099 - Why Novels and the Movies Based on Them Should Probably Be Different

Today I noticed the stark difference between Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining and Stephen King's version: the made-for-TV movie King made because he thought Kubrick’s version wasn’t faithful enough to the book. But the thing is, King’s movie is just plain bad … and I think it’s bad mostly because it so faithfully adapts the book.The creative lesson I took from this Noticing is that books are books and films are films, and I’m becoming convinced that it’s a mistake to link them more closely than “they’re just based on the same idea.” The same lesson applies across all creative work: the need to tailor content to its format, whether it's adapting a novel for the screen or modifying one for different audiences or platforms.WANT MORE?Members get extra episodes of the podcast, extra companion blog posts (see below), and more every week … all for the price of a fancy coffee. Learn about membership here.Prefer reading?Listening to the Art of Noticing podcast is only one way to get these lessons. Every episode of the podcast also has a complete companion blog post, all of which you can find here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com