Meryl Streep is great as the mother and you also have Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth who also do a good job. I am impressed on how well they did with the singing. None of them had realised when they were chosen how much singing would be involved. It was strange seeing Pierce Brosnan singing away when I am so used to seeing him in more serious roles like The James Bond Movies!

With beautiful scenery and a great story about a mother and her daughter who is about to get married to a local boy. Her daughter discovers an old diary of her mother's and sees there are possibly three dad's. She decides to invite them all to her wedding without telling her mother as a surprise to find out which is her real father!

This causes disruption,chaos and arguments over who was to actually give the daughter away.

I won't give the rest away of what happens you will have to see it to find out. I recommend seeing this one at the cinema if you can it is well worth it.

This movie really does put a smile on your face and as I was leaving the cinema everyone looked happy and was smiling and talking away.

In the evenings they have showings where you can sing along to the Abba Songs. That would be great fun if you wanted to see it a second time. It is one that you could go and see again.

One warning though once you see it you will have trouble getting the songs out of your head!

1. Pride and Prejudice (Joe Wright, 2005)

   Now, I know this adaptation starring Keira Knightley has its enthusiastic fans, but I must admit I almost dropped the film from this list altogether. One of my closest friends would be appalled because she was completely entranced by Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy. I'm afraid that I found myself drifting off into reveries of Colin Firth frolicking about the countryside. I guess what I'm saying is that it just doesn't measure up to the intensity of feeling and attention to detail of the 1996 BBC version.

2. Pride and Prejudice (Robert Z. Leonard, 1940)

   This adaptation is absolutely dreadful in terms of fidelity to the plot. Jane Austen must have been rolling in her grave at how fast and loose MGM played with her novel. Book aside, this is a great movie to watch. Greer Garson and Maureen O'Sullivan are charming as Elizabeth and Jane Bennet, and Lawrence Olivier makes a very dashing Mr. Darcy. Mary Boland as Mrs. Bennet and Edna May Oliver as Lady Catherine de Bourgh will have you in absolute stitches.

3. Mansfield Park (David Giles, BBC, 1983)

   This film is doubly fascinating today, than it was when I saw it as a child because of all the movie connections. Sylvestra Le Touzel, who stars as Fanny here, plays Mrs. Allen in the most recent adaptation of Northanger Abbey, and Johnny Lee Miller, who stars in the 1999 film of Mansfield Park, has a bit part in this one. There are other crossover actors as well, but I leave that for you to discover yourselves!

4. Mansfield Park (Iain B. MacDonald, ITV, 2007)

   This ITV adaptation had the edge over the 1983 BBC version because the locations and cinematography were simply wonderfully done. My only criticism was the hair. Fanny Price's hair always looks un-brushed and she always wears it down… even after her "coming out" party. This is just historically wrong - it wasn't okay for grown women to wear their hair down until the early twentieth century! As for the men, poor Edmund looks like his head's been dipped in a vat of vegetable oil and Henry Crawford looks as though he hasn't had a haircut in years. The neglect of character appearance can really distract from one's enjoyment of the acting.

5. Emma (Douglas McGrath, 1996)

   McGrath's adaptation of Emma is a visual treat, but Gwyneth Paltow falls into the trap - so easy with Jane Austen heroines - of playing Emma a tad too superficially and turning her into a caricature. This is made glaringly evident in contrast to Jeremy Northam's smooth handling of Mr. Knightley. Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, and especially Alan Cumming and Juliet Stevenson (whom I Truly, Madly, Deeply adore) make the film more comedy than romance, but they are also the reason I will watch this film again and again.

6. TIE: Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee, 1995)
   Sense and Sensibility (John Alexander, BBC series, 2008)

   
   These two adaptations tie, for the first is a good movie, and the second is a faithful adaptation. It is difficult to adapt novels into feature films and Emma Thompson deserved her Oscar for this enjoyable romp. As much as I love Alan Rickman, he was much too old for his part and it spoiled the believability of the romance between Col. Brandon and Marianne for me. This year's BBC series (debuting March 30th on PBS) is truly a delight, and benefits from the extra time given for character development. The Devon coastline is spectacular and the cinematography is exquisitely done.

7. Northanger Abbey (Jon Jones, ITV, 2007)

   This novel is not adapted as often as the others due to the difficulties inherent in filming Catherine Morland's flights of fancy. ITV did a terrific job of capturing the mood and satire of the original novel, and Felicity Jones ensured that the character of Catherine avoided becoming a one-dimensional caricature.

8. TIE: Persuasion (Roger Michell, BBC, 1995)
   Persuasion (Adrian Shergold, ITV, 2007)

   I really could not make up my mind with these two adaptations. They both capture the tension between Anne Eliot and Captain Wentworth with its mixture of repressed passion and obligation to duty. Great viewing for a night in with your girlfriends and a nice hot cup of cocoa.

9. Mansfield Park (Patricia Rozema, 1999)

   Now many Jane-ites will disagree fervently with me for ranking this film so highly, but I think that it is brilliantly done. Rozema incorporates Edward Said's post-colonial critique of Mansfield Park into the film and is successful because of the brilliant performances by Harold Pinter, Frances O'Conner, and Johnny Lee Miller. Alessandro Nivola somehow managed the difficult task of transforming Henry Crawford from a mere cad into a man you know is bad for you but you find difficult to resist.

10. Pride and Prejudice (Simon Langton, BBC mini-series, 1995)

    Television seriess have the advantage of time over feature films. Screenwriters do not need to whittle down the plot so much, and the camera can indulge itself in the landscapes and beautiful old homes of southern England. Jennifer Ehle is radiant at Elizabeth, and the supporting cast ensure that each and every scene is memorable for its wit and charm. Of course, the real reason for this adaptation's success is the scene when Colin Firth as Darcy emerges dripping wet from a spontaneous dip in his pond. Millions of women around the world swooned and have never fully recovered themselves from this incident.

Honorable Mentions

• Bride and Prejudice (Gurinder Chadha, 2004)
• Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
• Bridget Jones' Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001)
• The Jane Austen Book Club (Robin Swicord, 2007)

These four films get nods for being very clever adaptations of Jane Austen plots to contemporary settings. They didn't make into onto my top ten because although they may capture the spirit of Jane Austen, they cannot beat her for witty dialogue. Bride and Prejudice might not be for hard core Jane-ites but it is a brilliant concept: transferring the basic plot of Pride and Prejudice to Bollywood, complete with dance sequences and outlandish locations like a random Mexican restaurant.

But while there are plenty of anime-based properties on the way to sate fans' curiosities, there are plenty more anime titles out there that could get the live action treatment, provided a proper script is written and the right director chosen. So here's a list of some of those titles that deserve an adaptation, along with how they should be done and who should do them. Hollywood, take notes so you can do your jobs.

TRIGUN

The Anime:

Far into the future, on the distant planet of Gunsmoke where a “Wild West”-style civilization has risen up, the most wanted and dangerous man alive is Vash the Stampede, a gunslinger so dangerous that he has a 60,000,000,000 double-dollar bounty on his head for destroying the entire city of July. But in reality, Vash is peace-loving goofball who refuses to kill, no matter how dangerous things get. With bounty hunters after him and insurance agents Meryl and Millie and gun-toting priest Nicolas D. Wolfwood at his side, Vash travels the land looking for Knives, a man with a mysterious connection with him, while Knives sends his own agents, the Gung-Ho Guns, to either kill Vash or make him do the one thing he doesn't want to: kill.

The Movie

Making a “Trigun” movie would be rather easy, providing the story takes its primary basis from the anime, which told a more straight-forward story as compared to Yashiro Nightow's original manga. The movie itself would actually be a trilogy of films, which many sci-fi, fantasy and westerns are done best as. Each film would focus on a different act of the story. Film 1 would, of course, introduce Vash and the rest of the cast as he tries to survive a bounty hunter's plot to take him down. Film 2 would start to get into the main part of the story, introducing the Gung-ho Guns as they attack Vash and endanger those around him. The third and final film would reveal Vash's origin and his connection to Knives, leading up to their final confrontation.

