Nowadays when a book is being published, the rights to film it are sold off almost immediately. Some might think that this is a symbol of Hollywood's lack of ideas and creativity, but it is nothing new in the industry. Some of the greatest films are adapted from books or other forms of media. And there are still quite a bit out there that I would like to see.
10. Deadpool by Marvel comics
Synopsis: Deadpool is a mercenary who is diagnosed with cancer. This leads him to a secret government organization who experiments on him creating a mentally unstable, amnesiac, yet charismatic killing machine with a serious gift of gab. Deadpool wrestles with his more criminal tendencies and his longing for heroicism.
Why it should be made: Because the actor who is damn near perfect for the role (Ryan Reynolds) is super passionate about the project and is already meeting with studio bigwigs and screenwriters to get this off the ground. You may remember the character from
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Reynolds' solo feature will be much different.
Director suggestion: Peter Berg. Peter has worked on black comedy in
Very Bad Things, over the top, wire-fu action scenes in
The Rundown, big budget special effects in
Hancock and
The Kingdom, and melodrama in
Friday Night Lights. That and Berg's appearances of an actor in a number of Hollywood's more gritty crime pictures make him the perfect candidate to take on the merc with a mouth.
9. Beat The Reaper by Josh Bazell
Synopsis: A doctor is being tracked by some of New York's finest criminals and hitmen, including the Grim Reaper himself, because he might be an infamous hitman himself hiding out thanks to Witness Protection,
Why it should be made: The wit is sharp and quick. The action is fast and exciting. It has "awesome" written all over it. Already optioned for a possible DiCaprio vehicle.
Director suggestion: In a perfect world, Quentin Tarantino who is the king of quick-witted dialog and stylish filmmaking, but Tarantino's lack of enthusiasm over projects not written by him and his habit of keeping 100 projects in the pipeline at a time, it would never happen
8. Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles
Synopsis: A graphic novel by Steve Niles, a number of households in a rural, Southern town keep secret their mutated first-borns only to have one of their own children grabs his brother and the others to stop them from being further harassed by their scared, bigot parents.
Why it should be made: Because it is a great tale that flips horror on its head. Some of the greatest genre pictures depict humanity's own fear and predjudices as the true evil.
Director suggestion: Frankl Darabont has a way with original horror. So far he has taken three Stephen King books and made them into extraordinary films. His grasp of human nature and Southern sensibilities in
Shawshank Redemption and
The Green Mile, coupled with his sense of pacing and scare-tactics of
The Mist would make an ideal transition to film.
7. Earthbound by Richard Matheson
Synopsis: An erotic ghost story first published in the pages of Playboy, Richard Matheson sends a married couple, David and Ellen, to the beaches of Long Island to celebrate their honeymoon, 21 years after their wedding. Soon David meets a mysterious stranger Marianna and begins a torrid affair sending him deeper into obsession and desperation as Marianna literally sucks the life out of him.
Why it should get made: Because the independent film industry could use an erotic ghost story. Censorship is just pecking away at film as an artform and this kind of graphic and horroric kick to the butt is what the film community needs.
Director suggestion: David Lynch is a creative genius spawning mind-boggling visual romps through human sexuality. It is his off-beat style and Kubrick-esque storytelling that is necessary to make something like this work.
6. Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
Synopsis: Chuck Palahniuk's protagonist tells the story over the black box about how he came to be flying the plane on a suicide mission. His story is that of twin brothers, crazy cults, and a girl able to see the future.
Why it should be made: Palahniuk's storytelling is self-described as "lonely people looking for a way to reach out," an incredibly relatbale circumstance. His stories are also multi-layered challenging the audience to care for the protagonist considering they are almost never shown in the greatest light.
Director suggestion: Different from the lighter fare he has become famous for, Jason Reitman, director of
Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and
Up in the Air, could definitely takcle a more sadistic side of comedy with this story that while dark in context makes many attempts to stay lightly witty.
5. Dirk Gently series by Douglas Adams
Synopsis: Dirk Gently is a private detective, a holistic detective, taking on much different kinds of cases using much different kind of tactics. Commonly using wild guesses, Gently believes in the interconnectedness of all things, relying on some form of existentialism or new age philosophy to guide him to the solutions.
Why it should be made: Because it is really funny. Written by Douglas Adams, writer of the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, Adams humor is usually mostly in the narrative, yet with the Gently series you are given a strange pudgy man to use as a vehicle, unlike
Hitchhiker's ensemble.
Director suggestion: Edgar Wright is the new king of British observational humor and snappy dialog and even knows a pudgy actor known for his kooky but likable characters, Nick Frost.
4. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
Synopsis: Stephen King's 7-book epic, pits Roland, a traveling gunslinger in a mystical world, against the forces of evil as he searches for the Dark Tower, his white whale so to speak. He is eventually joined by people from Earth who help him on his journey as well as a number of King's characters from other books, including King himself.
Why it should be made: Because with Lord of the Rings over and Harry Potter nearing its end, studios are going to be looking for the next great epic saga that they can adapt and merchandise to the public. No better epic than a brand new one from a critically-acclaimed author.
That and J.J. Abrams is already trying to make it happen.
Director suggestion: Besides Abrams, the Dark Tower series should change directors like they have been doing for Harry Potter. Each novel brings something new, it seems right that a fresh face be brought in each time as well.
3. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Synopsis: Neville is the last remaining human in the world. During the day he searches for food and supplies and hunts the vampiric beasts left behind by a super-plague that wiped out the rest of his race. It is a journey through isolation, depression, and fear.
Why it should be made: Because Hollywood is still yet to fully grasp the meaning behind the title. One of my favorite endings ever, and Hollywood does not think it is suitable for film. Just like
Freaks of the Heartland, the story, in its own way, contemplates the nature of humanity and evil.
Director suggestion: Alex Proyas has captured dark, gothic settings better than most and has put truly fantastic sci-fi stories against them. Feelings of isolation, grief, and fear can be found in most of his work.
2. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Synopsis: An angel and a demon who live on Earth get world of the nearing armageddon and decide to try to stop it. Fortune tellers, witchhunters, other demons, and even the Antichrist get involved as these two try to save the world they have come to love.
Why it should be made: Because it is really funny. I have seen it descriped as Hitchhiker's Guide to the Underworld. A great example of quick witted British humor that does not forget the adventure and intrigue while they are at it.
Director suggestion: Terry Gilliam has tried (and failed) to get this made, and I see no one better for it. Gilliam would be able to get the visual cues, comedic timing, and the deeper meanings behind the story.
1. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Synopsis: Holden Caufiled travels to New York to drown his sorrows and get into other forms of mischief following his expulsion from a prepatory school in Philadelphia. The story is full of loneliness, interesting passerbys, and self-reflection.
Why it should be made: Because it probably won't ever. Author, J.D. Salinger, thinks that Hollywood would never do the story justice thus the rights are better used for his wife and kids to sell if they ever get money troubles after he is gone. This does not stop the story from being a seminal, burtally honest, coming of age story beloved by many, banned by others, and is most deserving of a film adaptation over anything else.
Director suggestion: Cameron Crowe is well known for his long dramedies about young people finding themselves in a melodramatic world with some of the best timed injections of comedy. There is absolutley no reason Crowe wouldn't make the best possible adaptation.
