Books
9 Books-to-Screen Adaptations To Add To Watch List
So far this year, readers and moviegoers alike have already been delighted by film adaptations of Me Before You, The B.F.G., and more, but there are even more books-to-movie adaptations coming in fall 2016 that I couldn't be more excited about this year. If you think your To Be Read pile is getting too high, just wait until you see how much your Watch List grows this fall.
There are few things as exciting to a book-lover as a good movie adaptation of a book they read and loved. Watching their favorite characters be cast, watching the story come to life on the big screen, seeing the story in action — its a chance to experience the book in a whole new and exciting way. Besides, everyone knows that the best movies are adaptations of books, and this upcoming movie season is no different. Almost every week, from Labor Day until Christmas, a new movie adaptation of another great book will hit theaters. From unforgettable children's stories to inspirational true tales, nail-biting thrillers to highly anticipated new series, 2016 is going out in a blaze of bookish movie glory.
It's time to brush up on your reading, because you're going to want to revisit the inspirations behind these 9 books coming to the big screen. Let the binge popcorn eating watching begin.
1. The Light Between Oceans (Sept. 2)
In this big screen adaptation of M. L. Stedman's heartbreaking bestseller, real-life couple Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, who met on set, take on the roles of Tom and Isabel Shorbourne, a married couple who decide to adopt a baby they find abandoned in a boat by the isolated lighthouse where they live. When they return to the mainland, they discover their decision to keep the baby without reporting it has devastated one woman. When Cue the crying. Emotional and engrossing, this is one movie you'll need to pack tissues for.
2. The Queen of Katwe (Sept. 23)
Based on the inspiring true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young chess prodigy from Uganda and the Tim Crothers nonfiction book by the same name, The Queen of Katwe is going to be the feel good film of the fall. Starring Hollywood heavy-hitters David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong'o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga, this motivational movie will make you believe dreams really can come true.
3. The Girl on the Train (Oct. 7)
One of the most highly anticipated book-to-film adaptations of 2016, Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train looks as chilling on screen as it is on the page. With a star-studded cast including Emily Blunt, Lisa Kudrow, Justin Theroux, and Luke Evans, this movie is destined to be just as popular as the best-selling book.
4. Inferno (Oct. 14)
Tom Hanks has played a lot of memorable roles, but for book-lovers, his most adored will always be Robert Langdon of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code series. The third installment of the film series based of the fourth book, Inferno takes fans back to Italy with Langdon, who has no memory of how he got to the hospital in Florence and what happened the days before. Full of mystery and brain tickling puzzles, this has potential to be the most exciting sequel yet.
5. A Monster Calls (Oct.14)
Book-lovers often worry about the adaptations of their favorite books, but with Liam Neeson is starring as The Monster, A Monster Calls fans don't have to worry about the movie version of this beloved children's story. A gut-wrenching story about a young buy trying to cope with his mother's terminal illness, the movie, starring Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, and Toby Kebbell, will make you cry just as hard as you did while reading.
6. American Pastoral (Oct. 21)
Ewan McGregor, an actor familiar with the world of book-to-film adaptations, makes his directorial debut with this October's American Pastoral, a movie based on Philip Roth's Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by the same name. A war story about a family man whose life is through completely off track, this is the sixth Roth novel to make it to the big screen, and something — perhaps the stellar cast, which includes Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Connelly as well as McGregor himself — tells me it will be among the best.
7. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Nov. 11)
Ben Fountain won the 2013 National Books Critic Circle Award with his bestseller Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, and now, the highly acclaimed novel is coming to the silver screen. Starring a bright newcomer Joe Alwyn and recent indie favorite Kristen Stewart, this movie is one to watch.
8. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Nov. 18)
The first in a new trilogy, Harry Potter fans, myself included, have been anxiously awaiting the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them . Starring Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, the author of the authoritative text book about magical creatures, this David Yates-directed film will be a blockbuster hit. Better get in line for tickets now.
9. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (Dec. 25)
It's been five long years since the publication of Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children , but fans of the YA novel are finally getting to see it come to life on the big screen this winter. Directed by Tim Burton, the film adaptation is guaranteed to be just as creepy as the original book. It's a Christmas miracle.
Images: Universal Pictures
