It is undeniable that books, film and television are interrelated. They both engage in the age-old art of storytelling, but through different mediums. And even though Hollywood is filled with professional creative executives whose job it is to troll through “every story ever written” for future projects, there are still reams of books that have not been made into movies—but should!
Here are five books in particular that would make excellent screen adaptations (STEAL THIS LIST AT WILL, PEOPLE! Just make ’em!):
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THE FOREVER WAR by Joseph Haldeman
The Forever War is one of the ultimate science fiction novels, although perhaps less well-known than others in the genre. The book’s setup involves a group of spacefaring Marines who are sent to another planet to destroy what the government believes is a war-mongering alien race. When they arrive, the aliens are actually peaceful bunny rabbits with no ill intent at all. A massacre ensues. On their trip back to Earth, the Marines are eventually attacked by the same alien race. But this time the aliens are massively technologically evolved and aggressive—having been forced to develop differently after being exposed to warfare and following the massacre.
It’s an epic tale and a metaphor for Vietnam but also war in general—if you bring war to a region, that region may begin to know and be transformed by that war more than you could ever imagine. Due to its applicability to current events, combined with a generally fun and action-packed plot, this is a clear movie-in-the-making!
(*Hollywood Status: I am not the first person to think of this. This book has been “in development” for over thirty years, with multiple handfuls of scripts written. The last update from last year (2015) has it at Warner Brother’s with Channing Tatum attached… but who knows if it will happen anytime soon!)
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DAEMON by Daniel Suarez
A modern technothriller, Daniel Suarez’s best selling novel Daemon is about a series of murders which are seemingly perpetrated by a computer system. One interesting fact about this novel is that it was originally self-published and later picked up by a large publishing house.
The book is particularly suited to a film adaptation for a few reasons. First of all, it blends the digital and physical realms together quite admirably. The plot does not revolve around people looking at computer screens, and even the “murders” themselves are quite spectacular real life set pieces. Second, it addresses the modern zeitgeist in an important way. Computers are becoming more and more critical to us—some would say they are already completely indispensible—and have the ability to very greatly effect our everyday quality of life. We will definitely soon see murders caused by computer algorithms. Daemon was just one of the first to get there.
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SECRETS OF THE FBI by Ronald Kessler
Kessler has written over 20 non-fiction books about many parts of the U.S.’s security apparatus. But his recent book about the FBI, Secrets of the FBI, was very illuminating due to his description of the Tailored Access Operations group. It’s fascinating reading. The members of this group are basically professional burglars who will go way above and beyond expectation to get into places where they want to be. This extends to painting walls after they’ve breached them, moving huge buses to block their activities from a busy bar across the street, etc.
Anyway, this book is ripe for one thing. Not a movie, but a procedural TV show! The main character works as a tailor, but secretly his shop is the front for a small group within the FBI (also doing work with the CIA or NSA whenever necessary, all considered “clients” of the Tailor) who specialize in burglarizing places and placing bugs or retrieving information for the sake of national security. I’d tune into that tomorrow!
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SNOW CRASH by Neal Stephenson
Snow Crash is the second “ultimate sci-fi” novel on this list. Neal Stephenson’s book from the early 90’s introduced the concept of cyberpunk to the mass reading audience.
While the plot is slightly hard to explain, it basically revolves around a future world where humans have computer-like inputs. A “virus” called “Snow Crash” is going around that essentially renders human’s language unintelligible and reduces their ability to communicate to an ancient babbling language. The main character also has an awesome meta-name: Hiro Protagonist. Snow Crash has a cool high-concept plot, but it also has incredible world building that meshes the realm of computers with the real world—and depicts a well thought-out future.
It would make an awesome film in the hands of a creative director. As an added note, a few of Stephenson’s other novels would make great films too: Cryptonomicon, Reamde, and Seveneves.
(*Hollywood Status: This book seems to be set up at Paramount. But like Forever War, it’s been around the block a hundred times.)
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KANE AND ABEL by Jeffrey Archer
One of my all-time favorite novels, Kane and Abel is an epic tale of family, war, betrayal and empire-building. It takes place over multiple generations and involves a longstanding feud between ambitious men.
This book should be on everyone’s “must read” list if it is not already. While perhaps more suited for a television series, I think the most compelling version of this would just be one long movie, ala, an urban version of Legends of the Fall, with two big-name actors in each role.
AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, ONE EXTRA BOOK (#6):
FLASH CRASH by Denison Hatch
Why not wrap up with my own novel? If you like insane heists, are infatuated by the fact that algorithms are running our stock markets, or just enjoy sitting back for an awesome thriller complete with Russian mobsters, renegade cops, and a perhaps-innocent man in the middle… FLASH CRASH may be the book for you.
A brief summary: When a rogue quantitative programmer intentionally crashes the gold index, it seems that Wall Street’s worst nightmare has come true. In truth, the crisis has just begun. Across town, an armored truck filled with $120M of gold bullion is hijacked by an ingeniously crafted electromagnetic crane and seemingly driven into thin air. Programmer David Belov discovers that his virtual “Flash Crash” was simply a required stepping stone towards the largest physical gold robbery in history, and that’s he’s been framed for the resulting chaos, the lives of his beloved wife and son on the balance… With brooding, hardboiled detective Jake Rivett and the NYPD’s finest operators from the Major Crimes Division actively seeking to locate and arrest David, and other, darker elements nipping at his heels, David is forced to confront his own past in order to have a future.