Off Topic: Movie Tie-In Editions

[Nathan]

I know this is Off-Topic, but I was hoping someone could answer. I just got Game of Thrones -- Book One. On the cover it says, "Movie Tie-In Edition" and has a pic of Ned Stark on the front. I know it is different from the other older books.

My question is the Movie Tie Edition different from the Original Book in terms of the text. I figure it would be the same since the book came out first, but I'm getting hung-up on the "Movie Tie-In Edition."

I think it would be the same, as for instance, say Christopher Bennett's book Star Trek DTI was turned into a movie, I doubt it would be marketed as "Read CLB's Book....now watch CLB's Book turned into movie, and then it would be "Read CLB's book based on the movie!" I assume the movie tie-in books would be the same as the original in content, but the cover may be different.

Yep, I know Google can be your friend, but I couldn't find anyting if Game of Thrones Movie Tie In book is the same as the original book (except for the cover of course)

Thanks for any input.

--Nathan

 

[Relayer1]

I'm reading the novels at the moment. I don't have the 'tie-in' versions, but I can't imagine the author rewriting them. He's involved in the TV show and although I've only seen season one, it does stick very close to the book anyway.

Very close...

 

[CaffeineAddict]

I'm reading the novels at the moment. I don't have the 'tie-in' versions, but I can't imagine the author rewriting them. He's involved in the TV show and although I've only seen season one, it does stick very close to the book anyway.

Very close...

The first season was pretty close, but as its gone on hes drifted further and further from the books.

 

[Christopher]

Generally tie-in editions are just the original book with a photo/poster from the movie or show used as the cover art, in order to promote the book to the movie/show's audience.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Generally tie-in editions are just the original book with a photo/poster from the movie or show used as the cover art, in order to promote the book to the movie/show's audience.

Yep. I know I saw a James Bond movie tie-in once ("The Spy Who Loved Me") that was a wholly new novelization by Christopher Wood. Obviously it varied enough from the Ian Fleming novel to warrant a new version. He also wrote "James Bond and Moonraker", a variation on the original.

There's also been a SF fantasy movie that has had two different novelizations of the same movie. Can't recall which movie series, though.

 

[Greg Cox]

In general, a "movie tie-in edition" is simply a new printing of the original book with a new cover using art from the movie. For example, when the most recent version of I AM LEGEND came out, Tor simply reprinted Richard Matheson's original novel and slapped the movie poster on the cover. There were no changes to the text. Ditto for the movie tie-in editions of WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, STIR OF ECHOES, and THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES by John Keel. (All of which I handled for Tor.)

Now, as mentioned, occasionally someone will put out a novelization of movie based on an earlier novel, as with that Bond movie or, infamously, Bram Stoker's Dracula by Fred Saberhagen. But that's a different thing. You can tell the difference by looking at the credits. If it says something like "A novel by Greg Cox based on the screenplay by Joe Blow based a novel by Charles Dickens," you're dealing with a book based on a movie based on a book.

But if it just says "by George R.R. Martin," it's simply the old book with a new cover.

Hope this makes sense!

Elaborating on the topic: Sometimes, of course, a movie is based on a short story, not a novel, which presents certain challenges. In cases like REAL STEEL or THE BOX, which were each based on short stories by Matheson, I would put together a new short-story collection, The Box and Other Stories or whatever, and slap the movie poster on the cover to create a new "movie tie-in" collection of Matheson stories.

I did the same thing with REAL STEEL . . . .

 

[Relayer1]

Generally tie-in editions are just the original book with a photo/poster from the movie or show used as the cover art, in order to promote the book to the movie/show's audience.

Yep. I know I saw a James Bond movie tie-in once ("The Spy Who Loved Me") that was a wholly new novelization by Christopher Wood. Obviously it varied enough from the Ian Fleming novel to warrant a new version. He also wrote "James Bond and Moonraker", a variation on the original.

There's also been a SF fantasy movie that has had two different novelizations of the same movie. Can't recall with movie series, though.

Shaun Hutson and Randall Frakes both did different novelizations of The Terminator.

Anyone know why ?

 

[Christopher]

Yep. I know I saw a James Bond movie tie-in once ("The Spy Who Loved Me") that was a wholly new novelization by Christopher Wood. Obviously it varied enough from the Ian Fleming novel to warrant a new version. He also wrote "James Bond and Moonraker", a variation on the original.

Well, most of the Bond movies from the '70s onward just took the titles of Fleming novels and created completely new stories for them.

Shaun Hutson and Randall Frakes both did different novelizations of The Terminator.

Anyone know why ?

Maybe regular and young-adult versions? I know one or two Trek movies had both.

 

[Greg Cox]

Yeah, it's not uncommon these days for there to be an adult novelization and a "junior novelization." It's also conceivable that there could be an American edition and a British edition, published by different companies for different territories, using different writers . . . although I've never known that to happen.

