Lessons in Adaptation: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

A few years back, I was in an introductory filmmaking program. This was not crucial to my degree (which is in rocks), but it was fun, and if we finished up with our projects for the day with time to spare, the instructors would show us films they thought demonstrated parts of the craft uncommonly…

Lessons in Adaptation: The Umbrella Academy

Season Two is on its way, and you know what that means! That's right, this entire essay will be obsolete in a few weeks. Time to make the most of it. I had a blast writing the episodic reviews of The Umbrella Academy when the first season of the show came out, and given that…

Lessons in Adaptation: The End of the F***ing World

What would you say to a heartwarming comedy about a teenage psychopath running away with the girl he intends to make his first murder victim? If you’re anything like me, you probably skipped The End of the Fucking World when the show first aired. The premise is eye-catching, but there are so many ways it…

Lessons in Adaptation: Annihilation

How do you film a psychological thriller about alien plants? With a not-insubstantial effects budget, I would imagine. About a year ago, I reviewed the novella Annihilation, with the intent of eventually comparing it to its film adaptation. Here we are. In many ways, the film Annihilation is pretty conventional as far as adaptations go,…

Lessons in Adaptation: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

See? I told you I would do more on some of those recommendations. To be completely honest, though, I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to recommend either version of Good Omens. I like them both. I liked their better aspects quite a lot, actually. About a quarter of the way into the book, I was…

Lessons in Adaptation: The Harry Potter Film Series

Update 9/23/2020: I wrote this a while back, but since then a certain author has fully outed herself (See? Pronouns aren't that difficult, Rowling, you crybaby) as a misogynistic, transphobic asshat. I feel like if I'm going to be talking about her work, I ought to use the space to promote something more useful, so…