# You were excited that they announced an adaptation of \[insert book title\] but... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994 "2011-08-01T01:45:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/21 "2011-08-01T13:33:50Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > No, you do. I think the film was far superior to the bordering-on-unreadable turd of a book. De gustibus. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/22 "2011-08-01T13:56:00Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Oh yes, we do…right up there with Highlander 2. Yeah… it’s a shame. Highlander was such an awesome movie, it’s too bad they never made another. But knowing Hollywood, it’d be some awful tacked-on sequel that made no sense at all instead of an awesome series of prequels. Don’t even get me started on Starship Troopers. Adventure on a galactic scale, powered armor, mini-nukes, hand to hand combat with swarms of giant bugs. Hell, the potential for Avatar-level cinematic vision alone would’ve sold the movie. Damn… it would have been incredible if it’d ever gotten made. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/23 "2011-08-01T14:48:47Z")
I’m always wary when they announce a movie of a book I like. Part is that it’s rare that they get completed; the other part that even if they are completed, it’s likely to be disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/24 "2011-08-01T15:09:13Z")
Two fantastic \*\*Wally Lamb \*\*novels, \*I Know This Much is True \*and _She’s Come Undone_, have both had film adaptation talk over the years that seems to go nowhere. Last I heard, a director was attached and Matt Damon was up for the lead in IKTMIT but that was quite awhile ago, and I haven’t seen any new news. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/25 "2011-08-01T15:13:36Z")
> [@](#): > > I heard that someone was doing an adaptation of A Wizard of Earthsea, but that never got made. There was a series by that name, but it clearly wasn’t based on what LeGuin wrote. Studio Ghibli did an animated adaptation of some of the books that actually got Ursula K. LeGuin’s blessing. A friend gave me a Japanese copy years ago, but it was officially released by Disney last year. Gorgeous scenery: > **[Tales from Earthsea (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_Earthsea_(film))** > > Tales from Earthsea\[a\] is a 2006 Japanese anime epic fantasy film co-written and directed by Gorō Miyazaki in his directorial debut, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi and Toho, and distributed by the latter company. The film is based on a combination of plot and character elements from the first four books of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan Th... > **[StockExaminer - AI-Powered Stock Chatbot](https://examiner.com)** > > Discover Stock Examiner, the AI-powered chatbot delivering instant, interactive stock charts, real-time financials, breaking news, stock screeners, and more—all in one seamless experience. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/26 "2011-08-01T15:24:29Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m assuming you’re kidding, but do we really hate the adaptation so much that we’re retconning it out of existence now? There exists a movie with the title _Starship Troopers_. There does not exist a movie which is an adaptation of the book _Starship Troopers_. This is not just an expression of disgust by the fans, but a universally-accepted truth: The director of the movie by that title was even _proud_ of the fact that he never read the book, as it meant that he couldn’t even subconsciously make it similar. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/27 "2011-08-01T16:05:04Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > _Jumper_, by Steven Gould. > > The movie was only barely recognizable as an adaptation of the book- basically, “a kid named Davey can teleport”. I read Jumper in anticipation of the movie (the trailer looked bitchin’) and the thing was so dated that they had to change everything or else the movie would have been a complete crapfest. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/28 "2011-08-01T16:34:34Z")
Piers Anthony’s On A Pale Horse has been in production purgatory for years. Not a book, but I really wanted them to finish American McGee’s Alice. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/29 "2011-08-01T16:59:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There exists a movie with the title _Starship Troopers_. There does not exist a movie which is an adaptation of the book _Starship Troopers_. This is not just an expression of disgust by the fans, but a universally-accepted truth: The director of the movie by that title was even _proud_ of the fact that he never read the book, as it meant that he couldn’t even subconsciously make it similar. I hate the “_Highlander 2 / Star Trek V / Some Other Disappointing Movie_ doesn’t exist” crowd with an intense, burning passion, but if literally the only thing they lifted from _Starship Troopers_ was its title, then I have to give them a pass on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/30 "2011-08-01T17:03:40Z")
