Hollywood, Wake Up! A guest post by @CodiGary, plus there's a GIVEAWAY!
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Hollywood, Wake Up!
I’ve been saying for years that Hollywood needs to stop pulling their head out of their asses and stop remaking a) classic shows and movies (REMAKES SUCK!) and b) stop copying foreign films who do it BETTER! What happened to creativity? Have you all just gotten lazy? Is it more important to crank out project after project instead of working on new screen plays or hell, even adapting awesome books to movies? Of course, even then you seem to fall short. Let’s talk about a couple of examples where Hollywood mutilated a foreign adaptation, and one of my all-time favorite romances!
Currently on television is the NBC mini-series, The Slap. The Slap was adapted from an Australian mini-series of the same name. While The Slap does have an amazing cast, the pilot episode, which I watched on Hulu, left me feeling disgusted at a) the complete lack of morality and b) the stereotypes that made me want to jerk my hair from my roots and scream, “Seriously?!” I would have found the entire series more compelling if you had switched it up and had the tortured artist be the slapper because, as of right now, the entire series is set up on these premises a) hippies are bad parents who never discipline b) rich, yuppie republicans believe in corporal punishment and do not know how to control their temper c) married men in a rut have affairs with jail bait babysitters despite having a beautiful wife because they are unhappy. I find all of these stereotypes insulting because they are well known and yet, the writers couldn’t think outside the box. It’s not like the world doesn’t know that this shit goes down and even worse things like children being starved, beaten, raped, and sold for drugs. REALITY SUCKS! So, why not break through the stereotypes and write something compelling instead of bad scenarios about terrible people (because by the end of that episode, I hated every single character.)
And for my favorite romance novel, I’d like to draw your attention to the Hallmark Channel’s original movie, Rose Hill. In 1997, Earl Wallace took my beloved For the Roses by Julie Garwood and ripped it into a thousand pieces until there was nothing left but a big fat WTF! FIRST OF ALL, the reason I first fell hard for the novel was because of the bond between Mary Rose and her four brothers. Even though none of them shared an ounce of blood, they were completely loyal to each other. Yet in the catastrophe, they kill off COLE (WTF) and make Mary into a spoiled, little brat. And Harrison, who was a strapping hottie of six-five, had been reduced to a pip squeak loser. And the worst part is that this movie is part of Hallmarks Hall of Fame series. It’s despicable. It’s horrendous! I wish I could burn the memory of watching it from my brain it fills me with so much impotent rage!
Okay, I’m calm, because, hey, sometimes Hollywood can surprise me. Most
of the time, after I read a book, I want the movie casting to stay on point, but I can get over that if the casting is good and the script is good. Like the movie The Duff. Despite the fact that the book and the movie have very little in common, I enjoyed both of them, and had absolutely no complaints. Even The Hunger Games, who cast 5’7” and curvy Jennifer Lawrence, did not suffer my wrath because it worked. She was amazing and played the part well, despite the books description about her being short and petite. But again, it worked. Fifty Shades did a fantastic job casting, IMHO; both actors played against each other nicely, and Jamie has no problem playing the cold, tortured soul (if you haven’t seen him in The Fall, he is chilling and I can totally believe he is a calculating sociopath).
But, please, Hollywood, I’m begging you, go to the local bookstore or hell, any online seller and start reading. Because there are so many great books that would make amazing movies by some of my favorite authors. Like Prey by Linda Howard or Deeper than the Dead by Tami Hoag. Foreplay by Sophie Jordan or Make it Count by Megan Erickson. Skye O’Malley by Bertrice Small or Anything but Sweet by Candis Terry. If you ever want a suggestion on what you should put on the big screen next, go ask a reader, and they will give you a list. So next time you get it in your head to remake My Fair Lady or Jaws, just leave them alone and move on. Your next great idea is just a one click away.
An obsessive bookworm, Codi Gary likes to write sexy small-town contemporary romances with humor, grand gestures, and blush-worthy moments. When she's not writing, she can be found reading her favorite authors, squealing over her must-watch shows, and playing with her children. She lives in Idaho with her family.
