# Why haven't these books been made into movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [July 22, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036 "2020-07-22T17:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/41 "2020-07-23T21:36:43Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’ve always wanted to see a movie (or TV series) based on Keith Laumer’s _Retief_ stories. Back in the day, I would have suggested Tom Selleck and John Hillerman to play Retief and Magnan. Nowadays I wouldn’t know who to cast. But it would still make for great cinema. I always enjoyed the **BOLO** series (huge self aware battle tanks) and a story such as **The Last Command** could easily be done. TCMF-2L ---
**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:** [July 23, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/42 "2020-07-23T22:04:01Z")
Two different miniseries, actually. The second was slightly better than the first, but neither one was great, or all that faithful to the books, or at least took enough interest in Farmer’s great premise to explore it well. Another wasted opportunity. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/43 "2020-07-23T22:05:46Z")
They can take it out. I’m not a stickler for strict adherence to the book (especially for things that have become even more unacceptable since the original publication). But there’s a lot of interesting material there, and visually stunning scenes, if properly rendered. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/44 "2020-07-23T22:29:49Z")
[what **Cal** said] ---
**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:** [July 24, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/45 "2020-07-24T00:29:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > My first choice: The Adventures of Alacrity Fitzhugh and Hobart Floyt. We’ve got three novels to work from and a whole universe that’s set up. Current CGI is up to the task of manifesting the other races. Action, Adventure, Secret Cabals…what’s not to like? I really like those books and was thinking more “Netflix series”, but I wonder whether the various coincidences/things that happen in the books (for reasons that are duly lampshaded) would be implausible enough to put off the audience. Still, I’m down for a _Strange Attractors_ series. > [@thdudescar](#): > > A Confederacy of Dunces A perpetually ill-fated project, alas. It’s a farce that would need to be played absolutely straight to work, with the right casting for Ignatius. I wish the plan to have Philip Seymour Hoffman do it had come to fruition but it was not to be. I’d like to see Philip Reeve’s _Here Lies Arthur_ made into either a film or a short miniseries. It remains disturbingly timely. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/46 "2020-07-24T00:58:30Z")
I wouldn’t think House of Leaves could be done on film, the horror is in _reading_ about what someone else sees, but then the same could be said of Dracula and that seems to have worked out. I bring it up because I saw an upcoming trailer for a movie that looks suspiciously like House of Leaves, including the father measuring the inside of his house and it not matching the outside. I cannot remember the name of it though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/47 "2020-07-24T02:40:03Z")
I’ve waited 2/3 of my life for somebody to do _Rendezvous with Rama_, and I’m thinking this will remain an unrequited dream. And the _Retief_ series is a good one (Steve Carell would be an excellent Ben Magnan IMHO). I’d add Eric Flint’s “Ring of Fire” or “1632” series, albeit it would be better for a miniseries. Quick story is circa 2000 W. Virginia small town ends up in 1631 Germany in the middle of the 30 Years War and things…change. You have the ‘plucky’ (and in a couple cases, very smart) ‘up-timers’ and all the folks from that time you can play with (Richelieu/Cromwell/ James I/Gustavus Aldophus!). Only problem would be is that there are so many stories (there have been nearly 10,000,000 words published to date) that you could easily get confused. (heck, I have trouble keeping everything in order…) Last I heard some English company had the rights, but like Rama, development is still TBD. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/48 "2020-07-24T03:12:05Z")
Reading your post I am compelled to mention that I would love to see a “Slippery Jim” diGriz movie, preferably based on the first book. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/49 "2020-07-24T05:59:46Z")
Did anyone mention The Mote in God’s Eye? ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/50 "2020-07-24T10:00:35Z")
I think Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Rider books would make a great series of movies ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/51 "2020-07-24T10:35:24Z")