As for directing this project, who better and more qualified than Robert Rodriguez? He's done western-style films with his “Mexican” trilogy, which also sported tricked out and hidden weapons, which “Trigun” has aplenty, such as Wolfwood's giant cross that contains a small arsenal of guns and later converts into a massive machine gun. He's done sci-fi comedy with the “Spy Kids” films, and he's done comic book adaptations with “Sin City”. He could even film the “Trigun” movies the same way, with the actors on a green-screen soundstage and the backgrounds added in later with CGI. Given some of the odd visuals of the original story, this might be a necessity.

GUNSMITH CATS/RIDING BEAN

The Anime:

This is actually two different anime, but both feature similar characters and were created by Kenichi Sonoda. “Gunsmith Cats” focuses on the adventures of bounty hunter Rally Vincent, as she hunts down dangerous criminals with her almost-unmatched skill with a gun and her bomb-toting partner, “Minnie” May Hopkins. “Riding Bean”, a one-shot OAV Sonoda created earlier, featured wheelman-for-hire Bean Bandit using his tricked out muscle car, the Road Buster, to outrun police and clear his name out of a kidnapping plot. It also featured an early version of Rally, who was Bean's partner in the OAV, while the “Gunsmith Cats” manga has Bean as a recurring supporting character who Rally and May frequently butted heads with. While its not sure how the two are connected (especially since Rally in the “Bean” OAV is blond and white while in “Gunsmith Cats” she has dark hair and skin), both are enjoyed by fans.

The Movie:

It wouldn't be too hard to adapt this one for American audiences, considering both stories are already set in America, Chicago, to be precise! Hollywood's best bet would be to first make a “Gunsmith Cats” movie, perhaps adapting the first volume of Sonoda's original manga with Rally and May chasing dangerous brother and sister gunrunners Bonnie and Clyde and Bean Bandit involved as the hired wheelman, but playing a bigger role than he did in the original manga. And while sequels for “Cats” would be a must depending on the first film's success, there could also be a “Riding Bean” spin-off, with Bean on his own solo adventure, either doing an original story or even adapting and expanding the original OAV. And to direct a film that has lots of guns and plenty of fast cars (Rally drives a tricked out Shelby GT Cobra), there's no better man qualified than Rob Cohen, director of “The Fast and the Furious”. And before anyone suggest Vin Diesel or Jason Stratham to possibly play ultra-cool badass Bean (a role both men are qualified for), bear in mind Bean has hair, and both actors look their best bald, not to mention there's Stratham's rather heavy British accent.

BUBBLEGUM CRISIS

The Anime:

In the year 2032, ten years after a devastating earthquake, the city of MegaTokyo is all but run by the powerful Genom Corporation with its humanoid robots known as “Boomers”. But sometimes Boomers go bad, rampaging through the streets, and no one, not even the AD Police, can really stop them. No one, that is, except the Knight Sabers, a group of four women in advanced hi-tech armor. Led by Sylia Stingray, daughter of the murdered creator of the Boomers, the Knight Sabers -- consisting of tough biker-rocker Priss, athletic Linna and cute computer hacker Nene -- fight to take down Genom and its leader, Quincy, while doing the occasional mercenary jobs and fighting other enemies who threaten MegaTokyo. A hit OAV series that helped launch the anime invasion, it was recently followed up with a TV series remake, “Bubblegum Crisis 2040", which sported new character designs and a few new mysteries.

The Movie:

Dystopian, high tech future societies are a common theme in Hollywood, and the “BGC” anime takes a lot of cues from one of the best, “Blade Runner”. Naturally, Ridley Scott would be considered the best choice to direct the movie version, as would maybe James Cameron. But Scott may not want to rehash what he already did with “Blade Runner”, and fans may want Cameron to finish up his adaptation of “Battle Angel” first. So that leaves perhaps another good choice in Alex Proyas, director of “The Crow” and the recent “I, Robot”, the latter of which also took place in a future society where robots are commonplace. For effects, there's only one man to do it, and that's Stan Winston, who did the effects for both the “Terminator” movies and the upcoming “Iron Man” and can tackle humanoid robots and powered armor in one movie. The story itself would mainly take its cues from the original OAV, satisfying a lot of the purist fans, but still mix in some stuff from the “2040" TV series. Perhaps the first in a series of films, it would focus on the Knight Sabers being assembled and their first missions, with their clashing personalities threatening to drive the team apart at the worst possible time. Casting would be a bit difficult, especially for the part of Priss, as we'd need an actress who do tough and also sing. Though as long as they don't get Lindsay Lohan, it'd be good.

