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Books
on Film: Fall and Winter 2002
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Is there
an original screenplay out there? Presumably, but with the number of books
being turned into films, one has to wonder. Even more compelling, however,
is the related question (a modern variation of the age-old chicken/egg
conundrum) of which is better: the movie or the book?
This probably
explains why you've come to the "Books on Film" section of our
site, where you'll always find a running list of current and upcoming
films successfully -- or unsuccessfully -- adapted from their original
source. Below, you'll find a selection of titles that served as said sources
for the flicks that will be playing throughout the rest of this year at
a theater near you!
Studios always
wait until the last few months of the year to roll out what they hope
to be their big Academy Award contenders. Will any of the following books
become Oscar-winning adaptations?
(Psst...we
always think the book is better.)
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Tuck
Everlasting
By Natalie
Babbitt
Opens October 11
In Babbitt's enormously profound novel for young adults, precocious 10-year-old
Winnie Foster discovers her mysterious neighbors the Tucks are the caretakers
of a spring whose magical waters prevent aging. When a greedy stranger comes
close to exposing the Tucks' secret, Winnie must decide what's better for
humanity: living forever, or letting nature take its course. Disney's production
of the beloved book stars William Hurt, Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, Ben Kingsley,
and newcomer Alexis Bledel as Winnie. |
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The
Rules of Attraction
By Bret
Easton Ellis
Opens October 11
After the success of Less
Than Zero, Easton Ellis continued to darkly satirize the Reagan
'80s in the similarly bleak, unsettling, and confrontational Rules of
Attraction. Taking place at an imaginary liberal-arts school in New
England named Camden College, the novel concerns a small group of privileged
and apathetic students who escape from the overwhelming listlessness in
their lives by acting irresponsibly towards themselves and others. Sure
to be one of the more controversial and shocking films of the year, former
Quentin Tarantino associate Roger Avary's "Rules of Attraction" features
James Van Der Beek (Dawson!), Jessica Biel, Faye Dunaway, Eric Stoltz, and
adult film legend Ron Jeremy. |
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White
Oleander
By Janet
Fitch
Opens October 11
When teenager Astrid Magnussen's mother Ingrid poisons one of her ex-boyfriends
and is sentenced to life in prison, Astrid tries to sustain their relationship
and mold her own identity while navigating a series of Los Angeles foster
homes. A psychologically intense and dark portrait of modern American life,
Fitch's first novel achieved enormous popularity after being selected for
Oprah's Book Club. The film version stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger,
Robin Wright Penn, and Alison Lohman. |
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The
Weight of Water
By Anita
Shreve
Opens November 1
In 1873, a vicious axe murder took place on a remote island off of the desolate
New Hampshire coast. More than a century later, photo-journalist Jean travels
to the island to take pictures for a magazine story covering the hideous
incident. When Jean finds a diary of a woman who survived the crime, Shreve's
haunting novel splits into two equally compelling narratives: the unwinding
of a disturbed 19th century housewife, and the story of Jean's dissolving
marriage. Stylish action director Katherine Bigelow helms the novel's adaptation,
which features Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn, Elizabeth Hurley, and Sarah
Polley. |
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Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
By
J.K. Rowling
Opens November 15
The irrepressible Harry's eventful second year at Hogwarts School of Withcraft
and Wizardry! Harry contends with muggles, flying cars, Whomping Willows,
nemesis Draco Malfoy, a ghost named Moaning Myrtle, and the dark and dangerous
mystery waiting in the Chamber of Secrets. Will the second film be as successful
in recreating the lively and engaging wonder of Rowling's books as the first?
Director Chris Columbus returns, as do most of the first film's loveable
cast. New faces include Kenneth Branagh as the narcissistic phony Professor
Gilderoy Lockhart, and Jason Isaacs as Draco's nefarious father Lucius.
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Solaris
By Stanislaw
Lem
Opens November 27
Scientist Kris Kelvin is sent to a distant space station to study Solaris:
a mysterious planet covered by a vast ocean that may or may not be a sentient
being. Soon after arriving, he and the other scientists find themselves
confronting physical likenesses of their repressed memories. Polish sci-fi
master Lem's thought-provoking space epic first made it to the screen in
a notable 1972 weird-out from Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. This latest
version is directed by Steven Soderbergh ("Sex, Lies and Videotape," "Ocean's
11," "Traffic"), and stars George Clooney and Natascha McElhone. |
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Treasure
Island
By Robert
Louis Stevenson
Opens November 27
Most people are familiar with the brilliant Stevenson's enduring classic
of buried treasure, secret islands, and non-stop high-seas adventure. Jim
Hawkins is the unforgettable cabin boy from the Admiral Benbow Inn who narrates
the tale, and Long John Silver remains the character who launched a thousand
pirate stereotypes. Disney's big animated blockbuster for the fall moves
the action into outer space, adds robots and aliens for flavor, and is called
"Treasure Planet." David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, and Emma Thompson provide
voice work in what's being touted as one of the most ambitious and stunning
animated films in years. |
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The
Orchid Thief
By Susan
Orlean
Opens December 6
New Yorker writer Orlean's hypnotic and often hilarious book about Florida's
bizarre orchid subculture follows renegade horticulturist John Laroche as
he and a small group of Seminole Indians attempt to clone rare orchids and
sell them to rabid collectors. It's a strange and original piece of literary
journalism that weaves in a natural and social history of "orchidelirium":
a condition where the person is unnaturally obsessed with orchids. But leave
it to the makers of "Being John Malkovich" to up the weirdness
ante. "Adaptation" tells the story of Orlean and the charismatic Laroch,
but is also about the writer of the film's own attempt to adapt The Orchid
Thief into a screenplay. Spike Jones directs Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep,
and Chris Cooper in what sounds like one of the season's more imaginative
offerings. |
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The
Two Towers
By J.R.R.
