QOTD Tuesday July 12

Happy Tuesday!!

QUESTION: Are movies a part of your writing process in any way? Do they inspire you? Do you plan to have your books turned to movies? Are you particular about movies following books they're based off of?

Oh dear. I could go on forever about movies. Do I get inspired by them? Yes, just like I get inspired by books. From what I've seen, a lot of people tend to regard movies as inferior to books, which I think is, in general, false. They are both, basically, a means of telling a story. Yes, books can do things that movies can't, but movies can do things that books can't. ...okay, this is a random tangent which doesn't even have to do with what you asked. *cough* *stops talking about that*

Am I particular about movies being adapted from books? Yes, but not in the stupid way that most people are. *cough* The people who complain about certain scenes not being in the movie or getting some detail wrong, or whatever else annoy me to no end. Movies are not books. There are some things that books can do that movies can't, but there are also some things movies can do that books can't. What's important to me in a movie adaption is that they get the characters, basic plotline, and feel, or moral, of the book right. I don't care if every detail is exactly perfect, though that's not a bad thing either. I know a lot of people who didn't like Inkheart because they changed so many details from the book...I LOVED Inkheart. It's probably one of the best book to film adaptations (besides LotR) I've ever seen. Because they got every one of the characters just *perfect*. The story was the same, the feel was the same, the characters were incredibly perfect. Some of the details were changed, but that really doesn't matter.

/end rant

I find really well-done movies incredibly inspiring. And even ones that I just really liked for certain elements. *cough*X-Men First Class*cough* I sometimes get really great ideas from movies--I see an aspect I really like, internalize it and integrate the element into my story as something barely recognizable as coming from that source, to make the story that much richer without infringing any copyrights. Like one of my characters losing their ability to walk. That had absolutely NOTHING to do with X-Men and James McAvoy. Not at all.

And one of my characters was totally based on Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and now that I've completely incorporated him, he's completely his own person. The ideas I take generally evolve into originality, and if they don't, I disguise them as best as I can, lol.

As for turning my books into movies, I certainly wouldn't mind it. But similar to what Andre said, I would only like it if they kept the characters, the feel of the plot, ect. I don't think I'd enjoy seeing a movie version of my books that didn't depict the characters as I created them, because they wouldn't really be my characters anymore, would they?

I wouldn't want an Eragon to happen to me, but I think I could stand it if it increased sales, lol. Then I could get more fans, and they would all band together and petition for a good version, rioting in the streets until Hollywood granted their wishes. And, and...*goes to continue daydreaming offline*

*likes both answers a lot*

And I agree.

Oh, yeah, I missed the part about my books being turned into movies. XD

When I first started writing, that was almost more of a goal then getting my books published. For a long time, I figured that if I could get books published and those books were made into movies, I would have succeeded. XD I don't care nearly that much anymore, but if the chance ever came up I would leap to take it. ^_^

Oh, and Amanda, you are officially awesome for basing a character off Zuko.

Thank you. ^_^ He's still my very favorite character, even though he's evolved a bit beyond the Zuko mold. But it's good that he's not really the same in personality anymore, because I might end up with something too similar, being that he's still a prince, and he still has firebend--I mean *coughs* fire maijic. Totally different. *cough*not really*cough* I wouldn't want to infringe on any copyrights.

I can't think of a time a movie inspired me to write something. At least, not directly. Except "Black Swan" kind of inspired something I hope to write soon-ish. (That movie scared the living crap out of me, though. I'm not a horror person.)

As for book-to-movie adaptations––yes, I am quite particular about them. No, I'm not extremely picky. That is, I think it's fine to leave some things out if they're not 100% necessary. As long as the film captures the essence/ideas of the book, and follows the basic plot without adding anything overly ridiculous, I don't mind. However, it really angers me when a movie adaptation basically just makes up a story, completely ignoring the book, and slaps the title of the book on the poster. For example, the Percy Jackson movie made me absolutely livid ... But don't even get me started on that, or I'll rant for like ten pages.

I'm rather terrified about my own books ever having movie adaptations, especially having seen so many disastrous book-to-movie nightmares. My characters are so real to me in my head, it would be so strange to see them portrayed by real people. Although I admit, I kind of make up movie trailers for my books in my head sometimes. And I'm like, "YEAH! THIS WOULD BE A KICKASS MOVIE ... if someone did it correctly. Which I doubt."

@Brigid *likes your answer a lot*

I agree about books-to-movies. And I wouldn't watch Black Swan either.

And yes, I decided a long time ago that my stories as books and my stories as movies are going to be two totally separate things. I'll love them and will be thrilled to see my work as a movie, but I'm going to have to let go of some things like who they cast, how they do my favorite scenes, etc. I decided that while thinking about how JK Rowling must have felt watching HP for the first time, and if it bothered her.

@Lizzy - I saw Black Swan against my will. My friends made me go even though I was like, "NOOooooo!" But, ah well. The story was good. I love fantasy realism and whatnot. It was just really, really, really creepy. *shudders*

Exactly. I know some authors don't even want to see the adaptations of their books because they're afraid it'll ruin their own vision of the book. But, I'd want to see how someone else interpreted my work. As long as they mostly stuck to the plot I would still probably love it, no matter what. In fact, it might be really cool.

See, I also write plays (kinda-sorta). I took a playwriting class this past year, and we went on a field trip to this 'young playwrights festival' thingie. We all had to submit plays to it, and beforehand they chose two plays from each school to perform. And so, they chose mine ... and I was kinda like, "Oh, crap." I'd never seen my work performed before, so I was pretty nervous about it. But then I got to watch the actors rehearse (and perform it, of course) ... and it was one of the coolest experiences ever. They found so much more in the play than I thought was there in the first place, and made it so much funnier and emotional and everything than I thought it could be. It was almost nothing like I'd pictured it in my head, but it was amazing. And it made me think that seeing my books adapted into movies would kind of be like that. Maybe it would be really different, but it would be awesome to see how a director and actors might interpret it. So, there's a comforting thought.

@Brigid My friends would have to bind, gag and drag me to the theater and then chain me to the chair and hold my eyes open for me to watch Black Swan. I didn't even watch the whole trailer. *is an absolute baby*

I agree. It would be cool! And yes, so long as it stuck to the plot. Though I have to confess, if they cast a bad actor/actress for one of my favorite characters, I might have a little hiccup.

That's SO COOL. *claps* How amazing that must've been!!

@Lizzy - lol!!! I don't blame you. I just sat there with my eyes shut through most of it. It was traumatizing.

Ugh, yeah. If the casting was awful I would be twitching just a bit.

Ahhh it was! *headsmack* I just remembered I actually put in on YouTube. It's pretty grainy but the audio's good. So ah, if you ever care to watch it: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

@Brigid No kidding! *feels sorry for you* *hands chocolate*

Ooooh, I'm TOTALLY going to watch it!

@Lizzy Thanks! *stuffs chocolate in mouth* OM NOM NOM *chokes on wrapper*

Ooh yay! I hope you enjoy it.