Novel Ideas

by Cassaundra Brooks

Books-turned-movies are hot commodities in Hollywood, and although the lack of originality from the City of Dreams in recent years has become worrisome, these authors have certainly benefited from the trend.

JANE AUSTEN

All six of Jane Austen’s beloved completed works of fiction have been adapted to the big screen—many of them multiple times: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, and Emma. Pride and Prejudice alone has inspired the following:

- Pride and Prejudice (1940), the black and white depiction with leads Sir Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson

- Pride and Prejudice (1995), the popular five-hour-long A&E adaptation starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle

- Pride and Prejudice (2005), the Oscar-nominated adaptation headlining Matthew McFadyen and Keira Knightley

- Bride and Prejudice (2004), Bollywood’s answer to the classic tale, featuring the stunning Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Martin Henderson (Flyboys), and Lost’s Naveen Andrews

- Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), a modern twist starring Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, and Colin Firth once again as Mr. Darcy

Three separate Emma adaptations have featured leading ladies we know well: Kate Beckinsale (1996), Gwyneth Paltrow (1996), and Romola Garai (2009). It also inspired the film Clueless with Alicia Silverstone and the upcoming modern-day musical of the same name. The notable Emma Thompson adapted to film and starred in the 1995 Sense and Sensibility, with a young Kate Winslet in her breakthrough role and favorites like Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman playing heroes, with House’s abrasive doctor Hugh Laurie as supporting actor. The BBC has created its own film series for all six novels. 1999’s Mansfield Park, while inaccurate enough to bother some, featured Eli Stone’s Johnny Lee Miller and Junebug’s Alessandro Nivola. Jane Austen was herself depicted by Anne Hathaway in the recent Becoming Jane (2007), and her works have sparked films like The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) and many others—whether we realize it or not.

JOHN GRISHAM

Over one-third of John Grisham’s stories have made it to the big screen—and he has authored an impressive 22 works of fiction, most of which are best sellers. Not all of the films have been successful [note Christmas with the Kranks (2004), spun off from Skipping Christmas], and not all have made it into the movie theater (2003’s TV movie A Painted House). Most, however, have attracted not only big audiences but also big stars:

Runaway Jury (2003) – John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Jeremy Piven

The Pelican Brief (1993) – Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow

The Client (1994) – Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia, Will Patton, William H. Macy, Bradley Whitford

A Time to Kill (1996) – Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris Cooper

The Firm (1993) – directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Holly Hunter, Ed Harris

The Chamber (1996) – NCIS: LA’s leading man Chris O’Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway

The Rainmaker (1997) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, Claire Danes, Virginia Madsen, Mickey Rourke, and even Danny Glover in an uncredited role.

NICHOLAS SPARKS

The tearjerker king has likely elevated Kleenex sales in recent years. And again, the A-listers turn out for the film adaptations. In 1999, Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn teamed up with the late legendary Paul Newman for Message in a Bottle. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams made a fan-favorite onscreen and offscreen pairing in 2004’s The Notebook. Another drama, and perhaps one of Sparks’s best romances, brought together Shane West and pop singer Mandy Moore for a weeper of a tale of faith, hope, and transformation in A Walk to Remember (2002). Romantic leading man Richard Gere tackled a less popular film adaptation in 2008 alongside Diane Lane: Nights in Rodanthe also featured Law & Order: SVU’s leading man Christopher Meloni and Academy Award nominee Viola Davis. Yet another popular singer, Miley Cyrus, scored the leading-lady spot in this year’s Last Song, and yet again another offscreen romance bloomed. This year also brought a second Sparks film with Dear John, which featured rising stars Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia! Letters to Juliet)—also a singer, though not by profession—and Channing Tatum (Step Up, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra). Two additional books, True Believer and The Lucky One, are expected to be released in 2011 and 2012, respectively.