# What book would you make into a movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187 "2008-11-17T22:09:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/21 "2008-11-18T01:20:35Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Ariel by Stephen Boyett I entered the thread to say that. _The Iron Dream_ by Norman Spinrad. Okay, that’s not going to happen. I’d love to see a proper film version of one of the really solid Doc Savage novels. Done right, that would kick all sorts of ass. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/22 "2008-11-18T01:30:59Z")
[_Illuminatus!_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminatus!) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/23 "2008-11-18T03:23:22Z")
_The Rolling Stones_, by Robert Heinlein. _The War of the Worlds_, but set in 1900, NOT the present day. _Steel Magic_, by Andre Norton. Maybe _The Crystal Gryphon_. A TV series based on Michael Moorcock’s “Elric” series. Twenty years ago, David Bowie would have been perfect for the role. Today, I don’t know. Kevin Sorbo made a good Kull, he just needed a better writer and director. I would love to see Donald Hamilton’s “Matt Helm” books turned into movies, but done seriously, not for comedy like the Dean Martin movies. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/24 "2008-11-18T03:45:29Z")
A Confederacy of Dunces A great book, they’ve tried several times but the project seems cursed, I just want it done. House of Leaves Just for a challenge. (Though it would be one of those low-grossing “art films” not marketed as a blockbuster) ---
**Author:** ![deadindays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@deadindays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadindays)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/25 "2008-11-18T03:53:33Z")
Joe Haldeman’s Camouflage! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/26 "2008-11-18T04:00:32Z")
Tim Powers’ \*\*Last Call \*\*could be a wonderful movie. I’m thinking **Rounders** , with the “magic” glimpsed only briefly and the Aurthurian symbolism done very, very subtley, just like in the book. All would be lost if they brow beat you with it… ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/27 "2008-11-18T04:03:16Z")
Some of these would be better as a high-quality miniseries to give enough time to properly tell the story. “Ringworld” by Larry Niven. Many of the Man-Kzin Wars stories by Niven & Co. “The Berkut” by Joseph Heywood. “The Dirt” by Motley Crue. Stalled in production right now, I think. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/28 "2008-11-18T04:32:09Z")
I always thought Zalazny’s _Lord of Light_ would be cool, but I’m probably the only one. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/29 "2008-11-18T04:36:34Z")
**Under the Skin** , by Michel Faber—if I could find a way to make a partly CGI alien creature that wouldn’t look completely goofy. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/30 "2008-11-18T04:37:08Z")
**Geek Love** by Katherine Dunn. There was talk a while back of Tim Burton adapting this, but I haven’t heard anything recently. **A Prayer for Owen Meany** by John Irving. _Simon Birch_ just barely scratched the surface of this great novel. It deserves a more faithful adaptation. **The Mummy** by Anne Rice. Written before she became a complete nut. The end of the book implied a sequel, but Rice got bogged down in all the vampire novels (which were all crap after the first 3 or 4). The Mummy has adventure, romance, and horror to spare and would make a great movie. They could even use the subtitle _Ramses the Damned_ to avoid confusion with the recent Mummy movies. The **Jack Reacher** novels by Lee Child are a Bourne-like franchise just begging for the big screen treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/31 "2008-11-18T04:40:09Z")
Stephen King and Peter Straub’s “The Talisman.” ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/32 "2008-11-18T04:46:45Z")
My dream project would be to back the creation of a full 13 or 26 episode version of David Brin’s _Startide Rising_. In true Goldwyn tradition, it would start off with a bang - the crashing of a multi-million tonne battleship into a water world, where our heros - a mixed crew of humans and dolphins are trying to repair their ship before moving on to further their escape, and then the story would get exciting! With CGI, I’ll admit that the hodgepodge of mixed alien races could probably be done live action. But I still would prefer to see it done animated. The logical reason is that with all the underwater scenes involved, it would probably be easier to animate it, for a convincing story. The emotional reason is that I first started thinking about this project about two years after _Startide Rising_ came out, and the only way it could have been done was animation, or claymation. Whatever else the suits decide has to go, I would insist on the scene towards the end, when the humans are running away from Kipru while being followed closely by ships from several different warring factions: they dump the water that they’d taken aboard the hull for the dolphins to move in, while the ship was in gravity - and the enemy vessels hit the cloud of water vapor at relativistic speeds! Of course, if this was well-received, I’d then try to push for similar treatment for the rest of the so-called “first Uplift trilogy:” _Sundiver_, and _The Uplift War_. > [@phouka](#): > > _Bride of the Rat God_ by Barbara Hambly. I am dead serious. > > Hollywood 1923, a silent movie vamp, a young English widow, a Jewish photographer, a Chinese sorcerer, and a cursed sacrificial necklace! > > What more could you want? If I had the money to back a film, I’d go for this one. It’s a great book, and I wish more people had read it. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/33 "2008-11-18T05:31:05Z")
Anything by Dan Brown! [I’m quickly running away!] ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/34 "2008-11-18T05:48:41Z")
> [@SuntanTigerTamer](#): > > Tim Powers’ \*\*Last Call \*\*could be a wonderful movie. I’m thinking **Rounders** , with the “magic” glimpsed only briefly and the Aurthurian symbolism done very, very subtley, just like in the book. All would be lost if they brow beat you with it… I’d be interested in seeing what a good treatment of _The Drawing of the Dark_ would turn out like. It also might be interesting to see someone take a crack at _Hammer’s Slammers_. ETA: Or _The Face in the Abyss_ by A. Merritt. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/35 "2008-11-18T08:56:52Z")
Easily, [The Long Ships](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Ships), by Frans G Bengtsson. I want a proper handling of it, since the old movie-version is supposed to suck. And the book is even perfectly written for movie adaption! And it’s probably the best book in the world. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/36 "2008-11-18T09:50:19Z")
The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold (and All Us Zombies or whatever) Timefall by James Kahn Anything by Michael Ende, William Sleator, Douglas Adams, Greg Egan Summer of the Blue Coyote The Hobbit (but that’s in the works already) Anything Endless related The Green Futures of Tycho ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/37 "2008-11-18T09:51:28Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Anything by Dan Brown! > > [I’m quickly running away!] Run if you must lol. But actually the trailer for Angels & Demons looks decent, and the novel was better than the Da Vinci Code. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/38 "2008-11-18T10:22:45Z")
Oh, and the Dark Tower series. And Insomnia. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/39 "2008-11-18T11:26:42Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Anything by Dan Brown! > > [I’m quickly running away!] You can’t run away from yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187/40 "2008-11-18T12:29:44Z")
_The Saga of Eric Brighteyes_ by H. Rider Haggard. Okay, the name may sound silly, but it’s a great story. A good version of _To Your Scattered Bodies Go_ (though for a movie you’d probably just call it _Riverworld_). There was a craptastic version on the Sci-Fi Channel; totally forgettable. But with enough money and modern effects, you could do it right. (Have to convince a lot of actors to be totally nekkid and totally shaven. Maybe tell them it’s a Peter Greenaway movie.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-would-you-make-into-a-movie/473187.md?page=3)