The more I love book or a series and a group of characters, the more I’m terrified of it being butchered on TV or in a movie. As much as I want to see Jamie Fraser IRL (in real life), what if Sam Heughan doesn’t live up to my expectations and I end up being Team Frank when Outlander airs? What if Divergent is so terrible in March that Four goes from sexy bad-ass teacher/lover to… whatever Veronica Roth turned him into in Allegiant (oh burrrnnn)
Let’s be honest- there have been some major book adaptation FLOPS in recent years: The Mortal Instruments almost didn’t get a sequel because of how badly it was received. Beautiful Creatures absolutely TANKED at the box office. While taking a book that already has a big fandom attached to it comes with its benefits- built in fans and an already established audience to build from- it can backfire real fast. Remember when people actually complained about Jamie Fraser’s casting? Can you imagine if Sam wasn’t actually hot and didn’t look like this as Jamie? Would anyone actually WANT to see Outlander come this summer? No.
And while I’m a book lover first, I’m not a purest. I don’t need an adaptation to follow exactly the book’s sequence. And I think because I’ve learned to feel this way (Let me tell you: loving The Twilight Saga for 5+ years taught me a lot of lessons) I’ve been able to enjoy adaptations a bit more than those who expect EVERY LITTLE THING to be just like the books. So today I introduce you to the TN mantra (borrowed from the LTT mantra © 2008-2012) “ACCEPT IT NOW”
ACCEPT IT NOW
We will see far less of Jamie Fraser than Diana Gabladon describes in her books. No, no, no. Sam Heughan will be on screen plenty. I mean less of his, ya know… pubic hair (I hope! Dear Lord, I hope)
ACCEPT IT NOW
Four will not look 18 in Divergent. Theo James is 29. He will look like he’s in his late twenties. It will not matter. He also probably will not thrust. Sad face.
ACCEPT IT NOW
Fifty Shades of Grey is not going to be pornography. So…. there will be some sort of fade-to-black. Hopefully not too much because #OMGJamieDornanUNF. But no really… we might not even see all of him. You’ll survive. Use your imagination (But in your imagination, are you picturing Rob Pattinson? #jokesforever)
ACCEPT IT NOW
In the Outlander extended trailer, Jamie doesn’t put his fingers under Claire’s chin to deliver his line like it’s explained in the book. And it’s okay. We survived. I mean, we’re still on the oxygen machine 18 hours a day, but we’re surviving. One day at a time.
So the lines won’t be delivered just as Diana describes in the books. IT WILL BE OKAY. An adaptation is not going to follow a book plot for plot, line for line. It’s an adaptation. The job is it for to take the storyline- the characters- and make it work on a different medium. What works in a book doesn’t always translate to a screen.
ACCEPT IT NOW
Your lady boner for Adam in If I Stay will not be as big as when you read the book because this guy:
is not how Adam looks. No? Just me?
ACCEPT IT NOW
Claire’s eyes won’t be whiskey-colored. Because it really sucks to make an actress wear colored-contacts that they don’t really need to wear for any plot-purpose. You remember Twilight- do you want to hear the story of “Those Damn contacts we had to wear” for the next 5 years? (SPOILER ALERT: NO. NO YOU DON’T)
ACCEPT IT NOW
The Fault in our Stars will probably rock the world of your friends who haven’t read the book. But you will walk away a little disappointed. Near-Perfect books rarely translate 100% to screen. And TFIOS is a near-perfect book.
ACCEPT IT NOW
Claire will not have a “Fat ass” like the one you meant the last time you thought to yourself that person had a “fat ass” (Oh wait, you’d NEVER think that about another person…) She’s an actress and will be thinner than all of us combined. Except we don’t have to wear this skirt so our hips will look slimmer. Ha:
ACCEPT IT NOW
The kitchen cabinets in (insert name of adaptation) might be a different color than were described in the book. Guess what? It doesn’t make a difference.
ACCEPT IT NOW
Just because something isn’t as good as an adaptation doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching, enjoying or makes your book any less important. As book lovers, we will always have higher expectations than someone coming at the story as a virgin. Be open minded & I promise you…. you will enjoy it that much more!
What is something you’ll be saying “ACCEPT IT NOW” about in any upcoming adaptations? Any recent adaptions that you thought did it well?
Oh speaking of adaptations, Austenland comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray tomorrow and Vampire Academy opened in theaters this past Friday!
