The thing about good stories is that everyone loves them, whether they are orally narrated, cinematically acted out or put down in a book, we just love them. The more they resonate with our interests, experiences, hope or aspirations, the more we feel connected with the characters in the stories. It is no wonder then that interesting books are especially adapted into movies or television series – my favourite so far remains J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the movies lead me to the books. The TV series of Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart is something that I would love to see return to the screens. I didn’t see the TV series when it was aired but I find the book highly emotive. It is alleged that the depiction of Okonkwo’s character was pivotal in launching the acting career of Pete Edochie, one of Nollywood foremost actors.
There are debates on the pros and cons of the adapting books into movies. Movies bring stories to life. One feels more connected to the characters, moreover, the cinematic effects can add to the excitement. At the same time, it is easy to miss out on subtle nuances that authors weave into their stories as they navigate readers through intricate narrations, sometimes of abstract nature but usually of intense imagination. A movie adaptation relies on the producer’s interpretation, which effectively eliminates personal interpretation of an author’s work. Notwithstanding, for some people, movie adaptation remain the only way they may come to know an author’s work for whatever reasons (which are beyond the scope of this article). When all’s said and done, the fact remains that adapting books into movies is highly popular and lucrative evidenced by the high grossing of some of the movies that have been adapted from books. Check out the list of 149 books made into movies compiled by the List Challenge, to see how many you have watched (or perhaps read).
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