Sunday, December 27, 2009

RERUNS: ADAPTATION pt. 5

The Rules of Adaptation
(originally published on this blog in 2005)


Rule 5: "This property already has millions of devoted fans!"
Rule 6: "... who HATE you."

I ruined it. I ruined it. I made all the wrong choices. That's not how the hero talks, that's the wrong part of the second book, who even cares about that character --

The point is, as we've discussed (in parts 1, 2, 3 and 4), that the sheer mechanics of Hollywood demand an enormous number of ideas, both original and adapted. The adapted properties come with some spiffy things -- ordinarily well-developed second acts, and a fan base which aids in its marketing -- and with some downfalls. Specifically, the fact that the movie already exists.

It exists in the fans' heads. That version cannot be beat. Except by Peter Jackson, but he plainly cut some sort of deal with the cinematic version of the Librarian from Gaiman's The Sandman, punched a hole into Moorcock's idea space and dragged forth each individual fan's fantasy, whereupon he burned the images onto film made from the souls of children who died because they hoped too much. So, exception that proves the rule, yada yada.

When doing an adaptation you have to settle for the fact that unless you really, really cross the strange attractor, you're going to be producing a reflection of the original material. It's even tougher if it's a property you actually love (as it should be). No, the best version is the special In-Skull Director's Cut, which clocks in at four hours and ... well, whatever the time is during red lights on the commute to work. However, what this version lacks is what makes art (and I'm hacking about above my pay grade, but coast with me for a moment) -- choice. Art is choice.

Maybe not for you, but for me. That's what a screenplay is, my friends, one gruelling choice after another, each image, each character fighting for the tiny bit of acreage on that precious whitespace. One of my favorite moments in film is in Wonder Boys, when Katie Holmes --

-- damn you Cruise, damn you monster will you LEAVE NOTHING CLEAN --

-- sorry, when Katie Holmes realizes that Michael Douglas' long awaited opus is a failure because he just couldn't make the choices necessary to elevate his scribblings from clever notes to a novel.

I recently faced this in a rewrite of a script DJ and I wrote three (EDIT: eight, now) years ago. It's our damn story. We were getting to go back and rip out all the shitty Paramount notes. It should have been a long weekend at best.

But I knew this version will probably go out essentially unchanged to the studios. I knew each choice I made would be, in essence, final as far as my piece of art goes. And so I barely dragged myself through it, agonizing over each scene. Kicked my ass.

So when looking at an adaptation, engage it in its medium. Don't just curse the abridged plots, or the missed characters. If you're a Spec Monkey, ask yourself why that choice was made. How you would have done it differently. Maybe you'll see why it had to be that way, or at least why that was the choice that made the most sense. Or, if you made a different choice, earlier, how you would have developed the movie out along different lines. At the worst it'll add another wrench in your toolbox, knowing how to recognize a mistake. At best, you've advanced your understanding of your chosen field. Produced scripts are like old chess games, in that they are theory forced inexorably to a conclusion within a specific physical framework. A fan is allowed the luxury of a raw emotional response. Your job is to pull it apart.

That's all I can contribute constructively to this topic. Hope you found it useful. As always, feel free to throw a question into the inbox. I'm never short hot air.

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

wait. you mean you are unaware of all the LOTR-fans who hate, HATE Peter Jackson for RUINING THEIR BOOK?

I know quite a few of them.

starts with "he picked the wrong music, now legions of younglings will grow up thinking you listen to shitty new age mood-music while role-playing instead of listening to proper true-Metal!" And so forth.

Jim said...

I second the_eye's point. I have a running argument with a co-worker who says that it's a travesty that Jackson omitted the Scouring of the Shire. I keep telling him that it had to go because would have been the most anticlimactic 15 minutes of movie ever. And it would have added a 6th or 7th ending to a movie that already had a bunch of them.

kkisser said...

Tolkienites are a special breed of fan.There was never ever going to be a way to please them, short of making LOTR a single 18 hour long musical.

But yes, a thousand times yes to this.

We could get even more metaphysical and admit that the original source material (novel, comic, whathaveyou) is just an interpretation of the story in the author's head. But that way lies madness.

Niels G. said...

I have a running argument with a co-worker who says that it's a travesty that Jackson omitted the Scouring of the Shire. I keep telling him that it had to go because would have been the most anticlimactic 15 minutes of movie ever.

As opposed to the anticlimactic last hour and a half in the movie as it is. Even fucking Troy was a better adaptation than The Two Towers and Return of the King, and Troy sucked massive donkey balls.

Claire said...

Thank you for sharing this series on adaptations again. I'm fairly new to your blog and hadn't seen it before. Since Jane Espenson's blog went on hiatus (geez, a year ago), I've been missing my educational screenwriting fix.

Unknown said...

People think getting to play in other people's sandboxes is fun. And it is..as long as you never go into a forum.

Theliel said...

I...disagreed with some of Peter Jackson's choices.
I know why he made them, and why if he hadn't made them the Studio probably would have walked, but still.....

The essential issue (of which the lack of the scourging of the shire is a mere symptom) is that the Books are Samwise Gamgee Grows a Pair and Kicks Ass for The Light (and to a lesser extent merry and pippen) with a lesser theme of Saving the World Bears a Cost (See Frodo, who winds up a broken shell).

The Scouring of the Shire is the Money Shot to that theme, where Gandolf's dithering allowed the Shire to be taken and held by an old enemy and then Sam shows up and Gets Things Done. Teaching the Shire about standing up for themselves etc. etc. etc.

The movie Otoh, is The Arrigorn Show, where the Hobbits are mere sidekicks. They're along to be kidnaped and comic relief and occasionally Save the Day but mostly there to show Just How Badass the Heroes Really Are.

I find the latter to be entertaining Cinima. I find the former to be an enduring life lesson.

USRaider said...

Have found the ressurection of your "Adaptation" series to be quite informative, John. It is obvious that you are well versed in your craft.

Since you have attacked the thought processes and pitfalls of adapting other people's work, why don't you do the same when you are spec writing or creating an original piece. I know I would find that interesting and it would be a very interesting look into the writing process.

Your Obedient Serpent said...

When people bitch about the changes in Johnny Mnemonic, I nod in agreement and say, "William Gibson should have the screenwriter horsewhipped. Oh, wait ... ."

Verification word: "nonsf", so I guess I was supposed to use a different example.

DB said...

This lifetime Tolkien fan says that Jackson SUCKS THE BIG ONE, and not because of what he left out, but because of all the ABSOLUTE CRAP he added in.

Of which the "wizard-fu" scene was just one minor early-on example. Christ.

Monica said...

Thanks for re-running this series! I started reading this blog for the Leverage coverage, but your other articles are great.

ChelseaNH said...

For me, the essential flaw of the Jackson adaptation is that he just doesn't understand tragedy. Exhibit A: Boromir. Exhibit B: Eowyn. Exhibit C (most damningly): Denethor.

That, and imposing the cliched hero's journey for Aragorn.

Also relying too heavily on close-ups of Frodo (I have a hard time looking at Elijah Wood any more, even today), but that's a director's choice, not a writer's.

I'll stop now...

Melinda said...

The chap is completely right, and there's no skepticism.

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