Audiences have been watching for decades as Hollywood tries to cram its favorite books into two-hour movies, with varying degrees of success.
Now, however, television is catching up, and it offers one important thing that movies just can't: time.
Deep in the throes of what some critics are calling the golden age of television, producers are turning to bookshelves for inspiration. With anywhere from four to 34 hours at their disposal, directors can take time with the material, bringing more fully-realized literary worlds to life.
This isn't a new idea. The BBC packed the 90s with adaptations of Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen and others. More recently, critical darlings like "Friday Night Lights," "Dexter," and "Game of Thrones" have been pulled from the page. But the trend is accelerating, and everything from fantasy epics to Russian classics are getting their own series.
Many recent adaptations have already found audiences ("Outlander," "The Leftovers," "Orange is the New Black"). Below are some new projects headed for the small screen, and others that have recently debuted.
'Anne of Green Gables' by L.M. MontgomeryCourtesy of publisher
"Anne of Green Gables" by L.M. Montgomery
Forthcoming
Start braiding your hair — Anne Shirley is back.
Last month, Variety reported that the CBC is set to produce a new spin on the series, which has been a sensation around the world for over a century. According to Reuters, the books have sold more than 50 million copies in 20 different languages.
Montgomery's series follows the spirited orphan Anne Shirley as she learns to adapt to life on Prince Edward Island. The show will be called simply "Anne," and it is set to premiere in Canada in 2017. Moira Walley-Beckett, best known for her work on "Breaking Bad," will serve as the executive producer and writer.
"Adapting Anne's story really excites me," Walley-Beckett told Variety. "Anne's issues are contemporary issues: feminism, prejudice, bullying and a desire to belong. The stakes are high and her emotional journey is tumultuous. I'm thrilled to delve deeply into this resonant story, push the boundaries and give it new life."
"The Night Manager" by John le Carre
Forthcoming
Le Carre is the master of spy novels — it can't hurt that he actually once was a spy — and the latest BBC adaptation of his work will be "most radical ever done," the author's son told The Guardian.
The six-part series takes on le Carre's 1993 novel, "The Night Manager," a post-Cold War thriller about a former soldier and his nemesis, a charismatic arms dealer. The adaptation's cast boasts a string of familiar faces, including Hugh Laurie of "House" and Tom Hiddleston of "The Avengers."
The show will debut this month on the BBC, and on AMC in the U.S. in April.
The Neapolitan novels by Elena FerranteCourtesy of publisher
The Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante
Forthcoming
Ferrante fans suffering withdrawal after the fourth and final book in the series came out in September will get a boost in the form of a 32-part television adaptation. The beloved quartet of books traces the friendship of two women, Elena and Lily, over the course of their entire lives, beginning in Naples in the 1950s.
The series became tremendously popular in recent years, though the author's true identity remains a mystery. For those hoping to skip the books and simply catch up with the show, there will still be some reading involved: subtitles. The New York Times reports that the show will be filmed in Italian, in Italy.
"11-23-63" by Stephen King
Now airing on Hulu
Stephen King likes messing with time: His 2011 hit novel tells the story of a man who travels back to 1963 to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But as everybody knows, time travel is never that simple.
The television adaption has some serious star power behind it: James Franco plays Jake Epping, the time-traveling history revisionist, and J.J. Abrams, fresh off of "Star Wars," is an executive producer.
"The Magicians" series by Lev Grossman
Now airing on SyFy
Grossman's popular series, centered on a magical school called Brakebills, has long been hailed as the grim, grown-up version of "Harry Potter." Young magicians struggle to master spells — and their own emotions — before inevitably getting sucked into an otherworldly adventure with deadly consequences.
SyFy made its own alterations before unleashing the TV series. Brakebills is now a grad school instead of a college, and the characters — Quentin, Alice, Eliot, Penny — have been aged four to five years to compensate. There are enough longing glances and smoldering looks to make the show seem a bit like "Dawson's Creek" with magic — if that can be taken as a compliment.
