Writer's Block: Book based
Apr. 27th, 2010 05:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tabular_rasa[Error: unknown template qotd]
They make everything into a movie these days.
Number one would have to be the Harry Potter series. I am a diehard Harry Potter fan, one of the first people I know who got into them, and I was a fangirl-- fanfiction, fanart, roleplaying, the whole kit and kaboodle-- for most of high school and into college. (It's only now that the series is over and there's not the magic of wondering *how it will end* that my passion seems to have subsided). As soon as Harry Potter started being tagged as a "phenomenon" before the release of the third book, I knew they would make a movie-- and while J.K. Rowling apparently specifically wanted a live action film to make it more real-world-turned-magical, I had been hoping for animated (and I still am, someday-- someone needs to do some hardcore miniseries with ALL the details fleshed out, instead of trying to squeeze them into blockbuster-sized chunks) because I worried about casting. My fears were warranted, because one of the things I really hated about the films was the casting. Nobody looked quite exactly how I pictured them. Dumbledore seemed bored, not playful. Alan Rickman grew on me as Snape, but initially I actually didn't like him. Why is Hermione pretty? It made the Yule Ball scene so pointless. And why is she always flirting with Harry, for that matter? And why is Dudley Dursley a brunet and James Potter a dishwater blond when it's the opposite in the book? And don't even get me started on Harry's eyes. (They're called color contacts, dipshits-- use some). They pulled their act together for OOTP (I loved the choices for Bellatrix, Luna, and Umbridge) for casting at least, but not before they'd managed to do a crap job of representing the books plotwise as well. Oh, and being totally inconsistent with themselves-- how many times did we change the damn school uniforms? It's a pity that perhaps best stand-alone film was actually the worst canon-breaker of the entire series. I mean, come on Cuaron-- WHY ARE YOU WASTING TIME WITH TALKING RASTAFARIAN HEADS AND CANON-INAPPROPRIATE MASTURBATION SYMBOLISM (if Harry was playing with his wand in his bed, HE WOULD BE EXPELLED FOR UNDERAGE MAGIC, which was set up not only in the books but IN THE PREVIOUS MOVIE) when you could, uh, USE THAT TIME TO SHOW ACTUAL STUFF THAT HAPPENED IN THE BOOK? I'm not sure if it's because my expectations have been knocked so low, but I actually quite enjoyed the last two films-- but really I only go see them because I love to bitch about them, not because I actually like them.
On a similar note, Felicity Learns a Lesson (which was released directly to DVD, lol-- Kit came out too late for me to have intense nostalgic associations with Kit Kittrege: An American Girl the way I did for Felicity, the doll of which I owned) pissed me off because they cast a blonde actress for black-haired Elizabeth, and instead of dying her hair for the movie THE PUBLISHERS WENT BACK AND CHANGED ALL THE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE BOOKS TO MAKE HER BLONDE. And made the doll blonde. Like . . . beyond ridiculous, people. I mean, some actors and actresses shave their heads and gain thirty pounds for their roles. IS IT REALLY SO HARD TO DYE YOUR HAIR OR PUT IN SOME FUCKING COLOR CONTACTS?
The 1998 Les Miserables movie was so bad I often forget it exists, like "Why don't they make a movie of that book? I love that book. Oh wait." They apparently cast an Eponine because she's in the credits but they must have deleted her scenes because where the eff was she? The character of Enjolras was eaten by Marius. Fantine "la Blonde" was a redhead. And Javert committed suicide by handcuffing himself and floating on his back down a creek that was maybe three feet deep, tops.
On the other hand, I didn't actually read Atonement until the movie was already out, but I did read it first and I really liked it. I did like the movie as well, though I still think the book was better. My only complaints about the movie had to do with the fact it moved too quickly to catch a lot of the details and subtleties of the characters interactions (in the book, you've got page upon page of inner thought process, which is just seconds of subtext in the movie) and the whole meta-fiction thing was more powerful when it was, you know, in fiction. (Maybe if they had made Briony a filmmaker instead?).
I also did like:
Sense and Sensibility
Matilda
Anne of Green Gables (at least the first one-- I didn't see all of the other movies but I know shit kinda got weird later on)
The Secret Garden
A Little Princess (possibly better than the book, actually-- but that may be to due with the age I was reading vs. seeing the movie)
Holes
A Series of Unfortunate Events (not perfect, either-- I mean, they compressed the series into one movie-- but I thought they did better than most with getting the essence and a good portion of the details right)
Coraline (maybe some die-hard fans balked at things, but I wasn't die-hard so I was less picky?)
