Page to Screen: Book to movie / series adaptation discussions - Page 14

Originally posted by: foreverlazy

Finished the Good Girl's Guide To Murder tv series... don't bother with it, they lost me halfway through episode 3.

• SIX EPISODES IS NOT ENOUGH [Well I was so bored so I didn't mind, but yeah I get what you mean. The story & characters all felt half-baked and not threshed out enough]
• Pip and Ravi's first scene in the books was much better! [Yes. Also Zain and Emma's chemistry didn't do much for me]
• And on top of that, there was a random character (not in the books) who also played a similar role to Nat anyway... a total failure on both casting and writing departments, dear god. [Who do you mean? But hard agree on the rest]
• Not a big spoiler, but there was this weird side plot with Pip's parents that was never in the books and it annoyed me so much. [OMG YES! FFS we DID not need that! Just cos they wanted to give Anna Maxwell Martin - probably the only well-known name in the cast - more screen time!]
• Pip got the worst characterization, she doesn't feel like book!Pip at all, and some of Emma Myers' acting choices are just not working for this character. [Her British accent made me cringe. Also did not think she could carry off the more emotional scenes very well. The Calamity party is in a cave? Howie had no role, and they robbed Pip of that badass moment at his house!]

That being said, not sure if having read the book made me like the series less? I mean the denouement could have been a surprise to only series watchers but as a book reader I already knew how it was gonna end so I was side-eying all those characters from the get-go!

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Oh I finished it. I fell asleep in Episode 2 but since I started i wanted to see it through. It was bad. A snooze fest. I could not warm up to any of the characters or actors. And the one angle I wouldn’t have minded if they’d done away with (Barney) they kept it in! Sucky adaptation.

Same here, I wanted to see how they would end it. Wasn't satisfied at all with how Pip learns the truth. The show undercuts so much of her intelligence, it was infuriating. Book!Pip would never do half the things show!Pip did.

I thought Ravi was pretty well-cast! Cara and Naomi's dad too, his part just felt too rushed for me to appreciate how good the actor was. I thought the actor for Max was just the right amount of sleazy and Lauren I never actually cared for in the books, but was really fun in the few scenes she had. I'm so disappointed with how Pip turned out because I really like Emma Myers, I guess this just wasn't the role for her. She and Zain had really good chemistry though, I felt all the PipxRavi vibes I wanted to feel!

Because it didn't feel as impactful in the show as it did in the book, they should've gotten rid of the Barney part. I feel like the show didn't give me any room to breathe. I genuinely had chills while reading those chapters because it was in the middle of the night and the narrators really elevated Holly Jackson's writing.

Yeah forgot Henry Ashton - Max's actor. He was good! I saw him in My Lady Jane too - he is hilarious in that one!

Elliot was ok I guess.

The rest of them did not have enough screen-time for me to really be able to tell how good/ bad they were. I would have liked more Pip X Ravi moments too to be sold on the romance.

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

So much more to say, but I won't waste my time. Cos this series already wasted enough of it!

That being said, not sure if having read the book made me like the series less? I mean the denouement could have been a surprise to only series watchers but as a book reader I already knew how it was gonna end so I was side-eying all those characters from the get-go!

• I think more episodes would've given the characters and the story the room it needed to be more fleshed out. I actually really liked Becca in the show, I just think she should've had more screen time. I actually didn't hate how the actress made her seem more ruthless whereas book!Becca kept making me think of a deer in headlights.
• I was talking about Jesse - we never had a Jesse in the book and she was essentially there to tell Pip about Becca, something that was part of Nat's role in the story.
• I had no idea that the actress playing Pip's mom was famous, she felt horribly miscast and I genuinely hated her scenes.
• Emma Myers was easily the worst part of the show for me and she was playing the lead! I don't know if they were just banking on her popularity for this, but I highly doubt that there's a shortage of British actresses.

It's honestly just a bad show overall, even people who hadn't read the books were complaining about it and saying they wished they'd read the book first. I feel like I only connected the dots because I read the books, I would've been so lost if I hadn't. And there have been adaptations where the reveal is still done well - I read the Pretty Little Liars books before watching the show and the reveal still made an impact because it was executed well.

Has anyone ever read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde? I've never read it myself, but I know of it and ever since news of the adaptation broke, it's all that's on my Twitter feed.

Originally posted by: foreverlazy

Has anyone ever read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde? I've never read it myself, but I know of it and ever since news of the adaptation broke, it's all that's on my Twitter feed.

I recall the one with George Sanders, I think the 1945 film. There's a newer one with Ben Barnes and Colin Firth. Seriously, why do we need one more? I suppose it will be a modernized version or something twisty.

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Oh yes! Oscar Wilde was (& is) one of my favorites. His wit and wisdom remain unmatched even now. I owned the complete works of Oscar Wilde and had read through most of it. Dorian Gray, is, of course, one of his top works. I had no idea about the new adaptation coming out, who's in it?

I recall the one with George Sanders, I think the 1945 film. There's a newer one with Ben Barnes and Colin Firth. Seriously, why do we need one more? I suppose it will be a modernized version or something twisty.

So apparently, it's a modern retelling where Dorian and Basil are now siblings and I think I remember someone saying that one of them will also be gender-bent.

Arrey sir, duniyadari is one of my favourite films

So a new Wuthering Heights adaptation is in the works with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi and the reaction on X has been nasty. Apart from the obvious race argument, I haven't seen anything Jacob Elordi has been in other than The kissing booth so I'm not certain he has the acting chops to pull off someone like Heathcliff who's such a complex character.

https://x.com/andorlorians/status/1838305370709856648

https://x.com/echoessm/status/1838551519362269622

https://x.com/andorlorians/status/1838305374039871799

Comparisons are inevitable! MTV aired a contemporary film adaptation of Wuthering Heights (2003). The adoption, which starred Erika Christensen, Mike Vogel, and Christopher Masterson, was truly amazing.

Dil Diya Dard Liya, a 1966 Hindi romantic film, is the Bollywood adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. From 1920 to the present, at least 14 distinct film and television adaptations of the novel have been produced.

To be honest, I have never seen a more accurate representation of how self-centered love can become. The love between Cathy and Heathcliff is deadly to everyone in their immediate vicinity as well as to them.

The choice of two Australian actors for the lead roles in the Wuthering Heights movie did not impress critics.

Both of Fennell's prior movies were produced by Robbie, who most recently starred in the billion-dollar blockbuster Barbie. At the end of 2023, Elordi starred in Saltburn, which went viral on Amazon.

Known for his part in the HBO high school drama Euphoria, Elordi most recently starred alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in the Toronto film festival premiere of the queer period drama On Swift Horses. These two actors have a great deal of talent, but more importantly, if the theme is strong, even mediocre actors will shine under the guidance of skilled directors.