42 Random Bits of Trivia About Some Amazing and Brutal Page-to-Screen Adaptations

Reigniting movie vs. book arguments worldwide!
42 Random Bits of Trivia About Some Amazing and Brutal Page-to-Screen Adaptations

If you’ve ever complained that an adapted movie or TV show didn’t look like what you imagined in the book, then we’d just like to insensitively exclaim, “Of course it didn’t!” It’d be near-impossible for a group of filmmakers to match your personal imagination. And even if they could, did you expect them to ask you to somehow project your thoughts onto their storyboards? A bunch of these didn’t even care about the book’s author! Like most things, people made some choices, and we all just had to deal with it. 

Them’s the bricks, kiddo. 

Jaws

GRACKED.COM BOTH THE BOOK AND THE MOVIE JAWS WERE WIDELY SUCCESSFUL. BUT THE MOVIE HAS A MUCH MORE IMPACTFUL CLIMAX: THE SHARK GETS KILLED BY AN EPIC EXPLOSION AFTER AN AMAZING ONE-LINER, WHILE IN THE BOOK IT SLOWLY FADES AWAY AFTER BEING HARPOONED. ALSO, THE MOVIE ELIMINATES THE UNNECESSARY AFFAIR BETWEEN HOOPER AND ELLEN.

Mean Girls

Mean Girls is considered a '00s classic. OVER 400, 000 COPIES SOLD UNDSAYLOHAN WATCH BEES YOUR Helping your daughter survive cliques, gossip, boyfriends and the new realities of Girl World BACK ROSALIND WISEMAN N THEATRESAPRIL 30 NOTINAFEY MEANGIRLS with MeaGGro.com JOHN THE FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED It's based on Queen Bees and Wannabees, a self-help book filled with cliches which spends many pages demonizing teenagers. CRACKED.COM

Shrek

Shrek won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. SHREK SHREK! WILLIAM.STEIG It's a clear improvement on the book, which is about an ogre marrying the most stunningly ugly princess on the surface of the planet and is only 30 pages long. CRACKED.COM

Once Were Warriors

In Alan Duff's novel about a Maori family living in poverty, the focus is on the entire Heke family and their trials, lacking a definitive lead character. ONCE WERE WARRiORS The film was written with focus on Beth, the family matriarch, her struggle with her abusive husband, and her identity. By centering the story on her, the film was able to be more focused, with a more definitive, less ambiguous ending. CRACKED COM

The Rules of Attraction

GRACKED.COM In the Bret Easton Ellis novel THE RULES OF ATTRACTION the relationship between Paul and Sean is explicit - according to Paul, they have lots of sex. TURBATHG OTA СНИГ In the movie, their relationship is entirely in Paul's mind, just like Sean's relationship with Lauren is entirely in his mind. By keeping all of the relationships imaginary, the film does a better job highlighting the absurdity of the melodrama the characters think they're going through.

Chief

In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chief Bromden is a legitimate danger to society. Не believes that society is controlled by an inhuman machine called The Combine, and that everybody is secretly a robot. In the movie, he's one of the most soulful characters in cinematic history. Instead of being a threat to the world, he's just a man beaten down by the system. His escape CRACKED.COM is a cause for celebration, not fear.

The Neverending Story

Michael Ende, the author of The Neverending Story, called the movie adaptation The makers revolting, and of the film simply did not demanded that understand his name be the book at excluded from all. the credits. CRACKED.COM

Batman

Frequent Batman writer Frank Miller can't stand any of the live-action Batman movies, not even Christopher Nolan's trilogy. I can't watch a Batman movie. I've seen pieces of them, but I generally think, No, that's not him. And I walk out of the theater before it's over. CRACKED.COM

Queen of the Damned

CRACKED.COM QUEEN OF THE DAMNED Author Anne Rice begged the studio not to make the movie, knowing it wasn't what her fans wanted. She later added that it killed the franchise, wasn't based on her work and was rushed to meet deadlines.

