A lot of the greatest stories have already been made into movies, but I’m sure there are lots of sci-fi that is cinema worthy. My pick is Marooned in Realtime by Vernor Vinge.
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
Odd John. Can’t remember who the author was, but a great story.
Jack Vance’s Demon Prince novels would make a great series of movies.
I’d like to see A Canticle for Leibowitz made as the Next Big Trilogy. If they can approach the Narnia books without trepidation now, there’s no reason to hesitate with Leibowitz.
I’d also like to see Philip K. Dick’s Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said adapted for film.
Never gonna happen, but I’d like to see the classic X Minus 1 episode “The Man in the Moon” adapted for film. A lot of new material would have to be written to stretch it out to three acts, but this quaint story is the original source of so much that has become gospel for the looniest of conspiracy nuts that it deserves more attention.
Previous wisdom on this topic.
A newer one I’d enjoy seeing as a movie: With the Lightnings by David Drake, because it would be just a bit of fun action.
Previous wisdom on this topic.
A newer one I’d enjoy seeing as a movie: With the Lightnings by David Drake, because it would be just a bit of fun action.
Harlan Ellison’s “Jeffty is Five”.
Or “Prayer for No One’s Enemy” (I think it was done as a Twilight Zone episode though.)
“Repent Harlequin Said the TickTock Man” I think would be an amazing a stop motion (ala Corpse Bride) short.
Bug Park by James Hogan.
It’s not a great work of literature but it’s quite fun and I think it would adapt well to the screen.
Or The War in the Air by H G Wells. But I’m not sure the story would adapt well; it’s a little too episodic. It would look great with the right special effects, though!
I’ve always thought C.J. Cherryh’s Finity’s End would make an amazing film, and a very family-friendly one, at that. I’d love to see it done as a two-part TV miniseries.
Staroamer’s Fate. Because they’d pay me for the rights.
Starship Troopers would make a great Hollywood blockbuster. You’d have to tone down the politics a bit, but that’d still leave you powered armor, nuclear hand-grenades, and the 20-second bomb.
I really wonder why Flow My Tears… hasn’t already been optioned (maybe it has), given the popularity of Dick adaptations in recent years. Maybe the central plot element (very famous TV personality shifted to a universe where he doesn’t exist) hits a little too close to the bone for Hollywood types.
From the moment I finished *The Moon is a Harsh Mistress * I thought it would be a great film; I even tried casting it in my head . I still would like to see it, but only if it was done right; I would really hate seeing it get the “Starship Troopers” treatment.
Chronos beat me to it. Starship Troopers, with all the politics intact. 
Where the hell is Rendezvous With Rama already? I remember Fincher’s name being attached, and I’d just love to see his take on some hard science fiction (I refuse to count “Alien 3”, it was before Fincher really came into his own, and I heard the studio really tied his hands on that production).
Also, I’m not sure if it counts as true science fiction, but Stephen King’s (Richard Bachman’s) The Long Walk has always been a favorite of mine. Would be a really nice vehicle for Frank Darabont.
One more. Hyperion would make a great epic, but I think it would take very special care in order to pull it off. I’d love to see the Shrike in CGI glory. Not to mention the Tesla Trees, the Tree Ship, and the cruciform doing it’s thang.
For pure visual effects goodness, nothing could possibly top Hyperion. Of course it would either need to accept major omissions or be four hours long, but I’m sure a talented screenwriter could handle it.
A lot of these are great ideas, but I’ve a feeling that they would become waaay dumbed down in typical Hollywood fashion. The plot and visuals may be intact, but the ideas, which really make or break good science fiction, would be mostly absent. Hyperion, for example, would be utter sci-fi-melange crap in the hands of most prominent directors today. Frankly, I don’t think that there’s been a really successful serious science fiction movie since The Empire Strikes Back.
(Gattaca was good but not entirely successful; The Matrix was successful but not entirely serious.)
OTOH, given perfect conditions (an adaptation true to the book, and top-notch acting and visuals), I would most like to see A Canticle for Leibowitz. In fact, I’ve actually written bits of script (comprising perhaps 1/3 of the book altogether) for various English assignments over time. That last scene, with the Church starship flying from Earth, with nuclear explosions in the background…so powerful
I’ll third the Hyperion/Endymion saga. With the right screenplay and SFX, I think they could pull it off in two trilogies.
Naah. You know Hollywood; some jerk would buy the rights to the name, and use it to advance his own personal political screed at the expense of the story. Happens all the time. Good thing they never sold the rights to it!
::: flees :::
John Varley has written this screenplay and has made attempts to get it produced. Good luck to him, I say.
What about Niven’s ‘Inconstant Moon’. It would make a great love story with a science background.
Or if you want a really good one then Beam Piper’s Fuzzy novels would translate fairly easily to the screen now with the fuzzies being CGI. The biggest problem we’d have is the inevitable comparison to Ewoks.