"The Interestings" by Meg Wolitzer
Forthcoming
Wolitzer's sprawling tale of friendship and love is heavy on the angst — both teenage and middle age. "The Interestings" unfolds over three decades, following a group of friends who meet as high schoolers at an arts camp and struggle to maintain their bond as they confront the realities of aging.
The series is set to be directed by Mike Newell. Deadline announced that Lauren Ambrose, of "Six Feet Under," has been cast as Jules, the main character with acting aspirations, but a less romantic reality.
"MaddAddam" by Margaret Atwood
Forthcoming
The queen of dystopia is getting her television throne: Margaret Atwood's trilogy — "Oryx and Crake," "The Year of the Flood" and "MaddAddam" — is set to be adapted for HBO.
Darren Aronofsky will be at the helm; he's best known for the disturbing and stylish "Black Swan." He should be right at home in Atwood's post-apocalyptic world where genetic mutations have altered what's left of humanity.
"Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn
Forthcoming
Gillian Flynn conquered the big screen with "Gone Girl" — she wrote not only the novel but the screenplay as well, which is rare for Hollywood adaptations. Now she's tackling TV by adapting her debut novel, "Sharp Objects."
Published in 2006, the book follows reporter Camille Preaker as she investigates a string of brutal murders in her hometown. Get ready for some twists.
"His Dark Materials" series by Philip Pullman
Forthcoming
Forget the 2007 film "The Golden Compass." Most people who love this supernatural young adult series have purged that Nicole Kidman adaptation from their minds.
The BBC is now adapting the series for TV, so you'll need to study up on daemons and dust and the dangers of the Magisterium. The books follow Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry on adventures through parallel universes.
"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy
Released January 2016
Apparently more people lie about reading this book than have actually read it, if a recent Telegraph poll is to be believed. It will definitely be easier to bluff your way through the Russian classic after you watch the six-part BBC adaptation.
The book begins in 1805, with Napoleon's armies inching ever closer to Russia's borders. It tracks the drama of five aristocratic families and their young, privileged heirs. Clocking in at over 1,000 pages, it's considered one of the
The book begins in 1805, with Napoleon's armies inching ever closer to Russia's borders. It tracks the drama of five aristocratic families and their young, privileged heirs. Clocking in at over 1,000 pages, it's considered one of the longest books in popular literature, but if you have eight hours, now you can get the gist.
Oh, so that’s where the U.K. version of The Office takes place! Can you find the location of your favourite Brit show?
Fawlty Towers is set in Torquay. The Office, in Slough; Downton Abbeyin North Yorkshire.If you’re a British TV enthusiast, you’d know the name of the town where your favorite show is set. But could you pick it out on a map?
Unlikely.
While settling in to an episode of Foyle’s War, designer Tim Ritz’s wife asked him to show her where, exactly, Hastings was. He drew a map of the U.K. on a sticky note, with a dot on the East Sussex village.
But he didn’t stop there. He added a dot for Downton Abbey, and another in Derbyshire for Pride & Prejudice, and ended up with the first draft for what would become The Great British Television Map.
“All of our friends and families have been getting into British TV more and more over the years,” he tells CityLab. But as an American, he realized that Americans’ (as he puts it) notoriously “feeble grasp on international geography” might be getting in the way of completely understanding the shows.
The Great British Television Map (h/t: The Great British Bake Off) attempts to remedy that. Though by no means comprehensive, Ritz’s design presents a geography of the U.K.’s airwaves. In plotting the locations, Ritz says he took a cue from vintage London Underground maps. Color-coded dots correspond to the original broadcast network.
“Layer upon layer of cultural understandings underpin the television we watch,” Ritz says. When American viewers watch American TV, he adds, they “inherently understand references to everything from snack brands to the history of certain places.” But foreign viewers may not, and likewise, “British geography is one of those layers of reference in British TV” that may elude American viewers, Ritz says.
