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utfluke's avatar

You just had to go there, right? I’ve got several hundred of those paperbacks, so if this goes too long, I apologize, but I have opinions. Growing up in the deep South meant I had very limited opportunities as a movie crazy kid to see films in the theater. But in those years, every film had a novelization, they were all sold at Walmart and the grocery store, and they were cheap reasonable substitutes. Now those books are not cheap, they are no longer widely distributed, and it’s only big movies that get those adaptations. What’s the next generation of movie crazy, reading focused kids to do?

So, some favorites are THE BLUES BROTHERS (based off the first draft of the screenplay), ALIENS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (more details about Indy and Marion prior to the movie), PUMP UP THE VOLUME, BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT, BLOWN AWAY (significantly better than the film), TERMINATOR 1 & 2, PLATOON (written by Dale Dye), SPIDER-MAN, GREMLINS (more of the mythology), V (the mini-series), BLADE...among many many other choices.

For the record, the STAR WARS novelization was the first adult novel I ever read, so I owe Foster an enormous debt - Disney should do better and be better than the situation they have caused.

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Gregory Seifert's avatar

For me “The Abyss” is hands down the best movie adaptation I’ve ever read. Even reading the forward, James Cameron and Orson Scott Card said it was going to be a collaboration effort, more than just a routine adaptation, and it clearly shows through. Surprised more haven’t mentioned it here, but it was never one of Cameron’s bigger hits, so I’m sure most never bothered reading it. Sadly, I believe it’s out of print, but you can still find used copies of it. I recommend people check it out, even though I know Orson Scott Card is a very controversial figure due to many of his views.

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