This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
BY AMANDA KEATS
In 2011 the cinema audiences saw the release of many book to film adaptations including Jane Eyre, One Day, I Don't Know How She Does It and We Need to Talk About Kevin. And the adaptation phenomenon doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon. 2012 has a great mixture of adaptations to look forward to, from fairytales to horror, from classics to modern hits.
One of the most hotly anticipated adaptations is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book is set in a dystopian future where teenager Katniss Everdeen from District 12 has volunteered in place of her 12-year old sister Prim to compete in the annual Hunger Games – a game which can have only one winner, after all the other 23 participants are dead. The book is one of the select few young adult books that has crossed over into the adult world with massive success and if the trailer is anything to go by looks to be a massive hit, with action and emotion to pull in the viewers.
The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss alongside Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci.
Nicholas Sparks fans will be delighted to hear that after the success of The Notebook and Dear John, another of his gorgeous and often slightly dark romantic books is going to be hitting the big screen this year. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks sees Marine Logan Thibault go in search of the woman in a photo he believes has kept him alive while at war. It's a passionate love story about two people on a journey to find peace but with the brilliant Sparks twists and turns along the way.
The film stars Zac Efron as Logan Thibault alongside Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner.
For those looking for something a little scarier, the popular Woman in Black by Susan Hill – which has already been adapted into a hit West End show – has now been made into a film, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps. The story is about a young lawyer who goes to a house in the middle of nowhere to settle the estate but finds the place is haunted by its former inhabitant and she isn't ready for him to leave. The mere sight of THAT rocking chair in the trailer sends chills up my spine.
If you're looking for something a bit more light-hearted then fairytales are incredibly popular this year with not one but two fairytales being turned into not two but three films. Jack and the Beanstalk has become “Jack the Giant Killer” with Nicholas Hoult starring as Jack. The film also stars Ewan McGregor, Ian McShane and Bill Nighy.
If Jack isn't your cup of tea though, there are two adaptations of Snow White to choose from. Firstly, there is the more comedic look at the classic tale in Mirror Mirror: The Untold Adventures of Snow White which sees Julia Roberts as the evil Queen and Lily Collins as Snow White.
If you like your fairytales a little darker though then check out Snow White and the Huntsman which stars Charlize Theron as the Queen, Kristen Stewart as Snow White and Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman who doesn't just spare the life of Snow White but teaches her how to fight.
The Hunger Games may be a newly popular franchise with great cinematic potential but there was one Young Adult book series in recent years that claimed the hearts of millions of lovestruck teens the world over. 2012 will bring The Twilight Saga, written by Stephenie Meyer, to a close with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two at the end of the year. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and co return to finally face down the Volturi and start the most modern of modern family lives.
Other adaptations in 2012 include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy which stars Keira Knightley and Jude Law and the prequel to The Lord of the Rings – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, written originally by JRR Tolkien and starring Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins.