Books Into Film: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made of
by Robin H. Smiley
Category: Performing Arts

From the beginning, the movie industry has looked to literature for source material. Many of the Twentieth century's finest writers were brought to the movie-making centers -- especially Hollywood -- to adapt their own books into screenplays. More often, another writer or writers would be given the assignment of turning a book into a workable film script. Sometimes the result was a creative leap that expanded and illuminated the original work. Frequently, it wasn't. In the 60-plus essays collected in Books into Film, Robin H. Smiley explores the creative process that puts words together into a book, then translates those words into speech and image and action on film. Drawing upon his experience as a writer and screenwriter and a lifelong student and fan of the movies, the author thoughtfully considers a wide range of books -- from high comedy to darkest noir, from science fiction to melodrama -- and the films made from them. Book jacket.