From book to the big screen

On Filmmaker Magazine five authors debated the pros and cons of having a book turned into a movie. Points that came up included the spirit of the book, differences, budget, director, producer, and more. Another topic which was mentioned is the author's ego. Does a movie give your ego a boost or blow?

I think movies will definitely bring the author more readers, but it is likely that many people who go to see the film care little about the book, and could quite possibly be clueless about its existence. Major differences can see a separation in the 'fandom' between movie and book, arguments about which is better. By default the book is better, but then there is the question: did the director/producer pull off the movie and make it better than the book?

From book to the small screen

A lot of the time larger series get a tv show rather than a movie. It's called the small screen, but I think this option has a larger chance of success, or utter failure. Going back to a topic we discussed earlier, is the tv show/movie better than the book?

Many tv show watchers who have read the books seem to have this opinion, while movie watchers don't. I compared "tv shows that are better than the books" articles from Collider, Teen, Flavorwire, and came up with these results:

All three sites featured Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, and Friday Night Lights. Pretty Little Liars, The 100, The Shannara Chronicles, and Game of Thrones were listed on two of the three. These are just a few examples of books which many viewers claim are better than the books. I'm not going to argue about whether or not this is true, but it's a popular opinion.

My experience

Based on my personal viewing experience, I've enjoyed many book adaptation movies. I haven't liked them all, but I try to keep an open mind. Almost all of the ones I've watched would not satisfy a book loyalist. As for tv shows, they usually have some major differences which you have to accept (eventually) if you want to watch the show. For me, this has been Pretty Little Liars and The 100. I definitely prefer original tv shows, but some book tv shows can be pretty good too if you consider that they have kept the basic story and characters from the books.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts below!