I Am Legend

Richard Matheson was apparently not impressed with any of the film versions of his book I Am Legend. WILL SMITH DO YOU DARE IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE UNE TO BE THE (AST MAN ON EARTH.OR THE LAST WOMAN? THE LAST MAN ON EARTH Alve among The lifeless - among the crawling creatures 15 NOT ALONE of will that make the night hidenun with their inhuman curing VINCENT PRICE The The Last last man alive... Man on is not alone! Earth CHARLTON HESTON THE OMEGA MAN - WORK - ZER REAL CKCA - adidas and - - - ! - LEGEND

Less Than Zero

Bret Easton Ellis found 1987's Less Than Zero movie to be less than thrilling. As a young writer he was excited to see his first book adapted, but years later he reflected about seeing the film I still can remember that I was disappointed when I saw it. I thought, 'That's interesting. They didn't use a single scene from the book in the movie. How did they do that?''' CRACKED.COM

A Wrinkle in Time

A made-for- television film based on Madeleine L'Engle's classic A book A Wrinkle in WRINKLE Time was aired in IN TIME 2004. L'Engle's reaction? NEWSWEEK: So you've seen the movie? L'Engle: I've glimpsed it. And did it meet expectations? Oh, yes. I expected it to be bad, and it IS. CRACKED.COM

Earthsea

CRACKED.COM Ursula K. Le Guin hated SyFy Channel's adaptation of her Earthsea books because of their blatant whitewashing of her characters. In fact, she hated the miniseries so much she wrote an opinion piece talking about EARTHSEA what went wrong.

A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess thought that the film adaptation of his book was a damned nuisance. After only getting paid $500 for the rights to the story, he spent years dealing with accusations about violence being on the rise due to the movie that he had almost nothing to do with. CRACKED.COM

Marcia Clark

TOUGH-AS-NAILS PROSECUTOR MARCIA CLARK NEVER SHOWED EMOTION IN THE CRACKED.COM COURTOOM. YET, AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON HAD CLARK (PORTRAYED BY SARAH PAULSON) BREAKING DOWN IN COURT AFTER BEING SHOWN A TOPLESS PHOTO OF HERSELF. THE INCIDENT NEVER HAPPENED.

Troy

In Troy (2004) Odysseus tries to recruit Achilles while he was sparring with his cousin. CRACKED.COM In The Achilleid, Ulysses recruits him while he was crossdressing as a girl.

The Walking Dead

THE WALKING DEAD in THE comics RICK GeTS HIS HAND CHOPPED OFF BY THE GOVERNOR. in THe TV series, ALL HIS LIMBS ARE INTACT (SO FAR). CRACKED.COM

Harry Potter

42 Random Bits of Trivia About Some Amazing and Brutal Page-to-Screen Adaptations

American Gods

In the novel American Gods, after Laura's funeral, Audrey gives Shadow some more details about Robbie and Laura's affair and then leaves. CRACKED.COM In the show, she's high on drugs and offers Shadow a blowjob on Laura's grave to get back at her and Robbie.

Alice in Wonderland

42 Random Bits of Trivia About Some Amazing and Brutal Page-to-Screen Adaptations

Stand By Me

STAND BY ME In the film, Gordie has a dream where he pictures Denny's funeral. In the novella, The Body, Gordie has a nightmare where Teddy and Vern are zombies and drown Chris. CRACKED.COM

Jurassic Park

JURASSIC PARK The film's ending shows the characters riding into the sunset. In the book, the whole island was napalmed by the military, killing almost everyone. Ista Nublar CRACKED.COM

A Walk to Remember

GRAGKED.COM HOLY BIBLE In the original 'A Walk to Remember novel, Jamie gives Landon her deceased mother's Bible. In the film, it was inexplicably changed to a book of quotes. Don't worry, it's not a Bible. Jamie even specifically pointed that out in the film.

Game of Thrones

In A Dance with Dragons Stannis Baratheon refuses to sacrifice an unbeliever by fire, even when told that doing so will placate the god who has sent a storm against his army. I will have no burnings. Pray harder! is his reply. On HBO's Game of Thrones, he not only permits the sacrifice, but sends his own daughter and heir to the stake. CRACKED COM

The Natural

42 Random Bits of Trivia About Some Amazing and Brutal Page-to-Screen Adaptations

Stuart Little

Adaptations of works by legendary authors have a high bar to clear, but 1999's Stuart Little is by all accounts a well-done kids' movie SUMMER MEMORIES The book begins with a human giving birth to a mouse, sends that mouse through a series of disjointed adventures that includes teaching an elementary school class the virtues of dictatorship, then ends on an unsatisfying cliffhanger. CRACKED.COM

Big Hero 6

The Big Hero 6 movie got rid of Baymax's weird original backstory. In the comics, Hiro's dead father's brain engrams were programmed into Baymax, so Baymax has his personality. Because of that, Baymax feels very close to Hiro's mother, but both he and Hiro decided it's in her best interest that she doesn't know Baymax's AI was built from her dead husband's memories. CRACKED.COM

