- Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card: In high school, I never read the books that I was assigned to read. I have this problem where I won't read a book if someone tells me that I have to read it. Even if they know it is going to be my favorite - I just can't do it. But it was senior year and it was the last book we were reading, so I decided to give it a shot - and I loved it. For those of you that have never read it, Ender's Game tells the story of a boy named Ender who is training to be a soldier in the inevitable war with an alien species known as "the Buggers." Ender is a loner and isn't good at making friends, but he excels at training school and quickly becomes the leader that helps win the war. But the book is so much more than that - it is a commentary about what atrocities man will commit to win a war; it looks at middle schoolers and high schoolers and deals with their issues. It is a book that will have you horrified, sad, enraged, and excited - all at the same time. This movie has almost been made several times, but for some reason it has just never happened. I think it is because people have a hard time translating the gritty, gory tale of kids in war to the big screen. But, if it is done right, it could be a fantastic movie. Just, please, don't dumb the movie down. Make it just as adult as the book is.
- Ender's Shadow - Orson Scott Card: Part sequel, part it's own story, this novel tells the story of Ender's number 2 soldier, Bean. It follows Bean before he enrolls in training school, follows the events of Ender's Game through Bean's perspective, and sees what happens after the war is over. While I don't love all of the sequels that live in the Ender's Game universe, this is one that I loved almost more than the original. And, I have a really cool concept for the film. I think they should film both films during the same time. Two different movies, two different directors. And for the scenes that involve both Ender and Bean, I think that both directors should film those scenes. One from Bean's perspective, one from Ender's perspective. Something like this has not been done before, and I think, if it is done correctly, it could be pretty cool.
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, The Magician's Nephew, and The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis: I know, the first three books in this series have already been made into movies - but I love these books and I love the movie franchise even more. This franchise is the one rare instance that I think the movies are better than the books. If you've ever read them, I think you'll understand where I am coming from - they are written for children. They are very bare bones and very matter-of-fact, and don't go any deeper into details. The movies do a good job of fleshing these things out. I loved "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," I liked "Prince Caspian," and I thought "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" was a step in the right direction. I am glad that the movie franchise is out of Disney's hands (their loss), and I really hope that the rest of the books turn into films. They really are great stories and I think that, now that Harry Potter is finally done and Twilight is wrapping up, they could finally find their time to shine. No more competition! I am going to be VERY disappointed if the rest of these do not get made...
- Redeeming Love - Francine Rivers: I made fun of my wife for reading this book. Then my best friend from college started reading it, and I made fun of him too. I finally decided to give it a try, because both of them would not stop talking about how fantastic the book was. I have never cried reading a book. I cry in movies and TV shows all the time, but never in a book. Until I read Redeeming Love. The book is hands down the greatest love story ever told - one filled with romance, terrible sorrow, heartache and undeserving grace. It tells the story of a man who is told by God to marry a prostitute, and pursue her no matter what. He marries her and saves her from her whore house, and gives her a better life. But she continually returns to the life she once knew, not able to forgive herself for the things she has done in the past. Francine Rivers is at the top of her game with this book - she hooks you in from the first paragraph and doesn't let you go until long after the book is already over. Based on the story of Hosea from the Bible, Redeeming Love is not so much a story about a man's love for a woman, it is a story about God's love for his creation. But to those who don't care about that, it really is a great love story. I'd love to see this movie done right - please stay away from it, Kirk Cameron!
- The Circle Series (White, Green, Red and Black) - Ted Dekker: After I had read "The Hunger Games," I was looking for something else to read and I stumbled upon the first book in this series. Or was it the third? Or the fourth? That's the beauty of The Circle Series - you can start at any one of the books and then read them in order (0, 1, 2 then 3; or 2, 3, 0, then 1 etc). Part modern day sci-fi thriller, part rural allegory of the Christian story, the pace never stops in these books. They center around Thomas Hunter, a man who lives in our time, but when he falls asleep he dreams he is in the future - a future where everything has become very rural. When he falls asleep in his dreams, he wakes up in our time, and he can't tell which one is the dream and which one is the reality. But in one of the "dreams," the world is about to face a deadly virus that will wipe out the majority of the planet, and in the other "dream," tensions are arising in the epic final fight of good verses evil. Thomas spends all four books using what he learns from both dreams to help him save both lives. I think, in the hands of the right director, this could be a fantastic series. I even took a crack at writing the script, and it starts with the last scene of the entire series, then goes back to the beginning. This might be the one book that I want to see become a film the most.
