Teens Can Write Too!: Books or Movies?

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a&e, alice in wonderland, baronness emma orczy, bbc, bbc sherlock, c.s. forester, c.s. lewis, courageous, disney, dumas, film, filmmaking, fireproof, horatio hornblower, hornblower, independent films, iris, j.r.r. tolkien, james fenimore cooper, jane austen, joe morlino, lewis carrol, movies, navis pictures, novels, pixar, plans of trust, pride and prejudice, seaward, sherwood pictures, star wars, steven graydanus, susan cooper, t.h. white, tangled, teens can write too blog chain, the chronicles of narnia, the last of the mohicans, the lord of the rings, the once and future king, the scarlet pimpernel, the sword in the stone, the three musketeers, the war of the vendee, through the looking glass

First of all, I’d like to say that if my books ever get published, and if I ever get a proposal to make movies based on my novels, I definitely want to be in on the process. Not only do I want my books to stay at least reasonably like the books–I don’t mind characters who don’t look like they did in the books so much, as long as they act like the characters in the books–and not only have I seen too many movies where the essence and messages of the books were lost, but I’m also fascinated by all things filmmaking. 😉 See Plans of Trust. Also see The War of the Vendee, from Navis Pictures, and the Sherwood Pictures films. All of these movies are done by independent groups and have more charm and in most cases better acting than Hollywood movies. I have not seen Plans of Trust yet, but Vendee, Courageous, and Fireproof are among my favorite films of all time. Thank you, Mr. Morlino! And I know that was off-topic… In the case that I have passed away by the time my books catch the eye of some director, then I hope my estate will definitely be consulting. (My de facto, informal will at this time is pretty much that Iris inherits all my writing stuff, including unfinished texts, with the hopes that she will continue them. Also, anyone else may build on my work with Iris’ permission. The rights to my completed poems and novels go to my family, to help support them.)

Wow, I just got really off track. I’ll blame it on my cold. (The same cold that Obi-Wan also caught and is still recovering from… *sigh*)

Now, I think that it’s only fair if we judge the movie by its own criteria and not by the industry in general. There have been marvelous adaptions (aka, The Lord of the Rings and the Hornblower series,) and there have been bad ones (Alice in Wonderland… *shudder* Frankly, I’ll take my chances with the Balrogs and mumakil. I don’t want to face a Jabberwocky or a Mock-Turtle. Ever again. But maybe I’m unfair, even if the movie sucked. The books was almost as creepy… Sorry, I just can’t read Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, or any of the book clones *cough* Seaward *cough* without suffering nightmares. The book destroyed my childhood, and the movie freaked me out.)

The adaption of The Lord of the Rings is a great movie, but it does play free with certain parts of the books. And yet, at the same time, it goes very well as an adaption of the books. It can stand alone, yes, but it also ties in very well with the books, if we can stay our bookish-snobbishness for the time being as we watch the movies. The only thing that really annoys me is if someone takes only what happens in the movies as “canon”. To me, the books will always be the only canon. People love to hate on The Lord of the Rings for eliminating Tom Bombadil, having other elves than Legolas at Helm’s Deep, the too-early deaths of Sauruman and Wormtongue and Frodo telling Sam to go home on Cirith Ungol (yes, those last two are my own private pet peeves), but frankly it’s probably the best book adaption out there if you use both epicness and true-to-the-book-ness as your measure.

The A&E adaption of The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Richard E. Grant, is another really good adaption, if you can temporarily suspend your sense of disbelief and/or your booksnob attitude. True, it plays free with the situations, historical accuracy, and (to an extent) Chauvelin’s appearance and character, but if you like action and historical movies, this is your cup of tea, courtesy of the BBC. (To balance out the blah-history-ness in the third movie of the trilogy, Mademoiselle Guillotine, I highly recommend The War of the Vendee, above. Also, this same movie has the best villainess I have ever seen in any movie! She almost beats Lady De Winter from The Three Musketeers for sheer evil and disgustingness and oh-heaven-I-so-want-to-slaughter-her!)