Philip Roth’s _The Great American Novel_ is the funniest sports novel that I have ever read. It is jammed full of ridiculous characters and situations. Just the thought of seeing the Ruppert Mundys on screen, with their one-legged catcher, one-armed right fielder, midget pinch hitters and 14-year old second baseman; all narrated by the wise and worldly wonder of the west “Word” Smith. At last the Patriot League would be recalled again. Although the “novel” only covers one season, with the flashbacks and the gruelling political machinations, I think a mini series would be required to adequately cover the tragic events. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/52 "2020-07-24T11:16:37Z")
I would rather Hollywood leave The Moon is a Harsh Mistress alone. I am certain that it would end up as much of a travesty as was Starship Troopers ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/53 "2020-07-24T11:19:55Z")
The building of the Panama Canal from “The Path Between the Seas”. Financial chicanery, underhanded government tricks, disease, exploitation of native workers…all leading to one of the wonders of the world. “The Plague and I” by Betty MacDonald. It is the diary of the author as she undergoes treatment and cure for tuberculosis in the pre-antibiotic era. Written in a light manner with flashes of humor as she describes her fellow patients. On a different level, it is an examination of the psychology of the patient. Both would have to be PBS series. No love interests, no explosions, no car chases… ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/54 "2020-07-24T11:25:02Z")
Beam Piper’s Little Fuzzy books. With modern CGI making three foot high neolithic fuzzy barbarians would be easy and the stories are compelling. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/55 "2020-07-24T13:34:45Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I’ve waited 2/3 of my life for somebody to do _Rendezvous with Rama_ , and I’m thinking this will remain an unrequited dream. A lot of people likened that interstellar asteroid we had last year to Rama, but apparently no studios took the hint, alas. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/56 "2020-07-24T13:38:16Z")
I’ve always wanted to make “Doorways in the Sand.” If done correctly (no Hollywood meddling), it would make an _awesome_ movie. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/57 "2020-07-24T14:28:16Z")
Patrick O’Brian novels? As a series, no doubt, given that once you have the ships for one film, you can use them again.Maybe. “Master and Commander” was apparently a mashup of more than one book. But on a wider level, if you have a yen for Nelson-era naval heroes, the Hornblower series could be redone. The 1950s version of one book was utterly cringeworthy. And my favorite of this genre is the Ramage series, by Dudley Pope. However, the question with any of these “fire a broadside and board 'em in the smoke” epics is the ships. How many do you build, how many can you fudge with CGI? ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/58 "2020-07-24T16:45:04Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I wouldn’t think House of Leaves could be done on film, the horror is in _reading_ about what someone else sees, but then the same could be said of Dracula and that seems to have worked out. > > I bring it up because I saw an upcoming trailer for a movie that looks suspiciously like House of Leaves, including the father measuring the inside of his house and it not matching the outside. I cannot remember the name of it though. Would that be **You Should Have Left** starring **Kevin “Footloose” Bacon**? Here is AICN linking to the trailer: > **[David Koepp reteams with Kevin Bacon on YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT trailer!](https://www.aintitcool.com/david-koepp-directs-bacon-in-you-should-have-left-82899/)** > > I can't wait to check this scary flick out! TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/59 "2020-07-24T16:54:38Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > snip > > But on a wider level, if you have a yen for Nelson-era naval heroes, the Hornblower series could be redone. The 1950s version of one book was utterly cringeworthy. > > snip Brayne\_Ded you may be aware British TV made eight well received TV movies of **Hornblower** starring Ioan Gruffudd between 1998 and 2003. They were made available in the USA. > **[Hornblower (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornblower_(TV_series))** > > Hornblower is a series of British historical fiction war television films based on three of C. S. Forester's ten novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Navy officer during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. > The series ran from 7 October 1998 until 6 January 2003, with Ioan Gruffudd in the title role. It was produced by the British broadcaster ITV Meridian, and was shown on ITV in the UK and A&E in the US. It is often repeated on ITV4. > Other well-known acto... ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/60 "2020-07-24T17:55:47Z")
Re: Hornblower. Many thanks for the info! I saw one of the ITV-made series, but was not sure if it was a one-off or part of a series. Maybe I can find it online somewhere? I am only back inn the UK two or three times a year, and often only for about a week or two, so I am very out of touch with British TV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036.md?page=4)