COWBOY BEBOP

The Anime:

In the not-so-distant future, man has spread out across the solar system, terraforming and colonizing the other planets and using hyperspace gates to travel about in ships both commercial and private. One such ship is the Bebop, whose crew work as bounty hunters, hunting down criminals and collecting the rewards. The jobs are hard enough, and the interactions of this bunch -- ex-mobster Spike, gruff ex-cop Jet, sneaky and greedy Faye and quirky computer hacker Ed -- don't make them any easier. Especially since Spike would like nothing more than to find his missing love Julia and settle an old score with his former friend, Vicious. Sporting a jazzy soundtrack and lots of intrigue and gunplay, the series was a hit in both Japan and America and is still considering by many to perhaps be the best anime of all time.

The Movie:

A live-action movie seems like a no-brainer for this title, especially if John Woo were to be involved as either the director or even as a producer to help guide the action. Given the episodic nature of the series, it would be tough to adapt any particular story, but rather instead to more or less do an original tale that focuses on a job started by Spike and Jet that also gets Faye and Ed involved and the group forced to work together. Since there's only so much you can get into a couple of hours, the subplot involving Julia and Vicious would not be a focus, but could be hinted at and/or even referred to in flashbacks to set up for sequels. Effects, of course, would be done by Industrial Light and Magic, who made their niche doing sci-fi effects involving space ships and the battles that follow. Casting for this one would also be a tough one, save of course for Ein, the Welsh Corgi that serves as the show's mascot.

DEATH NOTE

The Anime:

Bored genius Light Yagami finds a Death Note, a tool of the shinigami (“death gods”) that can end the life of whoever's name is written in it. Quickly discovering its power, Light goes to work killing off the criminals of the world, but soon attracts the attention of the police and the mysterious detective known only as L, who is determined to prove that Light is the killer. What follows is a twisted game of cat-and-mouse as Light and L try to outsmart one another, and it soon becomes clear that there are others who have Death Notes of their own. A huge hit in both manga and anime form, currently enjoying a successful run on the late night Adult Swim line-up.

The Movie:

“Death Note” has already been made into not one, but TWO hit live action movies in Japan, both of which will be released in America by VIZ Media. So it wouldn't be a surprise if Hollywood were to do an Americanized remake, given its recent habit of doing such. There is, of course, too much of the original story to cram into one movie, so perhaps a short series of films would work, chronicling different acts of the story from Light's discovery of the Death Note and L's involvement and so forth. Main characters Light and L would most likely be cast by unknowns, a trick that more than often works, while the shinigami, in particularly Light's guide Ryuk, would be done using motion capture CGI in the same vein as Gollum or the Silver Surfer. As for a director, a Japanese one would work, but perhaps one who is experienced in doing suspenseful, psychological cat-and-mouse thrillers would be best, such as David Finch of “Seven” fame.

GUYVER

The Anime:

While walking through the woods one day, teenager Sho Fukamachi discovers the Guyver unit, an alien bio-booster armor that bonds with him and grants him extraordinary weapons and abilities. Now Sho must use those powers to protect himself and his friends from the Chronos Corporation, who will stop at nothing to get the Guyver back and use it in their plans to take over the world using their genetic creations, the Zoanoids. The original twelve-part OAV series helped launch the anime invasion, and it recently got new life by being made into a new TV series.

The Movie:

“The Guyver” was made into a live-action, direct-to-video film back in the "90s that most anime purists avoid but still has a cult following, enough to get a sequel that sported improved special effects and action. And given Hollywood"s knack for rebooting franchises that desperately needed it, it wouldn't be a stretch to start fresh with “Guyver” and create a film that stayed closer to the original story. Both CGI and old-fashioned prosthetics would help bring both the Guyver and the Zoanoids (which would resemble more their anime counterparts rather than the goofy-looking anime hybrids of the previous films) to life in a way that would both amaze and frighten audiences. Special effects whiz Rick Baker would be the best choice for this, having proved his talents in such films as “The Thing” and “Men in Black”. For the director, who better than Guillermo del Toro, who fought long and hard to make sure “Hellboy” stayed true to the original comic and would do the same for “Guyver”, and has a knack for films that feature freaky and fantastic monsters?

