Don't you think the films murder the books value?

This has always seemed like kind of a silly question to me. Movies and books are two completely different types of art. A novel is created by (usually) one individual and is judged simply on it's merrits as a novel. A movie is always a huge collaborative effort. One of those collaborators is the director. That director, in order to make a movie, needs source material. (unless it's some lynch-type, esoteric, stream of consciousness thing like eraser head). That source material can be a screenplay but is very often a successful novel because novelists come up with some great story ideas and they're a great well to draw from. But the original novel is merely the inspiration for a huge endeavor that will culminate in a two hour long film which is an art project independent from it's source material. To illustrate my point, take the case of " what the bleep do we know?" the source material wasn't a novel, but some theories in physics. Whether or not you enjoyed the film, does the resulting film diminsh the physics theories that were the inspiration? I've heard physicist interviews about the film who were pissed off for the same reason people like us get pissed off when a book we really like gets turned into a crappy movie. The physique say the filmmakers botched the science. But the filmmakers weren't trying to do a physics experiment or get published in scientific American. They were trying to win an Oscar. So if a film gets made, it's source material is mostly immaterial to whether the movie is good or not. It's good if you like the cinematography, set design, music and acting. And a crappy movie certainly doesn't diminish the book it was inspired by. It can increase sales. It can bring attention. And it can piss off a few people who are passionate about the source material like us. Fight club is a GREAT BOOK! It's also-separately-a great movie. Shawshank redemption was a pretty good story by one of my favorite authors. The movie, as an independent piece of art, was 10 times more enjoyable for me. The shining was an excellent book. The kubric adaptations is in my opinion one of the best horror movies ever made. It had very little to do with the original story however. So what? I still enjoy the book. And the movie is one of my all-time faves! So I get two great pieces of art to enjoy for the price of one. I heard it pissed mr king off. That's understandable, he's partial to his creation and may not like to see it changed so liberally by someone else, but I argue that kubric took a good piece of art and made it great. Much like Brian eno did for the b-52s and the talking heads. At the same time, when Susan coopers "the dark is rising" was adapted into that gigantic pile of shit, I was very sad. But it didn't diminish the story for me. And may have gotten her some new readers. But dear god was it loathsome. And I too fear the day when Enders game gets optioned. I just feel it's doomed to less than mediocrity. So I fully understand when people like us get pissed off at bad movie adaptations of our favorite works of fictional art. It is sad. But they are two seperate art forms. And the fact is....movies don't get made unless there's a story to inspire them. And most stories are written by novelists. So Hollywood will continue to option our favorite books and sometimes it will be great, sometimes mediocre and very often we will find ourselves crying out in dispair. It's pretty hard to take a great piece of art and translate it into an entirely different art form and still be as enjoyable. Especially since the novelist only has to please readers to make money. (and we tend to be pleased by things a bit more "high brow" than your average citizen.) and a movie maker has to please ever Tom dick and Henrietta in America before he can even recoup production costs. So the resulting art's "brow" may lower by a few degrees by the time the movie passes screen tests and finally reaches the consumer. So take heart friends! There will be more"fight clubs" and "shawshanks" made for us to enjoy. The "eragons" and "dark is risings," though.... well... Just ignore them. That's what I do. And it helps me sleep..... The only example I can think of where literal translation of a novel absolutely worked well and the hollywood version absolutely did not was "a hitchhikers guide to the galaxy" if you haven't seen them, watch the BBC version and then the Hollywood version. Its an amazing case study that illustrates the very thing that frustrates us all about Hollywood. But then go watch the Kubrick version of the shining and the sic fi channel version of the shining. And tell me the loose adaptation doesn't bury the literal translation as a piece of cinematic art. Apologies to mr. King, but Kubrick did one hell of a job with that book. Ditto his adaptation of a clockwork orange. Loved both book and movie. But the movie was better. AND 2001... Never read Lolita...or Barry Lyndon. But I'm guessing I would like the books better. Now I'm just ranting. I'm done.

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Hahahahaha. I loled.

I don't think people relixe how many good movies are books....go to a book store and just look.....1 out of 4 books is a good ass movie lol......MADE UP STATISTIC but true