This article is 4 years old. it was published in the Sunday Plus magazine of The Nation.
Just sharing it here to add to my list of write ups.
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"Adapted screenplays are plays which adapts its story from another source like a novel, another short play etc. Many of Hollywood screen writers get their inspiration from such sources. Infact some of the most acknowledged movies are adapted. The recent trend in Hollywood has been of adapted screenplays and they are widely acclaimed and gain widespread fame. The Oscars have a separate award for adapted screenplays with Precious (adapted from a novel Push) winning the Best Screenplay Award in the 82nd Academy awards.
in Golden Globe and the 82nd Academy Awards, Up in the Air ( adapted from a movie with the same name by Walter Kim)
won the Best Screenplay in Golden Globe Awards and Jeff Bridges won the best actor award for his role in the film Crazy Heart (adapted from a novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb)
in Golden Globe and the 82nd Academy Awards.
The past years have been full of popular adapted screenplays: The reader, Curious Case of Benjamin Button
and Revolutionary Road in 2008; Atonement, No Country for old men and Sweeney Todd in 2007 and The Departed,
The Last King of Scotland and Dream girls in 2006. This is just a few of a long list of movies which have adapted its story from different sources.
Certain adapted screenplay movies are very different from the original stories; the popular book Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, disappointed its readers when the movie came out in May 2006.
Not just the movie it self but the change in the story at certain stages, perturbed the viewers who loved Da Vinci Code as a book. But Hollywood is also full of popular adapted screen plays like Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Shrek, and the very recent Harry Potter, which surpassed all the previously listed movies’ popularity.
The Twilight series is yet another example of successful adapted screenplays.
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It is a fantasy, romance thriller with majority of the fans lying in the age group 16-25 years, making it the number#1 movie in America in 2008. Its sequel New Moon, released in November 2009, has the sixth highest worldwide opening weekend title and Eclipse, the third in the twilight saga, is one of the most awaited film of 2010.
Adapted screenplays are viewers’ top choice now days. The majority of the viewers lie between the age group of 13-30, and these people enjoy fantasies and bookish thrillers more than an original script. Ask a 18 year old girl whether she prefers Hurt Locker, which is an original screenplay, or New Moon, which is an adapted screenplay; she will vote for New Moon.
People enjoy watching what they have read; it gives a new direction to their imagination and sketches a fine picture of their imaginings in their mind. For those who don’t read much a simple tag of ‘adapted from a best-selling novel’ is enough to attract them towards the movie.
So for all the directors out there go for a screenplay that adopts its story from a novel or any other similar source, it’s not only cheap its but also the viewers top choice nowadays!"
Just sharing it here to add to my list of write ups.
"Adapted screenplays are plays which adapts its story from another source like a novel, another short play etc. Many of Hollywood screen writers get their inspiration from such sources. Infact some of the most acknowledged movies are adapted. The recent trend in Hollywood has been of adapted screenplays and they are widely acclaimed and gain widespread fame. The Oscars have a separate award for adapted screenplays with Precious (adapted from a novel Push) winning the Best Screenplay Award in the 82nd Academy awards.
A wide majority of movies that won awards in 2009, in different categories, have been adapted screen plays: Mo’Nique won the best supporting actress for the movie Precious (adapted from a novel “Push” by Sapphire)
in Golden Globe and the 82nd Academy Awards, Up in the Air ( adapted from a movie with the same name by Walter Kim)
won the Best Screenplay in Golden Globe Awards and Jeff Bridges won the best actor award for his role in the film Crazy Heart (adapted from a novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb)
in Golden Globe and the 82nd Academy Awards.
The past years have been full of popular adapted screenplays: The reader, Curious Case of Benjamin Button
and Revolutionary Road in 2008; Atonement, No Country for old men and Sweeney Todd in 2007 and The Departed,
The Last King of Scotland and Dream girls in 2006. This is just a few of a long list of movies which have adapted its story from different sources.
Certain adapted screenplay movies are very different from the original stories; the popular book Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, disappointed its readers when the movie came out in May 2006.
Not just the movie it self but the change in the story at certain stages, perturbed the viewers who loved Da Vinci Code as a book. But Hollywood is also full of popular adapted screen plays like Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Shrek, and the very recent Harry Potter, which surpassed all the previously listed movies’ popularity.
The Twilight series is yet another example of successful adapted screenplays.
It is a fantasy, romance thriller with majority of the fans lying in the age group 16-25 years, making it the number#1 movie in America in 2008. Its sequel New Moon, released in November 2009, has the sixth highest worldwide opening weekend title and Eclipse, the third in the twilight saga, is one of the most awaited film of 2010.
Adapted screenplays are viewers’ top choice now days. The majority of the viewers lie between the age group of 13-30, and these people enjoy fantasies and bookish thrillers more than an original script. Ask a 18 year old girl whether she prefers Hurt Locker, which is an original screenplay, or New Moon, which is an adapted screenplay; she will vote for New Moon.
People enjoy watching what they have read; it gives a new direction to their imagination and sketches a fine picture of their imaginings in their mind. For those who don’t read much a simple tag of ‘adapted from a best-selling novel’ is enough to attract them towards the movie.
So for all the directors out there go for a screenplay that adopts its story from a novel or any other similar source, it’s not only cheap its but also the viewers top choice nowadays!"
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