Movie novelizations

[kingmyth]

Everytime a movie gets released, why do they have to make novelization of it?. People could watch the movies instead of reading the novelizations.

Whats so special about them?.

[t hedge coke]

Everytime a movie gets released, why do they have to make novelization of it?. People could watch the movies instead of reading the novelizations.

Whats so special about them?.

There seem to be a lot less of them nowadays, which makes sense since they primarily fed a market that existed before home movie players, when, if you wanted to revisit a movie, you either had to procure actual film and be able to view it somewhere, or you were at the mercy of when and if it appeared on television and in what edited form that may be.

[Greg Hatcher]

Often they're better than the movies. Exhibit A: Isaac Asimov's FANTASTIC VOYAGE. Exhibit B: Vonda McIntyre's THE WRATH OF KHAN and THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK. Exhibit C: Max Allan Collins' DICK TRACY and its two sequels that were original novels, DICK TRACY GOES TO WAR and DICK TRACY MEETS HIS MATCH.

I could go on. Also, lots of times especially if you're a kid, you don't get to the movies but you can manage a paperback.

I grew up on those licensed books. It's what we had instead of home video. And often they were gateway books to lots of other cool stuff. Justification enough?

[Shawn Hopkins]

The book market is big and licensing sells books.

The novelizations used to be a lot bigger deal back in the 80s. I guess home video wasn't so ubiquitous so this was another way to experience a movie. The fun thing about the books was that they were usually based on a very early version of the script so they'd end up quite different from the movie, even up to having different endings. For instance the original Star Wars novelization has these differences:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_...w_Hope_(novel)



The novel starts off with the words "Another galaxy, another time," rather than the famous opening words of "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...."
Droids are often referred to as mechanicals throughout the novelization. The term "droid" is implied to be a slang term for "android."
Darth Vader is referred to as a "Sith Lord" and other Sith Lords before him are briefly mentioned though not in detail.
C-3PO is described as bronze, not gold.
During the battle aboard the Tantive IV, the stormtroopers dropped through the ceiling, rather than charging through an entryway.
Before Leia Organa is captured, she kills two stormtroopers, instead of only one in the film. The first stormtrooper shot also doesn't finish his sentence. Upon sighting the Princess the stormtrooper says, "Here she is. Set for stun forc—" instead of "There's one. Set for stun" and is shot.
Luke is introduced right after the battle aboard the Tantive IV after seeing the battle through his binoculars. The section also introduces Luke's friends: Camie, Fixer, Deak, Windy and Biggs. (Although this was filmed for the movie, it was cut in post-production.)
A rare effects scene in which Luke nearly runs over a woman is included. However, instead of her saying, "I told you kids to slow down!" she says, "Won't you kids ever learn to slow down?"
General Tagge is described as "one of the youngest" officers in the room during the conference scene. Also, instead of Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, there is Romodi, who has deeply entrenched facial scars.
Luke's landspeeder has an enclosed cockpit unlike the open cockpit seen in the film.
Ben Kenobi lives in a cave rather than a hut. The differences between Luke's father and his uncle are described more deeply than in the film.
Ben Kenobi mentions in passing how lightsabers used to enjoy widespread use in the galaxy, and are still used in some areas. The saber is said to have jewels on the hilt.
Kenobi refers to a duck, a creature Luke is unfamiliar with. Later films established that ducks (or duck-like creatures) exist on Naboo.
Grand Moff Tarkin is present during Leia's torture.
Chewbacca is described as having bright, yellow eyes.
Kenobi cuts a smaller alien (Kabe, who is canonically a female, not male, and not an antagonist) in half as well as hacking off the arm of another in the cantina, in defense of Luke. Instead of just two bullies (Ponda Baba and Dr. Evazan), there were three in the novel (those two, plus the aforementioned alien).
Ponda Baba is described as having multiple eyes.
When Greedo confronts Han Solo in the cantina, he is speaking through an electronic translator. The infamous ending of the scene that follows is very vague in the novel, which says only that "light and noise filled the little corner of the cantina"; it never says who shot first. (The idea of Greedo being shot without himself firing was already present in the 1976 versions of the script, contemporary with the novel.[2])
Wioslea is male, not female.
Jabba is described as a fat biped (rather than the familiar slug monster he would later become in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) with an ugly, "shaggy skull" and "jowls" that shook with his head. His scars are said to be a sign of his ferocious reputation in combat. This differs from other descriptions of Jabba prior to Return of the Jedi—the early A New Hope test footage with a large actor in fur, a familiar alien in a flight suit in Marvel Comics, the large-headed, razor-toothed monster in early sketches, or a slavering creature with "eyes on stalks" in the scripts. When Jabba says, "for an extra twenty percent," Han Solo doesn't say, "fifteen, Jabba, don't push it."
The Death Star's destruction of Alderaan is not described, just the preparations to fire and the Millennium Falcon's arrival in the debris field following the blast.
In the novel, Obi-Wan doesn't feel the destruction of Alderaan through the Force.
TK-421 is referred to as "THX-1138," another reference to one of Lucas's other films.
The officer commanding the detention block is killed activating an alarm rather than drawing a blaster.
When the gang dives into the garbage chute, Han dives in before Luke, whereas in the film, Han goes last.
The garbage chamber's number is 366-17891 instead of 3263827.
The novel gives no indication that Obi-Wan stops fighting and purposefully allows Darth Vader to strike him down as depicted in the film.
During the Battle of Yavin, Luke, Biggs, and Wedge are all on the Blue Squadron whereas in the movie they are a part of the Red Squadron. Luke also makes two runs through the trench of the Death Star.
The entire Death Star sequence is extended with more detail given than the movie.
Luke gets much more emotional when Wedge tells him that Biggs was killed. Luke's eyes begin to water; "'We're a couple of shooting stars, Biggs' he whispered huskily, 'and we'll never be stopped.'"
At the novel's end, Leia does give Chewbacca a medal, but she has to strain to do so.

