Vonda N. McIntyre's Adaptations: Any notes or letters?

[Greg Cox]

As someone who has occasionally wished for a book to be adapted into a movie/miniseries/series: sometimes, for me, anyway, it's a matter of wanting to see the story that you're picturing in your head "brought to life". If you enjoy the story, or even the world created in the story, sometimes it's fun to experience it in different formats, even if it's not the same. Whether it ends up being good or not is another thing, of course.

Exactly. It's just another way of enjoying a favorite story or character or universe, like reading a novel based on a movie or a movie based on a book, along with the comic-book adaptation, the live stage version, the video game, or the eventual Broadway musical version . . . .

Granted, some books seem to cry out to be filmed more than others. Certainly, I've had the experience of thinking that a particular book would lend itself well to film (or not), maybe even indulged in some fan-casting: "You know, Zendaya would be perfect as the female lead. Or maybe Florence Pugh?"

 

[Christopher]

for me, anyway, it's a matter of wanting to see the story that you're picturing in your head "brought to life".

Yeah, sure, but what bugs me is the implied attitude I sometimes hear that it's a disappointment if a book isn't adapted into a movie or show, as if a book were nothing more than a template for a movie or show and were somehow incomplete if that step weren't taken. It feels dismissive toward books as a medium, as if they're somehow lesser than film/TV. I think if you love a book, that's enough. If a good screen adaptation is made, that's cool, but it's a separate thing of its own. It's not the necessary completion of the book, it doesn't elevate the book's value, it's just an alternative take on the story that exists alongside it.

 

[Lady Mondegreen]

Yeah, sure, but what bugs me is the implied attitude I sometimes hear that it's a disappointment if a book isn't adapted into a movie or show, as if a book were nothing more than a template for a movie or show and were somehow incomplete if that step weren't taken. It feels dismissive toward books as a medium, as if they're somehow lesser than film/TV. I think if you love a book, that's enough. If a good screen adaptation is made, that's cool, but it's a separate thing of its own. It's not the necessary completion of the book, it doesn't elevate the book's value, it's just an alternative take on the story that exists alongside it.

I think interpreting someone saying they hope a book they like gets made into a movie as degrading to books as an art form is unnecessarily uncharitable. You can like a book on its merits as a book and still be interested in seeing it translated to screen, and being disappointed that something you'd like to happen didn't happen doesn't imply negativity toward the book.

 

[Christopher]

I think interpreting someone saying they hope a book they like gets made into a movie as degrading to books as an art form is unnecessarily uncharitable.

I'm not saying that about any specific person, just a society as a whole that values movies and TV more than books.

 

[Tosk]

I still think sometimes about the novelization of Terminator Salvation.

Y'know, the one with a truncated finale and a page that basically says, "Hey, go visit our website for the ending." I was pretty mad at the time.

Spoiler proofing? One of the drawbacks of those massive changes they made to the film? A bit of both?

 

[Greg Cox]

I still think sometimes about the novelization of Terminator Salvation.

Y'know, the one with a truncated finale and a page that basically says, "Hey, go visit our website for the ending." I was pretty mad at the time.

Spoiler proofing? One of the drawbacks of those massive changes they made to the film? A bit of both?

I assume the point was spoiler-proofing.

As I recall, they tried the same stunt with the novelization of some Twlight-flavored RED RIDING HOOD movie as well. Thanks goodness it didn't catch on.

And I seem to recall there was a battle surrounding the DICK TRACY novelization, with the studio not wanting the novelization to reveal who the Big Bad really was. Can't remember how it was resolved.

 

[Tosk]

And I seem to recall there was a battle surrounding the DICK TRACY novelization, with the studio not wanting the novelization to reveal who the Big Bad really was. Can't remember how it was resolved.

Which is funny because the action figures gave away the surprise. I think they put a hold on Blank figures for a while, but not until after the cat was already out of the bag before the movie came out.

