Category Archives: Adaptations & Remakes

Atlas Shrugged – Why Did The Films Fail?

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Melanie Anne Phillips

Recently, I was commissioned to determine why the film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s book, Atlas Shrugged, had failed so miserably. Reading the 1200 page book and watching the six-hour movie trilogy resulted in a 36 page report, which my client … Continue reading →

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“Writing Remakes” – Story Structure Part 8 (video)

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Melanie Anne Phillips

In this episode we look at the major problem writers encounter when creating remakes of movies: they update the subject matter well enough but unintentionally break the structure at the same time. Learn how to identify this kind of problem … Continue reading →

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Adaptation

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Melanie Anne Phillips

“Read the book; see the movie!” “Now a major motion picture!” “A novelization…” “A new musical based on the stage play…” “…based on the book…” “…based on the hit movie!” “The timeless story of…” “…a classic tale…” “…updated for today’s … Continue reading →

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Writing Remakes and Adaptations

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Melanie Anne Phillips

What happens if you mess up and just alter part of a structure without considering the structure-wide impact that change may have? Here’s an example…. Consider the Bill Murray film, “Scrooged:” (a remake of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”) as opposed … Continue reading →

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