A2 Film Studies Creative investigation powerpoint

1. Creative Investigation
Presentation
By Daniel Rothery

2. Does the critical success of a
fantasy book determine the
success of the film adaptation?
For my creative investigation I decided to look into the
area of adaptations. This was a very wide topic to look
into because there have been so many books that have
been adapted into films.
To narrow it down I decided to focus on the area of
fantasy and if the critical success of a fantasy book
determines the success/unsuccessfulness of the film
adaptation. I will also look at other factors that can
make a fantasy adaptation successful.

3. Focal Films
My focal films are all part of successful
Hollywood franchises. The films are
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The
Wardrobe
These focal films all fall under the fantasy
genre, although the Hunger Games is a
hybrid for action, adventure and science
fiction. Along with the films I will be looking
at articles and other items that will help me
explore what makes a fantasy adaptation a
success.

4. Focal FilmsThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Jackson (2012)
This is an epic fantasy film directed by Peter
Jackson. It is the first installment in a three-
part film adaptation based on the 1937 novel
‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R Tolkien.
The story is set in Middle-earth sixty years
before the events of the previous film series
‘The Lord of The Rings’. It tells the tale of
Bilbo Baggins, who is convinced by the
wizard Gandalf the Grey to accompany
thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield,
on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain
from the dragon Smaug.
Book Sales (Released 1937) – 100m
Box Office (1/3) - $303,001,229

5. Focal FilmsThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Francis Lawrence
(2013)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a 2013
adventure fantasy film directed by Francis
Lawrence. It is an adaptation of the second
Hunger Games book in the series and
follows on from the events of the first
book/film.
The plot of Catching Fire takes place a few
months after Katniss and Peeta won the 74th
annual Hunger Games. Throughout the film,
Katniss senses that a rebellion against the
Capitol is shimmering through the other
districts.
In a cruel twist Katniss and Peeta are sent
back into the 75th edition of the games, as
part of the quarter quell the tributes are
reaped from the existing pool of victors.
Book Sales (Catching Fire Released 2009) –
19m+
Box Office - $424,645,577

6. Focal FilmsThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The
Wardrobe, Andrew Adamson (2005)
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is a
2005 fantasy adventure film based on the C.S
Lewis boom of the same name. It is the first
film installment of the series but the second
book published in the series of books.
The book/film follows the journey of 4 siblings,
Peter, Lucy, Susan and Edmund. Lucy
accidently stumbles upon the world of Narnia
during a game of hide and seek. She
persuades her brothers and sister to come
into the world of Narnia, there they must fight
against the evil White Witch to stop her
dictatorship and the widespread winter she
has cast upon the land.
Book Sales (Released 1950) -
Box Office - $754,013,115

8. Do the critics count?
Looking into reviews of my focal films and also myself
read reviews before going to see a film, including The
Hobbit and the first instalment of the Hunger Games I
began to wonder do the critics opinion actually count?
Sometimes if the book series does have a strong fan
base then creating the adaptation isn’t a financial risk for
the production company. Just like the Harry Potter, Lord
of The Rings and The Hunger Games films. For example
the most recent Hunger Games film, Mockingjay,
received some rather bad reviews from critics but it still
grossed almost $350m at the box office. I’m also a fan of
the books so I did find this figure interesting considering
the reviews the film did have.

9. O Adaption: From Film to Novel
O William Costanzo notes that it has been estimated that a third of
all films ever made were adapted from novels. This online article
looks like it could be over five years old, so since around 2010
there has been a very large handful of novels adapted into box
office hits such as The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Percy
Jackson and the Divergent series.
O The article points out that a major success point from an
adaptation is that the visuals images on screen simulate our
perceptions directly. But there is also the point that the film must
compress the events of a novel into two hours or so whereas
there aren’t any time limits on how long it takes you to read a
novel.
O The article also points out that most of the novels/literature
studied at schools have also been adapted into novels making
the adaptations more appealing to the younger generation,
creating more of rise in the box office.

10. People’s Belief
O Source 7
Whelehan points out that the most important issue of
adapting great literary classics into movies is the fidelity to
the original source – the novel. She claims that many
people will instinctively believe the film adaptation is inferior
compared to the novel.
People’s belief that the book is always better than the film
can sometimes damage

11. A sense of escapism
Fantasy texts are based on complete fiction.
The author creates a world that is completely
different to the reality on earth. This then creates
a sense of escapism for the reader. This can
then be the same for the film adaptation; the
audience are captivated by the escape to a
world that can be far superior to their own
reality. In turn if the film is a huge success it then
can create a mass sense of hyper reality. An
example of this is the Harry Potter series.

12. Conclusion
Overall I feel that there isn’t just one reason
why fantasy books are mainly successful
film adaptations.
The book doesn’t necessarily need to be
critically successful but as long as the
adaptation captures the audience’s
imagination and pushes the