 

[Greg Cox]

Without naming names, I recall one instance where the studio originally objected to the novelization giving away the ending . . . of a remake.

And, yes, the remake ended exactly the same way the original film did, so it wasn't actually a surprise to anybody who was aware of the original movie.

In the end, the novelization included the ending, but only after some debate.

 

[Tosk]

I meant to comment earlier that I remain dumbfounded by this. In all my decades of writing AND editing movie novelizations, I have never had any footage screened for me.

On the flip side, you've got Orson Scott Card doing The Abyss. He was given all of James Cameron's pre-production research, several conversations with JC, Gale Ann Hurd and countless questions answered by reasearch assistant Van Ling, and an ongoing stream of videotapes of footage as the film was being shot. What an embarrassment of riches. Especially compared to (I feel bad for) anyone who ever wrote a novelization with just a pre-shooting draft script and maybe some headshots.

Unrelated to materials, I also remember reading the novelization of Total Recall. Even though it was based on a written story, I can see why they decided to do a new book instead of just putting Arnie's face on the cover of a very thin reprint.

 

[James Swallow]

Especially compared to (I feel bad for) anyone who ever wrote a novelization with just a pre-shooting draft script and maybe some headshots.

That is *exactly* what I had to work with when I novelized The Butterfly Effect!

I still think sometimes about the novelization of Terminator Salvation.
Y'know, the one with a truncated finale and a page that basically says, "Hey, go visit our website for the ending." I was pretty mad at the time.
Spoiler proofing? One of the drawbacks of those massive changes they made to the film? A bit of both?

I was amazed to hear this, so I went back and checked my (admittedly unread) copy of the Terminator Salvation novelization, and not only does it not have the movie ending, it also directs you to buy the prequel From The Ashes "for the full story", which is a bit much.

Titan Books have done the "prequel novel" thing a few times in the past. As well as Terminator Salvation, they went through a phase of putting out prequels-then-novelizations with Warcraft, Pacific Rim Uprising, Independence Day Resurgance, War for the Planet of the Apes, Alien Covenant, The Predator, Battle Angel Alita and Noah.

I suppose in a way, that allows movie marketing have it's cake and eat it: release a prequel story before the film comes out to cash in on the hype but without spoiling the plotline, then release the actual novelization when the film hits...

 

[jaime]

What always killed me was when there was a novelization of a film that itself was adapted from a novel. Talk about the department of redundancy department.

You say that, but as a Blade Runner fan, I would quite like that to have happened. As it did for two Bond films that were not *really* adaptations of their Fleming namesakes.

 

[Tosk]

Titan Books have done the "prequel novel" thing a few times in the past. As well as Terminator Salvation, they went through a phase of putting out prequels-then-novelizations with Warcraft, Pacific Rim Uprising, Independence Day Resurgance, War for the Planet of the Apes, Alien Covenant, The Predator, Battle Angel Alita and Noah.

In the case of Terminator Salvation, I enjoyed the tie-in novels way more than I did the movie. (Shocking , I know! )
And the Apes prequels (they did one for Dawn as well as War) were both pretty good as I recall.

That is *exactly* what I had to work with when I novelized The Butterfly Effect!

And you do indeed have my sympathy, sir.

 

[Christopher]

And I seem to recall there was a battle surrounding the DICK TRACY novelization, with the studio not wanting the novelization to reveal who the Big Bad really was. Can't remember how it was resolved.

As I recall, it simply left the Blank's identity a mystery, cutting out the unmasking.

Then there was the X2: X-Men United novelization, which literally rewrote the ending so that Jean Grey survived.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I was amazed to hear this, so I went back and checked my (admittedly unread) copy of the Terminator Salvation novelization, and not only does it not have the movie ending, it also directs you to buy the prequel From The Ashes "for the full story", which is a bit much.

I did not buy, let alone read, the Terminator Salvation novelization, but I did buy From the Ashes, not because it was a Terminator novel, but because it was written by Timothy Zahn. I don't think I ever finished reading it; I'm just not that interested in the Terminator franchise...