The Hornblower movies, also from A&E, are perhaps the only franchise about which I will ever say “I actually liked the movies better than the books.” The C.S. Forester classics, while good reading, can be very dark and a little depressing at times, not to mention the blood. C.S. Forester is nothing if not honest. Not necessarily family-friendly material. However, if you ignore the four-letter words (which, let me promise you, is pretty much limited to just ‘hell’ or ‘damn’), you find yourself in the middle of a movie just about everyone can like. If there is one disappointing thing about this series, it’s that it didn’t follow the course of all the books and take the unfinished one–Hornblower During the Crisis–which would have had Horatio as a spy *swoons*!–into the cinema world as a full blown story.

And I need not even mention Sherlock, which is sheer brilliance!

Now, for the not-so-good.

The Chronicles of Narnia (the old BBC adaptions.) While these were charming movies and re-created the charm of the books quite well, they weren’t all that imaginative, and they cut some of my favorite scenes from the books. Also, the series was discontinued, leaving the count at The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair. And… *cough cough* I would like to see anyone try to make a movie of The Last Battle. It could never be as awesome as the book!

…Ahem.

The Sword in the Stone. It is a cute family movie, but let’s face it–except for bits of the face-off between Merlyn and Madame Mim (Yes, I spelled Merlyn right! This is how he’s spelled in the T.H. White-verse–probably to differentiate from the falcon species… which does appear in the book…), this movie is absolutely nothing like the book. It lacks the book’s charm and humor and incredible detail. It cuts out chunks (the more interesting ones) from the book, it completely mutilates Kay… I could go on and on. Not that I have any particular hate for this movie. Like I said before, it’s a nice little family movie. It’s just not… all that memorable. Unlike the book. I’m glad they stopped there rather than trying to make the whole Once And Future King cycle into animated movies. It’s a movie about Merlyn educating the Wart. It’s not a movie about the Wart, the Wart and Kay, or even the Wart and Merlyn. It’s not exactly character-oriented, which is probably why it’s less than memorable. (Though Archimedes was adorable. Which is almost sacrilege, to a fan of the books… No spoilers. >:-D)

The Last of the Mohicans. (The animated one.) It’s another charming family movie–and not really forgettable–it might even be a cult classic–but it’s just not the book. Characters were different. Different people died. (More people die in the book, which gives it a more complex aspect. No spoilers. :-3) Again, recurring theme here, it lacked much of the humor of the book, such as SPOILER Major Heyward trying to impersonate Hawkeye END SPOILER.Now, the book might be both sexist and racist, but let’s face it–almost anything could be labeled sexist or racist in one way or another. And it’s a classic, and a good read besides. Need I say more?

But about the movie, I did rather like it. But if I’m looking for entertainment when I’m not absolutely worn out by Raya’s antics, I’m going to the book.

Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley. Most Austen movies tend to be very close to the books, but this one… All I can say is pretty much… meh. The acting may be good, but the story is pretty much insipid–at least to someone who’s seen the version with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Its only advantage above the latter movie is that it’s shorter–and some people wouldn’t call that an advantage. (I only do because I’d really rather read Austen than watch Austen. No offense, people.)

This movie is also fairly good, but next to the A&E version… it does not stand a chance.

I would like to present a new set of criteria for judging movies (and especially book adaptions) as a whole, which is based on the way Steven Graydanus breaks down the good and the bad in his film critiques. It is based on systematic evaluation of the message, the way it executes the story, and the divergences, which should be justified. While critiquing any art form is in itself an art, this should at least simplify it for people who don’t have much experience with critique. Be forewarned, though, it takes a little math, and some familiarity with negative values.

