Ever wanted to write an homage to your favorite film?

Jeffrey Pace · Oct 1, 2008

Obviously there wouldn't be much of a market for it, but for pure enjoyment's sake, have you ever wanted to do your own literay take on your favorite film?

My all-time favorite film is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the 1974 ORIGINAL! Not the crappy remakes) and I have always wanted to write it as a novel.

Anyone?

underthecity · Oct 1, 2008

In a weird sort of way, my novel, The Ghost Machine, still under reconstruction, is an homage to Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters done in a serious sort of way. (And the MC in the book hates the movie and doesn't like it when anyone compares his invention with the film.)

And TCM (the original) is one of my top 10 favorite films of all time. Since the movie is mostly a visual shock thriller, it would be hard to come up with a reasonable backstory for the motivations for the family (the remake notwithstanding).

allen

DeleyanLee · Oct 1, 2008

Actually, no. The Lion In Winter is my favoritest movie of all time. It's my inspiration to write better than I do now.

I so want to grow up and write dialogue like that. I really do.

CaroGirl · Oct 1, 2008

My favourite film is To Kill a Mockingbird. I think someone might have written that one already.

Jeffrey Pace · Oct 1, 2008

Since the movie is mostly a visual shock thriller, it would be hard to come up with a reasonable backstory for the motivations for the family (the remake notwithstanding)

That's a valid point. But IMO, the lack of motives on the family's part (other than being completely deranged) is what makes it so terrifying. Sometimes I think it's best if we just flat-out don't know WHY the cuckoos are doing what they're doing.

Unfortunately, as you already pointed out, this tends to work nicely in film, but is tough to pull off in books.

Oh and by the way: You have excellent taste ;-)

"You don't wanna go foolin' around other folks' property...some folks don't like it and they don't mind showin' ya."

Jeffrey Pace · Oct 1, 2008

My favourite film is To Kill a Mockingbird. I think someone might have written that one already.

I'm pretty sure the movie came first though ;-)

CaroGirl · Oct 1, 2008

Jeffrey Pace said:
My favourite film is To Kill a Mockingbird. I think someone might have written that one already.

I'm pretty sure the movie came first though ;-)

Jeffrey Pace · Oct 1, 2008

There's a funny quote in a dumb film called Airheads. These wanna be heavy metal musicians are holding studio employees hostage and listing bizarre demands in case they need to plea insanity later.

One guy suggests 200 copies of Moby Dick to which another guy asks, "The movie or the book?" The guy who originally suggested it responds with, "They made a book out of that?"

DeleyanLee · Oct 1, 2008

Jeffrey Pace said:
There's a funny quote in a dumb film called Airheads. These wanna be heavy metal musicians are holding studio employees hostage and listing bizarre demands in case they need to plea insanity later.

One guy suggests 200 copies of Moby Dick to which another guy asks, "The movie or the book?" The guy who originally suggested it responds with, "They made a book out of that?"

Sounds to me like they made their case for the insanity plea.

tehuti88 · Oct 1, 2008

I remember actually starting my own novelization of "The Lion King" when I was younger. There already was one, but IMO it was poorly done, just a quick write-up to make a quick buck, and I felt I could do SO much better in terms of detail and such. I even tape-recorded the dialogue of the entire movie because I was going to stay 100% true to the movie itself, unlike the official novelization (which, as a children's book, of course condensed a lot of the story and dialogue).

I started doing the same thing for the anime "Sailor Moon," too, since the official novelizations of THAT were also cheesy and poorly written. (The one advantage the official writer had over me was she was working from the original Japanese episodes whereas all I had was the heavily edited American dubs.)

I never finished either. The way I saw it, why bother? Sure I could do a better job with both projects but they already had the official versions so why waste my time? Even if I did love the original programs.

Their loss that they hired sub-par writers!

Red-Green · Oct 1, 2008

Me too! Including of one of my favorite films: City of Lost Children. What happens after One and Miette rescue Denrée?

Captshady said:
I always feel like writing the sequel.

Telstar · Oct 1, 2008

No.
I prefer to write original subjects that come from my mind alone.

MumblingSage · Oct 1, 2008

In a word, as we speaking of fanfiction?

*blushes* All the time.

Well, that's an exaggeration. But I've done a fair bit of fanfiction on my favorite books, some on my favorite anime, and then there's this.

Claudia Gray · Oct 2, 2008

I write fanfic sometimes (less than I used to -- no time) just because of this kind of love for a story and curiosity about what else could happen.