Maybe it's more accurate to say that McIntyre had no idea how differently Saavik would be played in TSFS. After all, it wasn't just the change in actresses, but the change in directors, since Nimoy wanted Curtis to play Saavik as more conventionally Vulcan.

Given the way Nimoy directed Curtis, I really wonder if he felt Alley's Saavik was misconceived, maybe didn't even enjoy working with her, and so when there was the kerfuffle over her contract it was easy for him to move on to another actress, hence the non-negotation that so shocked Alley's agent.

 

[Tallguy]

On the flip side, you've got Orson Scott Card doing The Abyss.

I thought of that. IIRC the cast even got to read the first introductory chapters that he wrote for Bud, Lindsey, and Coffee.

Given the way Nimoy directed Curtis, I really wonder if he felt Alley's Saavik was misconceived, maybe didn't even enjoy working with her, and so when there was the kerfuffle over her contract it was easy for him to move on to another actress, hence the non-negotation that so shocked Alley's agent.

I'm pretty sure this was the case. Certainly on the first two counts. (Which is really too bad.)

Also, from what I have seen of her original undubbed performance she really was not very good on stage. She wins the Harrison Ford "Most Improved" award. Only she did it on the same film! But Nimoy didn't experience that.

I think the contract negotiations were manufactured to give her the heave ho. But I wasn't there, so I don't know.

 

[James Swallow]

You say that, but as a Blade Runner fan, I would quite like that to have happened. As it did for two Bond films that were not *really* adaptations of their Fleming namesakes.

It did! Good luck finding a copy, though...

 

[jaime]

It did! Good luck finding a copy, though...

Damnit.

I had an old st.michael (marks and Spencer’s) omnibus with Star Wars, E.T and Close Encounters (I think) in back in the day. They should just do tons of books like that. Or at least put out ebooks of all the old ones. I know we can put films on our phones in our pockets these days, but sometimes just having the books was better.
(I consider myself an aficionado of the Film/TV Tie in, considering how many I read to destruction growing up, including flipping Grease of all things.)

 

[David cgc]

Titan Books have done the "prequel novel" thing a few times in the past. As well as Terminator Salvation, they went through a phase of putting out prequels-then-novelizations with Warcraft, Pacific Rim Uprising, Independence Day Resurgance, War for the Planet of the Apes, Alien Covenant, The Predator, Battle Angel Alita and Noah.

I suppose in a way, that allows movie marketing have it's cake and eat it: release a prequel story before the film comes out to cash in on the hype but without spoiling the plotline, then release the actual novelization when the film hits...

The Independence Day midquel novel was a much better continuation of the original than the actual sequel was. Though, speaking of novelizations and changes, interesting, the art-of book and novelization said one non-returning character died of cancer, while the prequel novel had her killed in a car accident because the other driver was texting, which I think was a better choice. I feel like cancer is a bit of a go-to lazy choice for how to write out a character in a legacy sequel, while a car accident tells us a little more about how the post-alien-invasion world was still advancing in many ways as it did in real life, which is a useful detail when the sequel expected us to buy that a half-dozen major cities had been rebuilt and repopulated perfectly from rubble in less than twenty years. Depicting how normalcy was returning.

I didn't read any of the others you mention (wait, there was a prequel to Noah? There was a novelization of Noah? Talk about movies based on books...), though I was interested in the Alien: Covenant prequel when it was initially teased as a direct sequel to Prometheus, but much less so when the actual book turned out to be just about the new characters before they left Earth.

 

[altersalk]

I'd imagine if the Terminator: Salvation novelization was written with the website using the original planned ending. It'd be a lot more spoilerworthy than the nothingburger ending of the released film.

 

[mb22]

Some of the comments on this thread remind me of this 1978 Starlog interview with Alan Dean Foster (the 'tape recorder' comment made just a bit before home video recording took off):

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