1. Message. Is the message true to the book? On a scale of one to five. How good or bad is it? (Yes, add points to score; no, subtract points from score. If the message is virtually unrecognizable or mangled into a twisted dark clone of itself, subtract up to ten points.)
2. Trueness to the book. (Yes, +0points; no, -1point unless it’s really really bad. Then -3points.)
3. Diversions from the book. (Yes, +0points; no, -1point. Come on. It’s a movie. It is a separate entity. And if it has no diversions, it’s unimaginative.)
4. Execution of diversions from book, on a scale of one to five. (Well done; +points. Poorly done; -points.)
5. Execution of book canon portions, on a scale of one to five. (Well done; +points. Poorly done; -points. Superbly done; +7 to 10 points. Extremely badly done; -7 to 15 points. Yes, I’m a cynic. The real question is… are you?)
6. General inventiveness, on a scale of one to five. (Well done; +points. Poorly done; -0points. Unless it’s completely unimaginative, in which case -up to 5 points.
7. For Christians, believers in moral absolutes, and concerned parents only! Moral value, on a scale of one to five. (Moral value positive: +0 points. Moral value extremely positive: +5 points. Moral value negative: -up to 7 points.)
8. Special effects, on a scale of one to five. (Good; +0points. Poor; -1point. Poor but ignorable; -0points. Poor for a reason–such as to emulate another era or style of film– +1point.)
9. Other. For depressiveness, euphoria, simple beauty, etc. + or – up to 5 points.

Bear in mind, this system is not perfect. Different people will most likely get different scores on the same movies. Lord of the Rings scored 20 (17 without morality points), and the BBC show Sherlock scored 27 (24 without morality points), due to its sheer inventiveness and addictiveness. Alice in Wonderland, on the other hand, scored a -11, or a -13 without morality points. *shudders* I really, really dislike that movie.

So, in general, I am a connoisseur of movies, and a lover of books, but I have my limits. And some things (such as blatant departures from book canon without any justification, or book canon so badly done it doesn’t even recall the book canon,) just drive me nuts. In general, I’m not as hard on fairy tale adaptions as I am on book adaptions (Tangled scored a princely 23, 22 without morality points–yes, I only gave it one morality point, because she runs away from the only parent figure she’s known and disobeys and rebels–she got the point because she’s a peacemaker and willing to sacrifice herself), but that’s mostly because folk tales belong to everyone and sheesh, I know what it’s like to slave and suffer over a book for months and years and then realize it’s not what you want and overhaul it and spend blood from your paper cuts and tears from your text cuts on it! A book is a little piece of the author’s heart. With something that personal, it needs respect. Just as movies are little pieces from the hearts of everyone who worked on them.

I hope you enjoyed the post. Be sure to check in for the other bloggers’ posts in this blog chain!

5th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/

6th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

7th – http://sammitalk.wordpress.com/

8th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

9th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/

10th – http://maralaurey.wordpress.com/

11th – http://charleyrobson.blogspot.com/

12th – http://taratherese.wordpress.com/

13th – http://theweirdystation.blogspot.com/

14th – http://fairyskeletons.blogspot.com/

15th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

16th – http://novelexemplar.wordpress.com/

17th – http://magicandwriting.wordpress.com/

18th – http://mirrormadeofwords.com/

19th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

20th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

21st – http://eighthundredninety.blogspot.com/

22nd – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

23rd – http://aaronandtamarabooks.blogspot.com/

24th – http://www.butterfliesoftheimagination.weebly.com/

25th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/

26th – http://turtlesinmysoup.blogspot.com/

27th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

28th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ – The topic for July’s blog chain will be announced.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless! 🙂

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Liebster Award (Awarded twice in two days… I don’t know if anyone else understands…)

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author, award, barbie, barbie is evil, baronness emma orczy, blogging, c.s. forester, c.s. lewis, dumas, g.a. henty, i have probably been misspelling sheikah's name all along :-p, i'll stop adding tags now lest i add too many, i've added too many tags already, j.r.r. tolkien, merlin, nanowrimo, rule of elevens, sherwood pictures, star trek, star wars, the lord of the rings, the three musketeers, the war of the vendee, writing

Rule of Elevens!!! 😛

Okay, so I was awarded the Liebster Award first of all by coruscantbookshelf (aka Rosalie, or Nasriel if you prefer) of Against the Shadows, and then again, by Sheikiah, of Dark Link/Light Link. And I have no idea who else to award it to, unless it’s okay to award to people on Blogspot? If so, please tell me and I’ll do so. (On second thoughts, I’ll do it anyway. :-P) And I have no idea how many followers most of the bloggers I know have, so forgive me if I accidentally award someone who has more than a thousand.

