The Ultimate Adaptations Book Bundle Giveaway

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED.

I love a great adaptation. That's no secret. It's largely because I adore both book and films but in the right hands a beloved book can become a great film and appreciated by more fans, just in a different medium.

So it seems only fitting to do a competition which celebrates some fantastic adaptations, with books provided courtesy of Robert Hale Ltd, Scholastic, Hodder, Hesperus, Canongate and Bloomsbury. 

For your chance to win all of the following great books, just send an email over to filmvsbook@gmail.com with your favourite adaptation ever made and why, including 'The Ultimate Adaptations Book Bundle Giveaway' as the subject line and the town where you live in the UK. Don't worry, they don't have to be from the list below!

Head to the Bates Motel to see what happens when a woman on the run from the law meets Norman Bates. Psycho by Robert Bloch became one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most iconic films.

Sparking a resurgence in young adult fiction Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second novel in her Hunger Games trilogy which follows Katniss Everdeen as she fights to protect those she loves but somehow manages to put them in even more danger. Dramatic, powerful and gripping from start to finish, the adaptation – which stars Jennifer Lawrence – is out in November.
 

Carrie by Stephen King is one of King’s most beloved books as he follows a high school girl battling with a religious fanatic mother and her own powers of telekinesis. It’s so good, they’ve adapted it more than once!

 

12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup was the film to watch at this year’s London Film Festival and received rave 5* reviews across the board. But it all began with a true story by Solomon Northup back in the 1800s. Read the memoir that started it all.
 

A book that was deemed unadaptable was adapted by Ang Lee thanks to 3D technology and an incredible performance from newcomer Suraj Sharma. Booker prize winning Life of Pi by Yann Martel is one of the most thought-provoking and evocative tales ever written.

As an extra bonus to this great bunch of adaptations, the competition also includes the fantastic The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. Though the adaptation does not currently exist, Andy Serkis' company have bought the film rights and are working on getting it made!

*A new book has been added to the giveaway, courtesy of the lovely people over at Random House. Enjoy all the glamour and opulence of 1920s New York with F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale, The Great Gatsby.*

This competition is available to UK readers only and will close on midnight GMT Friday 1st November.

BAFTA Nominations: The BAFTAs are adapting

It's no secret by now that I love a great adaptation - and by great, I hasten to add, I do NOT mean a carbon copy. A truly great adaptation must be faithful to the source text and keep the overall feel of it while realising what works or does not work on the big screen.

This year, there have been plenty of adaptations to choose from including classic tales like Anna Karenina and Great Expectations and more modern stories like The Lucky One and Argo. Two highlights from the past twelve months of cinema though have to be Life of Pi and Silver Linings Playbook - both of which have received BAFTA nods today for Best Adapted Screenplay. Many of the best performances and films of the year (according to BAFTA) were also adaptations.

Best Adapted Screenplay nominations:

• ARGO Chris Terrio
• BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
• LIFE OF PI David Magee
• LINCOLN Tony Kushner
• SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK David O. Russell

For the full nominations list, check out Filmoria.

Gorgeous new images from Ang Lee's Life of Pi

Today marks the release of a film they said could never be adapted. Based on Yann Martel's incredible Man Booker prize-winning novel, Life of Pi has been turned into a cinematic masterpiece with Suraj Sharma and Irrfan Khan playing Pi at different ages. Directed by Ang Lee, the film also stars Rafe Spall.

To celebrate the film's release, here are some gorgeous new stills from the film. Click to enlarge.

Check out the book vs film for Life of Pi here and make sure you experience this incredible adaptation on the big screen and in 3D while you can. It will take you on one hell of a journey!

Cinema: Hot Tips for the Christmas Break

Many people are now counting the days, minutes, perhaps even seconds until they break up for a Christmas holiday. So if it's school or work you're having a break from, check out my hot tips of what to see at the cinema this holiday season:

Thursday 20th December - Life of Pi

Based on the book by Yann Martel, is a stunning piece of cinema that must be seen in all it's cinematic 3D glory to be experienced at its best. With incredible performances and ocean loads of emotion and drama, it is certainly one to watch now while you can! Check out the book vs film.

Friday 21st December - Pitch Perfect

Having been delayed for two months, this hilarious US film finally reaches UK shores just in time for Christmas. It's crude, it's hilarious and it's musical - American Pie meets Glee. Full review at Filmoria.

Friday 11th January - Les Misérables

It's due out in the US on Christmas day so us Brits need to wait a little bit longer - but it is worth the wait! So much more than the incredible music, this incredible cast bring a raw, intoxicating performance. Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman will be the ones to beat come award season. Full review at Filmoria.

