Books adapted into movies

 

~ Shahid Ameen

Two  titles I picked  for this meetup are Grease by Ron De Christoforo and The Big Short by Michael Lewis.

Grease, initially a stage musical, became a cult movie musical and then  was novelised based on the screenplay. The book has a different tone, set in the 1950s and depicting the American teenage world with slang, mischief, and rebellion. It’s raw and grounded.

 The movie however is bright, lighter and more energetic starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Travolta was a rage among the female gender in our extended family. No one can blame them.

Grease 2’ s songs were hugely popular and the lyrics were outrageous.

Tracks like “Let’s Do It for Our Country” and “Reproduction” had a whole other meaning I didn’t even catch when I was younger. Very younger. I remember miming “Reproduction “ without the faintest idea of what it was actually about.  Please check it out on YouTube. I insist.

The Big Short, a non-fiction book by Michael Lewis, explains how a few traders predicted the 2008 financial crash while others didn’t. It’s packed with financial jargon, but the film uses humour and clever editing to make it accessible. People enjoyed watching a movie about the financial crisis which hit them dearly. The film makers were able to convey what the hell a sub prime was or a credit default swap did to their home loans with clever story telling which included using techniques like breaking the fourth wall where the characters look at the camera and speak to the audience.

Both adaptations showcase different storytelling sides. I guess  the beauty of adaptations is that stories can change their form and interpret the story differently.