(And this reminds me, I still need to see Tuck Everlasting and Alice in Wonderland. And apparently there's a Ramona Quimby movie coming out?)
As a book person dating a movie person who's going into the industry, maybe I can do some arm-twisting to ensure less books are slaughtered at the altar of film, lol :-P (Robert, I love you, but if you adapt a book to film YOU WILL KEEP THE CHARACTER DETAILS AND ESSENCE OF THE PLOT INTACT).
I'll take the thoughtful, deep, and dependable, but I'm not that private actually, lol.
When it comes to appreciating the seasons, my sense of smell dominates.
They make everything into a movie these days.
Number one would have to be the Harry Potter series. I am a diehard Harry Potter fan, one of the first people I know who got into them, and I was a fangirl-- fanfiction, fanart, roleplaying, the whole kit and kaboodle-- for most of high school and into college. (It's only now that the series is over and there's not the magic of wondering *how it will end* that my passion seems to have subsided). As soon as Harry Potter started being tagged as a "phenomenon" before the release of the third book, I knew they would make a movie-- and while J.K. Rowling apparently specifically wanted a live action film to make it more real-world-turned-magical, I had been hoping for animated (and I still am, someday-- someone needs to do some hardcore miniseries with ALL the details fleshed out, instead of trying to squeeze them into blockbuster-sized chunks) because I worried about casting. My fears were warranted, because one of the things I really hated about the films was the casting. Nobody looked quite exactly how I pictured them. Dumbledore seemed bored, not playful. Alan Rickman grew on me as Snape, but initially I actually didn't like him. Why is Hermione pretty? It made the Yule Ball scene so pointless. And why is she always flirting with Harry, for that matter? And why is Dudley Dursley a brunet and James Potter a dishwater blond when it's the opposite in the book? And don't even get me started on Harry's eyes. (They're called color contacts, dipshits-- use some). They pulled their act together for OOTP (I loved the choices for Bellatrix, Luna, and Umbridge) for casting at least, but not before they'd managed to do a crap job of representing the books plotwise as well. Oh, and being totally inconsistent with themselves-- how many times did we change the damn school uniforms? It's a pity that perhaps best stand-alone film was actually the worst canon-breaker of the entire series. I mean, come on Cuaron-- WHY ARE YOU WASTING TIME WITH TALKING RASTAFARIAN HEADS AND CANON-INAPPROPRIATE MASTURBATION SYMBOLISM (if Harry was playing with his wand in his bed, HE WOULD BE EXPELLED FOR UNDERAGE MAGIC, which was set up not only in the books but IN THE PREVIOUS MOVIE) when you could, uh, USE THAT TIME TO SHOW ACTUAL STUFF THAT HAPPENED IN THE BOOK? I'm not sure if it's because my expectations have been knocked so low, but I actually quite enjoyed the last two films-- but really I only go see them because I love to bitch about them, not because I actually like them.
On a similar note, Felicity Learns a Lesson (which was released directly to DVD, lol-- Kit came out too late for me to have intense nostalgic associations with Kit Kittrege: An American Girl the way I did for Felicity, the doll of which I owned) pissed me off because they cast a blonde actress for black-haired Elizabeth, and instead of dying her hair for the movie THE PUBLISHERS WENT BACK AND CHANGED ALL THE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE BOOKS TO MAKE HER BLONDE. And made the doll blonde. Like . . . beyond ridiculous, people. I mean, some actors and actresses shave their heads and gain thirty pounds for their roles. IS IT REALLY SO HARD TO DYE YOUR HAIR OR PUT IN SOME FUCKING COLOR CONTACTS?
The 1998 Les Miserables movie was so bad I often forget it exists, like "Why don't they make a movie of that book? I love that book. Oh wait." They apparently cast an Eponine because she's in the credits but they must have deleted her scenes because where the eff was she? The character of Enjolras was eaten by Marius. Fantine "la Blonde" was a redhead. And Javert committed suicide by handcuffing himself and floating on his back down a creek that was maybe three feet deep, tops.
On the other hand, I didn't actually read Atonement until the movie was already out, but I did read it first and I really liked it. I did like the movie as well, though I still think the book was better. My only complaints about the movie had to do with the fact it moved too quickly to catch a lot of the details and subtleties of the characters interactions (in the book, you've got page upon page of inner thought process, which is just seconds of subtext in the movie) and the whole meta-fiction thing was more powerful when it was, you know, in fiction. (Maybe if they had made Briony a filmmaker instead?).
