Doomed to be screened: what a book should look like to make a film on it

Publishers have long noticed that the film adaptation gives the book a second life.

However, not every bookish masterpiece can make it onto the wide screen.

It's not so much about adapting a work of art into a script, but about key points in the text that may interest a film producer.

It is believed that a bestselling book has a much better chance of getting on the table with a producer, a vivid example of this - "Turkish Gambit" by Boris Akunin, "Perfume" by Patrick Süskind, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stig Larsson.

A separate place in this series is given to classics and remakes based on classic plots: "Sherlock Holmes", "Little Women" and even "Twelve Chairs".

On the way to the script, a book can "lose" up to 95% of its original text.

The language of cinema does not tolerate adjectives, participles, i.e.

that which cannot be transformed into action and shown on the screen.

For any lyrical digressions and verbosity that reveal the rich inner world of the hero, there must be an understandable verb.

The main goal is not to let the viewer get bored so that he can finish watching the tape.

The first and most serious stage in the selection of a future scenario basis is the presence of a high-concept, i.e. unique and attractive text ideas. Moreover, the main emphasis should be on uniqueness. Life in the postmodern era, when everything has already been said and created, obliges art workers to be in an eternal search for a "new word" and original ideas. That story, plot, idea that you have not heard about before in world culture is almost certainly a high-concept. This is what allows you to keep the viewer's attention, makes him constantly follow the development of the plot, and then recommend the film and the book to his inner circle. Therefore, even a significant percentage of the conversion of the original text into a script will certainly not stop the producer. After all, those cherished 10% of the original contain uniqueness.

In contrast, there is a low concept - a recurring idea that has lost its uniqueness.

This does not mean at all that such material will never be used for filming.

It's just that he will have different goals and a different place in the film industry: art house, festival and competition films are often based on low-concept.

What should be in a book to make a film on it?

Let's analyze it using the example of four novels.

A Man Against the Background of an Era (Whiston Groom - Forrest Gump)

I think everyone has seen at least parts of the film about a young man who was born and raised in a fictional town in the United States.

His name was Forrest Gump.

Due to his peculiarities, he could not always assess the significance of the events taking place with him.

Perhaps this is why Forrest got into the most incredible situations.

Forrest Gump makes an astonishing journey from a lagging provincial high school student to a Vietnam War veteran and a humble millionaire.

He became a participant in almost all events important for the history of the United States and, according to the book, even influenced their course.

Many readers point out that the novel is strikingly different from the film.

Forrest becomes a guide for the viewer, thanks to his non-judgmental outlook on life, everyone, from hippies to the president, is equal in the historical arena.

Simple Stories (Frederic Buckman - "Uwe's Second Life")

Uwe lost a lot of love.

The reader and viewer find him practically in a loop.

Not understanding how to continue life without the only person who understood him, he decides to “leave”.

An abandoned cat has nailed to Uwe's house, and friendly neighbors move into the neighboring house.

Unaware of that, it is they who prevent the stubborn old man from stepping into the unknown.

Life-like or closeness of the plot to everyday life is a rather dangerous plot move.

This is how Frederick Buckman works, who from the very first novel took it as the basis of his author's style.

The writer does not slip into trivial everyday life.

A simple story becomes the key to the reincarnation of the protagonist and his inner transformation.

Uwe is specific: a clear daily routine, order in everything and no surprises.

However, he, like any person, is afraid to be left alone.

In the film, we see how gradually everything that connected them with his wife disappears from Uwe's everyday life.

And this ringing emptiness around the main character is transmitted to the viewer: he empathizes with this unbearable and at the same time vulnerable Uwe.

It is the simplicity of this story that inspires the viewer.

After all, this is a story that can happen to anyone.

Such an Uwe can live in a neighboring apartment.

In the heart of an elderly grouch, there may be a longing for a departed love.

The drama of a little man (Guzel Yakhina - "Zuleikha opens her eyes")

Zuleikha sets off on a long journey from the Kazan remote village to the place of exile.

She learns to live anew - not at the behest of her husband and mother-in-law, but under the supervision of guards, fighting for herself and the life of her newborn son.

In a bizarre way, it is in the camp that Zuleikha finds a new, strong self and freedom.

The drama of a woman, the drama of a mother who had to give up her child, the only meaning of her existence in order to give him a future, made this novel doomed to be screened.

Once on the screens, he highlighted the main thing: the drama of an ordinary person who was swirled into the whirlpool of history.

Such a conflict in literature traditionally suggests that the interests of an individual in the face of the "system" are absolutely insignificant. 

Spoiler alert!

The film adaptation "gave" Zuleikha something that did not happen in the book: a long-awaited meeting with her son and grandchildren.

Unusual world and exotic context (Boris Vian - "Foam of the days")

If before the appearance on the screen of Boris Vian's novel "The Foam of the Days", it was mainly students-philologists who knew, then after the 2013 film the circulation of the book with Audrey Tautou on the cover was literally swept off the shelves.

How could Vian's book hook the modern viewer?

The graceful metaphors, which describe the love story of Chloe and Colin, become tangible thanks to the film.

Music, mood and even illness can be "seen".

The water lily, which turned out to be a symbol of tuberculosis in Chloe, is the clearest example of such visualization.

And for such a love story as that of the main characters, the audience, perhaps, are even ready to forgive the tragic ending.

Back in 2018, the UK Publishers' Association published a study on the contribution of publishing to related cultural fields (film, TV and theater).

This was the first such experience of analyzing the interaction of literature and culture in a broad sense.

It turned out that British film adaptations of books compared to the original scripts show 44% more box office receipts in Britain and 53% in the world.

With the rapid development of streaming platforms, the film industry has become more "full-flowing": releases of feature films and TV series are held almost every week.

At the same time, the quarantine showed a boom in writing activity.

It seems that producer and publisher need each other like never before.

Who knows, maybe tomorrow the book of a completely new Russian author will turn into a successful TV series?