Tolkien
Opens December 18
Arguably the most highly anticipated film of the year, "The Two Towers"
continues the epic fantasy saga begun in last year's critically acclaimed
and financially triumphant Fellowship Of The Ring. As Frodo and Sam amble
towards Mordor in order to dispose of the One Ring, they find themselves
with an unwelcome companion: the creepy Gollum. Meanwhile, the hobbits Merry
and Pippin have been kidnapped by orcs, and the ferocious war against the
evil wizard Saruman and his legions of orcs continues unabated. Climaxing
in the apocalyptic battle at Helm's Deep, The Two Towers is considered
by many to be the best book in Tolkien's trilogy, and should make an intense,
breathtaking film. Once again, Peter Jackson directs, and most of the first
film's cast reprise their roles. Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto,
and Andy Serkis are some of the new faces. |
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The
25th Hour
By David
Benioff
Opens December 20
When Monty Brogan gets sentenced to prison for dealing heroin, he has 24
hours left to spend with his three best friends: intense bonds trader Frank,
high-school English teacher Jacob, and spectacularly named girlfriend Naturelle.
The four party and reminisce their way across New York City's vibrant nightlife,
but Monty has a shocking way to end the night. The gifted Spike Lee's adaptation
of Benioff's gritty, fast-paced novel stars Edward Norton, Rosario Dawson,
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, and Brittany Murphy. |
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Catch
Me If You Can: The Amazing True Story of the Most Extraordinary Liar in
the History of Fun and Profit
By Frank
W. Abagnale and Stan
Redding
Opens December 25
High-school dropout Frank Abagnale was one of the most ingenious, audacious,
and notorious con artists in history. Over a span of five years, he successfully
forged over $2 million in fraudulent checks in every state and over 20 foreign
countries by pulling off a number of impossible schemes. Among other scams,
he impersonated an airline pilot and flew around the world; pretended he
was a pediatrician and worked in a hospital; and became a sociology professor
by counterfeiting a degree from Columbia University. Abagnale's enthralling
book tells his story with the kind of panache and confident bravado you'd
expect. Directed by the suddenly prolific Steven Spielberg (didn't "Minority
Report" just come out?), "Catch Me If You Can" stars Leonardo DiCaprio as
Abagnale, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Garner, Martin Sheen, and Christopher Walken.
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Gangs
of New York
By Herbert
Asbury
Opens in December
A cult favorite first published in 1928, Asbury's ferocious non-fiction
saga illuminates the brutal reality of immigrant gang warfare in mid-19th
century New York City. Taking place mainly in the then notorious Five Points
District (what is now Chinatown and the Lower East Side), Gangs of New
York describes the seedy origins of what eventually became modern organized
crime, and pays special attention to the vicious and deadly Civil War Draft
Riots of 1863. Master filmmaker Martin Scorcese brings this fascinating
era to life, and his film's cast features Leonardo DiCaprio (busy guy!),
Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Liam Neeson. Originally slated for release
almost a year and a half ago and finishing millions of dollars over budget,
the convoluted story behind the making of the film is almost as interesting
as the film's subject! |
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Gods
and Generals
By Jeff
M. Shaara
Opens December 27
A prequel to his father Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning fictional
account of the battle of Gettysbug, The
Killer Angels, Jeff Shaara's engrossing novel focuses mainly on
Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and Union
generals Joshua Chamberlain and Winfield Scott Hancock as they wind their
way through the pivotal battles of 1st Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg,
and Chancellorsville. The mammoth film adaptation also serves as a prequel
to 1993's "Gettysburg," and will no doubt be very, very long. Jeff Daniels,
Robert Duvall, Bruce Boxleitner, C. Thomas Howell, and Mira Sorvino are
all part of the immense cast. |
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The
Hours
By Michael
Cunningham
Opens December 27
Cunningham's exceptional homage to writer Virginia Woolf skillfully intertwines
three separate narratives -- all related to Woolf's novel Mrs.
Dalloway. The book starts with Woolf herself as she struggles with
writing Mrs. Dalloway and grapples with her tragic depression. In
1949, stifled and despairing Los Angeles housewife Laura Brown can't stop
reading Woolf's novel. The Hours' third narrative concerns present-day book
editor Clarissa Vaughn planning a party for a friend and former lover who
is dying of AIDS. The friend has a nickname for Clarissa: "Mrs. Dalloway."
Nicole Kidman stars as Virginia Woolf; Julianne Moore portrays Laura, and
Meryl Streep plays Clarissa. "Billy Elliot"'s Stephen Daldry directs.
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