I also did like:
Sense and Sensibility
Matilda
Anne of Green Gables (at least the first one-- I didn't see all of the other movies but I know shit kinda got weird later on)
The Secret Garden
A Little Princess (possibly better than the book, actually-- but that may be to due with the age I was reading vs. seeing the movie)
Holes
A Series of Unfortunate Events (not perfect, either-- I mean, they compressed the series into one movie-- but I thought they did better than most with getting the essence and a good portion of the details right)
Coraline (maybe some die-hard fans balked at things, but I wasn't die-hard so I was less picky?)
(And this reminds me, I still need to see Tuck Everlasting and Alice in Wonderland. And apparently there's a Ramona Quimby movie coming out?)
As a book person dating a movie person who's going into the industry, maybe I can do some arm-twisting to ensure less books are slaughtered at the altar of film, lol :-P (Robert, I love you, but if you adapt a book to film YOU WILL KEEP THE CHARACTER DETAILS AND ESSENCE OF THE PLOT INTACT).
You Are a Long Sleeved Shirt |
 You are a modest person. You don't think too highly of yourself, and you're definitely not a show off. You tend to be discreet in all aspects of your life. You value privacy. You are a solid person. You are very dependable, and you enjoy having others depend on you. You are thoughtful and actually very deep. You reject superficiality of every sort. |
I'll take the thoughtful, deep, and dependable, but I'm not that private actually, lol.
You Are a Açaí Berry |
 On the one hand, you tend to be very controversial. People are always talking about you and trying to figure you out. On the other hand, you are quite wholesome and humble. You don't know what all of the fuss is about. You are unsettled in your life. You're not sure what you want yet, and you're a bit of a searcher. If there's one thing you know, it's that you crave adventure and travels. You want to see as much of the world as you can. |
Your Spring Sense is Smell |
 You tend to be easily overwhelmed by your senses, and you have an especially strong sense of smell. You can smell spring coming on before anyone else can tell, and you treasure the smell of the first spring flower. You come alive with each new smell you encounter during spring. The smell of growing grass and soft showers awaken your spirit. You are always in a rush for spring to begin, but you wish it would never end. You sort of wish spring would go on forever. |
When it comes to appreciating the seasons, my sense of smell dominates.
You Are a Guardian Angel |
 You care deeply for your friends and family. Like a Guardian angel, you take protecting them seriously. Besides guarding the ones you love, you have your eye out for all of humankind. You are very compassionate. You are a natural caretaker, and you are very interested in social justice. You want to make the world better for everyone. While you are responsible and conscientious, you are also light hearted. You are easygoing and even quite funny. |
You Are Somewhat Dominant |
 You are a go getter, but you make sure not to step on anyone's toes. You are considerate. You believe that there is room for everyone at the top ... you just want to get there soon. You are eager to take charge, but you'll also step back and let others lead sometimes. Your personality is naturally dominant, but you temper it a bit. You don't want to be bossy or rude. |
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 08:49 am (UTC)The movies frustrated me a bit. I thought "The Prisoner of Azkaban" was done quite well. McGonagall, who is my favourite character, was cast perfectly... Snape I think was done well, I really liked Draco, Hermoine I totally agree - WHY was she so pretty?! Also - with the Yule Ball, didn't they screw up and make her dress the wrong colour?
I never even clicked with Harry playing with his wand in bed, when really it meant he would have been in trouble for underage magic!
I have always been incredibly disappointed that they didn't show the scene where McGonagall puts Umbridge in her place while she's monitoring her class. Not that it's majorly important , I just loved that scene.
I almost think Dumbledore's character is too "large" to have been a success. I can't think of many who could have pulled him off.
Just curious, are you going to get the "LEGO Harry Potter"? I'm so so excited about it, I just can't decide what format to buy it in! :)
Now I'm off to do some of these Blogthings, which I never even knew existed!
no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 11:06 am (UTC)I did NOT like it when they had a blue-eyed actress play Samantha. Nor when a gray-eyed actress played Ruthie either. At least they did not change the Samantha doll.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 11:29 am (UTC)Like I said-- CONTACTS, people. And hair dye. It's not hard.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 12:18 pm (UTC)The 1998 Les Miserables movie was so bad I often forget it exists, like "Why don't they make a movie of that book? I love that book. Oh wait."
Hahahaha, trust me, I know the feeling. I actually haven't seen the whole thing, now that I think about it.
Sounds like I'm missing out with Javert's suicide, though. I might check it out again sometime. Just for, er...fun?
no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 08:22 pm (UTC)I interpreted that literally at first.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 08:27 pm (UTC)