Life of Pi: Book vs Film

Let me begin this review with a warning. Life of Pi is not a children's adventure story. This is not Robinson Crusoe for a new generation. The story is shocking, violent, graphic, terrifying and completely heartbreaking. Yet somehow it also manages to be awe-inspiring and beautiful. As a result, this will not be for everyone. Life of Pi has the potential to make or break you - much like Pi himself - so prepare yourself for a choppy ride... 

Life of Pi follows the trials and tribulations of young Pi Patel as he is shipwrecked at sea with only a tiger for company. The epic tale won the Man Booker Prize back in 2002 and saw author Yann Martel propelled to worldwide fame. 

What Martel created in Life of Pi was so much more than a story of shipwreck, of being lost at sea. The son of a zookeeper, Pi has been around animals his entire life. He understands them better than most and must battle not just the elements, the fear of starvation and everything that being stranded at sea would normally entail. Pi must also face off a Bengal tiger by the name of Richard Parker that could kill him in a split second.

Stuck for seemingly endless days at sea in an apparently hopeless situation, Pi's daily struggle is both a physical and emotional one - laden with such intensity that the story becomes completely immersive for the reader. The detail of the battle between human and animal, between what lies within the boat and what lies outside of it, is intoxicating and captivating. Pi's battle is with himself and watching him give in to his animal instincts is fascinating and horrifying all at the same time.

Before he reaches the sea though, Pi has an upbringing to consider and by spending a substantial amount of time at the start of the novel dedicated to Pi's backstory, Martel manages to really show the many sides to his protagonist. He is a deeply religious person, fascinated not just by his Hindu upbringing but by what Christianity and Islam have to offer. Pi is not simply picking and choosing, though, as if he wants to cover his bases. He is an intelligent young man who has a great love of God and all that is spiritual. 

The main focus of the story is of course what happens at sea. Given that most of the story is spent out in the ocean, turning Life of Pi into a film might have seemed too big an ask for many directors. Ang Lee, however, decided to bravely take on the project and the end result is something to behold.

For the film adaptation, Lee found a total unknown actor to play young Pi Patel. Suraj Sharma puts in a performance more seasoned actors would struggle to accomplish, capturing both the innocence of the religious teenage boy and the strength and desperation of a boy alone at sea. Audiences feel his every emotion: his loss, his hope, his stupidity and his bravery. It is both heartbreaking and intoxicating. 

In Irrfan Khan - who plays Pi grown up - Lee has found a man who can reveal such deep emotion with merely a glance, an inflection or the slightest hint of a smile that he needs no spectacle to get his story across. Stunning as the scenes at sea are, many viewers will find themselves just as gripped by his story and the way he tells it. Khan is a superb storyteller and conveys the truth behind Martel's story gracefully and respectfully. 

With these two central performances sorted, it was up to Lee to figure out how to put the epic tale on the big screen. The use of 3D really allows audiences the opportunity to fully enter Pi's world. With this extra dimension added, viewers are sure to both cower in fear and marvel in awe at all that Pi witnesses on his journey.

Martel's book was groundbreaking. It is a truly unique piece of writing that blends action adventure, religion and emotion in a way no other story has managed. It is hard to read at parts though, with great detail given to just what Pi has to do in order to survive - details that some readers may find too much to bear. It's the book's greatest strength and weakness that audiences may not fully know what to expect. You go in thinking it's a story about a boy in a boat with a tiger and then the kid starts talking about religion and the beauty of life in India. It's jarring and unsettling and for me, if I hadn't been told to power through it, I may well have given up in that first section. Had I done so I would have missed out on so much. At the same time, the greatest way to experience the story itself is to go in knowing as little as possible. It is the kind of story that stays with you long after the book has been closed but you have to have a little faith that it is worth sticking it out to the end.

With Lee's adaptation, something magical happens. Though none of the horror of Pi's story is forgotten, certain details are left off screen, making it just that little bit more palatable. Enough of his story is explained that audiences fully understand what he has had to endure - so the feel of the book is not lost - but every graphic detail is not required to enforce the point.

Lee has so flawlessly managed to capture the imagination of Martel's book that it really doesn't matter if the film is seen before or after reading it. Both versions convey the full extent of Pi's struggle, the tumultuous but entirely necessary relationship between him and Richard Parker and the heartbreaking duality of both the majesty and torture that comes with a life stranded at sea. In choosing a stunningly talented cast and by adding the extra dimension of 3D to the film, Lee has proven himself one of the greatest directors of modern cinema. Life of Pi is a visual spectacle but never loses its heart and emotion. 

They said Martel's book couldn't be adapted. They were wrong.Life of Pi must be seen to be believed and seen to be experienced. Most of all, though, it must be seen in 3D and on the big screen to really get the full effect. It is a master class in adaptations - a true masterpiece in cinema. 

