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News & ArtsMonday, March 5, 2012
Books / Film Person Who Made a Lot of Money Likes the People Who Gave Her the Money
Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 2:06 PM
I'm excited for the Hunger Games movie. I really liked the book, and I think it should translate pretty well to film, if they do it right. But my eyes are still hurting from the brutal rolling they suffered when they read this story from Galleycat:
In a Facebook note to fans, [Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins] wrote: “I feel like the book and the film are individual yet complementary pieces that enhance one another.” She praised the cast in her note, exclaiming “And, my God, the actors.” She singled out lead actor Jennifer Lawrence for being “absolutely wonderful across the board.”
In the last 24 hours, her note has generated an AP news story, over 9,000 likes on Facebook and nearly 750 comments.
Seriously? How much money does Collins stand to make from this movie? The only way this would have been news was if Collins came out and told people not to watch the movie; I'm disappointed in the book news industry that this is a headline anywhere.
5
How much does she stand to make from the movie? Directly? Zero. Zilch. Nada. She's unlikely to see any residuals from the film because the film is unlikely to turn a profit, even if it turns a profit. See http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/05/t… for a rundown on Hollywood un-math.
Collins has already made any money she's going to make from the film in the form of her option payment. Where she stands to gain is from the increased sales of her book due to the film.
Now, whether pimping the film adaptation will have much of an impact on those increased sales is another question. I suspect it's minimal for a number of reasons:
1. Most of the people who are paying attention to her opinion are fans of the book, meaning they're not likely new potential book customers.
2. Not many of the remaining people are likely to run out and buy the book before seeing the movie just because the author said the movie was fantastic. In fact, I'll speculate that it might be a better strategy (in the short-term at least) for the author to criticize the movie. People who might be interested in the movie may become more likely to check the book out first; and those who don't, and don't like the movie, may check the book out anyway.
On the other hand, the author approving of the film adaptation may help generate increased buzz and push those who were considering the book over the fence.
I think the most likely intent here is that the author wants her fans to know that she gives the movie her official OK, not because she stands to gain any if they go and see it, but because she genuinely thinks the movie is a good adaptation.
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Collins has already made any money she's going to make from the film in the form of her option payment. Where she stands to gain is from the increased sales of her book due to the film.
Now, whether pimping the film adaptation will have much of an impact on those increased sales is another question. I suspect it's minimal for a number of reasons:
1. Most of the people who are paying attention to her opinion are fans of the book, meaning they're not likely new potential book customers.
2. Not many of the remaining people are likely to run out and buy the book before seeing the movie just because the author said the movie was fantastic. In fact, I'll speculate that it might be a better strategy (in the short-term at least) for the author to criticize the movie. People who might be interested in the movie may become more likely to check the book out first; and those who don't, and don't like the movie, may check the book out anyway.
On the other hand, the author approving of the film adaptation may help generate increased buzz and push those who were considering the book over the fence.
I think the most likely intent here is that the author wants her fans to know that she gives the movie her official OK, not because she stands to gain any if they go and see it, but because she genuinely thinks the movie is a good adaptation.
7
Maybe it's because I read a lot of comics, and Alan Moore is causing some selection bias, but "Author Doesn't Hate Movie Based on Their Work" does seem somewhat newsworthy to me.
8
Am I crazy? I haven't read the book, so I have no background knowledge. But watching the trailer, it looks excruciatingly stupid. The premise seems utterly preposterous. Dumber than the Twilight series-dumb. Although both both movies provide teen heartthrob eye candy, I suppose. I'm having a hard time even imagining that this has any possibility of being good.
10
@8 - The premise is no more preposterous than a lot of science fiction or fantasy. (I'm sure you can come up with your own examples.) Still, I recommend the first book as it does a decent job of painting this world and developing the seemingly Utah-named Katniss.
The second and third books are just additional trips to a dried up well.
The second and third books are just additional trips to a dried up well.
12
I'm confused. There's a "book news industry"? Sounds made up to me.
There's certainly a book *marketing* industry. Collins made a marketable statement, it got around, which is what good marketing does. And you can roll your eyes all you like, but that doesn't make this post any less a retweet.
There's certainly a book *marketing* industry. Collins made a marketable statement, it got around, which is what good marketing does. And you can roll your eyes all you like, but that doesn't make this post any less a retweet.
13
@10 - She's named after a flowering water plant...one with arrow-shaped leaves, and latin name meaning "belonging to an arrow," dumbass.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katniss
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katniss
14
I'm not sure what the problem is here. Considering the past history of Hollywood screwing up book adaptations I think its legitimate for fans of the book to know what the author thought of the movie adaptation. I doubt she's getting residuals for the movie, I'm sure the studios have already paid her for the rights to the book and its sequels. Besides that, Hollywood creative accounting usually makes sure that no movie actually makes a "profit" on paper to pay residuals on these days.
15
@8 -- I read the book only after friends recommended it. The premise sounded dumb to me, too. But the book is very good. It is a wonderful satire of reality TV culture and also shows (in a non-preachy way) the dangers of totalitarianism (kind of like 1984 meets Lord of the Flies meets Harry Potter, but with a Twilighty sheen). I also like having a strong female lead character to root for (physically as well as mentally tough). This is a Young Adult book so to me these are good messages for kids, plus I found as a not-so-young adult that it was told in an entertaining way.
As for the whining that what the author says is news - hey, welcome to click-bait culture. Hunger Games is a hot tag right now. Write something about the topic and watch your site hits shoot up. Plus what she said isn't that non-newsworthy; some authors dislike movie interpretations, after all.
As for the whining that what the author says is news - hey, welcome to click-bait culture. Hunger Games is a hot tag right now. Write something about the topic and watch your site hits shoot up. Plus what she said isn't that non-newsworthy; some authors dislike movie interpretations, after all.
16
J.K. Rowling's overall approval and consultant services for the whole Harry Potter film series WERE big news, as #14 above states, just because Hollywood has such a history of mangling book adaptations. (Check out the hideously abused film version of Susan Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising" for a vivid example.) Having the author's OK that, yeah, they're doing it up right, is like a go-ahead signal for the book's millions of fans. So yeah - it actually counts as news.
17
I refuse to make any specific comments on either the book, the movie, or the author.
But it seems to me that your point is that an author doesn't have a right to an opinion on how an adaptation of their book is done, or that fans of the book might not want to know that the author thinks it's pretty well done.
Sure, the opportunity for self-serving pandering is huge, but I've seen plenty of "Well, I don't know that much about movies, and didn't have anything to with the production but I wish them well" comments from authors that made their disapproval pretty darn clear.
Knowing that the author of a book I really enjoyed seemed to be genuinely gushing about how the movie was produced might well matter to me.
The author sure has as much right to comment on the work than anyone else does.
But it seems to me that your point is that an author doesn't have a right to an opinion on how an adaptation of their book is done, or that fans of the book might not want to know that the author thinks it's pretty well done.
Sure, the opportunity for self-serving pandering is huge, but I've seen plenty of "Well, I don't know that much about movies, and didn't have anything to with the production but I wish them well" comments from authors that made their disapproval pretty darn clear.
Knowing that the author of a book I really enjoyed seemed to be genuinely gushing about how the movie was produced might well matter to me.
The author sure has as much right to comment on the work than anyone else does.
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