"But the book was better!"

[Joanne Collins]

>> There are sometimes things that *cannot* be translated from the print
>> medium to the film medium, but it is still possible to film the books.
>>
>This is very true.  Often you  can easily understand what they have left out

Yes, that happens a lot.

>though it is most often something that pertains to character and
>relationship development (which is why I want to read the book, to get to
>know the characters better).

Ah, yes, I know the feeling well.

>Well, the movie rarely develops a character more than a book does (and if it
>does, chances are the book wasn't that great to begin with).  

Interestingly, one of my favourite movies did that. And the book was
excellent, too. It can happen, but not often.

Depending on
>the movie, I can be dissappointed with the lack of development.  

That certainly happens.

But that
>isn't nearly as bad as changing major plot points (making the ending happy,
>rather than sad like it was in the book, for example).  

That infuriates me at times. Sometimes it can work, but I hate it when it's
done *just* for a happy ending. If there's a *reason* for it, that's
different. Say that changing one small thing makes it possible for a happy
ending, and the change was already in place, that would be fine, but to
change *just* the ending would be really annoying.

Sometimes its just
>the city where it takes place (which always trips me up) 

With one movie to book I know of, the book was set in San Francisco (US)
and the movie was set in Sydney (Australia). That was funny. I think that's
the most glaring one I've run across.

and sometimes its
>deleting a major character 

Another annoyance. Unless there's a way to integrate what that character
does with another in a believable way, it can be very jarring.

or completely changing how something turns out.
>Always aggravating.

It is. With one movie I saw, the movie ending was actually more annoying
than the book ending.

>I feel the same way.  I adore Cameron Crowe movies (Say Anything has been a
>favorite for YEARS 

I love that one.

and I loved Jerry Maquire the first time I saw it as
>well) 

I haven't seen that yet - not a huge Tom Cruise fan.

and Jason Lee is outstanding (I loved when the bus left him behind,
>"Sure, I can see why you'd forget me.  I'm only the LEAD SINGER!") 

I kept wondering if that was reality based. I can just imagine some of the
big rock stars saying something like that *g*. I thought he was wonderful
in this movie. The entire cast was great. I liked Noah Taylor as the
manager, especially.

and since
>I'm a Kevin Smith fan as well I am able to indulge my interest in him.  

I am completely infatuated with Kevin Smith. His work is amazing. Funny,
emotional, engaging, interesting and controversial. My favourite (with
Jason Lee again) is Chasing Amy. I'm also a Ben Affleck fan (if that's not
already obvious from my sig quote) and I liked the movie very much. I also
liked Dogma, Clerks and Mallrats. I'm looking forward to his next one.

He
>is one of the best with dialogue that I've seen.

I couldn't agree more.

Joanne.

-- 

Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way. In twenty
years, if you're still livin' here, comin' over to my house to watch the
Patriots games, still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. That's
not a threat. Now, that's a fact. I'll fuckin' kill you. Chuckie (Ben
Affleck) Good Will Hunting