Part 2 of a 5 parts series

While some of the most engrossing films are based on original scripts, there are some equally awesome movies which are based on adaptations of some of today's best-selling novels and non-fiction books. In this feature, we listed 50 of the most anticipated book to movie adaptations for 2008 and beyond.

The list is quite diverse- thrillers and horror, coming-of-age, fantasy and adventure, classics, romantic novels, crime and drama. Some of them are currently 'works in progress' and soon to be released, while some are still at the stage of being optioned by various extremely excited filmmakers and producers.

- - -

Set in 1955, the plot focuses on the hopes and aspirations of Frank and April Wheeler, self-assured Connecticut suburbanites who see themselves as very different from their neighbors in the Revolutionary Hill Estates. April is an aspiring actress who yearns to move to Paris, while Frank copes with toiling away at a corporate job he despises by drinking too heavily and engaging in an affair with a co-worker. The couple's marriage slowly dissolves into endless cycle of bitter arguments and jealous recriminations.

Film Version: Another anticipated film starring Leonardo diCaprio in which he reunites with his co-star from The Titanic, Kate Winslet. The film also stars Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon and Kathryn Hahn.

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Variety article ]

- - -

12. Youth in Revolt: Based on the novel by CD Payne, this upcoming adaptation is about 14-year old Nick and his adventure to get rid of his virginity. The comedy-drama-romance is under Dimension Films.

From Publisher Weekly, a review of the book follows:

"Told as the diary of an oversexed 14-year-old, this three-part comic-novel deals with the usual adolescent bugbears: divorced parents, rebellion, virginity. Set in the cultural wasteland of trailer-park northern California, the episodic plot involves arson, car theft, police brutality and more. Nick tries to win an even more precocious girl his age, Sheeni Saunders, by means of allusive letters and screwball schemes which eventually backfire. Payne gives his narrator an overblown literary voice that contrasts with the attendant embarrassments of his age (e.g., the problems of finding a place to masturbate privately in an R.V.), but the narrative strains for comedic effect. With its Woody Allen-like punch lines, double entendres and overall high-school atmosphere, the novel reads like YA fiction: a nihilist Daniel Pinkwater. And for all Nick's intellectual pretension and artificial speech (qualities echoed, oddly, by nearly all the teenaged characters), he seems devoid of imagination or any redeeming qualities; nor does he care about anything other than satisfying his pubescent desires. And, though in the book's final third the boy comes alive in his drag persona of Carlotta (and Payne admirably brings home his convoluted plot), it is too late to revitalize an ultimately unsympathetic hero."

Film Version: The lead role of Nick Twisp is reported to be played by hot newcomer Michael Cera.

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Nick Twisp: site dedicated to the novel ]

- - -

"This highly original first novel won the largest advance San Francisco-based MacAdam/Cage had ever paid, and it was money well spent. Niffenegger has written a soaring love story illuminated by dozens of finely observed details and scenes, and one that skates nimbly around a huge conundrum at the heart of the book: Henry De Tamble, a rather dashing librarian at the famous Newberry Library in Chicago, finds himself unavoidably whisked around in time. He disappears from a scene in, say, 1998 to find himself suddenly, usually without his clothes, which mysteriously disappear in transit, at an entirely different place 10 years earlier -or later. During one of these migrations, he drops in on beautiful teenage Clare Abshire, an heiress in a large house on the nearby Michigan peninsula, and a lifelong passion is born. The problem is that while Henry's age darts back and forth according to his location in time, Clare's moves forward in the normal manner, so the pair are often out of sync. But such is the author's tenderness with the characters, and the determinedly ungimmicky way in which she writes of their predicament [...] that the book is much more love story than fantasy. It also has a splendidly drawn cast, from Henry's violinist father [...] to Clare's odd family and a multitude of Chicago bohemian friends. [...] It is a fair tribute to her skill and sensibility to say that the book leaves a reader with an impression of life's riches and strangeness rather than of easy thrills. "

Film Version: Lead stars include Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. Also stars
Ron Livingston, Brooklynn Proulx, Alex Ferris and Michelle Nolden.

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Author's website ]

- - -

It has already been optioned by Miramax, with Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain) set to direct. It is narrated both by nine-year-old Louis Drax, who is in a coma in a clinic in Provence, and by his doctor, Pascal Dannachet. According to Louis' mother, Natalie, Louis was thrown off a cliff by his angry father, who has subsequently disappeared. As Dannachet, who has grown increasingly estranged from his wife, probes the Draxes' family history, he is soon smitten by emotionally needy and vulnerable Natalie, although certain elements of her story don't seem to add up. Louis' distinctive narrative voice is instantly gripping; referring to himself as the Disturbed Child, he relays in a grimly funny, precocious voice the many accidents he has suffered in his short, unhappy life. Because Louis' narration is so singular, Dannachet's suffers by comparison. This is sure to remind readers of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Says Ioncinema: "Minghella previously worked together with Miramax on The Talented Mr. Ripley and The English Patient, which won the company its first best picture Oscar in 1997. "

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Article from the Telegraph ]

- - -

15. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, adapted on the screen by Peter Sollett. Tracy Read reviews the book:

"What happens when two witty, wise, but vulnerable teens meet by accident at a chaotic punk rock club? They fall in love, of course. While both are dealing with the fallout of failed relationships and the infinite hurt that accompanies them, they are questioning everything about themselves, their friends, and their future paths. The passion and intelligence of these characters, along with the authors' intimate knowledge of and complete respect for their audience, make this novel unique. Told in alternating chapters over the course of a single night, the narratives create a fully fleshed-out picture of both teens, informed by their love of music, their devotion to their friends, and their clear-eyed view of the world. These kids don't drink or do drugs and it's solely their obsession with music that takes them to these clubs. One of Norah's relatives calls her a potty mouth, and that's no exaggeration. Throughout the book, the expletives fly fast and furious, but they are more about personal expression and in-your-face attitude than about strong emotions. Yet, there is also considerable depth and sensitivity. Norah explains the Jewish concept of tikkun olam the responsibility to heal a fractured world and Nick comes up with an original spin on it. There are many heart-stopping, insightful moments in this supremely satisfying and sexy romance.

