We’re going to go with a two-part question for this one, or the main question and a bonus question. The main one is what your favorite film is that was based on a novel. A lot of my favorite books haven’t been done or have had problematic adaptations, such as Dune, but I’m holding out hope there. The one that really won me over in recent memory is Annihilation. The original novel from Jeff VanderMeer had that whole “unfilmable” feeling about it because of how it was presented, no names, journal style entries, etc. But even with director Alex Garland adapting it in a different way that reminded me of Kubrick and Clarke with 2001, the film captured so much of what I was hoping that it would while having a great cast. I still can’t get the sound of that bear out of my head.
Bonus Question: What book are you still hoping will be adapted?
With easy updates, I still think the original Elijah Bailey novels from Isaac Asimov would work perfectly, starting with the Caves of Steel. I’d love to see some Lazarus Long adapted but that stuff is far more suited for long-form TV and an audience willing to go all-in on some stuff that’s still problematic for a lot of people.