READ OR DIE

The Anime:

Substitute teacher and book fanatic Yomiko Readman is more than she appears. She's also an agent for the Special Operations Division of the British Library, whose job it is to protect literacy and to make sure certain books don't fall into the wrong hands. Codenamed the Paper, Yomiko uses her ability to manipulate paper into any shape she wants to battle terrorists alongside Nancy Makuhari, aka “Miss Deep” for her ability to move through solid objects, and tough-as-nails commando Drake Anderson. The group fought against clones of famous historical figures such as Beethoven and Matta Hari in the original OAV, while a spin-off TV series featured the Paper Sisters, a group of girls with powers similar to Yoriko.

The Movie:

It would be “James Bond meets the X-Men” in a live action version of this popular title. The plot would be rather simple, more or less adapting the OAV in the plot of using a rare book that has plans to conquer/destroy the world, but maybe leaving out the ideas of historical clones. The movies could also adapt the original light novels written by Hideyuki Kurata, perhaps even Yomiko's first mission when she's recruited by the British Library Special Ops Division. Naturally, CGI would be used for Yomiko's paper manipulating abilities, from either simple flocks of birds to paper airplanes the size of an F-18. With such crazy action and effects, this sounds like something the Wachowski Brothers could do following “Speed Racer”. Casting would be tricky (especially for the part of Yomiko, as we'd need an actress who's both cute and kinda mousy), but the part of Drake could be done by Dolph Lundgren, who has more than enough experience playing bad-ass soldier types and could get his career a jumpstart with the role.

BLACK LAGOON

The Anime:

When average joe salaryman Rokuro Okajima heads to the city of Roanapur in Thailand to deliver a disk for his company, he ends up kidnapped by members of the mercenary group known as Lagoon Company, who are after the disk as part of a job. When his boss abandons him to cover up the company's criminal activities, Rokuro (nicknamed “Rock”) joins Lagoon Company, proving himself as a translator and negotiator. Of course, he's still a bit overwhelmed by the fights the group gets into all the time and the methods used by Revy, the sexy but deadly muscle of Lagoon Company. A recent hit from Studio Madhouse (“Hellsing Ultimate”) with plenty of action and gunplay that made it a fan favorite in America.

The Movie:

Tons of military-style action and gunfights? Yep, a “Black Lagoon” movie, directed by maybe Michael Davis of “Shoot "Em Up” fame would be perfect for a live action, U.S. version. The plot would be easy to do; focus it on Rock"s (who could still be Japanese rather than American) arrival in Roanapur and his assignment, his kidnapping by Lagoon Company and the need to find out what's really on the disc that so many people want to kill for it. Naturally, you couldn't cram all the other mercenary groups, such as the Church of Violence or the Aryan Socialist Union, into one movie, so some could be saved for sequels.

As for the cast, that part might actually be easy. Megan Fox, who we already know looks good in a tank top and super-short cut-offs, would be great to play Revy, and would also give her a chance to kick ass with a pair of Beretta handguns. In contrast, her “Transformers” co-star Shia LeBeouf could play Rock, allowing the two to switch off the sidekick role this time around. Carl Weathers or Ving Rhames could come on to play Dutch, Lagoon Company's seasoned leader, while Owen Wilson could play Benny, the group's resident mechanic and computer guy. For the role of Balalaika, Natasha Henstridge could pull off playing the sexy yet scarred Russian Mafia boss.

HIS AND HER CIRCUMSTANCES

The Anime:

At school, Yukino Miyazawa is the prettiest and smartest girl in her class, but at home she's a slob who studies rather than spend time with her sisters. When new student Soichiro Arima appears to challenge her position, Yukino fights to destroy and keep her spot. Eventually, the two manage to see past each other's faults and fall in love, and have to struggle to keep their relationship against those who want to break them up, such as friends, family, rivals and even their own school, who fear a decline in the grades of their top students.