Film Version: High school student Nick O'Leary will be played by Michael Cera and Norah Silverberg is Kat Dennings. Says /film: "Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go."

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Ramdon House dedicated page ]

- - -

Support tMF by clicking these ads! Article continues below...

- - -

16. The Informers: The Informers is an upcoming American ensemble film written by Bret Easton Ellis and Nicholas Jarecki and directed by Gregor Jordan. The film is based on the 1994 collection of short stories of the same name. Filming took place in Los Angeles, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires. It is the last film with the actor Brad Renfro before his January 15, 2008 death at the age of 25.

"This tedious successor to American Psycho , a patchwork of interrelated vignettes about a set of filthy rich L.A. families in the early 1980s, weds Ellis's over-the-top if one-dimensional satirical style to the sensational hedonism characteristic of Danielle Steel and the spiritual malaise of Douglas Coupland. Mobilizing his trademark first-person narrative voice, Ellis charts an amoral hyper-elitist social landscape from the interchangeable perspectives of debased Hollywood players, pseudo-celebrities and industry brats. There is Cheryl, an aging newscaster who shacks up with a narcissistic surfer and stops showing up for work; Bryan Metro, a vacuous American pop star who tours Japan leaving a wake of battered groupies and pharmaceutical bottles; Jamie, a vampire who lures teenagers home from trendy clubs and murders them in sadistic scenes reminiscent of American Psycho . Ellis's often racist characters crisscross an L.A. littered with the trendy iconography of the early 1980s (Wayfarer sunglasses, Duran Duran, designer drugs), their affectless, inarticulate sentences registering a jaded disdain for other people's lives. Ellis does not break new ground here but returns, perhaps nostalgically, to the cultural context of his celebrated first novel, Less Than Zero."

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Wiki's take on the film ] [ Variety article ]

- - -

From Horrorwatch.com: "It has been nearly thirty years since his adventure into the Territories and now Jack Sawyer is a cop on the verge of retirement. Looking to settle down and relax, Jack heads to the small town of French's Landing, where there is something very dark hunting the streets. There’s a killer there known as the Fisherman, who preys only on children. But has Jack chosen French's Landing or has it chose him? Forgetting about his childhood, Jack Sawyer is about to have the repressed memory of his life as he will once again find himself in a situation that will take him back to the Territories in search of an entity known as the Fisherman. Stephen King and Peter Straub return to tell the second story of Jack Sawyer and his ability to flip between worlds."

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Random House dedicated page ]

- - -

Film Version: To be directed by English filmmaker Mark Herman. Cast include Asa Butterfiled as Bruno (lead role), Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis and Rupert Friend.

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Author's official website ]

- - -

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Comingsoon update ]

- - -

After Joe Goffman's Bush Falls becomes a runaway bestseller, he never expects to go back to his small Connecticut hometown and face the outrage generated by the dark secrets his autobiographical novel reveals. But when his father suffers a life-threatening stroke, return the unhappy and unfulfilled Joe does, to meet head-on the antipathy waiting for him. Among the Bush Falls locals hellbent on revenge in this breezy sophomore effort by Tropper (Plan B) are deputy sheriff Mouse and ex-con Sean Tallon, both former members of the high school basketball team, as well as the wife of the basketball coach, who dumps a milk shake on Joe the first day he is back in town. Joe also crosses paths with his resentful older brother, Brad; Lucy, the sexy mother of a high school friend; and Carly, the only woman he ever truly loved. At its best, the novel skillfully illustrates the tenderness and difficulties of first love and friendship, exploring the aftermath of Joe's high school relationships with Carly and pals Sammy and Wayne. Fans of Tom Perrotta's sarcastic humor will appreciate Tropper's evocation of both the allure and hypocrisy of smalltown American life, particularly in drug- and alcohol-fueled episodes involving Joe's 19-year-old nephew, Jared, and a grown-up, AIDS-infected Wayne. Frequent pop culture references, particularly to Bruce Springsteen, help move things along briskly and by novel's end, Joe has learned to appreciate the virtues of Bush Falls and realize he's not perfect himself. Despite its charms, however, this boy-who-won't-grow-up novel relies too heavily on canned lines ("she's taking measurements of my soul through her eyes") and easy melodrama. "

Film Version: The film adaptation is under Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, with Warner Bros. as distributor. IMDb listed the movie adaptation with a 2008 release date, but no specific info available at this time.

[ IMDb movie details ] [ Bookreporter article ]

[ Read more: Part 3 ]

Comments (3)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

The Time Traveler's Wife
written by Nicky, April 07, 2008

With such a great book as its basis, the movie is bound to be a success. Here's to hoping that the actors are able to portray the relationship between Henry and Clare with as much intensity as the author was able to.

...
written by Ann, April 19, 2008

Eric Bana and Rachael McAdams for the Time Traveler's Wife? Hmm, I guess I could see that! Thats the only book I'm familiar with on this part of the list. I'll have to check the other ones out!

MOORE MOST REAAD:*
written by nathaliie, June 25, 2008

the time traveler's wife, nick and norah's infinite playlist..
thhey loook like a goood reaad

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

Add Comment