Writer in Residence Courtney Summers shares some of her favourite movies based on books.

There’s no doubt about it–YA is having its day at the movies and that? Is fantastic. We got The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars and If I Stay. Last year, we saw The Spectacular Now, City of Bones and Tiger Eyes. Whenever it’s announced a beloved book is coming to the big screen, there can be A LOT of excitement and equal parts trepidation, which is understandable. Will the movie do the book justice? Will it be BETTER than the book? What if it’s terrible? I know some people flat out hate the idea of their favourite novels going Hollywood, but I LOVE when a novel is explored in a new medium. Sometimes it makes me consider that story in ways I haven’t before. Here are just some of my favourite movies based on books:

The Baby Sitters Club is based on the series by Ann M. Martin.
I was a HUGEEEE fan of The Baby Sitters Club when I was growing up. Huge. I joined the fan club several times over. I wrote the Unofficial Guide to The Baby Sitters Club (in glitter pen, thank you) before the Official Guide came out. Stacey was my favourite sitter and her books were an auto-buy. So this was like a dream come true for me when I was nine-years-old. After it disappeared from theatres and the wait for it to come out on VHS commenced, I might’ve called K-Mart nearly every weekend asking if it was out yet. (I probably should have just asked them the release date but I had no concept of this at nine, apparently.) I loved the movie. It wasn’t perfect–because nothing could ever be as good as the books themselves in my eyes–but I thought it captured the spirit of the girls pretty well and that was what counted to me the most.

Jurassic Park is based on the novel by Michael Crichton.
Jurassic Park is definitely one of those instances where I prefer the movie to the book. That’s not to say the book isn’t exciting or fun or worth your time (it is–READ IT!), but man. This movie. Bringing dinosaurs back to life. The velociraptor! JEFF GOLDBLUM!!! Classic. It’s crazy to think that the special effects in this 1993 movie actually surpass the special effects in the third installment, which came out in 2001. And was terrible. Avoid that one if you can.

The Last Unicorn based on the novel by Peter S. Beagle
This was one of my staples growing up as a kid. I saw it long before I was ready to read the novel and The Red Bull scared the heck out of me. For a long time, I had to leave the room whenever he came on the screen. The Last Unicorn is a breathtaking, bittersweet story about a unicorn who wants to find where all the unicorns have gone, and in the process, gets turned human. It totally does justice to the book’s poetry and beauty (it is a wonderful novel)–but that’s no doubt because Peter S. Beagle also wrote the screenplay.

Misery is based on the novel by Stephen King
They are both excellent. I think my favourite thing about the book and the movie is they made me scared in different ways. Bringing Annie’s insanity onscreen (the hobbling scene, oh my goodness) was such a stomach twisting, nervewracking experience. But the novel brought something that I don’t think the movie captured half as well as Stephen King did–the sense of hopelessness of being trapped, of not being rescued. That long passage of time in your worst nightmare. Still, this is one of my go-to horror movies. No one could’ve done Anne like Kathy Bates did Annie. Wow.

Psycho based on the novel by Robert Bloch.
This is also another case where I prefer the movie over the book, which is not to speak ill of the book at all! I think that I watched the movie first might have something to do with it, a teensy bit. Robert Bloch’s story of Norman Bates is tight and unsettling and Alfred Hitchcock just amplified that in an incredible way that I really admire. Anthony Perkins’s portrayal of Norman is unforgettable. Sometimes I forget how good Perkins was in that and every time I watch it, I’m blown away by his performance all over again.

What are your favourite book-to-movie adaptations? What upcoming adaptations are you looking forward to and what YA books would you love to see become movies?

4 February 2014