**Ender’s Game**. I doubt it will ever happen. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/31 "2011-08-01T18:39:52Z")
I was all geared up for a small-screen version of\*\* Dragonriders of Pern\*\*. The sets were up and casting was about to start when “creative differences” reared their ugly heads. THis was back in '99 and apparently they were going to Buffy-ize the show. Then there was Copperheart Entertainment, who were going to make a big-screen version. Artwork was out on the net and it looked like a go. I have no idea what happened there. ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/32 "2011-08-01T18:56:43Z")
It’s been years since I heard of _[Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Strange_%26_Mr_Norrell)_ being made into a movie. I’ll go to my grave wondering how they would have managed it, if they had. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/33 "2011-08-01T19:02:13Z")
**Rendezvous With Rama** - supposedly Morgan Freeman was trying to get this made into a film years ago. According to IMDb, he’s still trying… ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/34 "2011-08-01T19:39:52Z")
[A Soldier of the Great War](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/87985.A_Soldier_of_the_Great_War) used to have an IMDB page as a pending project, but now it’s gone. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/35 "2011-08-01T19:53:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There exists a movie with the title _Starship Troopers_. There does not exist a movie which is an adaptation of the book _Starship Troopers_. This is not just an expression of disgust by the fans, but a universally-accepted truth: The director of the movie by that title was even _proud_ of the fact that he never read the book, as it meant that he couldn’t even subconsciously make it similar. > [@Diceman](#): > > I hate the “_Highlander 2 / Star Trek V / Some Other Disappointing Movie_ doesn’t exist” crowd with an intense, burning passion, but if literally the only thing they lifted from _Starship Troopers_ was its title, then I have to give them a pass on this one. **Chronos** tells the precise truth here. The scriptwriter did lift the names of the protagonist and a few – I count four – minor characters from the novel, changing the characterizations utterly (one turned male-to-female for no apparent reason), but that literally is all they used of it – title, the misleading “adapted from” attribution, and those five names. ---
**Author:** ![Fourtyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Fourtyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fourtyfold)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/36 "2011-08-01T19:59:02Z")
I’m still waiting for a movie of a Larry Niven novel. But then I was once pleased to hear that John Varley’s ‘Millenium’ was to be made into a movie. My pleasure was completely unwarranted. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/37 "2011-08-01T20:18:12Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > It’s been years since I heard of _[Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Strange_%26_Mr_Norrell)_ being made into a movie. I’ll go to my grave wondering how they would have managed it, if they had. I started a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=519652) wondering how they’d do it after I’d finished reading it. Someone posted a link in that thread that they were optioning it into a movie. IIRC Don Cheadle was involved. Link’s dead now, but [here’s](http://web.archive.org/web/20090222111606/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468500/) the archive. Nothing looks more current than 2008 - New Line had it so I guess it’s in Limbo or whatever. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/38 "2011-08-01T20:53:29Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m still waiting for a movie of a Larry Niven novel. It’s slim pickings, but there are two Niven adaptations for television out there: 1.) They adapted his short story _The Soft Weapon_ as “The Slaver Weapon”, an episode of the short-lived animated **Star Trek** series that ran in 1974. As a result, the _kzin_ re now part of the Star Trek universe…sorta. 2.) The new _Outer Limits_ adapted his story _Inconstant Moon_ back in 1996. It was pretty faithful, too – a rarity for any TV adaptation. > **["The Outer Limits" Inconstant Moon (TV Episode 1996) ⭐ 7.8 | Drama, Fantasy,...](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0667911/)** > > 45m | TV-PG ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/39 "2011-08-01T21:07:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Rendezvous With Rama - supposedly Morgan Freeman was trying to get this made into a film years ago. According to IMDb, he’s still trying… If it does get made I hope they improve the story by adding killer aliens or mutants. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994/40 "2011-08-01T21:16:17Z")
Michael Moorcock’s _Elric_ (with David Bowie starring). CMC fnord! > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I heard that someone was doing an adaptation of _A Wizard of Earthsea_, but that never got made. There was a series by that name, but it clearly wasn’t based on what LeGuin wrote. Nah, they renamed all the characters and stretched the first book out into eight movies . . . you might know it as the _“Harry Potter”_ series. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-were-excited-that-they-announced-an-adaptation-of-insert-book-title-but/590994.md?page=3)