Adapting a book to the screen, successfully: If a reliable formula for that creative challenge existed, we wouldn’t have “The Bonfire of the Vanities” or “The Lovely Bones” or “The Great Gatsby” (any of ‘em) to kick around anymore.
Critic, editor and author Kristen Lopez wrote a book about the subject. It’s called “But Have You Read the Book? 52 Literary Gems That Inspired Our Favorite Films.” A Turner Classic Movies project, it comes out March 7. Lopez offers a breezy, engaging survey of mostly well-known, occasionally lesser-known titles representing both highly faithful page-to-screen adaptations and looser, more inventive ones. The movies range from “Frankenstein” (1931) to the recent “Dune” and Rebecca Hall’s superb “Passing,” both from 2021.
Adaptations have been on my mind ever since the new film version of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1928 novel, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” racked up nine Academy Award nominations, including for best picture.
