Libby Morrell's EPQ

Throughout the course of my research, I have discovered some factors that can make a good adaptation, or what can cause one to be unsuccessful.   1. A universal theme or moral that people can relate to.  Some of the best book adaptations in the world have the most simple, underlying messages which people can connect with. If a viewer can connect with the story, they are more likely to embrace it, and rewatch. For example, the moral of the Harry Potter series is that goodness will prevail over evil. That is a universal message that people want to relate to and support in a world where conflict is always brewing. Similarly, in Pride and Prejudice, the overarching moral is that love will always be found, even if it is unexpected. Once again, that is a message that people want to invest in, viewers want to believe in romance and happiness, so themes like these will always generate success.  2. Good casting  In all the adaptations I've researched, a large quantity of revi...

Whilst many films will be stand alone releases and often drift out of the public eye over time, other films are constantly remade with a different director and cast over the years. These films often become known as classics, and as a result, their retrospective novels are kept in publication due to newfound interest.  Since 1938 there have been 17 film and tv adaptions of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Some of the biggest releases were the 1995 series staring Colin Firth, or the 2005 film staring Keira Knightley. The novel still sells around 110,000 copies a year in 130 different editions. Over 20 million copies have been sold since its release.  Christina Griffin, from the English Department of University of Virginia, said in an article that Austen's novels are so successful and adaptable as they contain, 'universal themes' and the opening of the novels are set up without explicitly specifying a time period or place. Therefore, they can easily be applied to different ...

In most cases, it is the books that are written first which are then turned into movies. However, there are some rare occasions where the movie is created first and then a book is released telling the same story.  One example of this is Billy Elliot which was originally a coming of age comedy drama released in 2000. The screen play was written by Lee Hall. However, in 2001, Melvin Burgess released a novel called Billy Elliot, capturing the same storyline as the film.  Melvin Burgess had been asked by publishers, The Chicken House, to complete the novelisation of the film using the screenplay by Lee Hall. Even Burgess himself admitted to feeling confused as to why the film needed to become a book, but as he transferred the story, he found some answers.  Why was it good for the film to be novelised?:  A novel can show the inner thoughts and feelings of characters which often can't be captured in depth on screen  A novel can explain and make certain motives clear...