There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood is superior to the book it's based on, Oil! OIL! DANIEL DAY-LEWIS DEL UNIVERSITY UPTON SINCLAIR There Mill Be Blood simply because it spares us an audience surrogate character who condescendingly explains all the symbolism. CRACKED.COM

Orange Is the New Black

Netflix's Orange is the New Black is much deeper than the memoir it's based on. ORANGE MY YEAR IS THE IN A WOMEN'S NEW PRISON BLACK The show used Piper as an entry point into the prison system, and created its own world from there. Which was a good move, because pretty much nothing happened in prison to the real-life Piper (whom the book is all about). The most interesting things that happened to her were an argument about iceberg lettuce, and having to get rid of a screwdriver she took by mistake. CRACKED.COM

The Mask

In the comic book version of The Mask, Stanley Ipkiss is a sadistic murderer. CAN NOW. YOU JWMY SPELL DEADMEATU2 Ahn, SHUT UP,YOU'LL THE WORRY KiD. For example, he visits an elementary school teacher who embarrassed him as a kid and stomps her face in, in front of her students. CRACKED.COM

Stardust

STARDUST was a fine book, but the ending was more than a bit of a downer. The book ends bleakly, with Tristran dying and Yvaine returning to the sky alone. The movie has a much more heartwarming ending, seeing the couple ascend into the sky to live as stars forever. CRACKED COM

The Princess Bride

In the book, Princess Buttercup is rather stupid, has nothing CRACKED.COM going for her other than her beauty, and she dumps Westley outside the Fire Swamp to save herself. Fortunately, when adapting his book for the screen, William Goldman gives her some personality, and during the Fire Swamp showdown, she sacrifices her freedom in order to save Westley from Humperdinck. THE PRINCESS BRIDE

Roald Dahl

In Roald Dahl's book, Charlie and Grampa Joe don't steal Fizzy Lifting Drinks and go flying. WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY In the book, Charlie is rewarded for simply being the last child on the tour. In the 1971 movie, he wins the chocolate factory because of choices he makes, rather than winning through inaction, which is a far more interesting story arc. CRACKED.COM

Aladdin

Disney's Aladdin has a hero you can root for, unlike the original. In the most popular English translation of the original Arabian Nights story, Aladdin is lazy, selfish, and ruins his parents' lives. Не doesn't want to learn a trade, so his tired, old mother is forced to work to provide for both of them (his father died over grief at what a disappointment Aladdin was). CRACKED.COM

Charlotte’s Web

Е.В. WHITE WAS NOT TOO KEEN ON 1973's CHARLOTTE'S WEB. Не wrote a friend, saying, The story is interrupted every few minutes so that somebody can sing a jolly song. I don't care much for jolly songs. But that's what you get for getting embroiled with Hollywood. CRACKED.COM

The Thorn Birds

Colleen McCullough declared that The Thorn Birds TV adaptation is instant vomit. Despite being the second most watched miniseries in TV history, the author would refuse to talk about it during interviews. In 2009, McCullough helped develop a THE musical based on Colleen THOR her book that better BIRDS reflected her writing. CRACKED CON

Catch Me If You Can

Frank Abagnale, the con artist whose exploits were the basis for Catch Me If You Can, said the book was highly inaccurate and exaggerated. catch me CRACKED.COM if you can Не even insisted that the publisher put a disclaimer on the cover stating that it was not a biography.

Lois Duncan

Lois Duncan dislikes the film adaptation of her teen novel, 1 Know What You Did Last Summer, for trivializing violence and making murder seem like a game. Subsequent editions of the book even reprint an interview where she makes her opinion plain. CRACKED.COM

Cool Hand Luke

Donn Pearce hates prison drama Cool Hand Luke and Paul Newman's classic performance. Не says Newman was a cute guy who wouldn't have lasted five minutes in a prisoner chain gang. CRACKED.COM

Akira

GRACKED.COM Katsuhiro Otomo despised the second half of Akira, which he felt was poorly CITIZEN made due to time and budget constraints. During the screening, he walked out of the cinema and went back home to tell AKIRA his wife that FOR - the adaptation was a failure.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Co-creator Peter Laird has nothing but contempt for the 1987 cartoon adaptation of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES In 2012 he wrote a blog post about what he'd have done differently, saying that the turtles were too obsessed with pizza, Bebop and Rocksteady were too moronic, Shredder should have been a lot more malevolent, and April shouldn't have been a damsel in distress. CRACKED.COM

Stephen King

Stephen King can't stand Kubrick's version of The Shining. King called the movie a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside it, saying Kubrick didn't quite get Jack Torrance's descent into madness, and left the character with absolutely no arc at all. CRACKED.COM

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