5 Novels That Would Make Great Movies

So, the other day I wrote a big post about developing novels into on-screen features and I said that they shouldn’t be expected to be the same.

That doesn’t stop me from imagining some of my favorite books into films, though, and very often while I read I am able to imagine certain actors in certain roles.
Even while I write screenplays, I can’t help but imagine someone famous as one of my characters.
Of course, that’s all just wishful thinking a lot of times and it won’t always suit the writer’s wishes or imagination, but that’s something I went through already.

I am a huge fan of fiction, especially detective novels and mysteries; my favorite writers of all time are Agatha Christie, Dan Simmons and Stephen King. It’s pretty limited but I feel comfortable in this genre.

Here are 5 novels that I believe would be huge hits in cinemas, and I’ll briefly explain why as well.

1. “DROOD” by Dan Simmons (2009)
   

   Dan Simmons is an exceptional writer because of his skill to incorporate fiction into real historical events and make people wonder which aspect was an actual event, and which is just a product of his mind. Any book by Simmons would be a great film, but “Drood” and “The Terror” in number two are very special.

   “Drood” is a two-novel tale about Charles Dickens’ friendship with Wilkie Collins, or much better, Collins’ friendship and mental rivalry with Dickens, since Collins’ is set as the narrator; it was also based on the events of Charles Dickens’ actual book “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” which remained unfinished.
   Wilkie Collins gets dragged into an underground scene of drugs, the occult and paranormal, but his biggest rival is (ta-da!) himself. The occult and paranormal take Wilkie Collins to other levels of emotional and physical plains.
   This story would be a great TV series (although there is talk that Guillermo del Toro wants to tackle this giant and turn it into a movie), since it’s a two novel story and has many encounters that are captivating and eerie; these would possibly have to be omitted from the movie because of length, which would thus create a dull story about a writer facing difficulties, with scares here and there.
   That is not what this book is – it is in fact a carefully thought out story that will drag you in so hard that you’ll beg for season 2 (wink wink).

2. “THE TERROR” by Dan Simmons (2007)
   

   I put this mega-incredible novel (due to current lack of sleep and thus a lack of adjectives, I can’t think of saying anything else that’s more true) under number two because its story is very different from “Drood”, but because of the same writer, it tampers skillfully with history just like “Drood” does.

   “The Terror” is a story about an expedition to the Arctic that happened mid 19th century, when Captain Sir John Franklin oversaw the travelling of two ships “HMS Erebus” and “HMS Terror”. These two ships were never found and to this day, it’s unknown what really happened to them.
   In comes Dan Simmons and gives his own account of the events; his narrator is a young doctor who joins “HMS Terror”, and he added a strange supernatural force that tampers with the ships’ crews. It’s even better than it sounds here.

3. THE SNOWMAN (original name: “Snømannen”) by Jo Nesbø (2007)
   

   One more writer whose books can forever be contracted to be made into movies. The awesome thing about Jo Nesbo’s writing is the thrill that can be equally visual and readable – when Stephen King steps into the psyche and gives us the whole internal struggle of a character, we are dragged into his mind more than the environment. Jo Nesbo is a bit more pragmatic and creates visually shocking and tense scenes that would easily make people a bit sick. However, he doesn’t exaggerate this; the gore has meaning, it is purposeful and actually quite elegant.

   The novel is one in a series of many novels about a loner detective named Harry Hole, but if references to old cases could be extracted from the dialogues, “The Snowman” and its story wouldn’t be hurt and would make a great standalone film.
   It was difficult to imagine an actor in the role of Harry Hole; he is described as a tall, blonde Norwegian cop who’s a bit ugly but in a super handsome manner, so I’d also love to see who would be chosen. This choice can actually make or break the movie.
   The story of “The Snowman” follows Hole chasing a serial killer whose trademark is making a snowman in front of his victims’ houses right before he kills.
   The book is exciting, on edge and the action is constant – there is always one direction for it to go, but it also has a quality of a “tellable” story because it incorporates the few failures before a final success, which is a must in every detective story told in Hollywood.

4. “THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD” by Agatha Christie (1926)
   

   This is also known as the novel which was in 2013 proclaimed as the ‘best crime novel of all time‘ by the British Crime Writers’ Association (they must love detective stories more than I do), and also known in my own circle as one of the most amazing and surprising detective stories I’ve ever read.
   It was named the best ever in part because it has one of undoubtedly greatest endings of all time (which I will never ever reveal to you, but I’d love to make you read it in order to see for yourself), but we can’t ignore that the entire story makes compelling statements, leads us in different ways and makes us believe in one thing very firmly by leaning on our own sense of judgment and character.

   This novel was already adapted into a TV movie in the UK because Agatha Christie is a hugely popular writer there and David Suchel is a great Hercule Poirot, so why not. However, I think it deserves another attempt with a refreshed cast and a modern take, much like it was done with “And Then There Were None” recently, which was more eerie than I expected; it was really good.

5. “THE TRUTH” by Michael Palin (2012)
   

   I went with this one for last to ease the atmosphere of all the terror novels, murders and mysteries, by presenting to you a different kind of terror story; this novel is about an environmental journalist named Keith Mabbut who travels to India to research on the topic of environment and work forces in the depths of Indian nature. Mabbut meets one of his heroes there, a man who’s been an adventurist and a truth seeker much like Mabbut always wanted to be.

   It’s a nice story to turn into a movie because of its relevance. The environment is (and should be) a huge topic in the past years, but I can’t help and see this novel turned into a feature film of medium proportions. Any movie that wants to be a blockbuster and deal with environmental issues should probably be full of CGI and cliches.
   This story definitely can’t be all that, full of CGI, a blockbuster nor a cliche, but it can be an inspiring visual experience.
   Plus, Michael Palin is, like, the greatest Monty Python member ever. Just sayin’.

 

There are so many more to be put on this list, but these novels are the ones I anticipate and think about the most. Do you want to see a novel turned into a movie? Which one is it, and why?

‘Til next time

Anja