Book: 4.5/5 FOBLES
Film: 5/5 FOBLES

Adapt or Die: Why Adaptations are Taking Over Cinema

Adaptations are everywhere. Cinema over the last few years has relied heavily on books, plays, comics and often previously released films for their source material. Some claim that cinema today lacks originality, that filmmakers have run out of new ideas…and with the resurgence in comic book films, English-language remakes and book to film adaptations, is it any wonder? But people are still flocking to the cinema in droves to see these adapted films. So why the appeal?

Think back to your favourite film from the last few years – was it a new idea? In just a few years, we’ve had adaptations made from the books for Anna Karenina, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Lucky One and the massive blockbuster hit, The Hunger Games. On the side of comics, there’s been Avengers Assemble (The Avengers in the USA) and The Dark Knight Rises – two of this year’s biggest films. In the last few weeks alone, adaptations of The Silver Linings Handbook, Breaking Dawn and Argo have hit, with a new take on Great Expectations arriving in cinemas this weekend. The play Carnage was adapted into a hilarious film with big names including Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet.

So why do filmmakers keep taking these ideas, instead of coming up with their own? Well, for one there is an audience already out there to tap into. The popularity of The Hunger Games book trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins, meant that fans of the books were already going to see any film adaptation that was made – no matter how good it may have been. Just look at the staggering box-office success of Twilight!

The other factor, I imagine, is the opportunity to bring something old and tired back into the limelight. The number of times Batman has re-imagined himself would put even Doctor Who to shame. He is a fascinating and beloved character and fans will always want to see new guises for him. Classics such as Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina and Jane Eyre are always getting new adaptations because, after all these years, people are still enjoying the stories over and over – be they in book, TV or film form.

It’s worth considering that the dominance of adaptations at the cinema does not mean there is no room for something new. Two of the greatest films of 2012 so far – The Raid and The Cabin in the Woods – took old, tired ideas and injected new life into them. Cabin took every cliché in the horror genre and flipped them on their head to make something brilliantly clever and original – but it was done by lovingly taking everything that had been done before and making something new with it. The Raid had a fundamental plot similar to that of Judge Dredd but by using a new martial arts star (the insanely talented Iko Uwais) and showcasing the martial art style of silat, writer/director Gareth Evans managed to redefine the action genre.

More solemn and incredibly well-acted adaptations like We Need to Talk About Kevin and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy did tremendously well with critics and audiences alike, winning numerous awards and worldwide acclaim. Sadly though, for every We Need to Talk About Kevin, there is a My Sister’s Keeper – a debacle of an adaptation which can be seen to take a strong, powerful idea and turn it into overly sentimental drivel. Film adaptations like these have no need for adapting a source text when all they want to do is change it into something that has been done already – and often done better.

This tendency to adapt shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Still to come in the next few months are adaptations for Life of Pi, Les Misérables, Gangster Squad, Cloud Atlas and The Great Gatsby.

The old phrase goes that you need to adapt or die. Well it seems filmmakers are finally learning to adapt to new ideas – even if they sometimes need to use old ones to get there.

Which adaptations have you enjoyed so far this year and which ones are you really looking forward to in 2013...?

 

COMPETITION: Win 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel and 'Lawless' by Matt Bondurant

THIS COMPETION IS NOW CLOSED

There have been numerous adaptations out in 2012, from the jumps in Woman in Black to the mythical fairytale of Snow White via some Salmon in the Yemen. The year isn't over yet though as plenty more adaptations head our way... 

This Friday (7th September) the film adaptation of Lawless hits cinemas. The film, based on the book by Matt Bondurant, stars Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce & Jessica Chastain and is directed by John Hillcoat.

Then in December, another great story - Life of Pi by Yann Martel - hits cinemas. The adaptation, directed by Ang Lee is set to be a magical take of the award-winning novel.

Both of these fantastic books are published by Canongate Books - with Lawless having its first UK publication last month. Courtesy of the lovely people at Canongate, these two books could be yours. To win both incredible books, simply email filmvsbook@gmail.com, put "Competition" in the subject line and let us know what your favourite adaptation of 2012 has been so far...

THE COMPETITION IS AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE AND CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT ON 30TH SEPTEMBER 2012 SO GET ADAPTING...

'Lawless' Blurb

The Bondurant Boys were notorious gangster brothers who ran liquor though Franklin County during Prohibition. LAWLESS is their story.

Based on the true account of Matt Bondurant's grandfather and two granduncles, this is a gripping tale of bootlegging, brotherhood and revenge.

'Life of Pi' Blurb

Now a major motion picture from Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee and Winner of the Booker Prize.

One boy, one boat, one tiger . . .

After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years.