Book into Film: Fiction

The summer movie season is heating up and as usual a number of the films are based on books.  Here are some of the most anticipated books-to-film:

“The Host” is based on the book of the same name by Stephenie Meyer—yes, THAT Stephenie Meyer, author of the immensely popular Twilight series books which spawned the equally popular movie series.  The Host  isn’t about vampires, though, but an alien invasion in which the aliens take over human bodies. Melanie isn’t about to let her consciousness go so easily.  Can she fight back and save those she loves? The movie opens March 29.  In pre-movie interviews, Meyer has said she’s writing a sequel.

Of course, there if aliens aren’t your thing but zombies are, then you’ll want to pick up World War Z by Max Brooks.  Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide, sets the book up as an oral history from survivors, giving him a chance to give many different views of the disaster.  The movie stars Brad Pitt as a UN employee going to various places around the world as different areas try to hold off the undead and is scheduled for a June release.  (By the way, Max Brooks is the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.)

If you’d rather have a story about non-alien, non-zombie characters, there are some interesting choices available.  “Admission” stars Tina Fey as a college admissions office at Princeton who is challenged by a young man who shouldn’t quite measure up to Princeton standards, but who makes her question some of her past choices.  Paul Rudd also stars.  The movie is based on the book Admission  by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

Hollywood isn’t neglecting the classics, either.  A new version of “The Great Gatsby” is scheduled for a May 10 release.  Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire is Nick.  If it’s been awhile, this might be a good time to pick up F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original novel just to get in the mood. I have to say that the costumes and automobiles look fabulous!


James Thurber’s story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, was first made into a movie starring Danny Kaye back in 1947, so it’s no surprise some think it’s due for an update.  Ben Stiller will be starring in the new version, due out in December 2013.

If thrillers are more your genre, look for Paranoia by Joseph Finder.  A young man is caught manipulating his company’s system.  He’s given a choice:  go to jail, or spy on a competing corporation.  He chooses the latter option and soon is on the fast track at his new place of employment, living the life of his dreams in a job he loves—and soon he’s going to have to betray everyone there. The movie "Paranoia"stars Liam Helmsworth, Gary Oldman, and Harrison Ford, and is scheduled for an October release.

Other anticipated films from books are:

• "Catching Fire," the second installment of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, scheduled for November 2013

• "Divergent", another YA dystopian adventure, based on the book of the same title by Veronica Roth, due out in 2014
  

• "City of Bones", adapted from the first book in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, in which a teenage girl suddenly develops the ability to see demons

• "The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug," the second movie in the Hobbit trilogy, is from J.R.R. Tolkein’s book The Hobbit and is scheduled to be out in December 2013.