Adapting Book 2

      

A lot of popular books are made into films, but not a lot of these million dollar movies are what they are cut out to be and really do the book an injustice. Here are my 3 tips to a successful Movie adaptation.

First and by far most important is sticking to the main plot. American Sniper is an autobiography written by Chris Kyle about his life being a Navy Seal. The book was very popular and even got its own movie. But was the movie made correctly? I think there are many important decisions you have to make when creating a movie/tv representation of a book. Especially if that book is American Sniper. Getting the right actors, setting, and directors can be difficult but I think these 3 points are the most crucial.

The first point is keeping the core meaning the same but also adding a "writers' touch" to keep the story interesting. One major down fall of the book is that it's kind of slow and boring. This is kind of expected due to the fact that is written by a soldier. Imagine the possibilities if you just gave this amazing idea to an actual author/director. Someone with that amount of vision could be able to transform this slow book into an action packed blockbuster.

Second off is getting the right cast to play the parts. In this category I think the directors did an excellent job hiring the cast. All of them stayed in character and looked the part. But we can over look how important it is to select the right cast. With the wrong cast us viewers could lose interest in the film but with the right cast we stay engaged and listen to the story.

The third and final part is the delivery of the movie. I'm talking about how the director chooses to show the book. What he decides to put in, keep out, and tweak for the movie. Things like props, extras, and especially background music can really make or break a film and in this movie the director did a solid job in all areas making American Sniper a blockbuster of a movie

 

Book 4 Project

After Reading this it’s easy to see why this book is as popular as it is. Described by many people as Anthony Doerr's finest piece of work and the greatest book of 2014 All The Light We Cannot See is a smash hit for people of all ages. But what is it that makes this book so popular? I think I have found the answer to this question. All The Light We Cannot See is so popular due to its appeal to people's emotions. Just think about it, right off the bat the story is historical fiction so it’s an event that people remember and already have an opinion about. Anthony Doerr takes this opinion and twists it with a heartfelt story. The story tops it all off, I mean who can resist the power of a small blind girl who is run out of her home town by Nazis? I don't care how tough you think you are, get ready to shed tears, a lot of them.

All The Light We Cannot See is centered on two main characters Werner and Marie-Laurie. Werner is in studying in s Nazi school and Marie-Laurie is with her father who has been forced out of Paris to the country side. They are tasked with hiding a gem known as the Sea of Flames a very precious stone that is sacred in France. The Sea of Flames holds a legendary curse and Marie and her father must protect it at all costs. But there are people looking for the stone, bad people. Sergeant Major Renold is a Nazi leader that is looking for the gem to make him rich and won’t let anyone get in his way of him getting power. As if that isn't bad enough Marie is blind and left by herself when her dad gets sent to a work camp. The gem stays hidden and Werner meets Marie when he gets stationed in Saint-Melo.

In an interview about the book, Anthony Doerr reveals where he got the inspiration to write the book. He tells a story about how he was on an underground subway and he overheard a man complain about bad cellular connection and how Doerr started thinking to himself that this guy is complaining about something that 500 years ago no one would have believed to be possible! He realized how fortunate we are to even have technology like this and transformed this event into a key factor in 'All The Light We Cannot See'. Then he tells about his trip to a French city that was once destroyed by the U.S. during WW2. And just like that Doerr wrote a New York Times Bestseller.

 

 All things considered it’s amazing how one person could come up with such a masterpiece from just overhearing a conversation and going on vacation. It's no wonder why this book is so popular. It has a perfect mix of historical accuracy with a little bit of fantasy and fiction blended in to make a very entertaining story. Also the characters aren’t bad either. Marie is strong and proved you can do anything no matter what is wrong with you, meanwhile Werner’s dedication and talent got him out of his bad situation and brought new opportunities for him. This is without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read.

 

My Reading Wishlist and Book 5

Anyone who has read my previous blogs knows that I am a huge Mike Lupica fan and I have a sweet spot for sports books. That's why this summer I have a vast collection of books I would like to read.
these books are:
Million Dollar Throw
The Underdogs
True Legend
These three books are must reads this summer but no sports book can replace my ultimate goal this summer. This summer I, Ben Josiah vow to read 50 Shades of Grey. You heard me, in the three I am going gaze upon the forbidden pages that are 50 Shades of Grey and am ready to accept the consequences of doing so. From what I've heard, this is one of the most intense books out on the market and this may just be the beginning of me going on to read the whole series. This is definitely something new and I'm looking forward to reading it over the summer.