[kingmyth]

Often they're better than the movies. Exhibit A: Isaac Asimov's FANTASTIC VOYAGE. Exhibit B: Vonda McIntyre's THE WRATH OF KHAN and THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK. Exhibit C: Max Allan Collins' DICK TRACY and its two sequels that were original novels, DICK TRACY GOES TO WAR and DICK TRACY MEETS HIS MATCH.

I could go on. Also, lots of times especially if you're a kid, you don't get to the movies but you can manage a paperback.

I grew up on those licensed books. It's what we had instead of home video. And often they were gateway books to lots of other cool stuff. Justification enough?

It's just a gimmick to make money, Also if a movie is based on a book why would they make a novelization of that movie based on a book.

[Shawn Hopkins]

It's just a gimmick to make money, Also if a movie is based on a book why would they make a novelization of that movie based on a book.

To make money. There's actually a novelization of The Polar Express, just in case you're too cool to read the children's book it's based on.

[CaptCleghorn]

I saw a novelization of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It was a book based on the movie which was based on the comic which was based on characters from the original books. There's probably worse out there.

[DanArt]

1. Some parents usually wants there kids to read things, rather then watch.

2. Sometimes the movie is based off a book or script and the person who wrote the book is making a little extra money on the side with the original book or script.

3. Sometimes the original is a book and not a film. So the book is also released alongside the film.

4. Some nations a comic is made because of the popularity of comics as well. Because some people do not read books or watch films.

5. Sometimes a random person ( me or you ) will write something based off the film. Take "HALO" the novel or "Tom Clancy" ( who is book writer ) that gained readers from players of the game based off his book series. Which is just sad as the game makers also used Tom Clancy name to make a bunch of videogames featuring his name. In this case a die-hard fan will come out of the wood work to purchase material for just being a fan.

6. Same with another products including lunch boxes, soda cups, or anything related to the work itself.

This is part of marketing. The reader will usually attack the movie while the film watcher will question the need for things in the book. Same with the comic reader who will often question the artist or art usage retaining to the film

[Kees_L]

Everytime a movie gets released, why do they have to make novelization of it?. People could watch the movies instead of reading the novelizations.

Whats so special about them?.

You sound to be questioning the point to movie novelizations from a consumer's point-of-view, whereas looking at them from a business-point-of-view might explain them as well if not better perhaps:

Like it would seem to me it would take quite a lot before a movie or book of whatever kind is made or marketed in the first place. Before all the funding and shareholder- or licensing- and marketing- type-of hoopla is procured by any of the channels that would. Like how commercial entertainment such as Disney or Warner would work, as with Marvel and DC now fully part of that machinery.

As how for instance any big-time movie producers or either writers are basically told what they'd be to make and what not to make, if they'd wanna be working through a studio such as Disney or Warner for instance.

By which I mean that it doesn't seem normally the case that just any book or movie could get to be produced through those studios, but only to set requirements, as based on the funding both as advertising to begin with. In order to safeguard the good name both as any existing funder willingness.

And as such it could be that a novelisation would be part of the "full" package to an entertainment studio's deal per movie, as a solid way of securing enough work onto negotiating a movie to become fully realized and marketed diversely "enough". - To say it wouldn't be that a studio or marketing department would be loving the novelization as a thing that much, but they could make it part to a movie production deal - together with other tried and tested merchandising - in order to be securing themselves with work. Taking on the exact same requirements as negotiated for the movie already.
As a nice overseeable job to hand to any writer-for-hire who would take it on in order to be able to perhaps be landing other jobs based on the novelisation, as with meeting up with it being to roughly echo the movie plot.

I don't think these studios want to take risks or produce the most innovative titles ever, yet instead the novelisations will provide them with easy sells more rather. But I'm no expert.

[Don C]

Everytime a movie gets released, why do they have to make novelization of it?. People could watch the movies instead of reading the novelizations.

Whats so special about them?.

1. People buy them. Turning a profit is why publishers are in business.

2. As Greg said, sometimes they do things better than the movie. Plot lines or points dropped for time or whatever reason are often included in the novel. You wind up getting a story closer to what the screenwriter intended.