I generally have low expectations

when a novel is made into a movie. Here's a "hypothetical":

Let's say you just finished reading a really, REALLY good novel. We'll call the novel, oh, I don't KNOW Leonardo's Puzzle (Any similarities to any novel presently out there may or may NOT be intentional).

Let's say that Leonardo's Puzzle weighs in at over 464 pages, and is a real page-turner. It's caught on like wildfire! Now you discover that they are making a movie of your (and the rest of the world where people have books) favourite novel, next to Harry Potter. So now, you and everyone else waits for Leonardo's Puzzle: The Movie EVENT!

This week You go to a movie, and see a "Teaser Trailer" for Leonardo's Puzzle BEFORE the director shoots a single frame of film! If that doesn't add to the excitement to the waiting for the release, nothing will!

Here is why if they were making a movie called Leonardo's Puzzle I have no expectations for it right now. In Fact.. using a recent novel as an example, which IS being made into a movie, why there are warning bells going off in my head, albiet quietly.

1) The general rule of thumb when making a movie is that one page of a screenplay equals one MINUTE of film. So, right away you KNOW that if the filmmakers were going to make a FAITHFUL adaptation of Leonardo's Puzzle, the movie would be 464 minutes. That won't happen in a million years. The attention Span of the average movie goer is the time it takes for them to chow down on Popcorn and finish their Dr. Pepper, OR The length of time between cell phone calls. This means a LOT of fat from the novel has to be trimmed.

2) Because of point 1, market research is done to find the parts of the novel that people EXPECT to see in the film. They also try and fit the movie into one of the established formulas that they KNOW draw them in.

3) You see the report that (insert "A" list actor here) has been cast in the lead role for Leonardo's Puzzle: The Movie EVENT! The Actor is friends with the director, so there's a chemistry that is SURE to come across on screen. Then you read the director's Quote in an article on a Website Where he says "Leonardo's Puzzle is a CEREBERAL movie. (insert Actor Here) is an exciting actor to watch thinking. "

So, even though I LOVED Leonardo's Puzzle, I have no expectations as to how the movie will turn out, since I know because of the process of adapting the book to a movie, a lot of decisions will have to be made that won't please EVERYONE.

What was the last novel you saw on the Big Screen? How did the movie version compare to the novel?

Here's the question of the day: Why do they call movie Previews "trailers"?