Why it is so hard to make a great book into a great movie?

I have often heard the phrase, "the book was so much better than the movie."  In fact, I am not sure I have ever heard anyone say that they enjoyed the movie better than the book from which it was made. 

Do you ever wonder why that might be?

I started writing screenplays before novels and it took me a few years to adjust to the more narrative and descriptive form of literary books and be able to switch easily between the two forms (this was not easy).  So as a writer of both films and novels, I would like to help those interested to better understand the world of creative writing and movie making.

It usually starts with the book  

You have fallen in love with the story and emotionally connected to the characters over the course of 300-500+ pages.  You have laughed with them, cried with them and watched them grow throughout the course of the story.  In 300 + pages you had time to do that.

When writing screenplays, 1 page equals about 1 minute of screen time. That means a 120-page script is a two-hour movie.  Now, I love the Lord of the Rings films, but I still struggle to sit down for 3 - 3.5 hours to watch the extended editions, which would equal about 180 - 210 pages of script (well short of the 300 - 450 page books).  

So when adapting a book into a movie everything has to be shortened.  A screenplay writer has to look at the story as a whole and quickly decide what is important, what can be taken out and not missed.  I understand this can be infuriating for die-hard book fans, but I would argue that is why we have the book in the first place.

I would also like to note that movie theaters are businesses.  One of the biggest reasons longer movies do not get made is because they cannot show them as many times as day and end up losing money.  Not to mention most audience members do not have very long attention spans.  It is very difficult to keep someone entertained for over two hours, thus not boding well for good reviews and word of mouth to spread about the film.

Therefore, with the simple logistics of business and time constraints, there is not nearly enough time to connect with the characters on the movie screen, as you would have in the book.  Their journey is shortened.  Often times minor characters deleted, whole chapters and scenes forgotten.   

Welcome, book fan to the movie business.

More to come soon! I would love to hear your thoughts as well any films adaptions you like and would recommend.