Most of his later Juveniles would work. Door Into Summer?
What would NOT work for a Movie (maybe a mini series?) is the Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
There was barely enough to make a Star Trek episode. How would you make it a full movie without padding?
Iain Banks’ Culture novels turned into a series by an HBO or Starz with a large Sci-Fi budget would be my Number 1. Number 2 would be a stand-alone movie of The Algebraist.
Fevre Dream, by George RR Martin, could be a great movie.
I would also mention Ready Player One, by Ernie Cline. But it looks that one will be hitting the big screen in about a year.
There was more than enough to fill the time of the Star Trek episode – which a.) really wasn’t an adaptation – they were already writing it when someone noticed the similarity to Brown’s story; and b.) therefore doesn’t have a LOT of stuff that’s in the story; c.) most notably the ending, which is completely different (No gunpowder from scratch, and what the hero does is different than what Kirk does with the Gorn).
You can do it, and to do it justice, you need time. Without letting it drag.
I’m a little surprised that more of Clive Cussler’s novels haven’t been filmed. They’re incredibly dumb and clichéd, but they’re very cinematic. Cussler himself is said to be one reason – he makes himself a pain, apparently. It doesn’t help that the only two Cussler movies – Raise the Titanic and Sahara – both tanked. But You’d think, with the already pre-sold market for these a set of well-made movies would turn a decent profit.
For that matter, why not the equally outrageous novels of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs, both together and separately? So far all they’ve made has been The Relic, but I thought that did decently. With the success of the Oak Island series on cable, you’d think that their novel Riptide would do well. (Just stat away from the damned Agent Pendergast books)
Justice for Pern! Dragons fighting thread is cinematic as hell.
I always thought that Aron Eisenberg from Deep Space 9 could pull off playing Miles, but alas, he’s probably way too old for the role now.
Just watch the last 40 seconds or so of this, and tell me that’s not Miles-like:
Dragons fighting dragons are cinematic. Dragons fighting thread might not be so. Thread looks like … well … thread. If I were filming it, I’d jazz it up somehow.
Two of my favorite Stephen King novels have not been made into movies yet- The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and Gerald’s Game.
His books don’t always translate well onto film, and since both of these basically center around a single character, not really sure how they would stack up. Another is his short story Survivor Type, but again, revolves around a single character. And it’s quite possible that what you can conjure up in your mind for these 3 are way worse than anything they could film…
I came in here to post Dragonflight. I’ve been wanting a movie of it ever since I first read it some 30-odd years ago.
Occasionally while reading a book I think “Hey, this might make a good movie”. I am currently reading Ted Dekker’s **Circle Series **and had that thought.
How about Tad Williams’s **Sorrow, Memoery and Thorn **series? It is a little unwieldly, but a fantastic story. Cut out some of the sub-plots, perhaps?
I’m on board with any movie featuring Miles Vorkosigan. It would be so much fun to watch.
Waverly. It’s big-screen gold and no one is jumping for it. Not after Braveheart. Not after Fifty Shades of Plaid. Why not? You get to draw and quarter the hero at the end. C’mon, people.
This is a rare case where I feel meddling with the story improved it. I like Gene Coon’s ending better than I like Brown’s original.
Not me. And I hate the way they fundamentally changed the nature of the story.
Of course, I understand why – you couldn’t depict things on TV then with the effects available. Even when Marvel adapted it for the comics they gave the Outsider a T. Rex head (maybe in homage to the Star Trek version). But nowadays you can create the visuals you want with the CGI available.
I wish to ghod someone would do Riverworld right, just once.
From what I’ve heard nobody in Hollywood wants to ever work with Cussler again. By all accounts, he is virtually impossible to work with. He insists on complete control over any movie based on one of his works and wants the movie to be made his way even though he has no experience in filmmaking.
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.
Second Neuromancer.
Also, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.
Why?
For my money, I’m betting that The Eyes of the Dragon would make a great flick.