Book adaptations have been present in cinemas since very early on, with the classic Cinderella as one of the first works known to be adapted for cinemas. Debuting as a short film in 1899, the story premiered four years after the emergence of screens. Since then, adaptations have become a tradition.Â
Over the years, we have been able to follow more and more well-known books gaining their space in cinemas, such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hunger Games. All of these being big franchises loved by the fans of the books and known for being unique in which way, bringing completely different worlds and also for following the story and plot of the original books.
On the other hand, some adaptations leave much to be desired and end up disappointing fans of literary works. A great example is the movie Percy Jackson, a very beloved sequence of books with many phases – which left fans very upset with the theatrical adaptation. The sequence has two films, both leaving the public unsatisfied for not following the initial story and making the film different from expected.Â
After the failure of the films, Disney decided to try again in 2023 and launched a new view on the books, a series that gained the affection of fans. The TV show had a positive success of critics, being able to follow the original story and give what the fans wanted.
Another problem is the part of the industry that has only been producing book adaptations. In some cases, this happens because film producers are increasingly tied to profit production and not that much to spend on original stories. This way, they often give priority to creating adaptations of best-seller books and do not necessarily link to their content.Â
aren’t we tired…?
Recently, there has been a flurry of adaptations of books with very similar stories, like After, Through My Window, and The Tearsmith – all being movies that delivered conflicting relationships and stories without much deepening. They were only considered to have their versions in films because of the amount of copies sold and not necessarily because of their stories.Â
Sometimes, it is easier to consider the popularity of the book, lean on that, and don’t even try hard to make the movie happen. This practice ends up generating many empty stories that look a lot like each other, making the public dissatisfied. A determining factor for this focus on films that need to sell is directly linked to the lack of creativity in the production of scripts.
A great example can be seen in one of the largest film producers in the world, Disney. The company has devoted a great focus to launching sequels and live-action versions of its greatest classics. This can happen because the industry prefers to invest its time and money in known productions that have a high chance of giving a great financial return, causing innovative and differentiated productions to be left aside.Â
Perhaps the possible solution to end these sequences of adaptations that receive a lot of criticism is to give some attention to good and innovative books, trying not to focus on the best-sellers and leave very similar stories only for fans of literature.Â
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Oliveira.
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