Unprintable: The LitReactor Podcast Episode 2 - Adaptations
Every month, Unprintable will take an irreverent look at books, the publishing industry, reading, writing, and more; featuring the know-it-all geekery of LitReactor columnist Cath Murphy, Senior Editor Rob W. Hart, and Managing Editor Joshua Chaplinsky.
Episode 2 - Adaptations
Episode 2 is brought to you through the wreckage of Hurricane Sandy and the even bigger wreckage of Mitt Romney's hopes and dreams. We kick off with Rob's news about the havoc caused to small businesses by Sandy, then Josh talks about a women's refuge which is going to wipe their ass with copies of Fifty Shades of Grey to protest domestic violence, and Cath discusses a literary spat over who invented the Tobermory Cat. (The cat itself didn't get a say in this.)
Our reads this show are all epic: Josh is blown away by Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, Cath gushes about Downriver by Iain Sinclair, and Rob explains his addiction to the Parker novels written by Donald Westlake, AKA Richard Stark.
But the meat of the show, as always, is served at the end. We talk about book to film adaptations. Every year big name titles are turned into movies and 2012 is no exception, with The Hunger Games, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Cloud Atlas all released, and The Hobbit and Life of Pi heading towards the big screen as we speak. What works? What doesn't work? Do adaptations make money or are they prestige projects? And which books would the Unprintables like to see made into films?
Related Links
- Abuse Charity Using Fifty Shades of Grey as Toilet Paper
- 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Criticized For Inaccurate Portrayal Of BDSM
- Cat At Centre of Bitter Children's Book Scrap
- Primer: Gene Wolfe - The Subtle Master
- Jason Statham Stars As Donald Westlake's Parker In New Film Called... 'Parker'
- The Top 10 Book to Film Adaptations That Were Actually Good
- Behold! The Unfilmable: The Literary Adaptations of David Cronenberg
As always, if you enjoy the episode, please rate us on iTunes, and if you're feeling extra special generous, write us a short review. Episode 3 will probably hit at the end of the month.
Any questions? Comments? Criticisms? Suggestions? Help us help you. Email them to podcast@litreactor.com
Your Hosts
Cath Murphy writes for a bunch of literary and film websites (where “bunch” isn’t quite as many as it sounds), offering unwanted opinions on anything that appears in her crosshairs. She is a cohost of Unprintable: The Official Podcast of LitReactor.com, and along with the fabulous Eve Harvey she also podcasts very rude stuff on Sluttylemon.
Rob W. Hart is the website and social media administrator for MysteriousPress.com. His short stories have appeared in Dogmatika and Shotgun Honey, and he is the author of The Last Safe Place: A Zombie Novella. He lives in New York City. You can find him on the interwebz at www.robwhart.com.
Joshua Chaplinsky is the Managing Editor of LitReactor. He also writes for Twitch and has written for ChuckPalahniuk.net. He might still be a guitarist in the band SpeedSpeedSpeed and is the poison pen behind thejamminjabber, although he's not so sure he should admit it.
Special Thanks to Gordon Highland for the intro and musical cues. Visit him at gordonhighland.com.
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Comments
All hail, Reginald Fluffykins.
Thanks for answering my question guys!
I'd love to see the Phineas Poe books adapted into movies as well.
Fun fact: a film maker actually adapted Kiss Me Judas into a film without permission from the author or publisher. Rumor is that the film is still floating around (those lucky enough to rip the torrent in time.)
Oh man, the internet search is ON.
Five minutes later...
Well, that was easy.
That cat story was bonkers. I just read the article.
One of the issues I find with people talking about intellectual property is that they commonly tout the "fact" that you cannot copyright "an idea." The word "idea" is too general and variegated to actually mean much. Apple patented the rectangle with round corners, right? That is an idea. It is also a design. It is also a shape to which they form actual things. It is nevertheless an idea, though it is not an idea and only an idea; and so it's accurate to say that you can patent / trademark / copyright ideas.
Pet peeve. Enjoyed the show.
Quite the opposite of luck. It's a godawful piece of dreck, not worth the film stock it was printed on. I got it off Netflix upon its release and made a detailed log of its thieveries, utterly shocked by how it was ripped directly from the book, not vaguely "inspired by," and nary a mention of its source material. Several of us went on a campaign to get it killed (I started by going direct to their distributor—having the most to lose, I figured—whom I have to imagine were completely unaware of its plagiarism, followed by several other outlets), and whether it was through those actions or whatever the option-holding production company may have threatened (I know nothing specific), it vanished soon thereafter. The only replies we ever received were on a message board by some of the cast, who were oblivious and thoroughly ashamed to have been part of such deception.
I do not understand why the hosts of this podcast think Obama is a "cool guy" and are happy that he has been elected to another 4 years. Economically speaking, this would be in contradiction to their hope for small business (i.e., independent book stores) to thrive.
[***Please note that I was not in favor of Romney for president either***]
The fascist "health care" law is going to demolish small business owners (fascism defined as the partnership between the State and corporate powers).
Complex social issues cannot be solved through State aggression/violence (i.e. laws, regulations...etc), it always only makes matters worse. Just as heroin may "solve" a tooth ache in the short term, in the long run you'll have both a rotting tooth and a heroin addiction.
It's the difference between love making and rape. Just as in love making, two individuals making a voluntary exchange (i.e., purchasing a book from an independent book store) is consensual and both individuals are better off (a win-win situation); otherwise said exchange would not have taken place. Whereas with rape or "taxation" (euphemism for theft), the use of force (or threat thereof) is employed creating a win-lose situation.
I prefer consensual relationships.
This brings me to the two most important ideas I have found to live by:
1. Respect for inherent self-ownership derived property rights (you own your self)
2. The non-aggression principle: the initiation of force is immoral (while self-defense is valid)
Prosperity evolves through voluntary exchange free from aggression in tandem with the above two ideas.
For further understanding and knowledge of the above ideas, I highly recommend the following free readings:
"The Law" by Frederic Bastiat
http://bit.ly/law-bastiat
"Anatomy of the State" by Murray N. Rothbard
http://bit.ly/state-rothbard
"Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt
http://bit.ly/econ-hazlitt
If you prefer videos, here are two great introductory videos regarding these ideas:
"The Philosophy of Liberty"
http://youtu.be/bBfg8JrF2RI
"The Sunset of the State"
http://youtu.be/sLCEXtpTNYU
Listening through your pods now a couple of years after they were broadcasted I just wanted to say that you're all still very pretty
Thanks!
Prior to April 2012 I think you will find that my work ( a fictional construct created using photoshop, three cats and a load of celebrity spin) was the single source of stories about the famous Tobermory Cat. The work is about fame rather than some real cat. The work ( which I named Tobermory Cat) is fictional and a viral branding project like the later work; "Grumpy Cat". There was no " famous Tobermory Cat" prior to my work ( go search) so please do not attribute my work to a cat! Had I created a story about a famous celebrity dog would you again claim that the dog was responsible for my work?
Why did you fail to recognise my promotional effort for my book, merchandise and trademark when my work was the single source of stories about the famous "Tobermory Cat"?
Would I be correct in thinking an author is normally attribued with having created a work? Why did you deviate from the norm?
https;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobermory_Cat
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