In a perfect world*, the movie would always be as good as the book. This is rarely the case. It does happen occasionally (here are ten movies that are better than the book, I still stand by my belief that anyone who enjoyed the book version of The Last of the Mohicans is a pretentious liar). However, this is the exception and not the rule. This week’s top ten list: books that you would like to see made into a movie or television show. I’m tweaking the prompt a bit by including a few books that have already been adapted, but need to be done again – just better.
In no particular order:
10. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. I cannot even fathom how this could be done, but rumor has it that it will. Eventually. It so, so, SO violent, yet it is a stunning novel. For those of you saying No Country for Old Men (another McCarthy adaptation) is also violent – well (an accurate) Blood Meridian will make No Country for Old Men look like a Disney film.
9. American Gods by Neil Gaiman. HBO is probably making this. Maybe. But they won’t confirm, of course.
8. Locke and Key by Joe Hill. This is my favorite comic. It was almost made into a television show by Fox. It failed the first time around and has now been picked up by Universal and is to be made into a movie.
7. Underworld by Don Delillo. This should only be done if it can be done well.
6. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O’Toole. Steven Soderbergh has tried. Stephen Fry has tried. The former actually believes the book to be cursed. I still want to see it happen. It is arguably – and I have argued the point – one of the funniest books ever written. It’s why I never eat canned food. It’s a perversion.
5. The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I sort of wish Alfred Hitchcock was still alive so he could direct it.
4. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. If it’s made into a movie, someone needs to promise me that the character names will be kept the same.
The last three options have already been made into films. However, they were botched so badly that I’m perfectly willing to forget they ever happened. Let’s start again, shall we?
3. Bag of Bones by Stephen King. I still get irritable when I think about what an asshole Pierce Brosnan made Mike Noonan. Don’t make my hero a vile pissant.
2. Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. I picked up The Devil’s Candy recently. A detailed account of the abomination Brian DePalma created. It was enlightening. Seriously.
1. The Stand by Stephen King. Where. To. Start. I vote to pretend it never happened. I hear Ben Affleck is possibly interested in directing it. This is most likely wishful thinking, but the 12-year-old girl inside of me is swooning (maybe the grown-up version too).
Well, at any rate, hope springs eternal.
*Also in a perfect world, I would not get stuck walking home in a hailstorm. It was horrible. Not only am I covered in bruises, I ruined my shoes. That was my day. How was yours?
flannel and folklore 
American Gods is only a maybe? lol, I thought it had been greenlit already and that Neil Gaiman was working on a script or something (which prompted me to re-read the book last year or something) xP
I’ve been hearing so many good things about The Secret History that I’m afraid it might be different if I read it/it might not live up to all the good words and recommendations on it. But I will read it one day soon…ish…lol
Btw, wow that you guys got so much hail! At least it broke the heat wave? (which, lol, looks like we’re getting a bit of it today and tomorrow–which in turn will extend this wretched cold I’ve got thanks to the sudden weather changes recently xP)
My TTT
LikeLike
I’m pretty sure American Gods is definite, they just won’t admit to it being definite. Such a pain…
I feel exactly the same way about The book Thief, which is why I haven’t touched it yet… Like you, it will happen…soonish.
Ugh, yes it was a ton of hail. I got stuck in it about two block from home. It was awful. It was like being trapped in a hurricane with rocks. At any rate, it dropped the temperature from 90+ to 60 in about 15 minutes – which was why the storm was so violent. And it’ll only be in the 70s for the next two day. I’m so excited, even if the end of the week is supposed to be hot. I’m just not going to think that far ahead.
LikeLike
Secret History is an EXCELLENT choice. Think it almost needs a re-read.
LikeLike
I was considering it for October (because of her next novel is coming out). It’s a lovely book to read in autumn…If autumn ever really gets here.
LikeLike
#6 – it is the funniest book every written. Who is arguing this? I week argue with them too.
LikeLike
I think it is either a love it or hate it book. I love it.
(and, naturally, I’m almost always right)
LikeLike
That is a lot of hail!
I can’t imagine anyone making A Confederacy of Dunces and getting it right, I can see why it may be cursed! It is so good though, it would be good to try.
LikeLike
If done right it could be so good, but I’m not holding out a lot of hope. But perhaps it at least deserves a chance…
The hail still hasn’t melted, it looks like it snowed.
LikeLike
Holy crow! That is A LOT of hail. Wow.
I would never be able to do this TTT–see, I have no desire to see some of my favorite books turned into movies. I’d have to pick books that I didn’t really care about, so when the movie is screwed up, I don’t get angry. Heh. Whenever I love a book, I pray to the gods of movies that they decide to leave it alone and just make another superhero movie. Haha!
LikeLike
I am somewhere in between. I don’t like to see my absolute favorite books turned into movies (like White Oleander, I still wish they hadn’t done that – yet I watched it…). And despite watching all the Jane Eyre adaptations, I’m never satisfied and believe it would be better left alone.
And that’s exactly what the world needs – another Iron Man movie. Or worse, another Spiderman movie. It doesn’t matter much as I refuse to watch the ones that don’t interest me.
