Ok, so this is a very general topic but I am interested in opinions on this one, and I am of course thinking of a certain set of books that are going through development hell at the moment.
My question is, should authors allow certain books to be optioned for film if that isn't a good medium to tell the stories? I love the Dark Tower series - I've read them to pieces and I have even managed to get my friends (some of whom hadn't read a book since high school) to read and share in the love.
Here is my two cents - the DT books just won't work as movies (in my honest opinion), at least in any straightforward adaptation. Each book represents SK at a different time in his career and they hop across space and time all over the shop. This makes for an amazing read but would it make for a great film? There are some concepts that are just going to be very hard to get right in a medium like film (like, how the heck would you visualise the Drawing of the Three?). Even forgetting that, films run for three hours tops and have to have a beginning, middle and end. I would argue you could do it as a TV show, and it would work but let's face it, that is a big committment and the source material is 'out there' for the mass market.
I feel that the compromises any filmaker would have to make to 1) get the budget necessary, 2) fit it into the window of a movie 3) market it to the general public would diminish the original story. If it failed as well, it might taint the books for new readers. Should authors retain more rights over their work in terms of film adaptations? I know there are legal and rights issues but I mean generally?
My question is, should authors allow certain books to be optioned for film if that isn't a good medium to tell the stories? I love the Dark Tower series - I've read them to pieces and I have even managed to get my friends (some of whom hadn't read a book since high school) to read and share in the love.
Here is my two cents - the DT books just won't work as movies (in my honest opinion), at least in any straightforward adaptation. Each book represents SK at a different time in his career and they hop across space and time all over the shop. This makes for an amazing read but would it make for a great film? There are some concepts that are just going to be very hard to get right in a medium like film (like, how the heck would you visualise the Drawing of the Three?). Even forgetting that, films run for three hours tops and have to have a beginning, middle and end. I would argue you could do it as a TV show, and it would work but let's face it, that is a big committment and the source material is 'out there' for the mass market.
I feel that the compromises any filmaker would have to make to 1) get the budget necessary, 2) fit it into the window of a movie 3) market it to the general public would diminish the original story. If it failed as well, it might taint the books for new readers. Should authors retain more rights over their work in terms of film adaptations? I know there are legal and rights issues but I mean generally?