Making Books into Movies

Sometimes taking a good book and turning it into a cinematic experience is a wonderful thing, other times it leaves you hugely disappointed.

I found out that two of my favorite children's books are being adapted for the big screen and will be coming to theaters this year.

If you have never read "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" by Judy Barrett, you must put it on your list to check out the next time you are at the library.











The book is about the town of Chewandswallow where the people don't shop at grocery stores, they eat the food that falls from the sky. Soup, pancakes, and even hamburgers land in their town and everything is great until the weather takes a turn for the worst. This story has been a family favorite of ours since I was in grade school. It is just one of those funny books that I never get tired of reading and the illustrations are fantastic.

[Who knows, with this crazy weather we've been having lately, maybe hamburgers will be the next thing to fall from the sky.]

The movie adaption which is scheduled for theaters in September, uses a different take on the main plot of the book. Here's a short description:










"Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain. Bill Hader will voice Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life. Anna Faris takes on the role of Sam Sparks, a weather girl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior. James Caan plays Tim Lockwood, Flint's technophobic father. Andy Samberg plays Brent, the town bully who has plagued Flint since childhood. Bruce Campbell plays Mayor Shelbourne, who figures out that Flint's invention can put the town, and more importantly himself, on the map. Mr. T plays the by-the-rules town cop Earl Devereaux, and Tracy Morgan takes on the role of Earl's rule-breaking son, Cal."

I understand that to make a movie out of the book, they had to come up with some main characters who live in the town, but I hope it doesn't stray too far from the fun and outlandish tall tale that made the book so great.

Another favorite book being turned into a movie, is "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that story, and if you don't - crawl out from under the rock you've been living under and go check it out at the library.












"The adventures of a young boy named Max who, after being sent to bed for misbehaving, imagines that he sails away to where the wild things are. Max is loved by the wild creatures who make him their King, though he soon longs to be back home with his family."

Spike Jonze, an Academy Award-nominated director and producer in film and television, most notably the 1999 film Being John Malkovich, is at the helm for this movie and it has been receiving some mixed reviews. I'm not really sure at this point what age group this movie will be targeted for, I've read that it is a little bit of a darker take on the story. It is set to open in October and the cast includes: Max Records, Benicio Del Toro, Paul Dano, Tom Noonan, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine Keener and Michael Berry Jr. Here are some production pictures:

I always think it's interesting too see a story that I've imagined in my mind come to life in a movie. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's not so good. I'm intrigued about these two movies either way.