Books become mvoies and then it all goes crazy -- Garbo
[Up till now, my Tuesday blog posts have been about the process of writing. Recently I got tired of blogging about that topic, a sign that you may be getting tired of reading about that topic. Since I love books and I also love movies, I've decided to spend some time blogging about books linked to film.]
It used to be that first there was a book, then there was a film version of the book. This is probably the most famous example, unfortunately.
A book didn't always become a movie immediately; sometimes it was a play in between.
Back in the day, it was possible for THIS to happen: a book became a play, then a movie, then a musical, then a movie again, then a book again, then a play again.
Gradually, as time passed, our culture added a television show to this transformation process. Please Don't Eat the Daisies, for example.
If we back up a bit, we can add a step in the front of the process: Dr. Kildare (more on him in a future post) was in books, the movies, radio, then television, then more books.
A couple of steps within the media-transofmration process could change places. Since the first talkies, there've been books based on popular characters from the movies and television. From my own youth, I especially remember a Whitman mystery featuring Patty Duke (and her English cousin, of course).
The top of the heap, in terms of book spin-offs, may well be "Star Trek." During the original three seasons on network television, a Bantam paperback book -- by science fiction writer James Blish -- was published.
After the show's cancellation after third season, of course, it was syndication which made "Star Trek" a household name. Then it moved to movie theaters. Once the 1979 movie hit the big screen, a film tie-in, the first of a zillion books based on the characters in every permutation of the endless space voyage, appeared on the shelves of B. Dalton, at the same mall where you'd just seen "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."
It seems fitting, since we're doing Star Trek in its various forms, to close this week's post with an image of the tech upgrade. To our linked transformations of media, we add: the audiobook. And this is a good way to remember prolific author Vonda N. McIntyre, who wrote many Star Trek novels (among other works), who passed away not quite a year ago. Thanks, Vonda!
***
Next time: "Picnic at Hanging Rock"
It used to be that first there was a book, then there was a film version of the book. This is probably the most famous example, unfortunately.
A book didn't always become a movie immediately; sometimes it was a play in between.
Back in the day, it was possible for THIS to happen: a book became a play, then a movie, then a musical, then a movie again, then a book again, then a play again.
Gradually, as time passed, our culture added a television show to this transformation process. Please Don't Eat the Daisies, for example.
If we back up a bit, we can add a step in the front of the process: Dr. Kildare (more on him in a future post) was in books, the movies, radio, then television, then more books.
A couple of steps within the media-transofmration process could change places. Since the first talkies, there've been books based on popular characters from the movies and television. From my own youth, I especially remember a Whitman mystery featuring Patty Duke (and her English cousin, of course).
The top of the heap, in terms of book spin-offs, may well be "Star Trek." During the original three seasons on network television, a Bantam paperback book -- by science fiction writer James Blish -- was published.
After the show's cancellation after third season, of course, it was syndication which made "Star Trek" a household name. Then it moved to movie theaters. Once the 1979 movie hit the big screen, a film tie-in, the first of a zillion books based on the characters in every permutation of the endless space voyage, appeared on the shelves of B. Dalton, at the same mall where you'd just seen "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."
It seems fitting, since we're doing Star Trek in its various forms, to close this week's post with an image of the tech upgrade. To our linked transformations of media, we add: the audiobook. And this is a good way to remember prolific author Vonda N. McIntyre, who wrote many Star Trek novels (among other works), who passed away not quite a year ago. Thanks, Vonda!
***
Next time: "Picnic at Hanging Rock"
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| Garbo |
I have never seen the movie of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn because I love it so much, I don't want to be disappointed. Great blog piece!
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