkness_, _The Colour out of Space_. I know they’ve been done, but I’ve been very disappointed in the adaptations I’ve seen of _The Case of Charles Dexter Ward_ and _The Shadow Over Innsmouth_, and think you could really do a great job with either of those. And I’m certain that, between better writing and the use of CGI, you could do an infinitely better job of **The Dunwich Horror** than either of the versions that had Dean Stockwell in them. But I don’t think _At the Mountains of Madness_ would make a great flick, for various reasons. One would be that people would think you were ripping off _The Thing_, when, ironically, it’s probably the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/91 "2017-03-23T14:47:18Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I’ll second this one- I absolutely love Ariel. Did you ever read _The Architect of Sleep_, by the same author? Even though it’s the first in a never-to-be-finished series, it’s still one of my favorite books. > > I’d love to see \*Jumper \*by Steven Gould be made into a movie. I heard rumors that a movie was made several years ago, but it clearly had to be based on some other book with the same title, 'cause that ain’t no \*Jumper \*I’ve ever read. I ordered AoS as soon as it came out and only just found out there’s a sequel to Ariel and two other books Boyett has written (They should be in my hot little hands next week! ). I never really considered it as movie worthy but with what was before Avatar, sentient raccoons would be a relative cakewalk. Arsenic and Old Lace ( I loved the black and white version) I could see being rewritten as a more modern take; the Same with Confederacy of Dunces. I only read it last year and I’m thinking Josh McDermitt would have the chops to pull of the lead. Some fantastic selections thus far and a few I never would have thought of, Paradise Lost comes to mind. Keep them coming and maybe someone forward this list to Scott, Spielberg or Howard for future consideration? 😃 Ooh, and Lovecraft! And maybe Lord Dunsany for good measure! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/92 "2017-03-23T16:47:49Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Any of Neal Stephenson’s books, especially _Snow Crash_ and _The Baroque Cycle_. You’ve got a typo there. You meant _Snow Crash_ and _Cryptonomicon_. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/93 "2017-03-23T16:52:47Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > You’ve got a typo there. You meant _Snow Crash_ and _Cryptonomicon_. If it ain’t _Baroque_, don’t fix it. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/94 "2017-03-23T17:19:29Z")
I suspect something good could come of an adaptation of _Norstrilia_, if it were not to end up over-produced. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/95 "2017-03-23T17:45:12Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > Lucifer’s Hammer. That reminds me - time to read it again. Another Pournelle/Niven vehicle: _Footfall._ TBH, I’d mostly watch it for the CGI. And also, I’d secretly enjoy watching certain sectors of culture go batshit over the launch of the _Michael_. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/96 "2017-03-23T20:39:34Z")
Be honest: You’re _really_ just hoping to see paragliding elephants in pink foam shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/97 "2017-03-24T02:02:04Z")
_Good Omens_ (though I hear they’re already making this). The _Dresden Files_ series (which I think would work better as a series of movies than the horrible TV show they already made). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/98 "2017-03-24T03:47:29Z")
**[The Face](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Face_(Koontz_novel))** and **[The Taking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Taking)** both by Dean Koontz could make excellent movies. The Face is suspenseful, and The Taking is a very weird horror novel. [The Mediator series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mediator) by Meg Cabot could be an awesome TV show. It’s about a girl who escorts ghosts to the afterlife…and kicks their butts if they refuse to go peacefully. Then she falls for one of the ghosts… I’ve also thought that the [Hollows/Rachel Morgan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollows_(series)) series by Kim Harrison would make a good series too, and I honestly think that if Being Human hadn’t existed, it already would be. Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but after a tomato-borne illness causes a lot of human deaths a witch, a living vampire, a huge pixie family, and a teenage gargoyle move into a haunted church…and have run-ins with demons, witches-gone-bad and (very much endangered) elves. And then, in the vein of The Dresden Files, there’s the \*\*October Daye \*\*series by Seanan McGuire. Very fun dark urban fantasy that begins with the main character recovering from having been transformed into a koi for 14 years. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/99 "2017-03-24T03:59:31Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > Startide Rising. Another space opera that couldn’t be done until recently (dolphins make up a fair chunk of the character base), but would translate fantastically to the screen. Another vote for Startide Rising. Also, has anyone attempted A Canticle for Liebowitz? And if not, why not? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686/100 "2017-03-24T04:17:55Z")
Were “Warday” or “Forever War” mentioned yet? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-why-isnt-this-book-a-movie-already-thread/782686.md?page=6)