LikeLike
I know…I’m so tired of all the superhero movies AND all of the old movies being remade. Does ANYONE have an original idea? Sigh.
LikeLike
I’ve been trying to get back to Blood Meridian for months! It’s sitting on my shelf, starring at me! I didn’t realize it was more violent than NCFOM but that kind of makes me want to read it more. I hadn’t heard about Ben Affleck and The Stand. I agree: one can hope. 😀 Great list!
My TTT
LikeLike
Ben Affleck and The Stand, for the good of humanity that needs to happen. If not for the good of humanity, then at least for the sake of my sanity. There NEEDS to be a good The Stand interpretation.
LikeLike
Hmm, interesting… I didn’t care for American Gods, but I might like it more in a visual format.
LikeLike
I have high hopes for it. I have my fingers crossed for Joe Manganiello as Shadow. I actually think it will work well as a show.
LikeLike
So American Gods hasn’t been confirmed yet? Well, that’s good I suppose. I still have time to read it now. lol The Secret History has potential to be amazing. Potential is the operative word. Really need to get on reading Blood Meridian but I’m currently reading fluffy books because The Book Thief broke my heart.
LikeLike
I’m fairly sure it’s going to happen, HBO is just ridiculous about things like that. And you should read American Gods, it’s one of Gaiman’s better novels.
Blood Meridian is harsh – very good, but a hard, bloody, violent read. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in my lifetime.
So The Book Thief. Is it as good as they say? I’m anticipating it to be sad, but should I expect phenomenal?
And I’m reading a standard historical romance. Seriously, who have I become? I can’t even…
LikeLike
I would love to see The Leviathan Trilogy made into either an animated movie or animated series because I don’t think live action would be able to pull if off spectacularly enough. I also think my wish for it to be animated is me being influenced by the wonderful illustrations in the books. The only problem is that animations usually take years to create.
I really want The Bartimaeus Trilogy to be made into movies but not sure if that will ever happen.
Oh the Skulduggery Pleasant series MUST be made into movies. They would be fantastic. I have my fingers crossed for this one.
Adaptations I would LOVE to see redone
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. The movie wasn’t terrible but really it wasn’t great. It was an ok movie which is a crime for such a wonderful book.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I have never even read the series and I still thought the movie was just bad on it’s own, I can’t imagine how the fans must have felt.
LikeLike
My brother was a fan of Eragon the book, but thought Eragon the movie was terrible. I haven’t seen or read it.
Of all of those I’ve only heard of Leviathan, but I have to say that Skulduggery Pleasant looks really intriguing. If my library has the series, I will check it out.
There are so many adaptations I would like to see redone. Right now the adaptation I most looking forward to seeing is Horns by Joe Hill. It recently premiered at TIFF and it has gotten great reviews.
LikeLike
Damn, I haven’t seen the film version of The Stand, but I was planning to eventually… is it really really bad?
Boooooo surprise hailstorm! I hope you got to relax under a blanket after that.
LikeLike
It’s pretty bad. An oldish, black haired Molly Ringwald is Frannie. Gary Sinise is okay as Stu. I own it on DVD, it took me a few months to track it down back when I bought it a few years ago. So worth seeing, but not to get excited over.
Actually the turned out surprisingly awful. The hail was just the tip of the shitty day iceberg (and I mean epic, the contents of the rest of the day are going with me to my grave. So. Today was better.).
LikeLike
Darn that hail looks huge! And those were cute shoes-sorry for your loss!
I have to pick up The Devil’s Candy- I loved Bonfires-a great book-but that movie was horrendous! I would love to see it remade the right way. Great list!
LikeLike
Haha, it felt huge. I shouldn’t mourn a pair of shoes, but I sort of am…
You should, they are only a penny on amazon. Worth it to read about the utter destruction of a movie, plus it is actually quite interesting.
LikeLike
A confederacy of dunces would make an AWESOME movie!
LikeLike
I agree, no surprise there. 😉
LikeLike
Holy Crap, that hailstorm was NO JOKE! American Gods would be awesome, and Ben Affleck redoing The Stand? I’d be down. But Confederacy of Dunces? I hated that damn book so much!
LikeLike
I love it, see Laura’s comment above. It really is the type of book that divides people quite decisively. I think it’s dependent upon your sense of humor whether you enjoy it.
Ben Affleck and The Stand is an unsubstantiated rumor (but well-documented fantasy of mine). I am, at least, fairly certain about American Gods.
LikeLike
Oh God, I can only imagine Underworld as a movie. I’m trying to think of a director to take on that beast…
LikeLike
I borderline believe Underworld can’t be done. Maybe David Fincher? Martin Scorcese? I don’t know, but I would go see it if Fincher was involved.
LikeLike
I think I saw a clip of the Bag of Bones miniseries, and was like, nope. For some reason, the actress they cast as the young widowed mom just looked all wrong.
LikeLike
The main problem I had with the actress was I watched her in Alias. All I could picture was the evil Lauren the entire time I watched her on screen. Plus her American accent wasn’t fantastic (though neither was Brosnan’s to be fair).
LikeLike