From print to the big screen

As mentioned here in one of my very first blogs, I love to read and this activity is definitely in my top five things to do in my free time. One of my motivators, but definitely not the main one, behind book selection relates to whether it will be turned into a feature film. Although, sometimes I am ahead of the pack and I read a book that I later find out is going to follow this same pathway onto the big screen. For the most part it is easy for me to paint a picture in my head of characters and scenes as I progress through the pages of a book. Sometimes I have the luxury of using the actors' faces and mannerisms if I already know who has been cast in the upcoming film. However, my imagination cannot compare to seeing how the experts in the film industry have transformed all the pivotal parts of a book and brought them to life before my very eyes. Books and their storylines are open to interpretation so it is interesting to see if the creative forces behind a film i.e. the director share my views or not and to also see what parts of the book get left on the cutting room floor. The consensus for me is that most times the film doesn't do the book justice, but allowances must by made for the fact that you can only carry so many pages over to the big screen considering the average length of a book. It might be due to poor casting or the interpretation might not seem quite right in my eyes. At the end of the day I still appreciate the opportunity to go and see the film anyway. The last such opportunity, from memory, was a few months ago when I went to see One Day, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, and based on the book of the same name. The decision to purchase the book stemmed from a magazine review and it was a fantastic read with an interesting storyline. I believe I found out about the film either while I was reading the book or not long after. Of course I had to go see the film and while it started out a bit shaky, I was hooked by the end and left the cinema content with the adaptation. Now tomorrow sees me head to the cinema to watch another book to big screen film. Of course that would be the film of the moment with all the obligatory hype, that of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1. I have read all the books and seen all the films so far, having completed each reading before heading to the cinema. However, I started reading the first book after I was already aware of the film castings so I had those actor images in my mind the whole time. The latest film has already had mixed reviews, but I am committed until the end and intrigued to see how the final two part installment of the book series unfolds on the big screen. It will be a perfect mid-week outing involving another one of my top five things to do in my free time. 

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer (image courtesy of Stephanie Meyer)

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Movie Poster (image courtesy of IMDb)