Booking Movies

Hello dear readers. I am sorry for being gone so long. Lately, I have been pondering on a issue that has bugged for a long time. It's nothing earth shattering mind you, but I think it needs to be addressed. The following is based on my observations and thoughts. I in no way make a promise to solve this issue, but to hopefully shed some new ideas on the issue.

I like movies. I like to go out to see them, but I usually will not see them alone. Sadly, the past few years I have been reluctant to go see movies with people. The main reason for "why?" is simple. Due to my luck or God's twisted sense of humor, I usually end up seeing a movie with a person that will say one thing that really gets to me. "Well, the movie was great but the book was better." AUGGGGGGHHHHH. That really gets to me. It also bugs me when this is said within mixed company, people usually take the side of the book, but usually I don't. Due to my natural tendency to "go against the grain" I stand up for the movie. Ok, "go against the grain" is another way of saying I am weird, I am just trying to be articulate.

I honestly feel movies based on books really get a bad rap. For example, take "The Lord of the Rings" movies. In my opinion the best fantasy epic movies ever made to date. When the first movie came out I set out to read the book version. The book naturally went into more detail and the plot moved more slowly than the movie did, but when it came to action sequences the movie outshined the book. I found this contrast funny and understandable. I found it funny because, it seemed when I read a part in the book when there was action I pictured the scene from the movie in my head. The opposite was true when I watched the movie. I recall parts of the book that had information about the various characters that wasn't mentioned in the film. In my experience with "The Lord of the Rings" I found the book helped me to understand the film. I also had help from my parents that have the read the books and understood little details that were included in the film, but not necessarily explained. For example: The scene when Frodo was snatched by the "giant squid." The monster wasn't trying to eat Frodo (well probably not at first) but searching for the Ring. That was a detail that would have escaped me, if it weren't people that read and understood the book.

I have a confession to make. When a movie is based on a book I usually see the movie before I read the book. This is contrary to what people usually do and I think that's part of the problem. I honestly think that when people read a book then go see the movie version they honestly think the movie is going to follow the book by the letter. This isn't usually the case, and I can see why this happens. A movie has a set budget that goes to numerous departments and people that get paid, while a writer has more free reign to create their masterpiece. This means that if the director and/or the "powers that be" might order some story editing to cut costs. I think this is the main thing that disappoints many readers. I admit that I have been disappointed in the way some stories are redone for the silver screen. One example that comes to mind is "The Sum of All Fears." In my opinion, one of Tom Clancy's best novels ever. Basically, the book discusses how Arab terrorists find an old nuclear bomb and use it to blow up the Super Bowl, and how it heats up tensions between the U.S. and Russia. In the movie though, the main villains are German fascists trying to start a war between U.S. and Russia via a nuclear bomb. Am I disappointed with the change, heck ya, but I look beyond that glaring change and realize that it is a good movie (in my opinion). There are times that I have been pleasantly surprised, how close the movie is to the book. The movie "Red Dragon" is about 99% close to the book. The only thing I notice is some chronology was changed up, but it was minor change.

There are some books that I would love to see on film, but deep down I know it won't happen, because the books is just too dang long. I really sympathize with the film makers when they have to adapt a book to film. I feel as long as they keep with spirit of the story, and don't try change up what the author's message (if he/she has one) then I am for it. I believe there are film makers that actually care about the book and the author enough that they will be sensitive.

In fact, this November the fourth "Harry Potter" film is coming out, and I can tell yall that I am excited. I realize that some details will be left out and some stuff will be portrayed out of order, but that's okay with me. I have to realize this fact since the fourth book is 734 pages long. I know how it will end, but what excites me is seeing how the film makers will visually translate the book.

Some of yall think I am mad, for supporting movies this way. That's fine, but I think books and movies need each other. Seeing how another person views the characters, plot, and settings might help us to understand what we have read. As long as we have professional and caring people that work on making a visual version of the stories we love, we can continue enjoying what we have read on the silver screen.