MassMedia: Print Media: Adapting a Story from Novel to Film [VID] (W7-P4) Fa16

In adaptation studies, adaptation is the process of a story changing as it moves from one form to another. Example: Harry Potter books to Harry Potter films. It could also be from a video game to a film, from a play to a film, etc.

One of the key concepts in adaptation studies is infidelity. Infidelity is a measure of how different an adaptation is from the original source. How different is the film from the novel, for example?

For those writers who adapt stories from novel to film, they face a challenge. How to get the story from a 300 page novel to a 90 page/minute script? Scenes have to be excluded, characters have to combined, etc.

Which is better? The book or the movie? Is that a fair question to ask? There seems to be bias to always choosing the book.

Very often when adaptation scholars look at infidelity their attention is put on what is left out, but not why it is left out? James Patterson's novel Kiss the Girls was adapted into a 1997 film. While the novel addressed issues of race and included an interracial romance, the film adaptation did not. Why?  For answers to this, see Hart, W. B., (2012). The case of the missing interracial romance.

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MassMedia: Print Media: Adapting a Story from Novel to Film [VID] (W7-P4) Fa15

In adaptation studies, adaptation is the process of a story changing as it moves from one form to another. Example: Harry Potter books to Harry Potter films. It could also be from a video game to a film, from a play to a film, etc.

One of the key concepts in adaptation studies is infidelity. Infidelity is a measure of how different an adaptation is from the original source. How different is the film from the novel, for example?

For those writers who adapt stories from novel to film, they face a challenge. How to get the story from a 300 page novel to a 90 page/minute script? Scenes have to be excluded, characters have to combined, etc.

Which is better? The book or the movie? Is that a fair question to ask? There seems to be bias to always choosing the book.

Very often when adaptation scholars look at infidelity their attention is put on what is left out, but not why it is left out? James Patterson's novel Kiss the Girls was adapted into a 1997 film. While the novel addressed issues of race and included an interracial romance, the film adaptation did not. Why?  For answers to this, see Hart, W. B., (2012). The case of the missing interracial romance.

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

MassMedia: Print Media: Adapting a Story from Novel to Film (U4-P3) Fa14

In adaptation studies, adaptation is the process of a story changing as it moves from one form to another. Example: Harry Potter books to Harry Potter films. It could also be from a video game to a film, from a play to a film, etc.

One of the key concepts in adaptation studies is infidelity. Infidelity is a measure of how different an adaptation is from the original source. How different is the film from the novel, for example?

For those writers who adapt stories from novel to film, they face a challenge. How to get the story from a 300 page novel to a 90 page/minute script? Scenes have to be excluded, characters have to combined, etc.

Which is better? The book or the movie? Is that a fair question to ask? There seems to be bias to always choosing the book.

Very often when adaptation scholars look at infidelity their attention is put on what is left out, but not why it is left out? James Patterson's novel Kiss the Girls was adapted into a 1997 film. While the novel addressed issues of race and included an interracial romance, the film adaptation did not. Why? For answers to this, see Hart, W. B., (2012). The case of the missing interracial romance.



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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: International Adaptations and the Fall 2014 U.S. Television Schedule

I was just doing some Internet searching for this fall's U.S. TV schedule and I noticed something.

Below are five of the new shows coming this fall.  The following program descriptions come from epguides.com.


Jane the Virgin (CW)
"A devout young Latina woman must decide what to do after her doctor's error causes her to be artificially inseminated. Based on the Venezuelan telenova Juana La Virgen."

Utopia (2014) (Fox)
"Contestants compete to create an ideal society over a year's time in an isolated location with no pre-determined rules. Based on the Dutch series."

Red Band Society (Fox)
"A group of teens form a community as a result of being long-term patients in the pediatric ward of a Los Angeles hospital. Based on the Spanish (Catalan) series Polseres Vermelles."




The Mysteries of Laura (NBC)
"A police officer balances her professional life as a homicide detective with her personal life as a single mother of twins. Based on the Spanish series Los Misterios de Laura."


Gracepoint (Fox)
"Detectives investigate the mysterious death of a young boy in a small beach town. Based on the UK series Broadchurch."


Of the 24 new prime-time shows from the major networks, at least five are international adaptations; three of which are on Fox.



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Portal: No Escape - Adaptation of Video Game to Short Film [VID]

I recently started playing Portal 2 on the Xbox. Since one of my areas of research is adaptation, I thought this recently posted YouTube video was interesting. Traditionally those who studied adaptation studied how a novel was adapted into a film. More recently, adaptation studies started to look at other types of adaptations. The adaptation from video game to film is an example of other types of adaptation and my area of specialty.

How exactly does one adapt a video game into a film?  What is the process?

See my Delicious bookmarks for more on the Portal adaptation.

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Peter Jackson Infected with King Kong Meme

I'm interested in how story-memes adapt over time. I define a story-meme as a special type of meme, a cultural text which replicates and adapts in response to changes in the media and cultural environments.  For example, how did the King Kong films adapt/change from 1933 to 1976 to 2005?  Why?  Similarly, how did the Lord of the Rings story change from the 1954-55 novels to the 2001-03 films?  Why?  Also, how do these memes begin?
   
In the clip below film director Peter Jackson talks about how he was first inspired into film making by the 1933 version of King Kong.  

It is as if the King Kong meme took over this mind, metaphorically speaking. Even to the extent that the meme was replicated in the 2005 version of King Kong directed by Jackson.



I'm am also interested in the King Kong films because of their racist overtones.  In 2005 NPR asked: Do the King Kong films perpetuate racial stereotypes?  Listen below.



And now let's combine the meme and racism ideas. There exists a certain visual meme that is related to the King Kong films and racism.  This visual meme continues to replicate itself from World War II propaganda posters to Lady Gaga album covers. Die already, visual meme.  Why doesn't it die?  Why do certain memes replicate?

Patterson's "Private" Novel to be Adapted for TV

Variety reports that James Patterson's upcoming novel "Private" will be adapted for a TV drama on CBS.  Jason Cahill will write the adaptation.  Cahill has written for "Fringe," "The Sopranos," "NYPD Blue" and "ER."  Cahill will also serve as producer along with Brian Grazer, David Nevins and Patterson.

According to Digital Spy the main character of the upcoming "Private" novel is Jack Morgan, a former Marine and CIA agent.  In the novel Morgan has his hands full.  He takes over his father's private investigation and security business.  He investigates a NFL gambling problem.  He tries to track down the murder of 18 school girls and he also works on the murder of his best friend's wife.

Maxine Paetro co-authored "Private" with Patterson.

*Sources for this post at Delicious