The book is always better

It's inevitable.

You read a book.  You fall in love.  The characters are so romantic.  So wonderfully flawed.  So unique.  The dialogue is witty.  The story is timeless.  It's hopeful.  It's legendary.  It's audience is worldwide and it's hype is monumental.  

So, of course, they make a movie.  They get a lot of pretty people to star in it.  They get some popular pop rock band to write a theme song and we line up, money in hand, expectations soaring.

And we are always disappointed.

Well, not always.

What is the formula?  How do we transform the amazing story that we experienced on paper into a cinematic reality and remain true to the integrity of the work?  What are the necessary components to satisfy the audience's high hopes?

It's worked before.  The Client.  Loved the book.  Loved the movie.  The only real discrepancy was that in the book the guy drove a Caddy and in the film it was a Buick.  Or vice verse.  Anyway, it was a great film rendition of the book.  

And the Harry Potter films.  What do we think of them?  Well, they are entertaining, sure, and after the first two came out a little tame and lame, they stepped up and got the budgets for some really fun sequences.  But are they as good as the books?  Do they really do the story justice?  In my opinion, not really.

Lord of the Rings...good, but not as good as the books.  Where was Tom Bombadil?!  

The Other Boleyn Girl?  Not even close.

The Divinci Code?  Don't even get me started.

Is it that the movie makers get it wrong? Or are stories just better when written?  

Recently I watched Atonement.  I have never read the book.  I wanted to I just never got around to it.  But I've got a Netflix account so the movie showed up last week and I watched it.  I loved it!  The acting.  The story.  The directing.  The cinematography.  The soundtrack!!  Oh, that soundtrack, with the typing and the violins.  Everything came together for an amazing cinematic effect and I enjoyed every moment of it.  Now, friends of mine who had read the book claimed disappointment after seeing the movie but I had nothing to judge it against and therefor had no expectations.  I was free to enjoy the film with no agenda.  And enjoy it I did.  

I never read the Notebook and actually avoided seeing the movie for years but when I finally broke down and watched it, I loved it.  No expectations.

So what's the answer?  Why do some movie versions turn out great and others are disastrous?

No idea.

So, kids, I guess what I'm saying is live life with no expectations and you'll never be disappointed!  And always see the movie before you read the book.

And never come to me for answers.  What do I know?

Road Rage

I consider myself a mild mannered person.  
And I realize I'm wrong.  I'm neither mild nor mannered but I CONSIDER myself to be thus. Whether you agree or not, I hope you would concur that I am not an angry person.  Of that I am certain.  I am passionate, yes.  Impatient at times.  But not angry.

Until I am sitting behind a car going 65 in the fast lane and ignoring the fact that I've shot up behind them going 75 and am (im)patiently waiting for them to move over.  Waiting and I do not get along well.  And suddenly I have RAGE!

How did I not know this about myself?  I can only assume that I've always been an impatient driver, though this may not be the case.  I can remember in high school driving in a very timid fashion.  In fact, I'm sure I was just a horrible driver.  I was the one going 65 in the fast lane and it never occurred to me to move out of the way.  So when did I become this person?  This 'Go Go Speed Racer'?  I guess life is busier now.  Things are more important.  I mean, in college I took the subway.  In North Carolina...well, I had a ten minute commute.   So I guess I never really had a chance to develop this condition until now.  It's the weirdest thing ever.  I am my normal sweet self (shut up) and then, suddenly, a flip is switched, or rather a switch is flipped, and I'm psycho.  I yell at people.  I get angry.  SO FRUSTRATED!  Inconsiderate drivers bug the HELL out of me!

And I think I just figured out why.

I blame Mike.

Before Mike, I was ignorant to some of the annoyances one experiences while on the road.  But Mike is a VERY considerate driver.  I mean, he'll stop for that pedestrian that you're not quite sure whether they're gonna walk or not.  He stops just to make sure.  Considerate, yeah?

Well, now that I've experienced how one should drive, I see the bad drivers EVERYWHERE!!  And I get SO ANNOYED!  Ignorance is bliss, my friends.  

And I'm not saying I'm a great driver now, no!  I annoy myself sometimes.  Because I still make the convenient assumption that the pedestrian is NOT going to cross the street so I can go on my cheery way.  

At any rate, my rage must STOP!  So, to those of you out there who step into your own world once you step inside your vehicle, do me a solid and take a moment every now and then to take stock of the world around you and maybe if you see me behind you, with my face scrunched up into an expression of RAGE, maybe you move over and let me pass.  

Or...maybe I could just start listening to audio books so I could slip into my own little world behind the wheel and be oblivious to all you crappy drivers!

How about a little of column A and a little of column B.

Deal.

Scream Queens

I don't know if it's the Halloween season or the latest horrible reality TV show to hit the MTV airways, but lately I've been very keen to act in a B Horror film.  This has been a dream of mine since I first saw Halloween, the original with Ms. Jamie 'Queen of Scream' Curtis herself.  I LOVE horror movies.  The good suspense Hitchcock kind, the classic Steven King kind, the cheesy Wes Craven flicks, and the horrible no name actress, no name director, no budget, no clothes, no plot, one star kind they only show on the Sci-Fi channel at two in the morning.  I love 'em.  And I've ALWAYS wanted to be in one.

At first I wanted to be the heroine, the sole survivor who must forever carry her guilt and fear into countless sequels, because only then can you really cement your standing as a true Scream Queen.  Then I thought I'd love to be the villain.  The bad thing that goes bump in the night.  Oh, how much fun would that be?!  To rise from the dead or emerge from under some rock or out of some institution and unleash my torment on all those who put me away.  Fun, right?

Or the best friend who has all the witty comebacks and is apparently fearless in the face of death as she continually insists that the plain faced stick in the mud heroine go out to parties, crawl into attics, camp in the woods, or sleep with the wrong guy.  And then she dies a horrible and grisly death.  Totally fun.

So, I've been looking for opportunities to audition for a horror movie.  And they've been making a bunch recently.  All low budget no name flicks but hey, what do I care, right?  I just want to have some fun!  One problem.  I have yet to find an audition for a horror movie that does not require me to take my shirt off.

Really?!  It can't be one of those no nudity involved sort of movies?  I mean, seriously?!  You expect me to come to your 'studio' aka 'skanky apartment' and strip down to audition for a role in a 'horror movie' aka 'porno with a Halloween theme'?   Sigh.  And yuck.

So, I guess I'll have to wait until I'm a more legitimate actress to get my big break in the B Horror genre.  They still have horror movies without any nudity, right?  Right?!

Also, there's IS a horrible new reality TV show called Scream Queens and it makes me so sad.  These 'actresses' aka 'skanks' are competing to star in the latest SAW movies, not one of my favorites but still.  One of them gets to live my dream and all I'm getting is porn.  THEY should be in porn!  I miss Hitchcock.