Here are future predictions for some amazing books being turned into movies. At this time release dats based on IMDB and other movie/scifi websites.
2008Blindness (9/19)
Based on the book by José Saramago.
Directed by Fernando Meirelles who did City of God and Constant Gardner.
Mystery illness causes everyone in the world to lose their sight. Starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Sandra Oh. Cool book, although warning the author has a thing for periods. Can a story about blind people transcend the big screen?
The Secret Life of Bees (10/17)
Based on the book by Sue Monk Kidd.
Lily is a young girl who lives on a peach farm with her abusive father who hires Rosaleen as a housekeeper. When Rosaleen insults some racists in their town, Lily and Rosaleen run away to a town Lily believes her mother once lived. They live with three estranged sisters on a honey farm and Lily learns what it's like to have a real family. Starring Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Hudson.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (11/21)
Based on the very famous books by J.K. Rowling.
Directed by Anand Tucker who directed Shopgirl and Hilary and Jackie. As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously "This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.
Prediction: like this won't be as f***ing great as the others.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (11/26)
Based on the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Directed by David Fincher who directed Panic Room, Fight Club and The Game.
An odd romance sparks between a woman of 30 and a man who, at 50, begins aging backwards.
Featuring Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt.
Prediction: may be good but they should have done The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer which was a better read. Also a little bit to similar to The Time Traveler's Wife also coming out (I hope) this year.
Marley and Me (12/25)
Based on the memoir by John Grogan.
A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.
Starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson.
Funny and touching book that will make you cry at the end. I hope Hollywood doesn't kill this sweet story.
The Time Traveler's Wife (?)
Based on the book by Audrey Niffenegger.
Directed by Robert Schwentke who directed Flightplan with Jodie Foster.
A man with a time-traveling gene uses his innate abilities to visit his lover at different points in her life. (The release date has already pushed after Brad and Jen divorced who bought the film rights.)
Prediction: near impossible to beat the book and jumping between them as kids and adults will be challenging. But hoping this will be even a quarter as good as the book.
21 (must read first!)
Based on the fact-based book "Bringing Down the House" about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.
Angels and Demons (Scifi website says this movie has put on hold due to the writer's strike.)Based on the book by Dan Brown.
Directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks. Just like The Da Vinci Code.
About world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who is summoned to a Swiss research facility (CERN) to analyze a mysterious symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. He discovers evidence of the unimaginable, the rebirth of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati, the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth.
2009Lovely BonesBased on the book by Alice Sebold.
Directed by Peter Jackson who of course did LOTR and King Kong.
About a murdered 14 year old girl who recalls what happened from Heaven, as the incident affects those around her.
Prediction: should be very good with Jackson directing.
Peace Like a River(Without a director or actors, I'm willing to bet the release date pushes.)
Based on the book by Leif Enger.No director.Billy Bob Thorton may have been cast to play the Dad. A family tries to find their son after he is found guilty of murdering 2 bad guys who had been threatening them.Prediction: could be even better than the book.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & ClayBased on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Chabon.
Directed by Stephen Daldry who did Billy Elliot and The Hours.
The film takes place in 1930s New York and is about two young cousins who create a comic book superhero named The Escapist, who "roams the globe, performing amazing feats and coming to the aid of those who languish in tyranny's chains!" The boys help usher in the golden age of comics, and through the years, The Escapist encounters adversaries similar to real-life figures.Prediction: will have to work hard to beat the book.
The History of LoveBased on the book by Nicole Krauss.
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón who directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban andY tu mamá también and Children of Men. See The Memory of Running below.
A long-lost book mysteriously reappears and connects an old man searching for his son with a girl seeking a cure for her mother's loneliness.
Prediction: With Cuarón directing the movie could be as great as the book, which was an excellent read.
The Memory of RunningBased on the book by Ron McLarty.
Also directed by Alfonso Cuarón who directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Y tu mamá también and Children of Men. See History of Love above.
Follows an obese Vietnam vet who, still reeling from the death of his parents, finds out his sister has died in Los Angeles. He sets out on a cross-country trip on his bicycle in a bid to reclaim her body.
Prediction: Again with Cuarón directing this could be really good. Casting and screenplay are critical to capture the book's characters. This was also a decent read.
Fahrenheit 451 (must read first!)
Based on the Ray Bradbury novel.
Simply put, 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns. In this grim look at a fascist future, firemen have taken on a new duty of starting fires as well as putting them out (complete with flame throwers), specifically with the task of burning all books, as way of suppressing independent thought and action in the public. The film's story centers around a young fireman, Guy Montag, who finds himself questioning his job, even as he encounters a beautiful young woman, and learns about an underground of rebels who each memorize the entire contents of a book, so that they can preserve it even without the use of paper.
2010Harry Potter and the Dealthly HallowsBased on the very famous books by J.K. Rowling.
The last one to end the series.
Prediction: will be as great if not better than the others; sad to see it all end.
???No mention, but these books would make outstanding movies.
Digging to AmericaBy Anne Tyler about 2 couples who meet at the Baltimore airport for the arrival of the babies they adopted from Korea. The 2 couples stay in touch and follow the families as they gather throughout the years as the girls get older. This was a great book.
The Fugitive GameBy Jonathan Littman about Kevin Mitnick the legendary hacker who broke into corporate computer systems and stole source code to satisfy his curiosity never intending harm. After a well-publicized pursuit that made him notorious, the FBI arrested Mitnick in 1995 and today helps companies protect themselves from guys like him.
FlashforwardBy Robert J. Sawyer. What would you do if you got a glimpse of your future and it looked bleak? Try to change things, or accept that the future is unchangeable and make the best of it? A group of physicists accidentally induce a consciousness shift that flashes everyone on Earth forward 21 years, experiencing several minutes of the future. But while everyone is out of their minds, their bodies drop unconscious; then the world reawakens to what happened as a result of those few minutes. Great story that keeps you guessing until the end. One of my favorite books.
Confessions of a Jane Austen AddictBy Laurie Viera Rigler
Decent read and would make a good movie. I only hope they don't cast Keira Knightley or Reese Witherspoon.
The New YorkersBy Cathleen Schine
You don't have to like dogs to like this book which would make a really good movie.
If you were concerned that Christian Bale's involvement in the new TERMINATOR movie(s) would be minimal, fear not -- the Batsuit-wearing Brit will smash those metal motherf*ckers into junk at least three times, assuming the franchise retains momentum. 