In compiling the map, Ritz says he expected more shows to follow the Downton Abbey strategy of setting the show in one location (Yorkshire, in northern England) and filming it in another (Highclere Castle, in West Berkshire, where it’s sunnier). But he was surprised to find that most shows were filmed on or close to their intended settings. London, unsurprisingly, was the most daunting to account for—Ritz’s map accommodates it in a large inset, and “even then it was bursting at the seams to contain all the series in there,” he says.
Since launching the map, Ritz has gotten some comments (and a few outright complaints) about missing shows, but he’s taking them in stride. He’s looking into overhauling the design to accommodate more programs in an updated edition, and he’s considering taking on continental Europe and North America, as well.
P.E.I. icon transcends generations, continues to take on role as literary hero.
CBC NewsPosted: Feb 11, 2016 7:00 PM ATLast Updated: Feb 11, 2016 7:00 PM AT
Ella Ballentine and Martin Sheen will star in the upcoming 2-hour YTV film Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne Of Green Gables. (Ken Woroner)
P.E.I.'s most famous redhead will be back on TV screens next week, when YTV's new adaptation of Anne of Green Gables premiers. It's been 108 years since L.M. Montgomery's book about Anne Shirley was first published, and the story continues to resonate with modern audiences — with many adaptations of the story for both stage and screen.
"I think the adaptations really keep Anne alive," said Laura Robinson, a visiting scholar at the L.M. Montgomery Institute.
"We often think that it's just a simple little story, but there's a lot going on in the original Anne, so each adaptation draws on some element of the story and pulls it out." Maritime Noon opened its phone lines asking listeners why Anne of Green Gables has been an enduring story to them.
1. She's an underdog
"She is an outsider who gains acceptance from her community and that's a really compelling story," said Robinson. "I think when we see the orphan who gets adopted, finds a home and triumphs in that community, there's a very happy message there for all of us."
Brenda Gallant, the marketing director of Tourism PEI, said Anne is as relatable a character today as she was in 1908.
"What young girls are dealing with — self-confidence, the fact that she's so adventurous and fun loving — it's all things that we can relate with," she said.
2. She's a feminist
CBC reporter Colleen Jones mentions Anne of Green Gables as a role model in her recent memoir. "Me, being a child of the 60s, those kids of female role models weren't there," she said. "She didn't need Gilbert [Blythe]. She was willing to help Matthew [Cuthbert]. She was willing to do boys' role jobs, and that spoke to me big time as a young teenager." "It's arguably the first and greatest Canadian feminist novel," said Campbell Webster, producer of Anne & Gilbert: The Musical. "To make this bold, bold statement — really a feminist statement — is something that continues to need to be heard."
3. She's a hero
"She's one of very few Maritime heroes," said Craig Hubley, from Le Havre, N.S.
Hubley said Anne's narrative shares a lot of threads with other hero stories.
"Think about this — Superman and Batman are both orphans, Wonder Woman comes from an idyllic Island ruled only by women."
4. She connects generations
"I think the reason why Anne sticks around is because of the people in your life who introduce you to Anne," said Allie Breen, from Halifax.
Breen received a copy of the book from her grandmother when she was 10, and told her a story about how her teacher used to read them a little bit of Anne's story every Friday afternoon.
"I just imagined her in a little school house and then me in my bedroom so many years later — 90 years later — reading Anne."
5. She's a P.E.I. icon
"When I first met my husband … he asked me if there was one place I could go where would it be and I said Prince Edward Isle," said Heather Paquette, a longtime Anne fan who now lives in Yarmouth, N.S., but is originally from the U.S. Paquette made it to P.E.I. for her honeymoon. Gallant said people from around the world make Anne-inspired visits.
"Many people save up for many years for their trip of a lifetime to come to Prince Edward Island," she said.
"As much as we would like to say everybody around the world knows [P.E.I.], they don't. But yet, when you say Anne of Green Gables, they link it completely and now they know who we are."
Thanks to the staff of the Haliburton Public Library for this week's posting!
