The Art of Adaptation: Turning Fact and Fiction Into Film

Historically, more than 75 percent Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning films have been adaptations of novels, short stories, plays, nonfiction books, and articles. Linda Seger sets the tone of THE ART OF ADAPTATION on the opening page: "In spite of what we may think, there is no such thing as an easy adaptation. We've probably all heard people say, `All you have to do is film the book,' Francis Ford Coppola tried that with the 1974 version of `The Great Gatsby,' and it failed. Others say, `This was immensely popular it's bound to be a blockbuster.' `Bonfire of the Vanities' was a best-seller, but the film was panned." With exceptional lucidity, the author explains the issues and solutions in adaptations from fact and fiction into film. The book includes two detailed examples of successful adaptations: E. M. Foster's novel "A Room with a View" and Andrew Lloyd Webber's play "The Phantom of the Opera." Other examples include "Gone With the Wind," "It's a Wonderful Life," "Deliverance," "Dances With Wolves," " Silence of the Lambs." This was the first Linda Seger screenwriting book I read. Impressed, I went on to study three more: "Creating Unforgettable Characters"; "Making a Good Script Great"; "Advanced Screenwriting." Each of them a five-star book. -- C J Singh

Adapting a story from one medium and making it work in another is a daunting task -- far more difficult than someone who has never tried it might imagine. Dr. Seger clearly understands the challenges and gives writers useful information on how to tackle the job. Her book is useful not only for film and television writers, but for all writers who are struggling with the issues inherant in adaptation. I have adapted true stories (histories and contemporary events) for film and TV; novels for TV dramas; and feature films (including Pixar's "Toy Story") for interactive stories and games, and have found Dr. Seger's book a great help and support for all these situations.

I've used the principles I learned from this book since I read it over a year ago. The adaptation techniques helped turn our reality based productions from around the world into character driven stories in three acts. Story development on our news magazine format is easier. The audience reaction has been amazing. I just recommended it to another producer.

Having adapted stories to screenplays both before and after reading Seger's book I can recommend it highly.