Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Brand Logo

agnos.is Forums

  1. Home
  2. Ask Lemmy
  3. What's the worst change made in a movie adaptation of a book?

What's the worst change made in a movie adaptation of a book?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Ask Lemmy
asklemmy
287 Posts 152 Posters 0 Views
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • D [email protected]

    Remind?

    I wasn't even aware that this movie existed until this very second. I'm looking at the trailer right now, it's impressive this never even made a blip in my radar, I was into this genre of adventure movies in my teens.

    captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC This user is from outside of this forum
    captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC This user is from outside of this forum
    [email protected]
    wrote last edited by
    #166

    It's...okay. Cussler himself hated it.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • P [email protected]

      tv series rather than film but: The Dresden Files

      worst change? everything

      harry's staff -- carved from a lightning struck tree from the property of his mentor, iirc, and carved with various runes -- is replaced with a hockey stick

      bob the skull -- a constructed sprit of intellect bound to a skull -- is now a ghost of some guy

      they made lt murphy a brunette

      probably more idk I didn't get more than an episode in and that was years ago

      B This user is from outside of this forum
      B This user is from outside of this forum
      [email protected]
      wrote last edited by
      #167

      Didn't even know it got adapted, must have been terrible if the studio didn't even bother to market it

      P 1 Reply Last reply
      1
      • jordanlund@lemmy.worldJ [email protected]

        Not a movie, but a show. "Foundation".

        Look, I get it, if you want to tell your own sci fi story that has nothing to do with Asimov, great! Good for you!

        But don't pretend it's Foundation.

        P This user is from outside of this forum
        P This user is from outside of this forum
        [email protected]
        wrote last edited by
        #168

        The coolest part of the show is the genetic dynasty stuff that wasn't even in the series

        nagaram@startrek.websiteN setsneedtofeed@lemmy.worldS 2 Replies Last reply
        0
        • C [email protected]

          Does it get any better after season 1? The terminus plot was just incredibly stupid so I lost all interest. Empire was great though, especially as he didn't exist in the books

          P This user is from outside of this forum
          P This user is from outside of this forum
          [email protected]
          wrote last edited by [email protected]
          #169

          It's not a show that I wait for with bated breath, but I will usually watch the episodes and they're alright. As someone who only read part of the first book, there's nothing there to be ruined for me.

          The Mule stuff is kind of interesting. I think the genetic dynasty stuff is the coolest part, and apparently that wasn't even in the books.

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • remembertheapollo_@lemmy.worldR [email protected]

            The Hobbit

            From the shitty shoehorned romance to wholesale elimination of plot points in the original story. Yeah, there was definitely some drama in the whole production of the film, but nonetheless it was crap.

            blitzfitz@lemmy.worldB This user is from outside of this forum
            blitzfitz@lemmy.worldB This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote last edited by
            #170

            I like the Bilbo edit that removes most of the crap, and keeps the story shown to be from only what Bilbo sees. Gets the 3 movies down to 4 hrs I think.

            remembertheapollo_@lemmy.worldR 1 Reply Last reply
            2
            • N [email protected]

              Most of David Lynch's Dune.

              P This user is from outside of this forum
              P This user is from outside of this forum
              [email protected]
              wrote last edited by [email protected]
              #171

              Still better than whatever garbage Jodorowsky was going to put out. That's right, I said it.

              Dude didn't even read Dune, and bragged about it. Could have made an awesome sci-fi film, but instead had to co-opt a classic novel

              D 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • A [email protected]

                You're feigning ignorance then if you actually recall the books. Zendaya's/Denis' Chani and Herbert's Chani are like night and day. And, again, what exactly was 'misogynistic' about my comment? And do I have to start copypasting passages of Dune and Messiah and make a comparative analysis with Denis' Dune? It's past midnight over here, my guy.

                P This user is from outside of this forum
                P This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote last edited by
                #172

                To be completely honest, Herbert's Chani was pretty forgettable. Admittedly, it's been a very long time since I've read anything Dune, but I truly cannot remember anything memorable about Chani in the books...

                A 1 Reply Last reply
                2
                • rob_t_firefly@lemmy.worldR [email protected]

                  Ditto the vast majority of Stephen King adaptations.

                  P This user is from outside of this forum
                  P This user is from outside of this forum
                  [email protected]
                  wrote last edited by
                  #173

                  11/22/63 was pretty solid

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  2
                  • O [email protected]

                    I was pretty hyped when the trailer had the dwarves singing in Bag End. Then the movie shit in my pants.

                    Y This user is from outside of this forum
                    Y This user is from outside of this forum
                    [email protected]
                    wrote last edited by
                    #174

                    I was hyped for a 3 hour hobbit film. I noped out the second I learned it was a trilogy.

                    I could read the entire book in less time than the films. How are they managing it? Cba finding out.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    3
                    • P [email protected]

                      To be completely honest, Herbert's Chani was pretty forgettable. Admittedly, it's been a very long time since I've read anything Dune, but I truly cannot remember anything memorable about Chani in the books...

                      A This user is from outside of this forum
                      A This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote last edited by [email protected]
                      #175

                      She's Paul's everything (and trying to keep her alive for as long as possible is the main reason he does anything in Messiah, basically) and mostly a supporting character in the books, and there's nothing wrong with that... but Zendaya is a star and the West would've crucified Denis if he just let Chani be Chani. We both know it, that's the core of the disagreement in this comment section, lol. Heretics and Chapterhouse have fantastic female protagonists, but I doubt we'll get there, sadly.

                      L P 2 Replies Last reply
                      0
                      • P [email protected]

                        Still better than whatever garbage Jodorowsky was going to put out. That's right, I said it.