The Great Gatsby was published in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald and continues to be a very popular book. In 1974 it was made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. The movie was made again in 2013 starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. Neither version got particularly good reviews but the most recent version at two and a half hours long is stunningly opulent and really gives a sense for the over the top indulgences of the rich at the time. While doing research for this episode we didn’t really come to any conclusions as to why movies are remade. Was it not good enough the first time? Was it so good the first time that it is sure to make money again? And, what exactly constitutes a remake? Someone argued that the Great Gatsby was two movies based on the same book but not remakes. So if that’s the case, what is a remake? I don’t think we are any closer to answering these questions, but we got an interesting topic out of the debate. Today on Library Moments Sherrill Sherwood, Erin Kernohan-Berning and I will each talk about a movie that has been made more than one time. Whether it’s a remake or not remains to be seen. Lily James is Cinderella and Richard Madden is the Prince in Disney’s live-action feature inspired by the classic fairy tale, Cinderella. I thoroughly enjoyed this well done remake which brings to life the timeless images from Disney’s 1950 animated masterpiece as fully-realized characters in a visually dazzling spectacle for a whole new generation.The story of Cinderella follows the fortunes of young Ella whose merchant father remarries following the death of her mother. Eager to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother and her daughters Anastasia and Drisella into the family home. But, when Ella’s father unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of the jealous and cruel new family. Soon, she is forced to become their servant, disrespected, covered in ashes and spitefully renamed Cinderella. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella will not give in to despair nor despise those who mistreat her, and she continues to remain positive, determined to honor her mother’s dying words to “have courage and be kind.” When Ella meets a dashing stranger in the woods, unaware that he is really the Prince and not merely Kit, an apprentice at the palace, she believes she has finally found a kindred soul. It appears her fortunes may be about to change when the King summons all maidens in the kingdom to attend a royal ball at the palace, raising Ella’s hopes of once again encountering the charming Kit. Sadly, her Stepmother forbids her to attend and callously destroys her dress. But, as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand. Soon, a kindly beggar woman steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin, a few mice and a magic wand, changes Cinderella’s life forever.
Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso (left) and Pat Morita as Mr. Miagi (right) in the original Karate Kid.
For those of us who grew up in the 1980’s, Mr. Miagi’s meditative instructions “wax on, wax off” to the headstrong young Daniel LaRusso was pretty much part of pop culture consciousness. The Karate Kid starred American actor Pat Morita as the wise handyman and karate expert, Mr. Miagi and spawned three sequels, a line of action figures, and an animated series, as well as an Oscar nomination for Morita. Filmed in 1984, the story of The Karate Kid starts with Daniel as he moves with his family during the Silicon Valley boom from New Jersey to California. After running afoul with high school bullies who are part of a tough martial arts dojo, the Cobra Kai, Daniel wants to learn how to fight them. Miagi at first declines and offers to peacefully resolve the conflict, but when those efforts are rejected he prepares Daniel for sparring in a karate tournament where he can confront his foes on equal ground.
Perhaps should have been called “The Kung Fu Kid”.
The 2010 remake of The Karate Kid borrows many plot elements from the original, but is quite a bit different – not the least because it doesn’t feature very much karate at all. In the remake, Dre Parker, played by Jaden Smith, moves from Detroit to Bejing after his mother is transferred from her car factory. Dre, like Daniel, runs afoul of some bullies at his new school and is helped by maintenance man and kung fu master Mr. Han, played by Chinese actor and martial arts expert Jackie Chan. As in the original, Han initially refuses to train his headstrong young friend, but acquiesces when peaceful negotiations fail and instead moves the conflict to the ring.
True Grit a book by Charles Portis was published in 1968 and was so popular that it was quickly turned into a movie starring John Wayne and Glen Campbell that came out in 1969. The movie was remade by the famous Coen Brothers in 2010 starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. The library has the book and the 2010 version of the movie. True Grit is the story of a feisty 14-year-old farm girl. After an outlaw named Tom Chaney murders her father, Mattie Ross hires Rooster Cogburn, a boozy, trigger-happy lawman, to help her find Chaney and avenge her father. The bickering duo are not alone in their quest, for a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf is also tracking Chaney for reasons of his own. Together the unlikely trio ventures into hostile territory to dispense some Old West justice. The story has been commended for introducing such a strong female character in Mattie.