I guess that since I was awarded twice, I have to answer TWO sets of questions. Okay, here goes.

Since Rosalie awarded me first, I’ll answer her questions first.

1. Which do you prefer: Old or New Republic, and why? (That’s Episodes I-III and IV-VI respectively, for the old people out there.) I think I prefer the Old Republic… mainly because I have only read Jedi Apprentice and Clone Wars-era Expanded Universe, and I don’t quite care for the angle they took the post-Return of the Jedi stories, mostly because (as I’ve said before) I am a biased supporter of the celibacy requirement for the Jedi, just because it made it cool and more like an actual religious order to me. Also I am a history nut. 😛 Which is the probable reason for my bigoted preference… 😛 Also, the prequels had Obi-Wan! 😛 And the “sequels” aren’t likely to! 😛

2. Which do you prefer: Old or New Testament, and why? Oooh… this is a tough one. I don’t think I have a preference. Though I do love Luke and John’s lyrical and symbolic styles, respectively…

3. Who is your favorite actor/actress absolutely of all time? I’m having a hard time choosing. I don’t think I can pick just one. Because, honestly, I’ve seen people who are really good, but I have to say that Paul Reilly, who isn’t even professional, and Alex Kendrick, who is really a minister. Paul Reilly is Jacques Cathelineau in The War of the Vendee from Navis Pictures, and Alex Kendrick plays the protagonists in all the Sherwood Pictures films except for Fireproof. But professional actors… I’m going with Liam Neeson (no surprise there,) Ewan McGregor, and Colin Morgan. (Because the Jedi team of The Phantom Menace was awesome, and Colin Morgan is just brilliant as the title character of Merlin.)

4. This one seems to be part of the rules: Why do you blog? Oh, I don’t know, really. Several reasons–it’s hard to pick a primary one. I think it’s mostly an outlet, in case I need to rant or just yell at the world in general, and people commiserate, which is awesome. It’s also gaining me a reader base, since I want to become a published author. But I think it started when I was over on Wikia, which some of my friends used to connect on–they had a blog option for registered users, which was great. I started posting The Hero’s Dream over there, and then when some of my Nanowrimo friends (thank you Rosalie!) wanted to read it, I started this blog and posted it serially. (Actually, the story is way more complex than that, but I think you want your answers in less than 500 words. If you all want me to post and explain how I began blogging in full, please comment and tell me so!)

5. If you could live anywhere in this world other than where you do, where would you choose? Practicality aside. Ireland. It’s a beautiful country. (Also, I want to learn Gaelic.) That, or New Zealand. They filmed The Lord of the Rings there–how do you beat that?!

6. Favorite dictionary: Oxford, Webster, Cambridge, Chambers, Collins – what? And why? The old edition Oxford–it was clean and got you what you needed to know–and Webster. Because it’s the first, and because it’s American, I guess. 😛

7. For those that write for fun: how many plot bunnies (story ideas) do you have on the go right now? How many do you think will get finished? (For those that don’t, go listen to this to kill time. Utterly epic.) Mmmm… Nine or so, I think. Probably more, if you count my Star Wars stories. Go to my Novels page if you want to see most of them. There’s another original novel brewing, but I haven’t got it clear in my head yet, so it’s not up yet. (Hint: It’s about Mordred! 😉 )

8. What’s your opinion of fictitious superheroes? I don’t really have one. I don’t particularly care for superhero movies, except for The Incredibles (which I absolutely love!), and I’ve never read any books about superheroes. However, I love anything Jedi and most fantasy, so I don’t know. I might like them. Still, I rather enjoy my non-Avengers fan status… 😛

9. What’s your opinion of fictitious everyday heroes? Cynically? People love to hero-worship. Practically? We need people to lead us and be shining examples, both fictitious and real.
Idealistically? I think that fictitious heroes give us something to strive to be, and I really wish they were real.

10. What’s your opinion of factitious everyday heroes? (Do not quote Sherlock!) (Okay, I won’t. :-P) I think that factitious heroes may not be quite the same way people envision them, but I believe that they do exist. For instance, the firefighters and other emergency response teams at the Twin Towers terrorist attack on 9/11/2001 were true heroes.
Ironically, though, I think that most people who have been named heroes by popular acclaim really don’t think of themselves as heroes, just people doing their jobs exceptionally well, or ordinary people trying to help. In this sense, I think anyone who tries to do the best they can to help others, both in the pursuit of duty and on the spur of the moment, is a hero.

11. Have you ever been given this award before? If so how many times? Never. Though I’m about to… 😛

Now for Sheikiah’s questions…

1. Why do you blog/What is your goal for your blog? Well, you know why I blog already. ;-P I already said. 😛 My blogging goal, though, is to just give people some enjoyment in fiction, as well to explain why I fiction. 🙂 (Yes, I used that as a verb. If that is NOT a verb, it should be. ;-D)

2. Out of all the established fictional realms you know of — Middle-Earth, Narnia, etc. — pick one you’d like to live and one you wouldn’t want to live in. Oh, I’d love to live in Middle-Earth, Narnia, the galaxy far, far away… Mostly because the rules are different… and in Star Wars, if you’re a Jedi, you also do not have to worry about the tax paperwork. 😛 (I hate paperwork. I recently started doing some of my own, and I repeat: I hate it! Even though hate is the path to the Dark Side!) But if I had to just make one that I would love to live in… Probably Middle-Earth. And the one I would not like to live in: drum roll, please… the world of the Harry Potter books.

3. Why those two? (I admit this is probably cheating, making this a separate question.) I have not read Harry Potter, but I wouldn’t like to be the one out who had to fight magic-using enemies without magic (or special training.) Same goes for Supernatural. Besides, I don’t feel comfortable with the way that J.K. Rowling reputedly handles the idea of magic in her novels. It doesn’t seem like something I could enjoy in all good conscience. To Harry Potter fans: I’m not attacking you! I’m just saying that I don’t think it would be my cup of tea! And the reason why I’d love to be in Middle-Earth: I’m a scholar. I would absolutely love to study with Elrond or Aragorn, visit all those places… And I’m not bad with a sword, either. 😛

4. Where on planet Earth would you most like to live? Most like to live… Well, I think I like where I do live. ;-P But otherwise… New Zealand (see above.) Mostly because it’s not in such a bad condition, politically, as other countries are… viewing it with my American Constitutionalist lens again here… 😛

5. Which film adaptation do you think is the most faithful to the original book? Why? The Lord of the Rings. Much as I like to whine about how they changed some situations, eliminated Tom Bombadil, etc., it still didn’t mangle the book as badly as some other movie adaptions. *mutters* The Three Musketeers… Barbie… I have a lasting grudge against Barbie. So insipid and sugary.

6. Which adaptation is the least faithful? Why? Well… of the movies I’ve actually seen… the adaption of The Scarlet Pimpernel that stars Richard E. Grant. Much as I love this adaption, it’s very unlike the book. But as a stand-alone movie… *swoons*

7. If you had the chance to make one event in history not-happen, which and why? And don’t say “the Holocaust”, that’s just too obvious. Oooh, this is so hard… The French Revolution in general. It did something similar to France as Hitler did to Germany. I mean, left scars that are still there to this day. (And it’s been longer since, too!) Especially, I would take back the subjugation of the Vendee. Also, I would make the Vendee better remembered. The people there were so gallant and courageous! I hate it that they portray them in some movies and books as making an effort doomed to failure that only makes things worse for them! They were fighting for what they believed in, passionately, against overwhelming odds, and no such gallant action can be called “useless”! Besides, they almost succeeded–they could’ve taken Paris and stopped the Revolution right there, but they had to choose to take Nantes instead.

