Clarification? Are we talking about total books (most books made into movies) or total movies (which would include remakes)?
If the former, Jules Verne may be the winner. I count 27 different novels being made into movies. (Check my math.)
If we count total box office grosses, I’d nominate Philip K Dick:
BladeRunner, Total Recall, Imposter, Minority Report, and the upcoming Paycheck.
Certainly the highest for SF, which you wouldn’t have guessed surveying the field when he was writing: Clarke, Asimov, Bradbury …
A little clarification on my OP: I am talking about most books by one author that have been made into movies. Multiple movie remakes based on one book do not count. While he didn’t technically write books I will count Shakespeare. But multiple movies based on one of his plays does not count. For example: More than one movie version of Romeo and Juliet still only counts as one.
Stephen King lists 33 movies at his site plus 13 TV movies/series.
I have nothing constructive to add to this thread (apart from seconding spoke-'s nomination of Jules Verne).
I would, however, like to nominate the OP as being the “Completely Unambiguous Question Wilfully Misinterpreted by the Greatest Number of Responders”.
The OP was not about multiple remakes, or box office.
So, And that’s the bottom line, I don’t think you should have been forced to “clarify” your OP. The thread title asks the definitive question.
The Stephen King list seems to include several short stories (e.g. The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile) that probably would not be counted as “books”.
Sorry if this sounds snarky. It’s just… jeesh. :rolleyes:
With no disrespect at all to Dick, nor to the movies he’s inspired, I don’t think he’d have a shot at top box office revenue. Just based on two movies each, both J. R. R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling have him beat. Box office stats are probably a pretty misleading statistic.
I’d like to throw these names in for consideration, although both have numerous TV movies as well. Also I’m not sure how many novels have been filmed numerous times, but there are certain to be duplications.
Mark Twain is up there as well, with 74 adaptations since the silent PRINCE AND THE PAUPER (in which he also “acted”) appeared in 1909.
I was surprised that Barbara Cartland, who wrote a book a day for the last 85 years of her life, only has five movie credits.
Too bad it was the same book for 85 years.
If we’re talking percentages (total number of books vs. total movies), Shakespeare is probably on top.
Don’t forget P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves books.
And the single biggest money maker in all of entertainment is (ta da da), ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! Couldn’t resist saying that.
I was going to chime in with Jules Vernne, but I haven’t been able to post until today, so I agree with spoke-.
An exact count is difficult, for several reasons – some of Verne’s novels were published in several parts. Some movies are in effect based upon more than one novel. Do the various versions of From the Earth to the Moon include the sequel Around the Moon? Disney’s version of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea owes as much to The Weapon of Destruction as it does to the one that gives the title. Of course, that novel served as the inspiration for The Fabulous World of Jules Verne as well, so it’s covered. Robur the Conqueror was based on Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World.
The only serious competition I see is Stephen King, and, as noted above, some of the movies are based on short stories or short novellas (Children of the Corn, The Shawshank Redemption, Trucks/Maximum Overdrive).
Edgar Allan Poe is credited with 120 films. Not enough to grab the lead, and many of them have little to do with his work, but that hasn’t stopped other people from posting authors they like, so there.
Then we have to remove my fave… A. C. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories were written as serial adventures for magazines, not originally as books. Many have been repeatedly published in book form but they are still a collection of short stories. Even his four “novellas” were originally serialized.
Carry on.
Nicholas Sparks; starting with 1999’s Message in A Bottle, Sparks has had 11 of his films turned into movies:
Message In A Bottle
A Walk to Remember
The Notebook
Nights in Rodanthe
Dear John
The Last Song
The Lucky One
Safe Haven
The Best of Me
The Longest Ride
The Choice
There is a possibility that a 12th adaptation may come out soon as well, but if it does, no one knows which book will be next.
I second the vote for Alistair Maclean. I really like his books, although some of the movies really suck.
Feels like someone should mention Stan Lee.
Some of Stephen King’s “short stories” are as long as other people’s books.
IMDB lists 84 individual titles made into movies from Zane Grey. I didn’t count duplicate movies (Riders of the Purple Sage), and surely some of the others were remakes, but, 84? Lot’s of stories too. But that’s pretty prolific.
What’s surprising is the TV series Zane Grey Theatre. It ran for 149 episodes but apparently only six of them were actually based on stories written by Grey.
If we’re going for percentages of entire published output to film adaptation, Jane Austen should be considered. Admittedly her novels were small in number, but as far as adaptations go she’s at the 100% mark. Even the much-less-known Lady Susan has been adapted for a film release this year, retitled Love & Friendship.