Friday, October 16, 2009

Author Jennifer Leeland

Please join me in welcoming the fabulous Jennifer Leeland to Killer Fiction. She writes sassy, sexy romance, and her alter ego, Jennifer McKenzie, writes fabulous romantic suspense. So, take it away, Jennifer...



Thank you so much, Gemma, for having me guest blog today and hello to everyone who comes by Killer Fiction.

Gemma made the mistake of telling me I could ramble about anything so...
I'm going to rant.

Do you have a favorite book or movie that someone attempted to make into a movie? I say "attempted" since most of the time the translation is bad. Very bad.
The worst attempt was made by the BBC. Most of the time, the BBC does a good job dramatizing mysteries. (Joan Hicks as Miss Marple. David Suchet as Poirot. Edward Petherbridge as Peter Whimsey) but one production was so heinous that I couldn't watch Mystery! on PBS for a few years after that.

In 1990, imagine my thrill when someone FINALLY put Ngaio Marsh, one of my favorite authors, on television. Eagerly I switched on PBS with my father, who was my partner in watching crime. Okay, so they started with "Artists In Crime". That was pretty good. Awesome.

But then, they went on to do "A Man Lay Dead."

To do this wonderful bit of out of orderness, they DELETED A CHARACTER! An important one. Angela North, the love interest for Nigel Bathgate, played a huge part in "A Man Lay Dead" and is referenced in several following stories. How could they DELETE her?? And what in the world were they doing giving her parts to Troy?
I was properly appalled.

It didn't matter that they did try to get back on track with "Death in a White Tie". I was disheartened. Stunned. (Hey, I was 19. Still in drama mode.) I did try and watch them again when I was less of a drama queen, but they still bothered me.

Funny how some will bug me that way.

"Lord of the Rings?" Totally not like the books at all. But I loved the movies.
"The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe?" Also a good adaptation though it took liberties.

But "Prince Caspian", the sequel to "The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe?" No way. Hated that movie.

I used to think it depended on the book, but I'm not sure about that. I LOVE Frank Herbert's "Dune" and disliked the movie. But I liked the Sci Fi channel adaptation (which also took some serious liberties). Apparently, you can delete characters, change the story and do all kinds of weird things to a book when you dramatize it....but you have to do it well.

And the best part is that what I think is "done well" is certainly not shared by all. LOL.

So, what's your experience? Is there a book you've seen dramatized and thought "Noooo! How could you do that to my book?" Or "Wow! That was awesome!"
Of course, if my life is ever dramatized, I want Crystal Renn to play me. (She's here if you don't know who she is. http://www.stylelist.com/blog/2009/08/27/plus-size-women-getting-more-tv-time-but-is-the-focus-on-weigh/ )


~Jennifer
http://www.jenniferleeland.com/

4 comments:

Hellie Sinclair said...

The Harry Potter books. There are serious liberties they take now and again that bother me.

Okay, like in the 3rd movie, which "everyone" loved because it wasn't boring and tried to follow the book (WTF?), the OPENING scene has Harry trying to study his schoolbooks under his bedcover. In the movie he says, "Lumos" and is using magic to make his wand light up the room. In the book, he used a flashlight.

WHY does this bother me? Because Harry the year before encountered trouble with the Ministry of Magic for using magic outside of school and was told if he did it again, he'd be expelled. He doesn't want to be expelled--and in the book, he uses a flashlight. It makes sense. And if he was using MAGIC then, why does he get upset he'll be expelled for "blowing up his aunt" then? Using magic outside school is using magic.

And don't get me started about my problems with the Goblet of Fire.

Brandy said...

The movie for P.S. I love you. I loved the book, but the movie? Yeah, not so much.

Christie Craig said...

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for guest blogging at Killer Fiction.

I'm reading Twilight now. I know, I know, I"m late, but I'm enjoying the book. It's a great study in character.

CC

Jennifer Leeland said...

There's always some that take liberties.
Thank you everyone for stopping by!