Twice the exploration

I just finished reading Scott Smith's The Ruins, which has been burdened with so much praise that it was nearly impossible it would be able to live up to the hype. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it; I found it to be quite fascinating, and in many ways quite original.

I can't claim to love every aspect of it, but I wonder how much of that has to do with the fact that I know there's a movie adaptation coming out in April. I developed a vague sensation that many of the elements I found in the novel were clearly envisioned with a film in mind, while others are clearly only something a book reader would tolerate.

All this works as an advantage to Smith, since he also wrote the screenplay. It's very clear, from the trailer alone, that the film and the book differ in many ways.

I wonder how difficult or easy this was for Smith. On the one hand, it's understandable that writers can get pretty possessive about their material, unwilling to alter plot points or characters to fit the screenplay format. On the other, perhaps it allowed Smith to write alternative scenarios and thus gave him more freedom.

Since the novel conceit is pretty self-contained, I can't imagine the actual process being cumbersome. It's basically changing the order of the Ten Little Indians and the way they bite the bullet.

All this, of course, based on what I've seen in the trailer. I can't wait to see the film.

As for my own work, I've kept busy writing TV and film proposals. They go out today.