8. If you were in a band, what would you name it? Unless you ARE in a band, in which case come up with a different name for a hypothetical other band. Dickenson. (I love her poetry. And classical music. :-P)

9. What is your favourite book? Favorite… hmmm… I have way too many. But right now… The Lord of the Rings. I also like Tolkien’s other works, books by Madeleine L’Engle, G.A. Henty, Brian Jacques, C.S. Lewis, Meriol Trever, Constance Savery, C.S. Forester, Baroness Orczy… 😉

10. Of all the characters in your favourite book, whose life would you rather lead? Oohh…. I would rather be Faramir. (Outside of my chosen book, I know that I’d rather be Ahsoka than Obi-Wan, Luke rather than Padme, Eustace rather than Susan, and Charles Wallace rather than one of the twins. ;-P)

11. Kirk or Picard? (If you can’t answer this question, that’s fine. There are those who consider that the RIGHT answer.) I have not seen enough Star Trek to be a good judge.

Eleven random facts about me (wow, this is going to be hard):

1. I don’t particularly like to talk about myself.

2. I have thought about giving politics a try, if only to see their faces at my ideology and idealistic cynicism. (Yes, that is a term… or it should be. :-P) Also to annoy them with my arguments against certain plans that they have for this country.

3. I have been known to make up words as it suits my purposes.

4. I can be extremely sarcastic at times. (Bet you never saw that one coming!)

5. I love cats, but have an allergy to them.

6. I am also allergic to blueberries, cantaloupe, bananas, food coloring, corn syrup, and popcorn. I can eat blueberries and bananas if they are in baked goods. I also have a contact allergy to the adhesives from some Band-aids and stickers. I might just be allergic to hickory, as well. (Not the nuts, but the wood might be the culprit for my hives.)

7. I do not particularly enjoy traveling.

8. I should have done this whole thing earlier, probably.

9. My baby sister seems to be alternately a Jedi Knight and Sith Lady.

10. I know a couple of Sith via the internet ;-P

11. Depriving me of sleep is not a good idea.

I hope that satisfies!!! Now for my questions:

1. Why do you blog? How did you start blogging? (because it’s tradition, I guess)

2. What eats most of your time on the internet?

3. Have you ever attempted to write a novel upwards of 50,000 words?

4. Have you failed writing a novel and never come back to it (yet)? If so, why?

5. What is your biggest impediment to doing what you love? (Mine is my siblings)

6. Which do you prefer: more regular, tended gardens or naturalized ones?

7. What is your favorite season, and why?

8. Do you prefer historical fiction to fantasy, or science fiction to both?

9. Do you ever feel that the language you chiefly work with is confining and should have more expressive words?

10. Would you prefer some form of rodent (gerbil, hamster, rat, etc.) or some kind of bird as a pet?

11. Why do you spend time with your family? (If you don’t feel like answering… *shrug*)

And now, I hereby nominate Rayne Speryll, of Writing in Rivendell, Klarabelle Candy, and the brilliant writers of “Sink Me!” because it’s hilarious. (Don’t blame me for this, most of my friends IRL blog on Blogspot and I have no idea how many followers most of them have.) Since I don’t really feel like tagging people back (you’re off the hook, Rosalie and Sheikah!), I will also nominate Bessie Lark at Firefly (trust me to nominate a restricted access blog! ;-P), and Rachel Carrera (even though I have no idea how many people have followed her.) Congrats, ladies! (It also says something about me that I’m nominating all girls… Shut up, head-voice! Sorry about that. :-P)

Okay, so I’m finally done with this post… three days after I started working on it. Sorry if this is my longest post ever, but I had lots of crazy stuff happen and lots more crazy stuff to say and I definitely feel a lot better now. 🙂