Books That Should Become Movies

Sometimes when reading a book I think how great a movie it could be. Of course, with some books, others see the same potential and make a horrible movie out of it (Michael Crichton’s Timeline is a superb example of a great book and horrible movie). Now, I’m usually drawn to a specific style of writing and I think it would be hard for these books to be made into movies. I don’t think there is much money in making movies off some of these unless they are handled with care and done right.

Neanderthal by John Darnton- This is a great book about archaeologists who stumble upon a community of Neanderthals living in Tadjikistan, high in the mountains, cut off from the rest of the world. Think Indiana Jones type story, but without the Nazis. Rumor has it the rights to this book have been sold to Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks, but I doubt we’ll see this as a movie anytime soon.

Survivor-Chuck Palahniuk- Great book. Starting from chapter 47 and working it’s way backwards, it tells the story of Tender Branson. Branson aged 33, has commandeered a Boeing 747, emptied of passengers, in order to tell his story to the “black box” while flying randomly until the plane runs out of gas and crashes. Again, movie rights have been bought for this book, but it seems unlikely to be made since it is very dark and movies about plane crashes post-9/11 are not likely to garner much in the way of box office success.

Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey– Chuck Palahniuk- This would never make it as a movie, and probably shouldn’t, but it would be an interesting one to see. Think the book and movie Breakfast of Champions. Great book. Really messed up movie that was…. just weird. This book was told in a unique way. The entire story was told by people who knew Buster Casey. The entire book is in interview format and sometimes the stories even contradict each other. If this was made into a movie it would either be the best movie ever made or the worst. There is no in-between.

Velocity-Dean Koontz- None of Dean Koontz’s books have worked as movies. Anyone remember Phantoms? They just suck. Mostly because most of Koontz’s works deal with the supernatural or aliens. Lately his books have been more suspense thriller. Velocity is one of those. If you recieved a note saying you had to choose who would live and who would die, what would you do? Billy Wiles’s life spirals out of control after he finds a note on his windshield telling him that he has a choice: involve the police, and a lovely blonde schoolteacher dies. Do nothing, and an elderly woman active in charity work dies. The following events are a cat and mouse chase to stop the killer before he kills again. This could be an excellent movie that would keep you at the edge of your seat (much as the book did) the entire time.

I’m sure there are more books I’d like to see turned into movies, but so far that’s all I can think of. I think if these were made, and made with care, they could be really great and do quite well at the box office.