Where it really gets tricky sometimes is when the movie changes the title. In olden days, this wasn't so much of a problem. You just put the movie logo in big type on the cover and the original book title in smaller type. But nowadays you really want to use the movie title so that search engines can find the book when people are shopping on-line, so there's going to be more pressure to change the title of the book to match the movie . . . at least on the tie-in edition.

In some cases, the movie title definitely wins out over time. Nobody remembers Somewhere in Time as Bid Time Return anymore, even though that was the original title of Matheson's novel. And I'll cop to using the movie title on every edition Tor has ever published . . . with Richard's permission, of course.

 

[ronny]

If it says something like "A novel by Greg Cox based on the screenplay by Joe Blow based a novel by Charles Dickens," you're dealing with a book based on a movie based on a book.

Kind of a sneaky way to tell us about your next book. I can't wait to see it!!!

 

[Greg Cox]

If it says something like "A novel by Greg Cox based on the screenplay by Joe Blow based a novel by Charles Dickens," you're dealing with a book based on a movie based on a book.

Kind of a sneaky way to tell us about your next book. I can't wait to see it!!!

I'm blowing the lid off Great Expectations!

 

[Relayer1]

Yeah, it's not uncommon these days for there to be an adult novelization and a "junior novelization." It's also conceivable that there could be an American edition and a British edition, published by different companies for different territories, using different writers . . . although I've never known that to happen.

With the Terminator novels, they're both 'adult'. Hutson is British (I think) so it could be a territorial thing.

Seems a waste of effort though, two authors writing the same book...

 

[Therin of Andor]

Shaun Hutson and Randall Frakes both did different novelizations of The Terminator.

Anyone know why ?

That's the title I was thinking of.

http://www.goingfaster.com/term2029/misctermdata.html

Fascinating comparison of the two. Plus it continues, "The Huston novel was not marketed in the US. It is a Star Book, published in 1984 by the Paperback Division of W. H. Allen and Co. PLC, of 44 Hill Street, London, W1X 8LB. The book itself was printed and bound in Australia by The Dominion Press - Hedges and Bell, Victoria."

 

[Greg Cox]

Yeah, it's not uncommon these days for there to be an adult novelization and a "junior novelization." It's also conceivable that there could be an American edition and a British edition, published by different companies for different territories, using different writers . . . although I've never known that to happen.

With the Terminator novels, they're both 'adult'. Hutson is British (I think) so it could be a territorial thing.

Seems a waste of effort though, two authors writing the same book...

I agree. I can imagine scenarios where it could happen, though. In general, the publisher pays the writer, not the movie studio, so I don't think a British publisher could just "borrow" the manuscript the American publisher paid for (or vise versa), even though the copyright would belong to the studio of course. It certainly seems like it would be easier for Publisher A to pay Publisher B for the right to use the same manuscript, but if they couldn't come to terms . . . it could conceivably be cheaper just to hire a local writer to re-novelize the script.

Again, this is just hypothetical. I've been in this business for years and I've never personally dealt with such a scenario.

(Although I know of at least one instance where two separate novelizations were written of the same movie, but neither ever saw print!)

 

[Lonemagpie]

Never mind, beaten to it.

 

[Greg Cox]

Never mind, beaten to it.

Feel free to weigh in!

 

[Lonemagpie]

Never mind, beaten to it.

Feel free to weigh in!

Was just saying that The Terminator was the one that springs to mind.

I dunno why there were two, though perhaps the UK publisher wanted a bigger *name* since Hutson was contracted to them for all his books at the time. But he was always a strange choice, being a sex'n'gore horror writer.

I have seen it happen one other time, with the Dr Who TV Movie, but the other novelisation of that was never published. Though it did manage to do a lot of collateral damage in the real world on the way...

 

[BobtheGunslinge]

(Although I know of at least one instance where two separate novelizations were written of the same movie, but neither ever saw print!)

If you say it was a pair of Big Trouble in Little China novelizations they cancelled, things are going to get real.

If you say there was a sequel written and it never saw print, I can't even complete this sentence.

 

[Greg Cox]

(Although I know of at least one instance where two separate novelizations were written of the same movie, but neither ever saw print!)

If you say it was a pair of Big Trouble in Little China novelizations they cancelled, things are going to get real.

If you say there was a sequel written and it never saw print, I can't even complete this sentence.

Don't worry. I'm going to be vague here, but the movie in question largely disappeared without a trace . . . .

 

[JD]

One of the coolest novelizations of a movie based on a book I've seen was the one for John Carter that I stumbled across at the Wal-Mar where I work when the movie came out. It contains a novelization of the movie by Stuart Moore & the complete text of the original ERB novel. I didn't get it, but I was very tempted to. I have to admit, it would be very interesting to read the two versions back to back and compare them.