Book Talk

Book 3 Listicle

Teddy Daniels is the resilient man who is tasked with traveling to Shutter Island home of Ashecliffe Mental Hospital. Extra emphasis on the word "Mental" in Mental Hospital. He is in search of a lost patient, Rachel Solando, who just so happens to not only be allegedly insane but also a murder. But wait there's more! Shutter Island is crawling with psycho paths, mystery, and overall corrupt people.

1. IT'S A MENTAL FACILITY
In case you didn't hear me the first time. Shutter Island is home to the infamous Ashecliffe Mental Hospital. So right off the bat Shutter Island shouldn't be on your shortlist of places to go on vacation. But more than that some people don't even know about it."Heard much about this place?' 'A mental hospital that's about all i know. ‘For the criminally insane" Emphasis on Criminally insane. The island is off the radar making this place is anything more dangerous.



2. KILLERS AND CRAZY PEOPLE EVERYWHERE
As I told you before Teddy is in search of the lost patient. Who is a murderer and crazy person. But she's the best kind of crazy person. The kind that doesn't know she's crazy, “She smiled darkly and shook her head. I'm not crazy. I'm not. Of course what else would a crazy person claim." but keep in mind she is not the only patient that dwells on these treacherous shores. There are dozens of murderers and psychopaths on this island. No amount of treatment can help these people,"...For the most docile patients we use psychosurgery. It doesn't always work."




3. THERE IS NO GOING BACK

Let's say by chance you somehow manage to pull off the best Houdini trick of all time and escape the facility. Where would you even go? Even when the secret patient escaped no one believed she would make it off the island, "Where's she going to go? She's going to swim home? “There is no chance of you being able to escape the island unless you made a boat from scratch. Then you would have to know how to get back to land, have food and water, and know how to work a boat.

4. IT MAKES PEOPLE CRAZY

Just look at the story's very own main character Teddy Daniels. It's obvious that his little trip to Crazy Island made him crazy as well. A good example of this is at the end of the story when he asks, “Is it better to live as a monster or die as a good man?" I thought about this question and I came to the conclusion that Teddy actually knows that he is insane and might be contemplating on whether or not his life is worth living.

5. CRAZY DOCTORS You can't have a hospital without doctors. But in this case I think you would be better off without them. One thing you may not know about the very confusing ending is that Teddy Daniels isn't Teddy Daniels at all! It was just a made up alias that the doctors made up so the real character Andrew Laeddis could get on with his life. Now back to my point a regular doctor would have HELPED the patient with his problems but not these ones they are the problem. Teddy obviously doesn't know who he is at the beginning as he asks, "Who is Andrew Laeddis?" And although he figures out who he is these doctors are definitely not people you would want to run into on vacation.

Judging by this list, I would suggest going to somewhere safer for your summer vacation, maybe the Bahamas?

Truth in a Memoir

Have you ever thought about the difference between Fiction and Nonfiction literature? Well obviously one is true and one is false. But in the case of nonfiction, how true does it have to be? Think about historical pieces and memoirs. Is it ok to have historical inaccuracy or is it ok to lie about your past for the purpose of having a more entertaining story?

I personally believe that it is ok to lie to an extent in both cases of writing. Especially in the case of memoirs, it is way more entertaining to have something that was actually true. Think about horror movies i don't know about you guys but whenever i see the "Based off a true story" Disclaimer at the beginning of a film, i instantly tense up. Just the thought of seeing things that happened in the past and could possibly happen to me. It just makes for a more entertaining story.

But what if your story isn't very entertaining, or just plain boring? Then lie about it. I believe that as long as the story is mostly true that it should not be subjected to criticism. Fabricating the truth makes the story more interesting and fun to read.

Now back to the Fiction Notification debate. David Shields proposed that there should be no difference between fiction and nonfiction. I disagree with this statement because then what would happen to history? What if everything we read and write was made up! The truth would be worth absolutely nothing. That's not a world i want to live in.

Column Unit

We are starting a new unit in my English class about columnist writing styles. We have read samples and they are all very interesting. It's cool to how writers use tone to appeal to the readers emotions. One of my favorite ways is when writers use humor. I love comedy and I love when writers use a sarcastic or humorous tone in their writing. But it's not just humor, they can also get emotional and serious especially when talking about a sensitive topic.

Of the samples we read my personal favorite was "On Christmas, we cheer heroes who ran into chaos at the Boston Marathon" by Mike Lupica. This is a great example of one of the more emotional topics that columnist write about. Mike Lupica sets the stage of the devastating event and makes you feel like you you were actually there. Lupica being a sports writer draws famous sporting events while talking about the Marthon. Saying that all the athletes pale in comparison to the real heroes that ran into the chaos of the Boston Marathon. 

All these different types of columnist writings are very different and interesting. What do you guys think of Coulmnist writing? I personally can't wait to read more of this style of writing.