Rachel McAdams was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in “Spotlight
Hamilton Spectator
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue, London, Ont.-born Rachel McAdams and Toronto-native the Weeknd have picked up Oscar nominations.
Canadian co-productions "Brooklyn" and "Room" are also among the eight films in the best picture race.
Fresh off attending the Golden Globes ceremony where she was nominated for best screenplay for "Room," Donoghue learned Thursday morning that she is also being recognized in the best adapted screenplay Oscar category.
McAdams was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in "Spotlight."
The Weeknd had his song "Earned It," from the film "Fifty Shades of Grey," nominated for the best original song Oscar. Fellow Canadians Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio are also nominated alongside the chart-topping singer.
Donoghue's book won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and a Governor General's Literary Award. The harrowing novel is about a young boy held captive in a shed with his mother. The child has no idea there's a world outside that shed.
The film won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it immediately began generating awards buzz.
McAdams played a Boston Globe investigative reporter in "Spotlight," which had an ensemble cast including Michael Keaton and fellow Oscar-nominee Mark Ruffalo. The film is also up for best picture.
McAdams studied theatre at York University in Toronto before her breakout roles in 2004's "Mean Girls" and "The Notebook."
"Earned It" climbed the charts around the world last year, hitting No. 8 on Billboard's Canadian Hot 100 chart and hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Weeknd's Oscar nomination marks the latest in a string of acclaim for the singer. He's already nominated in seven categories at the Grammys and his track "Can't Feel My Face" topped Rolling Stone's best songs list for 2015.
It's been 40 years since beloved author Agatha Christie passed away at her home in England on January 12, 1976. The author of 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections as well as several plays, romances, and nonfiction works is known for her iconic detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and is recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the bestselling novelist of all time.
What's less known is that Agatha Christie had a bit of a thing for Canada. The country appeared 22 times. That's not all - check out these 10 surprising facts below for more.
1. Christie travelled to Canada in 1922 with her husband, Archibald, as part of a tour promoting the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. The Christies travelled across the country, including stops in Victoria, Banff, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara Falls and Montreal.
2.The book The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery includes Christie's correspondence from the trip, including some on stationery from Toronto's King Edward Hotel, Ottawa's Château Laurier and Victoria's Empress Hotel.
4. Christie took liberties with Canadian geography in her writing. In the short story "The Sign in the Sky," a character sails from England to Canada, takes the train to Banff, interviews a witness and returns to England, all within 3 weeks - a wildly impossible feat at the time.
5. While many Christie characters are from Canada, "The Sign in the Sky"marks the only time Canada is a destination in her writing.
6. The most popular Christie books in Canada are And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express and The Mysterious Affair at Styles, according to print sales tracker BookNet Canada.
7.In e-book format, Canadian readers love Christie's short stories, with And Then There Were None joined by collections Poirot and the Regatta Mystery and The Under Dog as the top three all-time sellers, according to Kobo.
9. The only known copy of Chimneys was lost before the play was ever performed, and was all but forgotten when John Paul Fischbach, artistic director of Calgary's Vertigo Mystery Theatre, did some sleuthing that turned up a long-lost copy in the British Library. Christie's grandson attended the world premiere performance.
10. Investigating Agatha Christie, an original exhibition about the author's life and work, is currently running at Montreal's Pointe-à-Callière Museum. The exhibition includes memorabilia from Christie's life, including some of her notebooks, and also explores her fascination with archaeology, a passion that popped up frequently in her work. The exhibition runs through April 17, 2016.
In 2016, the big screen will be chock-full of big-name directors turning to literary fiction: Ang Lee with Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walkby Ben Fountain, Martin Scorsese with SilencebyShusako Endo and Tim Burton with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Childrenby Ransom Riggs, to name a few. On the kids' side, a string of classic children's books will hit theatres, including Antoine de Sainte-Exupéry's The Little Prince, Roald Dahl's The BFG and Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. Check out our full list of the most anticipated book-to-movie adaptations of 2016 below:
