BOOKS INTO MOVIES

CLOUD ATLAS

I became a David Mitchell fan years ago when I met him and since then started a collection of his books. Recently while chatting about books Indra mentioned reading Cloud Atlas and rekindled my interest and I am now reading Cloud Atlas again, on my Kindle.

Books being turned into movies. A short list below.

“Cloud Atlas,” by David Mitchell

Trailer on Youtube

Plot Summary: The book follows six separate stories, going from the far past to a future postapocalyptic world, in which each story is suddenly cut off to follow the next character who somehow connects to the previous one: an unenthusiastic voyageur crossing the Pacific in 1850, a poor composer living in Belgium, a journalist from California, a publisher trying to escape his creditors, a genetically altered “dinery server” on death row, a young Islander watching the death of science and civilization.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant, and Halle Berry have all taken roles in this movie.
Release date: October 26, 2012.

“On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac

Plot summary: Kerouac’s classic novel captures America and the Beat Generation as he tells the story of his years spent traveling America with friend, Neal Cassady. The two wander through the country searching for self-knowledge and life experience. This classic novel about the yearning for freedom and longing for something more has long defined what it means to be “Beat” and has been an inspiration for many generations since.
Starring: Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, and Kristen Stewart.
Release date: 2012, yet to be announced.

“The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Plot summary: The novel is set on Long Island during the roaring 1920s. Nick, just returned from the war, rents a house in West Egg where he is invited to the extravagant parties hosted by his guarded and mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Nick eventually learns Gatsby’s story – the tale of a young man who corrupts himself in seeking to attain the American Dream and gain the love of the idealized, and unattainable woman, Daisy.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio is starring as Gatsby, and Carey Mulligan is playing his ex, Daisy.
Release date: December 25, 2012.

“Life of Pi,” by Yann Martel
Plot summary: The novel follows young Pi Patel, a 16-year-old whose family moves from India to North America on board a Japanese cargo ship, along with a number of his father’s zoo animals. When the ship sinks, Pi is left alone in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a Bengal tiger.
Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, and Tobey Maguire.
Release date: November 21, 2012.