Really Awful Book-To-Film Adaptations (A Paste List)

One of my favorite magazines, Paste, releases a new list everyday of something pop-culture-esque. Today's list was "Nine Book-to-Film Adaptations That Shouldn't Have Happened". I can only speak for the books I have read and movies I have seen on this list, but I do agree with it overall.

I've mentioned before how much the cover switch for The Lovely Bones bothered me. Movie poster design and book cover design are not the same and I think it always turns out tacky when the book cover is changed to reflect the movie.

The Lovely Bones made it onto Paste's list as well. Here's what they had to say:

There’s plenty of Peter Jackson’s wonderful visuals in this adaptation of the Alice Sebold novel, but the movie’s stripped-down story lacks most of the novel’s emotional weight, and throws in some totally unnecessary thriller-flick elements to boot.

Other highlights of this little list include Matilda, The Golden Compass and The Cat In the Hat. 

I do own Matilda on DVD and love it dearly, but it of course does not come close to Roald Dahl's book which was one of my favorites growing up.

CLICK HERE to view the rest of the list.

Books, Movies and Bad Covers

One thing that really upsets me is when a great book is turned into a movie, and after the movie is a big success, the book gets a new cover. Usually, this new cover features the actors from the movie and huge, tacky type proclaiming the movie was a big hit.

For example, Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. The original cover featured a charm bracelet, which is an important part of the book's plot. The movie cover looks very similar to the movie poster and is pretty creepy.

Some designers have flipped this method. They've taken some awesome movies and created the book covers they deserve. Most of these are just designs and aren't actually in print, but they are worth checking out and, maybe, drooling over.

One set I love is from blogger Spacesick. He created an entire "I Can Read Movies" series that looks vintage and pretty worn. One of my favorites is for Space Jam.

Also, I love the illustration for Big.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for vintage design and spot color, but I think these are great and I wish I could actually own them. To see more of Spacesick's designs, click here to check out his Flickr.

Have you seen any "fake" book designs that you really enjoyed? Any up-and-coming designers that deserve some attention?