The relationship between the film
industry and the book publishing business has a history dating back to the dawn
of cinema. From Gone with the Wind to
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (and
including, of course, the recent dearth of superhero tent poles), many, if not
most, of the best films ever made have been drawn from the printed page. Now, I
respect the innumerable unproduced spec scripts floating around; I myself am
author of several! There are, however, a number of novels that deserve adaptation
to the big screen. Here are five I believe deserve cinematic treatment:
1. One Hand Clapping (by Anthony Burgess)
Author of the legendary A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
explores the themes of money and corruption in this tale of a young, working
class couple in the UK who experience a sudden financial windfall. The
slow-witted husband is gifted with a photographic memory which helps him on a
game show, but also somehow allows him to parlay their winnings into a small
fortune betting on horse races. The previously loving wife, and the story’s
humble narrator, is suddenly given the chance to have it all, but decides “it
all” simply isn’t enough. I’ve heard
that Francis Ford Coppola owns the rights to this book. If so, he needs to
either make the film or surrender the rights to someone who will. Kept small
and put in the hands of a visually innovative UK up-and-coming filmmaker
(perhaps with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as the young couple?), One Hand Clapping could easily become a
fiendishly fun indie success story.
2. PT 109 (by Robert J. Donovan)
WWII movies may be on the downswing
after their powerful resurgence in the wake of Spielberg’s Saving Pvt. Ryan (1998), but I’m of the opinion that true tales of resilience
and survival never go out of style. In August of 1943, the P.T. 109 was struck
and ran over by the Japanese destroyer, Amagiri. John F. Kennedy and the other
survivors became castaways in enemy territory; burnt, broken, without food or
any means of communication for days. Kennedy’s adventure as the young captain
of the US Navy patrol torpedo boat 109 in the Solomon Islands is a story ripe
for re-telling. Yes, a forgettable film version exists; it was made in 1963
with Cliff Robertson as JFK. Unfortunately, it has descended into obscurity,
much like the 1964 production of The Thin
Red Line. With solid studio funding and a respect for the source material
-- two things that rarely go hand-in-hand -- a PT 109 remake could easily amount to Oscar gold, as well as a solid
career boost for the young actor chosen to play the 35th President
of the United States in his youthful Navy days.
3. Breakfast At Tiffany’s (by Truman
Capote)
Okay, Coppola, here’s the pitch:
Lay down your claim to One Hand Clapping
and pick up the rights to Capote’s Breakfast
at Tiffany’s, then give those rights to your daughter, Sofia, for
Christmas. Deal? Done! Yes, it would be yet another remake, but the 1961 film
was terribly compromised by the restrictive mores of its day; consequently, a serious
film of Capote’s tragic New York party girl, Holly Golightly, has yet to be
done. There are plenty of fine young actors these days who could capably take
up the roles of Holly Golightly, and the homosexual writer, Paul Varjak (yes,
in the novel he’s gay), the only man with whom Holly has a genuine, caring
relationship. Honestly, I can think of no other writer/director better suited
to take on this project than Sofia Coppola. From The Virgin Suicides to The
Bling Ring, Ms. Coppola has made a career out of lensing stories of young
women in turmoil, so this project would fit well into her filmography. As a
long-time fan of her work, I know she has at least one magnum opus in her;
perhaps Breakfast at Tiffany’s is the
next major success.
4. Stranger In A Strange Land (by Robert
A. Heinlein)
If there was ever a cult-classic
science fiction novel demanding to be put on the big screen, it must be
Heinlein’s 1961 groundbreaker, Stranger
in a Strange Land. The book chronicles the life of Valentine Michael Smith,
a human orphan raised on Mars with the alien Martians’ philosophy, as he feels
his way toward an understanding of Earth’s materialistic and spiritually
corrupt, human culture. Given this book’s curious sexuality and irreverent themes,
I can see why most, if not all, major studios might balk at giving this project
the $100-$200 Million likely required to adequately achieve Heinlein’s vision
on screen. At best, this film would
demand an “R” rating from the MPAA, but the book is a work of genius that has
truly left its mark on not only the science fiction genre, but American
literature as a whole. My only hope is that there’s at least one brave soul in
LA with the cojones to say: “To hell
with losing the tween-ager ticket sales! We’re making this picture the way it
deserves to be made! I KNOW we’ll reap the benefits at the box office -- and at
the Oscars!” Yeah, well, I grok hope springs eternal.
5. Gerald’s Game (by Stephen King)
I have heard that there was an
attempt in the 1990’s to get this disturbing and introspective work of Stephen
King’s on film. The deal breaker was that no bankable actress was willing to
play this story’s protagonist: a woman handcuffed, topless no less, to a bed
for 90% of her screen time. The story focuses on Jessie Burlingame, the woman secured
to a bed when her husband dies of a heart attack in the midst of bondage play.
Trapped on the bed of their secluded vacation house for many days (and nights),
Jessie finds herself terrorized -- not only by a stray dog that gets into the
house, or the creepily enigmatic “Space Cowboy,” but also the recollections of
her childhood’s incestuous incident with her father. Like Stranger in a Strange Land, this novel explores themes that will
likely make most LA studio heads more than little bit nervous. Fortunately,
unlike Heinlein’s book, Gerald’s Game
could easily be a small independent film that could achieve both critical and
financial success. Filmed in Black & White, Jessie turns from a topless
woman on a bed into the symbolic ghost of her own inner – and outer - demons.
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