# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/61 "2020-07-24T19:14:00Z")
I could see it, Bo: fast-paced, snappy, nothing too challenging or controversial for domestic or foreign audiences. Room for CGI spectacles. Heist movies often do well. I can totally see Ryan Reynolds in the titular role. Who would you go with for Angelina? ---
**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, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/62 "2020-07-24T19:27:51Z")
Dear Og, please, not Ryan Reynolds. Dunno tho, never really thought about casting before (I just don’t like Mr. Reynolds much and besides: he’s too old). I’ll have to give this some thought; I am not really “up” on who the young talent is these days. But yeah, the stories are simple and easy to follow and there’s plenty of opportunity for spectacle. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/63 "2020-07-24T19:32:43Z")
How “too old?” Just kick the series up a decade or so. No biggie. Personally I adore Reynolds. My first thoughts for Angelina were ScarJo or Morena Baccarin. But Angelina is too close to Black Widow, so no Scarlett. Maybe Lashana Lynch? ---
**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, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/64 "2020-07-24T20:00:46Z")
I’m sorry, but what you want is Deadpool. It’s already a thing; you should prolly check it out. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/65 "2020-07-24T20:05:11Z")
Everybody needs a second franchise. ---
**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, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/66 "2020-07-24T20:18:18Z")
I disagree. ---
**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, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/67 "2020-07-24T20:18:29Z")
well that’s a weird error/outcome ---
**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, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/68 "2020-07-24T20:24:31Z")
I’ll second the Fuzzy books and I’ll nominate Frank Rich’s Jake Strait books. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/69 "2020-07-24T20:27:52Z")
The DVDs are available on Amazon- I think about $45 will get you the whole series. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/70 "2020-07-24T21:59:45Z")
> [@thdudescar](#): > > A Confederacy of Dunces As long as we’re going with books that will perpetually be made into movies only to fall through, I’ll go with _Neuromancer_. The latest supposed attempt is to be directed by Tim Miller, _Deadpool_ director - announced in 2017, and surprise surprise, no word since then. Even though some of the tech seems outdated 35 years later, I still think it could be awesome in the right hands. ---
**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, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/71 "2020-07-24T22:05:42Z")
I’d rather see _Snow Crash_; YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/72 "2020-07-24T22:09:31Z")
Snow Crash would be something. Should have been made 20 years ago. Now…the “look, I am a moving Avatar in the Internet” might seem a little dated. Even though so many of the ideas about the internet that we take for granted were invented by the author of this book and appeared here for the first time… ---
**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, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/73 "2020-07-24T22:37:52Z")
For me the internet avatar thing was never the most compelling part of the story. I recognize that it caught the fancy of a lot of people back then, tho. And I think there’s still a lot of room for creativity in how internet avatars might play out in the future; after all, we still don’t virtually move thru fake-space in our first-person Avatar bodies, so that part could still be visually and emotionally appealing and engaging. The reality of the world setting tho: private security forces for walled enclaves, a generally impoverished populace, etc. would be compelling and the story of Y.T., Raven and the Rat Things would be exciting to see on a big screen. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/74 "2020-07-24T22:57:10Z")
I certainly wouldn’t complain about _Snow Crash_ (although that novel has been unfairly diminished somewhat in my mind because of too much bloated dreck put out by Stephenson since it). They’d have to bump up Y.T.'s age a bit for some of the stuff in the book to fly today. But I still think _Neuromancer_ makes a better movie. It’s a heist movie at its root with a diverse cast of fascinating characters. I can already picture how it should open, with Corto in the failed Operation Screaming Fist, before jumping into Henry Case’s story. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/75 "2020-07-24T23:03:36Z")
Oh, I definitely agree it could be very entertaining in the right hands. The US Gov’t reduced to a few paranoid guys with modern weapons. Then privatized military, e.g. “Uncle Bob’s Navy.” The Pizza delivery car…I’ve always wanted to see that in action! I heard that the Google Earth starting screen (a spherical Earth waiting for you to interact with it) came directly from Snow Crash, where it was an app simply called “Earth.” As for the human interface for gaming, it’s been done already, maybe better than Snow Crash, in “Ready Player One.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/76 "2020-07-25T01:51:22Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > My first thoughts for Angelina were ScarJo or Morena Baccarin. For a long time I have championed Ton Hiddleston to play Simon Templar in a new _The Saint_ series, but maybe he’d be good for Jim DiGriz in _The Stainless Steel Rat_. You need someone charismatic and charming, incredibly smart, but also who can blend into the crowd when he needs to. Morena Baccarin, though, is a great suggestion for Angelina. ---
**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 25, 2020, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/77 "2020-07-25T02:24:30Z")
Hiddleston is too old. Jim is a young man in the first couple of books, not middle-aged. He’s at the beginning of his life and career, after all. ——— Another book I’ve long wanted to see made into a movie is Phil Dick’s _Ubik_. I even have a copy of the screenplay and IMO it would be filmable in the right hands (by which i mean “not Richard Linklater”). ETA: Oh, and all the _Jumper_ novels should be made into movies, including the first one again (because the movie they made sucked). ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/78 "2020-07-25T02:42:08Z")
> [@](#): > > “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. I loved this book! It would make a quietly powerful movie. For the non-PBS movie(s), I’d love to see Mick Herron’s Slough House books made into a series. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/79 "2020-07-25T04:32:04Z")
Yes, those would be nice. I hope they skip the humans teaching the fuzzys to smoke however, that would ruin it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036/80 "2020-07-25T04:35:16Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > … > But on a wider level, if you have a yen for Nelson-era naval heroes, the Hornblower series could be redone. … They did all the earlier ones, on A&E, very good: > **[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... But they stopped with _Hornblower and the Hotspur_ , I want the rest! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-these-books-been-made-into-movies/916036.md?page=5)