R Eric Thomas is a Senior Staff Writer at ELLE.com, home of his daily humor column "Eric Reads the News," which skewers politics, pop culture, celebrity shade, and schadenfreude. This will be on the test: Reese Witherspoon produced the film and intended to play Amy, but David Fincher told her she wasn't right for the role. Back cover blurb: Kansas farmgirl Dorothy (Judy Garland) is transported by tornado to a magical land where she immediately murders someone and steals her shoes. They don’t change the playing field. Theo (Clive Owen), a cynical former activist, is conscripted by his ex-wife (Julianne Moore) into helping to secretly transport a pregnant refugee (Clare-Hope Ashitey). That controversy and the immediate responses to it—including the academy’s rule changes—only carry us as far as the Dolby Theatre. Based on: Louisa May Alcott's wildly popular 1868 novel. Back cover blurb: After experiencing sudden destitution, Elinor Dashwood (Emma Thompson) and her sister Marianne (Kate Winslet) try to change their fortunes through courtship. This will be on the test: There were actual high school classes going on in rooms adjacent to the ones director Alexander Payne used for filming. The film made it easy for readers of the book to misunderstand what it was about, and the misunderstanding will pursue me till I die. It ultimately went to Michael Gambon. Key difference: Fans of the novel will note that screenwriter James Ivory moved the events from 1987 to 1983 and the film does not include the present-day scene that closes the book. Based on: A 1992 novella by Stephen King entitled "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.". Stephane Dunn: film scholar Based on: The book of the same name by J.K. Rowling, the third in her wildly popular Harry Potter series. Back cover blurb: New student Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) tries to navigate the complicate social strata of a new high school as she is taken under the wing of Regina George (Rachel McAdams), "queen bee" of a trio of mean girls known as The Plastics. Back cover blurb: Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover. Key difference: McEwan's book is deliciously cerebral and interior, giving the characters' conflicts, questions, and changes vigorous life. Back cover blurb: Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) writes letters detailing her often painful life in rural Georgia; her separation from her sister, Nettie (Akosua Busia); her relationships with her husband's son's wife, Sofia (Oprah Winfrey); and her husband's sometimes-mistress, Shug (Margaret Avery). He spends the next 12 years working on plantations and attempting to reunite with his family. To many Godfather fans, film director Francis Ford Coppola significantly improved on the book and took out a lot of material written by Puzo that was not particularly relevant to the main story. Career: Financed early screenwriting with truckdriving; first professional film job as special effects man and art director for Roger Corman, 1980; set up production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, 1990; co-founder and CEO of visual effects company Digital Domain, 1993; True Lies first film to cost over $100 million, 1994; Titanic first film to cost over $200 million, 1997. The first literary adaptation by cult writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen, this chilling film follows McCarthy’s bleak novel almost to the letter. This will be on the test: In 2020, Aciman published a sequel to the novel titled Find Me. Director Jason LaMotte was profoundly affected by his neighbourhood library in Houston Texas – and the magical feeling it carried was the inspiration behind his new film The Library Charles Burnett: director (Killer of Sheep, To Sleep With Anger) Through that I found out about Renoir's and am gonna read that next. All rights reserved. Key difference: Though they still author the Amazing Amy books in the film, Amy's parents play a much smaller role in David Fincher's film. That really isn’t that much money and no one has a career in Hollywood as an “idea” person just making their living coming up with great ideas. Screenwriter Tina Fey used Wineman's observations about teenagers and the effects of cliques on girls as inspiration for the events in the film. Key difference: Red is an white Irish man in the book; in the film, Freeman's character jokes that he is Irish. Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life Love and Baking Biscuits [Witherspoon Reese] on Amazon.com. Back cover blurb: In this meta-textual mind-bender, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Nicholas Cage) is tormented by his twin brother (also Cage) and his inability to adapt The Orchid Thief. Back cover blurb: Precocious and imaginative Briony (Saoirse Ronan) stumbles upon her sister (Keira Knightley) and the housekeeper's son (James McAvoy) in an intimate moment. ), though filmmaker Alexander Payne also shot an ending faithful to the novel. This will be on the test: Fontane was reportedly based on Frank Sinatra. Ripley's admiration accelerates quickly and dangerously as he moves from ingratiating himself in their lives to trying to take them over. He’s the co-author, with Isaac Butler, of The World Only Spins Forward, a history of Angels in America, and is writing a book called How to Be a Family. Back cover blurb: Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) falls under the sway of socialites Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) and Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow) while in Italy on an assignment from Dickie's father. This will be on the test: Thompson wrote the screenplay intending for another actress to play Elinor. The exclusion of blackness from these film canons shapes our expectations about what constitutes greatness in film. I think trying to get your book made into a movie doesn’t offer you much up side. Back cover blurb: Westley (Cary Elwes) must rescue his true love Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) from Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). This will be on the test: After Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, passed away, Ian McKellen was offered the role but turned it down. Key difference: The ending of the film is very different from the book (no spoilers! Based on: P.D. Ava DuVernay: director (Middle of Nowhere, Selma) This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. To change Hollywood, it’s important not only to look forward but to look back. This will be on the test: Michael Fassbender plays an alcoholic so, in a Method flourish, he asked the makeup artist to paint his mustache with alcohol so that it would trigger a response when other actors smelled it. As Buggin’ Out (Do the Right Thing, No. Search the world's most comprehensive index of full-text books. Back cover blurb: Dr. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) creates a theme park in which genetically cloned dinosaurs roam. Based on: Tom Perrotta's acerbic 1998 novel. Admittedly, we shouldn't have to publish this article. This will be on the test: Christopher Lee actually met J.R.R. 6. Does the COVID-19 Vaccine Affect Facial Fillers? When Kathryn Bigelow collected her Oscar trophy earlier this year, she did so as only the fourth woman ever nominated in the director category. Julie Dash: director (Daughters of the Dust) A remake of the 1932 film of the same name, it tells the story of Cuban refugee Tony Montana (), who arrives penniless in 1980s Miami but would go on to become a powerful drug lord. Thus begins the director’s gut-wrenching autobiography, initially published in 1971, but as powerful today as it was then. Nick & Nora’s was a “small” movie. Based on: J.R.R. ALLIES. Of the hundreds of movies based on books, here are the 19 best, in no particular order. The Wizard of Oz is based on a book written by L. Frank Baum by the same title. Reluctant son Michael (Al Pacino) is drawn deeper and deeper into the family business. Key difference: The book heavily features a dinosaur called the procompsognathus, but the film eliminates the creature entirely, including the book's terrifying opening scene. 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