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - Daniel Handler: I know they have already made one Lemony Snicket movie, but I really loved it. I thought it was the perfect outlet for Jim Carrey's zaniness, and the rest of the cast was fantastic as well. The movie clearly was intended to be followed up by more - what really happened to the orphan's parents? Will Count Olaf get his fair punishment for tormenting the orphans so? Who is Lemony Snicket? However, for some reason, a sequel was never made. I hope they make a sequel to this, and I hope that Jim Carrey is in it, because he has a tendency to not appear in sequels to his films ("Evan Almighty," "Son of the Mask," "Dumb and Dumberer," "Batman & Robin," to name a few).
- Jesus and His apostles - God: I would love to see a film that explores the relationship between Jesus and the 12 men that followed him so closely during the most pivotal time in human history. Even though I am a Christian, I want to see one that veers away from the "Christian-ness" that a story like this is bound to have, and just see how these guys lived together during the three years that they did. I could see it being a very epic "Band of Brothers" type movie, with a compelling cast. I want to see how these guys interacted when they were making miracles happen and when they were mocked. I want to see the break down of the relationship between Judas and Jesus. I want to see the events that lead up to "The Passion of the Christ." The Bible is one of the greatest stories ever told, but people tend to stay away from telling those stories on the big screen. Let's face it, every story that is being told today has its counterpart in the Bible. I'd like to see a big name director and big name stars take on this project. Will it ever happen? Probably not. But I'd love to see it.
- Animorphs - K.A. Applegate: Before you start laughing and skip this entirely, hear me out. I loved these books ground up. Sure they were ridiculous and sure they were a little childish, but if they were given a modern, more grown up retelling, I could see this being the next big franchise. Especially right now when teen novels and superheroes are so popular - this is a mixture of both. Animorphs was a set of 50 something books that told the stories of 5 regular teens who were given the power to change into any animal they could touch by a dying alien. They band together to fight the secret invasion of a bunch of nasty, evil aliens, all on their own. In my movie writing days, I wrote a treatment for a trilogy of films based on the best story lines from this series. Again, give someone talented the reigns to make this film. Don't kiddie it down either - this series is first and foremost about war. I don't need to see Miley Cyrus in this film. And please, don't make it anything like the TV show. I want to forget that ever happened.
- Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan: Again, I know they already made a movie based on the first book in this series. But that movie was a Percy Jackson movie in name only. It very loosely followed the plot of the book and was an embarrassment to the source material. I would like to see a literal take on this book. Sure, Harry Potter started out very childish - but the books matured with Harry as he grew older. The same is true for Percy's adventures. So start out the movies as pretty childish. Then have them mature as Percy starts to face real dilemmas. I don't love the word 'reboot' but PLEASE REBOOT THIS!!!
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling: This is a book that came out after Harry Potter was over. It features five wizard versions of fairy tales, one of which was featured heavily in the final Harry Potter film. I would love to see all five of the stories become a feature length animated film. And who would I want to do these movies? Disney. They have been doing fairy tales right forever, and they need a new well to pull from. Use these inspired tales, Disney! I think that The Fountain of Fair Fortune could become an animated musical of the caliber of "The Little Mermaid," or "Beauty and the Beast." Will it ever happen - probably not, seeing as Warner Brothers owns Harry Potter and not Disney. But man, would that be fantastic.
So there you have it. The ten books I would love to see movie adaptations of. Sound off in the comments and let me know what you think!
