U.S. Literature - Reference, Television - Reference, Peforming Arts - Bibliography, American Literature - Bibliography, Film Reference
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Overview
Since the early 1960s, movie novelizations have become a noticeable part of popular literature and a unique avenue for authors to express on the page what a movie portrayed on screen. In the midst of the tide of movie tie-ins published in America and Britain have been a number of treasures, many far better than the movies that brought them into being. Films into Books provides the first in-depth coverage of this sub-genre. Combining a discussion of what novelizations are (and are not), and how they have become such an icon of popular culture, Larson also includes interviews with more than fifty authors, from Charles N. Heckelmann, author of 1937's Jungle Menace, to Piers Anthony, who novelized 1992's Total Recall.
Editorials
Black Ace Books
Highly recommended to serious students of this genre.The Coast Book Review Service
This is a superior reference tool, readable, well organized and full of useful information. Very well done.American Reference Books Annual
This book may be of value to the librarian seeking to motivate those who enjoyed a particular film or show and may wish to read further. This book is a winner!The Scream Factory
Films Into Books is a valuable and entertaining look at an often-overlooked category...libraries and researchers should definitely add this one to their shelves.Booklist
...the only one of its kind...useful for libraries with collections in film and television, genre literature, and popular culture.CHOICE
...this interesting, informative look at a field that has been ignored is a reminder that many novelizations are well written and enjoyed by readers.Choice
...this interesting, informative look at a field that has been ignored is a reminder that many novelizations are well written and enjoyed by readers.American Reference Books Annual (ARBA)
This book may be of value to the librarian seeking to motivate those who enjoyed a particular film or show and may wish to read further. This book is a winner!Choice
...this interesting, informative look at a field that has been ignored is a reminder that many novelizations are well written and enjoyed by readers..Library Journal
Turning film or TV scripts into novels is a peculiar literary subgenre. But it's not just a recent phenomenon-King Kong (1933) being an early example. To capture the scope and examine the idiosyncrasies of this form, Larson (Film Music from Around the World, Borgo Pr., 1987) divides the book into three sections: a brief introduction, short interviews with 50 contemporary practitioners, and an immense bibliography, organized by film, book title, and author. Throughout, Larson is amazingly thorough and always candid about the form's limitations. However, the high price combined with the fact that many of these books are just marketing tools with short shelf lives recommend this only for larger collections.-Thomas Wiener, formerly with "American Film"From The Critics
Films are often based on novels, but sometimes novels are written based on films. Author Larson, who has written several books on film and literature, covers two kinds of materials: novelizations based on the screenplay of a movie or TV script and original novels based on the characters, stories, and settings of a film or TV series In the first section of the book, Larson discusses such issues as authorship, quality of writing, time constraints many writers have not even seen the final cut of the movie!, and contractual arrangements. Here we learn that novels based on TV series such as "Dr. Who", "Twilight Zone", and "Star Trek" are the most prolific in this field, and that novelizations based on screenplays that were themselves based on novels are fairly common. The second section, "Viewpoints," contains interviews with 50 writers such as Piers Anthony and John Jakes, who share their experiences and opinions on the creation of novelizations The third part is a bibliography of more than 2,500 novelizations, arranged by title. Abbreviations are used to designate published screenplays in order to differentiate these from novelizations, "photoplay editions" novelizations of silent or early movies, children's and young adult novels, and television series or films. Each citation notes title; author; author of the screenplay, play, or characters from which the book was adapted; publisher; and date. Larson has also provided a separate bibliography by author. There are cross-references and notes on pseudonyms. The book concludes with an index to subjects, titles, and authors found in the text of the first two sections Comprehensive or not, this reference work is the only one of its kind; it will be useful for libraries with collections in film and television, genre literature, and popular culture.Book Details
Published
April 28, 1995
Publisher
Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1995.
Pages
623
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780810829282