The film industry is in a constant state of change. Audiences want unique, off-the-wall films. Filmmakers are always striving to invent new and interesting concepts, and the studios are constantly looking for the next big thing to bring audiences into their theaters.
One of the most common ways filmmakers gain inspiration for their projects is from books.
However there is a catch, most adaptations do not work. Film adaptations can fail for a wide variety of reasons. They could lose the heart and soul of the book, have a terrible casting decision, waste too much time on unnecessary scenes, or leave out key elements from the book altogether. Many elements contribute to a book being turned into a successful movie. However, not all adaptations make it big at the box office.
The Book-to-Film Guide by Betway Casino looks at the most successful adaptations of the best-selling books. In this article, we will explore five things every film writer must avoid if they want to make a successful book-to-film adaptation.
Here are five things to avoid when adapting a book to a film:
1. Trying to cover too much of the story in one movie
Do not try to cover too much of the story in one movie. If you try to cover too much plot, it is hard for the audience to care about what is happening.
The longer the story, the more difficult it is for an audience to remain engaged. We see this happen all of the time with movies that try to tell a long and intricate story over only two hours. The lack of attention spans in modern audiences means that any movie that tries to tell too much will probably be a failure.
Just look at how many books there are out there on specific topics it is hard to cover everything in just one book. In short-story form, stories need lots of pacing & imagination since their main point won’t become clear until after we have seen enough scenes during the whole thing before moving forward. It is like writing fiction which needs lengthy chapters like novels when combined into volumes, which require reading through each volume several times…, and then often multiple years later.
2. Allowing too many characters on screen at once
It is important to note that film is a visual medium, so too many characters on screen at one time can cause confusion for the viewer as well as take away from the story. This is why it is important to limit how many people are talking in each scene and use close-ups and cuts to create emotional connection with the viewer. The other part of creating memorable scenes involves using emotions rather than speaking words (as we have seen). In this case, make sure you portray emotion through imagery instead!
3. Changing the ending of the book for Hollywood’s sakе
If you are a filmmaker then I am sure you have heard the term “Hollywood Ending”. Some of the movies that we watched were based on a book, which means that the original ending has been changed. These changes can be subtle or very drastic, but they do not reflect how the book ends. In some cases the fans of the book are disappointed with how the movie ended, and in other cases fans of the movie are happy about how Hollywood ended it.
Example of “Hollywood Ending”
- “The Martian”
“The Martian” is an interesting case because it already had an ending that was quite open-ended. This was not what Hollywood was looking for so they added more to it in order to make it more appealing to a general audience. The author of the book, Andy Weir, was happy with how much Hollywood changed his story, while some of the fans did not like how Hollywood interpreted his book.
4. Focusing too much on the beginning and not in the end
The crucial mistake that writers make is only focusing on what happens in the beginning of the story and leaving out details about what happens later in the story. This makes it difficult for audiences to remember all of the plot points when they watch a movie, especially if it is long and has several other plots that they must follow. The audience can ensure that the movie is more memorable if the film includes information about what is going to happen further along in the movie. This way, the audience will be able to attach this information to the coming scenes and be able to remember it better.
5. Scriptwriters being too vague in their writing
Script Writers should avoid being too vague in their writing and should give the reader enough information that is mentioned in the book. In addition, writers should give audiences enough information about what the characters look like or what they are wearing, how they behave. If they do not then it will be hard for filmmakers to visualize it on screen.
For screenplay writers, their main purpose should be to create memorable characters and have them do things that are specific enough for filmmakers to produce a picture of the scene in their minds. In order to create a memorable character, screenplay writers should display all the relevant information to develop the plot.
Conclusion
You can avoid these five mistakes to make your book-to-film adaptation a hit. Successful film franchises like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings have taught us a lot in this regard.
Most successful Hollywood films are adaptations from books. However, most of the time audiences do not come to watch them as adaptations, but as new stories that delve into different worlds and perspectives. (That goes to show that a good story is a good story, regardless of which form it comes in.) Since most book-to-film adaptations fail at the box office, it is important to know what filmmakers go wrong. We would be happy to hear any other suggestions you may have. Please let us know your suggestions in the comment box below.
