Jami Reads and Watches

It's not uncommon of me to be wary of a movie made from a book I love. Too often we have all been let down in this way, right? But I will frequently get the book for a movie I enjoyed. A great example of this is Fried Green Tomatoes (movie title, the book adds "At the Whistle Stop Cafe"). Liked the movie, loved the book. In fact, I have had to buy this book several times because I've lent it to someone and not gotten it back. In most cases the book is better simply because you can put way more into a book that you can a movie; we can hear people's thoughts, the story can go on and on without needing an intermission. Squeezing a whole book into a movie often requires cutting out subplot, side-stories and entire scenes. I wanted to mention this because I just read "I Am Legend", after seeing the movie not too long ago. I got the book from the library on a whim - it was on a shelf and had Will Smith on it. And I did enjoy the movie, so what the heck? Turns out this is my least favorite type of "adaptation", the kind where the movie bares almost no actual resemblance to the book. The Tom Cruise version of War of the Worlds is another fantastic example of this. Basically, they (by which I mean the adapters) take the bare bones most basic part of the idea and the name of the antagonist and pitch the rest. How are they allowed to call it the same thing? I know you can't copyright titles, but how misleading can you be? I understand that some things may be updated, like the use of cellphones, let's say, but if you're going to toss out the majority of the story, call it something else. Maybe "inspired by . . . " Here's a brief look for I Am Legend: BOOK Location: West Coast Cause: Bacteria mutated by (implied) nuclear war Dog: Finds and befriends a stray Wife & kid: Died from plague, wife came back to get him Job: Ex-military, then some sort of factory Friends: None Listens to: Classical, loud enough to cover sounds of vampires Meets: Woman who betrays him Grows: Garlic to protect house Nemesis: Former friend who is now a vampire, groups of roaming vamps Habits: Smoking, excessive drinking, fits of rage, killing random vamps House: Boarded up windows & doors, one floodlight outside Ending: Unhappy MOVIE Location: New York City Cause: Man-made virus gone wrong Dog: Beloved pet of late daughter Wife & kid: Died in helicopter crash escaping the plague Job: Military research doctor Friends: Store Mannequins Listens to: Bob Marley Meets: Woman who helps him escape, and restores (some of) his faith Grows: Fields of crops for eating Nemesis: Angry vampire whose girlfriend he stole Habits: Exercising, researching, experimenting on vamps House: Ultra-protected windows, floodlights all around Ending: Guardedly hopeful So, even from this brief off-the-top-of-my-head list, we can see how this is not at all the same story. Just saying.