MAGGIE JAMES FICTION
  • Home
  • About
    • Interviews
    • Events
  • Fiction
    • Heart of Bone
    • She'll Never Tell
    • Silent Winter
    • Deception Wears Many Faces
    • After She's Gone
    • The Second Captive
    • Guilty Innocence
    • Sister, Psychopath
    • His Kidnapper's Shoes
    • Blackwater Lake - a novella
    • Shadows of the Mind Box Set 1
    • Shadows of the Mind Box Set 2

Don't Judge a Book by its Movie

23/1/2019

0 Comments

 
I'd like to give a warm welcome to Amy Morse, author of the Sheridan and Blake four-book thriller series. who has written this blog post about why you shouldn't judge a book by its movie. Take it away, Amy!  

A book is more intimate...

It has often been said that the book is always better than the movie - I saw a quote recently that said 'don't judge a book by its movie'. But why is that? A book is more intimate. When you read a book you are experiencing your own private screening of a movie being beamed directly into your brain.

A unique experience for every reader...

Don't Judge a Book By Its Movie
Everyone experiences a book differently. We build up a picture in our heads of the characters based on the information the author gives us and on our own experiences and perceptions - it's a unique experience for every reader. The average book would take the average reader 9-12 hours to read cover to cover non-stop. The average movie is between 2 and 3 hours long. That's a big difference. When a book is adapted for the screen it goes through a major rewrite. A skilled screenwriter can do a reasonable job of keeping the essence of  the book, but it'll never be quite the same. At worse, the book is  changed so radically for the screen that it becomes unrecognisable. 

Movies are a visual feast...

The actors cast in the roles of the characters can also alter the feel of the story. Take 'Interview with a Vampire', for example. I must admit, I did love the film, but predictably I enjoyed the book more and was a big Anne Rice fan as a consequence. Never in a million years did I picture Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as Louis and Lestat. Both actors were brilliant, but it tarnished the sheen the book had left me with and altered my perception of the original story. Movies are a visual and auditory feast and a shared experience. You can talk about a movie and adopt catch phases with your peers in a way that you rarely can with books. After a few of us at work went to see 'American Hustle', the office microwave is now forever known as the science oven! 

Imitation is the highest form of flattery

My ultimate dream is to have the Sheridan and Blake series made into movies, and in my head my hero Tom Sheridan would be played by Clive Owen and my heroine, Sasha Blake, by Kate Winslet. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. I love movies, I really do. It's difficult to eat popcorn when you're reading a book! My advice? Read the book first, and when the movie comes out, try to think of them as two different stories that happen to have the same title.  

More about Amy Morse

Amy Morse
Amy Morse, writing as Amy C. Fitzjohn, is a writer, enterprise coach and entrepreneur. She is a business trainer by day and performer of random acts of creativity by night. She describes herself as 'finding inspiration in the everyday, creating something from nothing and enabling others to do the same'.
 
Amy has always had a passion for stories. She is the author of the Sheridan and Blake series, and you can find out more via Amy's website, which is www.amycfitzjohn.co.uk, or via the image links below.
 

More about the Sheridan and Blake Series

Bristol-based archaeologist, Dr Sasha Blake, is recruited by a covert organisation specialising in the repatriation of stolen antiquities from the black market - The Agency.
 
Partnered with Tom Sheridan, a man from her past, they must deal with their tumultuous relationship and learn to trust each other.
 
Together, Sheridan and Blake embark on an increasingly hostile mission to locate a stolen artefact - a mysterious bronze box, the keys to the box and an ancient manuscript needed to open it.
 
In this international conspiracy that spans the ages, told over four books, they must find the artefacts before a ruthless criminal, known only as The Libyan. Click or tap the images for more information (affiliate links):     
The Bronze Box
Solomon's Secrets
Gabriel's Game Part 1
Gabriel's Game Part 2

Thank you, Amy!

Thank you, Amy! I couldn't agree more that a miscast actor can ruin a film. There can be exceptions, though. For instance, I found it hard to believe that Tom Cruise, not the tallest actor around, was cast as 6' 5" Jack Reacher in the film of the same title. Somehow, it worked for me, but I suspect only because at the time when I saw the film, I'd not yet read any of Lee Child's Reacher novels. And Tom Cruise is a good actor, in my opinion.

What do YOU think?

Have there been any books that have been spoiled for you  by the movie version? Or vice versa? Leave a comment and let me know!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    Author Interviews
    Book Reviews
    Let's Discuss!
    Sundry
    The 'Five' Series
    The Writing Process


    Subscribe to my blog!

    RSS Feed

    Via Goodreads

Join my Special Readers' group and receive a free copy of 'Blackwater Lake'!

Special Readers' Group
Picture
Privacy policy                       Website terms and conditions of use

            Copyright Maggie James 2018 - current date. All rights reserved.
  • Home
  • About
    • Interviews
    • Events
  • Fiction
    • Heart of Bone
    • She'll Never Tell
    • Silent Winter
    • Deception Wears Many Faces
    • After She's Gone
    • The Second Captive
    • Guilty Innocence
    • Sister, Psychopath
    • His Kidnapper's Shoes
    • Blackwater Lake - a novella
    • Shadows of the Mind Box Set 1
    • Shadows of the Mind Box Set 2