With so many book to movie adaptations getting made today, we would love to see these five novels get their chance at the big screen.
‘The Secret History’
It’s shocking that a book this good hasn’t already been made into a movie. Since the publication of Donna Tartt’s novel in 1992, two attempts have been made since to adapt it. Unfortunately, both fell through during pre-production and Tartt has been unwilling to sell the rights to the book ever since.
The book follows a group of six students studying classics at an elite university in Vermont and the events that lead to and follow the murder of one member of the group. The story is tense and atmospheric, blending familiar elements in a way that feels fresh and compelling. The book taps into something that the Harry Potter series capitalized on; a group of friends at a small school isolated from the rest of the world dealing with malevolent forces and influences.
More than twenty years later, The Secret History still popular and mentioned in discussions of people’s favorite. The fact that it hasn’t received a film adaptation is a shame because it’s so ripe for it; the story has several roles for Hollywood’s favorite up-in-coming actors and favors audiences’ love for murder mysteries. It’s the kind of story that could benefit greatly from a movie adaptation.
‘The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay’
You might be suffering from superhero fatigue, and who could blame you. By the end of 2017, six superhero movies will have come and gone. There are already eight on the calendar for next year. As Marvel and DC churn out more installments to add to their ever-growing franchises, it’s hard not to feel a sense of artificiality in these movies.
Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay delivers the kind of heart and soul those superhero movies so desperately need. The story begins in 1939 as Joe Kavalier, a Jewish man escaping Europe, arrives in New York City as a refugee, taken in by his cousin Sammy Klayman. Eventually, the two work together to create their own comic book character, the Escapist, an anti-fascist superhero with skills akin to Captain America, Batman, and even Harry Houdini. As the war progresses, the Escapist becomes a popular fixture in American pop culture, but neither Joe nor Sammy see the profits.
The novel is a rich portrait of the personal and professional struggles of these two men during World War II. It captures the power of superheroes and the real people behind them that use art to inspire others. Given the current political climate in America, there is something moving about a story that dares to be explicitly political, taking fascism on without qualms.
Moreover, it’s a rare kind of World War II story. It’s not interested in showing and supporting the machinations of war. Instead, it is profusely critical of the cultural elements and political motivations that beget war. Although the events depicted in the book might need to be pared down to fit into a single movie, there’s no denying the book has some serious cinematic qualities that would make for a fantastic adaptation in the right hands.
‘The People in the Trees’
You’ve probably heard of Hanya Yanagihara’s novel A Little Life. It’s a profoundly moving novel that captured audiences and bestseller lists upon its release in 2015. You may not have heard of Yanagihara’s book, “The People Through the Trees. Unlike, A Little Life which would be difficult to adapt into a single movie, The People in the Trees would make for a fantastic film.
The novel tells the story of one man’s rise and fall within the scientific community, charting his landmark discovery of a tribe in the south Pacific that are able to live forever and the scandal that led to his public downfall.
The novel functions as a thrilling adventure story, an enthralling tale of a complicated and controversial individual, and a fascinating study of evolution of the human condition. Yanagihara’s novel is made of the kind of things that make for prestige films that would easily get nominated for several Oscars if placed into the right hands. Not only that, but it’s a stirring look at the way cultural differences impact and dictate our lives.
‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’
Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 1967 novel has long been considered to be completely unadaptable. Since the novel follows several generations of the Buendía family, it poses a difficult task to anyone who hopes to adapt the novel. Moreover, Marquez uses elements of magical realism within the story that may be difficult to portray in a movie.
Despite these challenges, it’s hard to ignore how great an adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude could be. It’s a deeply human, culturally important story that exemplifies the power and versatility of fiction. The novel itself is more akin to an ancestral tapestry than a straightforward story and to merge these elements within a film has the potential to be deeply rewarding.
There’s no doubt that any successful adaptation of the book would be far more experimental than mainstream films today, but it’s these experimental films that often push the medium forward in new and important ways.
Due to the cultural significance of the story, it’s important that any filmmaker who takes on this adaptation share a similar background to Marquez. Of the books on this list, One Hundred Years of Solitude is arguably the least likely to be adapted, which is a shame since it has such potential.
‘Helter Skelter’
Earlier this summer, news broke that Quentin Tarantino’s next film will center on the Manson murders. I wrote about why Tarantino is the wrong director for a project like this. What we need instead is an adaptation of Vincent Bugliosi’s true crime novel Helter Skelter.
Bugliosi was one of the attorney’s prosecuting Manson and others involved in the murders in the summer of 1969. His account of the murders and the criminal trial that followed is exhaustingly detailed and comprehensive, establishing a clear roadmap for any desired film adaptation.
A great film adaptation would capture not only the brutality of the murders themselves, but also the intense investigation and criminal trial that followed and the profound affect that the murders had on popular and political culture at the time.
An adaptation of Helter Skelter has the potential to be reach the cinematic heights of films like David Fincher’s 2007 film Zodiac. Bugliosi’s book amasses an incredible wealth of information that would be invaluable in adapting the story for a movie.