From novel to movie...

As a future novelist, I look at authors like J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer and have mixed feelings about their success. Both have different reasons for their success, but somehow they were able to make their series' so popular that is made it to Hollywood. There are too many authors to count out in the world, and only a handful are "good enough" to reach star success.

Event though it is my guilty pleasure, the Twilight series is not exactly a well written series. The characters are cliche and predictable. I believe the story gives a bad message to teenage girls. Stephanie Meyer's success comes from taking the popular sexualized vampire figure and making it accessible to the everyday teenager. It has been done before, and Stephanie Meyer did it again, only with her own little twist. The Harry Potter series isn't a guilty pleasure. I'm okay with admitting I'm a fan of all seven books. I believe J.K. Rowling deserves her success. She is a brilliant writer. I did notice how many similarities there are between the Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter series though. That aside, she has a well written series compared to Stephanie Meyer whose book was meant for teens, and the book is at a 7th grade reading level.

I'm not sure if I would want anything I write to be adapted into a film. It's another form of art to express a story that has been told. At the same time though, I feel it's an excuse not to read a book. I know plenty of people who simply see the movie instead of taking the time to read the actual novel. I'm a fan of movies, but I definitely prefer reading. There are plenty of obstacles in the reading world with constantly evolving technology, and this makes it harder for reading enthusiasts to express the importance of picking up a book and reading it once in a while. It works your mind in a way that movies are not able to. Everything is laid out for you within movies. With novels, you have the ability to create something of your own. The authors create the characters, but readers take it a step further and make them real.

Some actors are able to portray characters extremely well. I thought Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were amazing as Ron and Hermione . They act exactly like I imagined them within the novels. Daniel Radcliffe on the other hand isn't the greatest actor. He definitely looks like Harry Potter should (a bit more attractive than the one within the novels), but he just cannot act. He tries to hard to be emotional and just ends up looking bad in the end. People who simply watch the movie cannot be impressed with this character. If they read the novels, they would see everything in a whole new light. They can have their own Hogwarts instead of constantly referring back to the ones created for them by Hollywood. As for Twilight, I wasn't impressed with most of the cast. I hate Kristen Stewart. She's not an actress, she's an awkward girl who can only play as herself. I know there are plenty of people who agree with me, as well as plenty who will want to rip my guts out for saying such "blasphemy". None of the actors truly "wowed" me within this movie. I still paid to see it each time though...and I'll do the same thing for Breaking Dawn as well. Again, it's a guilty pleasure. My hormones ooze lovey-dovey awws at the typical love story. Cliches are comfortable; that's why people like them.

If a director came up to me and asked me if I'd like to have my future novel/series turned into a movie, I would probably let it happen. The movie industry is it's own art form, and I'd be curious to see what they would do with my stories. I'd also be able to just write for the rest of my life and put my future kids, and probably grandkids, through college. I would simply hope that they can do a good job with what I gave them, and I won't allow them to let K Stew play any of my characters.