What makes a good adaptation? Having only written original scripts, I have never previously considered adapting material for the screen. However, given the number of successful films and TV shows based on books, graphic novels, and games (among others), it’s worth looking at what makes for a successful adaptation. How did The Dark Knight become one of the most popular films ever made, while Batman vs. Superman became a laughing stock? Why do some adaptations sweep the Oscars, while others leave viewers choosing to stick with the novel? On a more basic level, how does one even go about starting an adaptation?
Securing an option or rights to a work is the first step. This is easier said than done; many successful works have their options snapped up immediately, often before the book is even released (as was the case with The Lovely Bones). However, if you do want to adapt a novel or story, it’s worth checking who owns the copyright and whether the option is available. If you can convince the author or rights-holder that you’re passionate enough, you may just have a shot at getting to adapt the material.
Now that you’ve secured the rights, how do you tackle turning a novel into a screenplay? What made 12 Years a Slave and Atonement so successful, and The Dark Tower and Tomb Raider so ill-advised? The first trick is making sure the work fits with your chosen medium, rather than simply copying the source material word-for-word. Many novel adaptations fail because the books rely on prose and narration; attempting to take these stories and force them into screenplay shape rarely works. Atom Egoyan’s Oscar-nominated The Sweet Hereafter took a novel built around emotional narration and turned it into a visual, cinematic work, retaining what made the novel so powerful whilst standing up as a terrific film in its own right.
Furthermore, many adaptations attempt to cram hundreds of pages of plot and character into a standard two hour running time, leaving the film badly paced. Antonio Campos’ The Devil All the Time tried to shoehorn in dozens of characters and backstories from the novel. By rushing through multiple subplots and side narratives, the film lost the vivid detail and rich characters of the source material. This may explain why many popular adaptations are written for television. Would Game of Thrones have worked without dozens of episodes to explore its expansive world? Could shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and The Haunting of Hill House achieve the same unnerving atmosphere in a two hour film? If the original work is long and detailed, TV adaptations might be the way to go.
Adaptations aren’t easy. Fans of the source material don’t take kindly to adaptations that mess with their favourite works. Attempting to capture greatness from one medium to another can lead to things getting lost in translation, and the truly great works are hard to beat. However, there are clearly benefits to adapting source material. Great stories and characters work in any medium, popular adaptations come with a built-in audience, and the writer has starting blocks to play with, rather than beginning from scratch. Figure out what makes the source material work, capture that magic on-screen, and you can create a brilliant visual work.
–Harry Ford
Harry Ford - Comedian 