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Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen: 35 Great Stories That Have Inspired Great Films Paperback – April 26, 2005

by Stephanie Harrison (Author)

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An Eclectic Collection of Fiction That Inspired Film

Memento, All About Eve, Rear Window, Rashomon, and 2001: A Space Odyssey are all well-known and much-loved movies, but what is perhaps a lesser-known fact is that all of them began their lives as short stories. Adaptations gathers together 35 pieces that have been the basis for films, many from giants of American literature (Hemingway, Fitzgerald) and many that have not been in print for decades (the stories that inspired Bringing Up Baby, Meet John Doe, and All About Eve).

Categorized by genre, and featuring movies by master directors such as Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Frank Capra, and John Ford, as well as relative newcomers such as Chris Eyre and Christopher Nolan, Adaptations offers insight into the process of turning a short story into a screenplay, one that, when successful, doesn’t take drastic liberties with the text upon which it is based, but doesn’t mirror its source material too closely either. The stories and movies featured in Adaptations include:

•Philip K. Dick’s “The Minority Report,” which became the 2002 blockbuster directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise

•“The Harvey Pekar Name Story” by reclusive graphic artist Harvey Pekar, whose life was the inspiration for American Splendor, winner of the 2003 Sundance Grand Jury Prize

•Hagar Wilde’s “Bringing Up Baby,” the basis of the classic film Bringing Up Baby, anthologized here for the first time ever

•“The Swimmer” by John Cheever, an example of a highly regarded story that many feared might prove unadaptable

•The predecessor to the beloved holiday classic A Christmas Story, “Red Ryder Nails the Hammond Kid” by Jean Shepherd

Whether you’re a fiction reader or a film buff, Adaptations is your behind-the-scenes look at the sometimes difficult, sometimes brilliantly successful process from the printed page to the big screen.

Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen: 35 Great Stories That Have Inspired Great Films

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Product Details

Paperback: 640 pages
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (April 26, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400053145
ISBN-13: 978-1400053148
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #385,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #27 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Adaptations
- #87 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Screenplays

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Avid readers and movie buffs alike will relish Harrison's thought-provoking opus about the process of adapting short stories into screenplays. From science fiction to social satire, this captivating collection of 35 tales embraces literary greats like Chekhov and Cheever and memorable writings long out of print (such as Frank Rooney's "Cyclists' Raid," which became the 1953 Brando classic The Wild One). Harrison evotes a chapter to every imaginable genre, prefacing each with quotes and anecdotes from writers, directors, and actors associated with the creative endeavors selected. Native American author Sherman Alexie, whose short stories inspired the 1998 cult hit, Smoke Signals, speaks of wrestling with the old stereotypes of "the noble and the ignoble savage." Stanley Kubrick's cohorts compare collaborations with the director to "being swallowed up by a cold and intelligent creature with many tentacles." Actor Vincent Price's daughter recalls how her father and Herbert Marshall "laughed until they cried" while filming the "Help me!" scene in 1958's The Fly. Steven Spielberg, Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Ford are among the cast of cinematic personalities in this tribute to the inspiration and perspiration required to turn fiction into film. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Stephanie Harrison teaches in the state university system of Florida.

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Customer Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 stars

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Learn how short stories are turned into movies..

By S. Korpieski on April 29, 2005

Format: Paperback

I just came across this at my local bookstore. Wow! I had no idea that so many famous movies were adapted from short stories. A Face in the Crowd is one of my favorite films, but I never knew it was a short story first. Also, I'm a fan of Harvey Pekar's, so I was particularly happy to see that his graphic story, "The Harvey Pekar Name Story" was included (the film is American Splendor). The introductions to each section are interesting and contain a lot of information I was unacquainted with. Who knew that F. Scott Fitzgerald once tried his hand at adapting his classic story "Babylon Revisited" as a vehicle for Shirley Temple? Good reading for movie fans and people who enjoy short stories.

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Learn About the Connection Between Short Stories and Movies

By W. Terry Whalin on December 16, 2006

Format: Paperback

Have you ever waited with great anticipation for the arrival of a movie where you love the book? Then you watch the movie and are disappointed because it wasn't anything like the book. Movies and Books are connected through story. The story has to be good in each form for it to achieve the desired result.

Stephanie Harrison has written a fascinating look at the connection between 35 short stories and the great films which resulted. This book includes the short stories and insight into how the story was adapted into a movie. The key message which I received is that whether it is a short story or a movie, the foundation of storytelling has to be excellent to achieve the desired result.

If you love movies and short stories or just want to learn about the skill of adaptation, I highly recommend this book.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Quality.

By Ben Hirsch on April 15, 2014

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

While the meat of this book is the collection of logically categorized short stories, the introductions to each section are where “Adaptations” really shines. Stephanie Harrison provides the reader with an excellent understanding of the circumstances and timeframe in which each story found its way to the next medium. Her attention to the relationships between the authors and directors and their cooperation (or lack thereof) goes a long way in illustrating the difficulty of creating a successful film, and I came away with a new appreciation for the craftsmanship involved in reimagining a story. The stories themselves are well selected and well organized. Harrison assembled a neat cross-section of the industry, with stories ranging from science fiction to–much to my surprise–comics. Particularly clever was the decision to open the book with a section entitled “The Directors: Translators, Magicians, Collaborators, and Thieves.” By beginning with several stories of wildly varying style, Harrison introduces the reader to a range of directorial and authorial methods, giving them a broader context with which to evaluate the rest of the book than would otherwise have been available if she had simply jumped straight into stories-by-genre. All things considered, “Adaptations” is a well-polished book, rich with valuable original content to compliment the stories the reader came for.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

Adaptatons: From Short Story to Big Screen

By A. Bronston on April 17, 2006

Format: Paperback

This is a wonderul collection of stories that have been adapted for film. The book provides revealing commentary from screenwriters and directors and fascinating tidbits of unknown filmography. It is a wonderful find for screenwriters and short story writers and film lovers. Stephanie Harrison writes insightful introductions to each genre. A real treasure.

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Use it for a class on Film

By Theresa Jackson, M.D. on October 21, 2013

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Met expectations for my film class...interesting to see the differences between the short stories within and the film/screenplay based on those stories.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Five Stars

This is exactly what I wanted!

Published 2 months ago by Ann Millward

Good book, ok shipping time...

I needed this book for a Literature Into Film class at the university. It arrived as described. Would have earned the additional fifth star if shipping was a little quicker.

Published 2 months ago by William J Grace

Wonderful collection

Excellent for discussion programs! Just read the story and then view the monie. Compare and contrast. Great fun. Enjoy and expand you enjoyment of short stories.

Published 21 months ago by Maxine J. Lebowitz

GOOD!

The product showed up on earliest expected delivery date and was in good condition, I also noticed that there was no sort of writing in the book, which is good because it could... Read more

Published on February 2, 2012 by JiTeKaboB

How the story becomes a film

Interesting in that it allows film lovers to see what preceded the screenplay and the subsequent film.

Any film buff will enjoy this book.

Published on May 5, 2007 by Lyric

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