                        Dude didn't even read Dune, and bragged about it. Could have made an awesome sci-fi film, but instead had to co-opt a classic novel

                        D This user is from outside of this forum
                        D This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote last edited by
                        #176

                        Jodorowsky brags about not knowing how to make movies and still makes them. He does brings about interesting imagery but the intentionally naive cinematographic style gets stale and boring pretty quickly.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        1
                        • blitzfitz@lemmy.worldB [email protected]

                          I like the Bilbo edit that removes most of the crap, and keeps the story shown to be from only what Bilbo sees. Gets the 3 movies down to 4 hrs I think.

                          remembertheapollo_@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                          remembertheapollo_@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote last edited by
                          #177

                          I’ve seen that edit. Much improved, but unfortunately there are some continuity gaps that are inevitable when cutting up a film like that.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          4
                          • F [email protected]
                            This post did not contain any content.
                            qevlarr@lemmy.worldQ This user is from outside of this forum
                            qevlarr@lemmy.worldQ This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote last edited by
                            #178

                            The Hobbit. Like, all of it

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            20
                            • F [email protected]

                              I, Robot.

                              Asimov was explicitly trying to get away from the trope of "robots take over humanity". To be clear, the first short story that became I, Robot was published in 1940. "Robots take over humanity" was already an SF trope by then. Hollywood comes along more than half a century later and dives head first right back into that trope.

                              Lt Cmdr Data is more what Asimov had it mind. In fact, Data's character has direct references to Asimov, like his positronic brain.

                              qevlarr@lemmy.worldQ This user is from outside of this forum
                              qevlarr@lemmy.worldQ This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote last edited by
                              #179

                              Shouldn't be called an adaptation, really. They only dressed it up a tiny bit as Asimov for marketing reasons

                              F 1 Reply Last reply
                              2
                              • T [email protected]

                                I agree though with the commenter to which you replied. Just go in knowing it is going to hurt to watch, but in a genuinely entertaining way.

                                eponymousbosh@awful.systemsE This user is from outside of this forum
                                eponymousbosh@awful.systemsE This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote last edited by
                                #180

                                Yeah I ain't watching that. They left out like at least a third of what made the books good IMO. Sounds like a waste of time.

                                T 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • qevlarr@lemmy.worldQ [email protected]

                                  Shouldn't be called an adaptation, really. They only dressed it up a tiny bit as Asimov for marketing reasons

                                  F This user is from outside of this forum
                                  F This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #181

                                  From what I heard, they got the rights to I, Robot, grabbed some script about a robot uprising that they already had optioned, and slapped a few things on it.

                                  This is apparently fairly common. If there's a Hollywood movie based on something that doesn't really align with the original, there's a good chance that this is what happened. Starship Troopers was the same way (though that's a whole different ballgame on whether the Hollywood version is good on its own merits).

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  4
                                  • bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.deB [email protected]

                                    For me it's elves at Helm's Deep. Totally unnecessary.

                                    Although I always laugh out loud when Sam says "We shouldn't even be here" in Osgiliath.

                                    eponymousbosh@awful.systemsE This user is from outside of this forum
                                    eponymousbosh@awful.systemsE This user is from outside of this forum
                                    [email protected]
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #182

                                    My devil's advocate argument for the elves being there is that there were a bunch of battles in the north that didn't make it into the movie and only get mentioned a little in the books, and one of the important themes of LOTR is that all these disparate groups had to band together to fight Sauron. So having elves be at Helm's Deep is a way to show the different people fighting together in a movie series that was already pressed for time. Necessary? Maybe not. But it doesn't bother me as much as some of the other changes, because I can at least see a rationale for it.

                                    bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.deB 1 Reply Last reply
                                    1
                                    • F [email protected]

                                      I, Robot.

                                      Asimov was explicitly trying to get away from the trope of "robots take over humanity". To be clear, the first short story that became I, Robot was published in 1940. "Robots take over humanity" was already an SF trope by then. Hollywood comes along more than half a century later and dives head first right back into that trope.

                                      Lt Cmdr Data is more what Asimov had it mind. In fact, Data's character has direct references to Asimov, like his positronic brain.

                                      I This user is from outside of this forum
                                      I This user is from outside of this forum
                                      [email protected]
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #183

                                      The only thing that advertisement masquerading as a movie has in common with the Asimov work is the title.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      6
                                      • J [email protected]

                                        All the adaptations of I Am Legend are bad, but 2007 movie was insulting. It gave the illusion of following the book, but then did a u-tutn and completely changed the meaning of the story and the title itself.

                                        In the movie the protagonist becomes a legend because he sacrifices himself to cure vampirism.

                                        In the book he is the last man in a world of vampires, he kills vampires, and understands that he is like a legendary monster that kills people in their sleep. He is then executed.

                                        I This user is from outside of this forum
                                        I This user is from outside of this forum
                                        [email protected]
                                        wrote last edited by [email protected]
                                        #184

                                        It gave the illusion of following the book.

                                        Have you actually read the short story? Because I am baffled as to how anyone who has read the story would say that.

                                        The movie was in no way an adaptation of the short story at all. It never even pretended to follow the short story.

                                        Just like iRobot the only thing I Am Legend has in common with it’s written work is the title.

                                        He is then executed.

                                        No he wasn’t. He committed suicide.

                                        G J 2 Replies Last reply
                                        1
                                        • V [email protected]

                                          Please don't fuck up project hail mary.. please don't fuck up project hail mary..

                                          wahots@pawb.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                                          wahots@pawb.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                                          [email protected]
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #185

                                          Honestly, I'm not even going to see it. The book was so insanely good that I cannot entertain the possibility of a movie straying even one millimeter from the source material.

                                          U 1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups