The pen is mightier than the director

By Natalie Sit

It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy. Many a student will pick up a book not at all related to their major. Good times, right? It should be–provided the big screens haven’t ruined the book.

Bridget Jones’s Diary is one of many screen adaptations of books as Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings, easily two of the most anticipated movies of the fall save for the Star Wars sequels.

Hollywood brutalizes books. Harsh words, but an author’s vision is something sacred and when Hollywood sweeps in, everyone loses. Granted it’s not an easy task to condense a 600 page novel into two hours and keep everything intact, but often things are lost: character motivations, plot points or interesting characters. A script writer must take the most interesting aspects and create a cohesive script. In this process authors often have no control. Their unique world is now at the mercy of script writers, directors, actors and producers. Most likely, a multiplex is the first time people experience a novel and any original thoughts people had are replaced by what they saw.

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