With constant blogs swarming the Internet about the latest book series like Divergent, The Mortal Instruments and Fifty Shades of Grey, being transferred to the big screen... I got to thinking about a few novels that have yet to be mentioned, but would make a great addition to this "novel to film" trend that has consumed Hollywood for the last decade. And with all of the endless remakes and lack of original story ideas. I thought I'd give the studios a hand.
Why not The Vampire Lestat? Anne Rice's second book in her very popular vampire series and the follow up to Interview with a Vampire. This one follows arrogant vampire, Lestat on a 200-year-long exploration of his dark and mysterious past in Paris, leading up to his life in New Orleans which the first book, Interview with a Vampire centers on. I never did understand why they didn't make this one... especially after the 1994 film starring Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise as Lestat, who I have to add really played Rice's favorite vampire character to perfection, was such a hit. Nonetheless, no reason why they can't pick it up where they left off... we'll just have to pretend the film adaption of the third book in the Chronicle series, the disaster Queen of the Damned, never happened. Another bonus... people love the supernatural... especially vampires (ex. The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, True Blood). And not only that, there would be room for plenty of sequels as this is only the second of ten books which make up 'The Vampire Chronicles' series.
If not that, then what about Wolf Gift? As I said before supernatural creatures seem to be an always popular part of American culture so Anne Rice's more recent werewolf novel surely should be a hit... especially among the younger audience.
In this novel, Rice's main character, Reuben Golding, a young journalist working on an assignment for the San Francisco Observer, becomes a werewolf and spends most of the novel fleeing the authorities and trying to control his urge to kill. With a semi-original plot, this could work. And as far as casting goes... well Anne Rice said herself that she based the book's lead character on Matt Bomer, so no need for that annoying casting issue on this one.
Or Glamorama... one of my favs. Bret Easton Ellis's 1998 novel about a self absorbed and morally bankrupt model, Victor Ward living the glamorous life in New York City. Ellis, who's known for his unforgiving ability to capture the ugliness of society and pop culture in his novels, wrote one of his best in Glamorama.
This novel, filled with an overwhelming amount of celebrities, and consumerism obsessed characters, has enough twists in its many plots (Models turned terrorists) to make this story unique and an interesting one that Hollywood should try.... And I could think of a couple of guys perfect to play the blond It-boy Victor Ward. Besides Ellis's other book turned movie, American Psycho was a sleeper hit when it came out in 2000...and not to mention got a lot of attention for the delectable Christian Bale, who played the novel's main character Patrick Bateman, a psychotic wall street stock broker... so I predict plenty of guys would be competing for the chance to play the vain playboy, Victor Ward.
Hilary Mantel's 2009 moneymaking historical novel Wolf Hall would make a great period piece... and we know Hollywood always has to have one of these to be fair to an older audience. In Wolf Hall we follow Thomas Cromwell, King Henry the 8th's social climbing and scheming secretary, as he plots against Anne Boleyn and others close to the king's ear.... I'm guessing with shows like The Tudors being such a big hit that this one could be a winner for the younger audience as well. All they have to do is pick the right cast, add a little sex appeal and there you go.
Last, but not least... American Gods by UK writer Neil Gaiman, known for his other book series like The Sandman and The Graveyard Book. This novel is a mix of fantasy with ancient and modern mythology. The basic plot centers on the idea that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them. "Immigrants coming to the US, brought with them dwarves, elves, leprechauns, and other spirits and gods, but the power of these beings disappeared as people's faith in them waned"... Interesting, right?....
"Now new gods have arisen, reflecting America's obsessions with media, celebrity, technology, and drugs." The novel follows around an ex-convict, Shadow as he comes to realize that gods exist among us. With an original and exciting idea... this might be one worth considering. Especially since Gaiman is said to be working on a sequel to the book... so Hollywood could get at least two good movies out of this one. And PERFECT for 3D, something Hollywood just HAS to do now to every other movie that comes out.
So there you have it Hollywood. A book to cover every genre. You can lay off of the remakes for awhile, leave the young adult book series alone and make some of these more thought-provoking books come to life.
