BOOKS TO MOVIES - DO THEY ALWAYS MATCH?

 Good morning, friends!

Back on September 23rd I reviewed a book, Pumpkin Everything. The book was made into a Hallmark movie and within a week or so of my review, the movie ran on Hallmark. I couldn't wait to see the book come to life.  I was sorely disappointed. I couldn't get past what would have been chapter two in the book. Here are a couple of points that threw me and kept me from watching more than the first twenty minutes.

In the book, Amy is basically dealing with writer's block. Fans are clamoring for her next book and her publisher isn't really happy with the ever-present delay either.

In the movie, Amy is in a meeting with the publisher planning the social media and marketing appearances she'll be doing for the book - you know the one in the story she hasn't written yet.

In the book, Amy is on a stressful phone call from her mom. Amy's grandfather drove through the front of a coffee shop and her mom basically guilts her into going back to her small hometown to care for him. This puts her life on hold while providing the perfect excuse to not be writing.

In the movie, the phone call with her mom is pleasant and no where in the book did I get the impression her mom was even at the hospital - as she was in the movie. She just couldn't be bothered.

With just these two points, we have great tension in the beginning. Will Amy get her book written? Will her mom quit acting like she can't be bothered to put her career as a popular QVC hostess and step up?  While in the script writing, we lose all of that. Everything is just peachy. The conversation with her mom is friendly and drama-free and Amy's life is on course. 

Then there's her grandfather. I really liked him in the book. he loves his granddaughter and seems to support her writing, while in the movie, he's a gruff old man who we are led to believe doesn't support her writing and has been miffed at her for years for not going to business school so she could take over his store, Pumpkin Everything.

Now, I am personally aware of instances where an author was happy to see his book on the big screen. They could pretty much do whatever they wanted as long as he got a check. 

I don't know Beth Labonte's feeling on the matter but if it were me, while I'd be happy for a check, I'd also want something on the screen that represented my story - not a scriptwriter's versioin.

Please let me know in the comments below, Have you found books to movies be similar? Have you liked what they did when converting from book to script? What would be your preference to (in this case) drastic changes?

All my best!

~ Angela