Beefing with book-to-screen adaptations?😠

Happy Thursday, booklovers!

I’ve been thinking a lot about book-to-screen adaptations lately. The really good ones (“Twilight,” in my humble opinion. Perfectly campy.) and the bad ones. As a reader, we approach the movie theater with cautious optimism and plenty of worry – what if they can’t capture the magic we felt on the page? 

Or what if they do a decent job, but change the little details we loved in the book? This is how I felt about “Thursday Murder Club.” It was a charming watch, and Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie make a delightful sleuthing squad. It did make some pretty major changes, however, which we recapped on our site.

Other adaptations have more egregious concerns. There’s “It Ends With Us,” which left many readers disappointed at the portrayal of domestic violence. The controversy may also have inspired Colleen Hoover's upcoming novel, about a writer who retreats after online backlash about a film adaptation.

Or the new “Wuthering Heights” movie from Emerald Fennell starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Fans are pointing out everything from discrepancies in the time period of the costumes to the trailer’s unexpected steaminess. Many are upset with the casting of Elordi as Heathcliff, who is described in the 1847 novel as “dark-skinned.” Others are anticipating a movie that prioritizes creative risks over literary faithfulness. You can read all about the trailer and reactions from entertainment editor Pamela Avila’s recap here.

I don’t envy the job of the screenwriters weighing what to cut and what to keep of beloved novels. Some artistic liberty is understandable. But when is it right to be angry? How much wiggle room should we allow? 

Which screen adaptations got it right, and which got it wrong? I’m curious to hear your answers. Let me know at[email protected] or by reaching outon Instagram.  Thanks for readingUSA TODAY Books this week!