Alpha Echo · Oct 2, 2008

No, I don't ever think about writing a novel from a movie or even writing a sequel to a movie. And, no offense whatsoever to those of you who love fanfiction, but I just don't understand the appeal. the story's all ready out there, ya know? I would be lying if I didn't say that I sometimes wonder what happens to a character, either after the final credits are rolling or after I turn the last page, and maybe it sparks an idea for my own book, but that's pretty much the extent of it.

triceretops · Oct 2, 2008

I got the crazy notion of writing a Transformers sequel, by introducing giant female bots into the mix.

Movie/books I wish I had written:

Bicentenial Man

Logan's Run

Blade Runner

Jurassic Park--(and I did write a DNA thriller as homage to Mike)

Tri

MumblingSage · Oct 2, 2008

I'm hard-pressed to explain it, myself. I know why I want to read fanfiction--I'm desperatly hoping to recapture some of the zest of the original. Why I write it? Absolutely no idea. I'd probably be a happier person if I didn't.

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 2, 2008

You know, now that you mention it, a sequel to Casablanca has been crying out for years to be written.

Louis, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Nicholas T · Oct 2, 2008

Shadow_Ferret said:
You know, now that you mention it, a sequel to Casablanca has been crying out for years to be written.

Louis, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Not that I agree with you (I don't - more than any other film in the history of motion pictures, I consider Casablanca untouchable hallowed ground), but you must remember this...

sunandshadow · Oct 2, 2008

The Lion in Winter is a godly movie. My current project was actually inspired by Jim Henson's movie Labyrinth, although by the time I get done reworking it and adding influences from other places the only thing you would recognize is the journey through a labyrinth and the vaguely romantic dynamic.

Enzo · Oct 2, 2008

I did have a go at James Bond fanfiction. But isn't that a waste of time?
So now I just imagine sequels or new versions of movies I like, but for the writing I stick to original ideas.

Sean D. Schaffer · Oct 3, 2008

Jeffrey Pace said:
Obviously there wouldn't be much of a market for it, but for pure enjoyment's sake, have you ever wanted to do your own literay take on your favorite film?

My all-time favorite film is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the 1974 ORIGINAL! Not the crappy remakes) and I have always wanted to write it as a novel.

Anyone?

In a word: YES!!!!

I've long been a fan of The Ten Commandments, and for the longest time I've had a yearning desire to write a novel based upon that movie ... or based upon the 1923 original by the same director (Cecil B. DeMille), which actually had a story outside Biblical reference that by my own estimation, was a phenomenally well-told story about two brothers. One of the brothers takes the Ten Commandments to heart, while the other one purposes to break them all. The story had a very heartwarming ending that brought tears to my eyes.

I would love to write a novel based upon either one of these movies. I would be more desirous to write about the 1956 version with Charlton Heston as Moses, but I would be more apt to write about the 1923 silent version I just described, simply because IMO it would be more relevant to today's society than a long telling of the Biblical account.

Nicholas T · Oct 3, 2008

Perhaps it would be wise to distinguish between derivative works (by which I mean fan fiction, sequels, and adaptations) and tributes, in which you are writing something original that owes a great debt to a film you loved. We see book-to-book and film-to-film tributes all the time. Look at the reverence that The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has for Sherlock Holmes, or that WALL-E has for 2001: A Space Odyssey. They wear their inspirations proudly on their sleeves. No doubt books written by the generations that are currently active, who grew up in a culture of visual media, take their cues from motion pictures. Some of these homages are just more explicit than others.

Fox The Cave · Oct 3, 2008

I use to write quite a bit of fanfic - not anymore though.

I think Chuck Palahniuk would sue my ass off if I tried to novelize my favourite movie ever. And I think that tells you what it is.

Ever wanted to write an homage to your favorite film?

Jeffrey Pace

underthecity

Finestkind

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

CaroGirl

Living the dream

Jeffrey Pace

Jeffrey Pace

CaroGirl

Living the dream

Jeffrey Pace

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

tehuti88

Mackinac Island Fanatic

Red-Green

KoalaKoalaKoala!

Telstar

I create people

MumblingSage

Inarticulate Herb

Claudia Gray

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.

triceretops

MumblingSage

Inarticulate Herb

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

Nicholas T

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal

Enzo

Sean D. Schaffer

Nicholas T

Fox The Cave

I get cancer. I kill Jack.