With the release of the trailer for JRR Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” fans are buzzing about the much anticipated movie. Meanwhile a new adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opened this month, stirring renewed interest in Steig Larsson’s novels.
That got us thinking about other book-to-movie adaptations. Here’s a look at past favorites, in no particular order. What would you add to the list?
Lord of the Rings: he Lord of the Rings series has been one of the most successful adaptations to date, finding a strong following among a wide variety of audiences while preserving the integrity of Tolkien’s exceptional literature.
Silence of the Lambs: Thomas Harris’ psychological thriller captivated readers, and it found new life on the big screen. The award-winning film starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins was only the first of Harris’ novels made into movies.
Atonement: The Oscar-winning adaptation of Ian McEwan’s masterpiece starred Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, and Saoirse Ronan. The film opened the 64th Venice International Film Festival, making then 35-year-old Joe Wright the youngest director to open the festival.
Jurassic Park: Though other Michael Crichton novels have found their way to the theater, Jurassic Park set a new standard for suspense movies. And…we love dinosaurs.
Chocolat: This tale of romance and drama brought together an outstanding cast and reminded us why we have such a love affair with chocolate. Adapted from a novel by Joanne Harris, the movie won five Oscars.
Harry Potter: We can’t pick just one of the movies! These adaptations of JK Rowling’s whimsical and charming novels truly inspired people of all ages to discover a love for reading.
The Thief Lord: Cornelia Funke consistently thrills readers with tales of magic and adventure. The 2006 adaptation of The Thief Lord delightfully brought all that to the big screen.
Casino Royale: But really any James Bond movie will do! Seven different actors have played the world’s favorite British spy, and Ian Fleming’s books contain all the elements for awesome adventure stories: intrigue, danger, gadgets, and even a little romance.
The Notebook: Perhaps we’re partial to Nicholas Sparks because he comes from our neck of the woods. But The Notebook stole our hearts. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams delivered stellar performances in the film version.
The da Vinci Code: Dan Brown was runaway success with this book, and the movie certainly didn’t disappoint anyone. Tom Hanks, ancient conspiracy theories, and plenty of action really made this adaptation a hit.
This month Tom Cruise has been making headlines as Ethan Hunt in the latest “Mission Impossible” movie. But before “Mission Impossible,” another famous spy arrested our imagination: James Bond. The dashing and debonair 007 was the creation of Ian Fleming, who has earned a reputation as a legendary author.
Inspiration in Action
Fleming got his start as a journalist, but later entered the British Royal Navy as an intelligence officer. It was here that he gained experience in the world of espionage. Fleming’s first appointment was as a personal assistant to Rear Admiral John Godfrey, who was the Director of Naval Intelligence. Though Fleming had no real qualifications for the position, it proved an excellent fit, and he quickly grew into the role.
Fleming later worked with Godfrey, Colonel “Wild Bill” Donovan, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt to coordinate information among various intelligence agencies, including the US agency that eventually evolved into the CIA. That experience prepared Fleming for Operation Golden Eye, an endeavor to secure an intelligence framework in Spain if the country were taken over by Germany.
Transition to Authorship
Before Fleming ever had aspirations of authorship, he was an unabashed bibliophile who began building an extensive personal library in 1929. Fleming concentrated heavily on books about science and technology, though he also collected other “books that made things happen.” His wide reading is often evident in his own work.
In 1942, Fleming visited Jamaica and determined that he’d build a home there after World War II ended. Three years later, Fleming named his estate Goldeneye, not only after his own eponymous military operation, but also after Carson McCullers’ Reflections in a Golden Eye. He didn’t set about writing his own novel until 1952.
The manuscript for Fleming’s first novel, Casino Royale, took Fleming only a few months to write. He was reluctant to share the novel because, as he told close friend William Plomer, “the element suspense is completely absent.”
Fleming himself designed the original cover art for Casino Royale, and the book sold out in the UK in less than a month. Subsequent printings remained equally popular.
The real James Bond was a British ornithologist who authored Birds of the West Indies. The book attained world fame as Fleming, a birdwatcher himself, chose the name of its author for the spy hero of Casino Royale, as he was looking for a name as “ordinary as possible.” A reference to this connection pops up in the 2002 adaptation of “Die Another Day,” which stars Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry (watcha clip here).
Fleming’s brother Peter provided significant inspiration for James Bond’s character. Peter served as an intelligence officer behind the lines in Norway and Greece.
From 1953 to 1964, Fleming wrote a new Bond novel every year during his annual holiday in Jamaica. By 1966, twelve novels and two short-story collections had been published. The last two (Man with the Golden Gunand Octopussy and the Living Daylights) were published after Fleming’s death.
Only Bond’s first five novels received positive reviews from critics. The tides began to turn with Dr. No, which received extremely harsh criticism from a number of prominent reviewers. Despite the reviews, Fleming’s work remained wildly popular among readers.
To date, Ian Fleming’s Bond books are some of the most popular fiction books of all time; they have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Seven different actors have played James Bond, and the character still continues to capture our imagination.
Forget looking in the medicine cabinet—we all know that the best way to learn about someone is to peruse his bookshelves! And what better way to find inspiration for your own reading? If you’re looking for a new source of summer reading inspiration—or at least a good laugh–take a peek at what a few literary greats had in their own libraries.
ee cummings
Aside from surprises like Cooking with a French Touch and a poetry anthology that (naturally) included his own work, cummings had an extensive collection of letters from other illustrious authors. Other eccentric standouts from cummings’ collection:
Communism with the Mask Off
“Dance Index: A New Magazine Devoted to Dancing”
The Cultivation of Christmas Trees
The Dot and the Line: The Romance of Lower Mathematics
F Scott Fitzgerald
Would you have pegged Fitzgerald for a hopeless romantic? If you saw The Best American Love Stories of the Year and From Ritual to Romance, you might suspect that Fitzgerald would love a Nicholas Sparks novel. Here’s what else you’d find on his shelves:
Favorite Recipes of Famous Women
Mystery Men of Wall Street: The Power behind the Market
History of the United States in Words of One Syllable
Cream of the Jug: An Anthology of Humorous Stories
Ian Fleming
When he wasn’t busy crafting 007 novels, Fleming explored a wide variety of interests from science to architecture. Inspiration, perhaps, for all those James Bond gadgets?
X-Rays and Electrons: An Outline of Recent X-Ray Theory
The Garden of Kama, and Other Love Lyrics from India
Birds of the West Indies
The Laws of Ping Pong
If you could peruse a famous author’s library, whose would you choose?
