099 - Why Novels and the Movies Based on Them Should Probably Be Different
Today I noticed the stark difference between Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining and Stephen King's version: the made-for-TV movie King made because he thought Kubrick’s version wasn’t faithful enough to the book. But the thing is, King’s movie is just plain bad … and I think it’s bad mostly because it so faithfully adapts the book.
The creative lesson I took from this Noticing is that books are books and films are films, and I’m becoming convinced that it’s a mistake to link them more closely than “they’re just based on the same idea.” The same lesson applies across all creative work: the need to tailor content to its format, whether it's adapting a novel for the screen or modifying one for different audiences or platforms.
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