The Movie:

Yeah, its more a dramatic comedy and doesn't have any guns or explosions, but this could be something different for Hollywood to do and appeal to the “chick flick” crowd. They'd end up changing a lot in terms of locale and names to Americanize it, but a “His and Her Circumstances” movie would fit right up there with all the other high school romance comedies that are all the rage. It wouldn't be too hard to work the plot into a 90-minute movie, which would chronicle the two main characters meeting, competing, falling in love and dealing with those who want to break them up. This, perhaps, could be something Kevin Smith could do, as it is a comic-based project and he has experience with romantic comedies with “Chasing Amy”. The cast, of course, would mainly consist of relative unknowns, probably plucked from TV shows like “The O.C.” or “One Tree Hill”.

MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH

The Anime:

Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are three girls from different schools and backgrounds, but are all suddenly transported to the magical world of Cephiro, where they must become the legendary Magic Knights and save Princess Emeraude, who has been captured by High Priest Zagato. But as they gather powers and weapons, gain allies and battle enemies, the girls learn not all is what it seems in terms of the situation and who the villains really are. Created by CLAMP, the girls behind “Card Captor Sakura”, this “Lord of the Rings”-style fantasy tale is one of their better-known titles.

The Movie:

Fantasy's big in America, so a “Rayearth” (they'll probably simply call it that and leave out the “Magic Knight” part) film could be easy to do. The story itself was done in a pair of three-volume stories, so a pair (maybe a trilogy?) of films could be done, the first focusing on the girls becoming the Magic Knights and their original quest, while the sequel would focus on their return to Cephiro to help rectify their actions. Peter Jackson, who's used to doing big-scale epics such as “Lord of the Rings”, would be a good choice to direct, with WETA, the effects guys for “Rings” and the upcoming “Evangelion” movie, to handle the creature and machine effects for the movie. Casting for the girls would be done by unknowns, while better-known actors could handle characters such as Zagato (Viggo Mortensen, maybe?)

And there you have it. Ten potential title Hollywood could do, right off the bat. Success of the already established and upcoming films, as well as getting the film rights, could determine their potential, but that's still plenty to work with. All fans can do is sit and wait with their fingers crossed.

Come with me as I investigate how it began and where it is presently.

Computer games have been around for nearly 30 years. Starting out on large wooden arcade machines they were quickly developed to be used within the home. The first ever computer game was Pong (1972,) a simple tennis like system that was very popular at its time. The interest in these games from the public was very high and manufacturers placed a lot of money in developing them, making them bigger and better.

Pong was followed by classics such as Centipede (1980) and Pac-Man (1980), but soon died out when consoles like the Commodore 64, the home console, was released. This gave the public the ability to play games in the comfort of their own homes.

Since this pioneering technology consoles have leaped from generation to generation breaking new ground with graphics, sound and game play.

After the successful release of the Nintendo consoles and its hit game Super Mario Bros. Hollywood saw the potential of these characters and stories and began its venture into transferring games into films.

In 1993 the first ever film to be based on a computer game was released. Super Mario Bros. starred Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the hapless plumbers/superheroes.

The story was very different to the game itself, the writers creating such a place as Dinohattan, a parallel universe where dinosaurs evolved into humans (seriously!) as opposed to apes evolving into humans.

Dennis Hopper was the evil King Bowser of the Koopas and other characters such as Princess Peach and Toad appeared.

The film stunned the public when released and created a lot of curiosity about how the game could have been transferred. Unfortunately for the producers the film was a major flop. The amount of wrongs certainly outweighed the rights. For starters Danny DeVito was clearly the best choice for Mario. Don't get me wrong Bob Hoskins is a great actor, but a bad choice for him. Also where was Luigi's mustache, it's the minor differences that can make or break a film. But we can't have a go at the makers, they tried something that had never been done before and failed. This would be the point where you would think, "okay, if we do this again let"s try and keep it as close to the source material as possible'. But they didn't

One year later another group of producers attempted to do what Super Mario Bros. couldn't. This time the concept was taken from the hugely successful Street Fighter (1994).

The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme (No surprise there), Raul Julia and strangely Kylie Minogue, certainly a strange choice. In my view apart from Raul Julia she's one of the high points of the film.

It was again another flop, it seemed making a film from a game was a clear risk and should never be attempted again, although Raul Julia gave a fantastic performance as Bison, unfortunately Julia died just after the film was completed. Not a good note to go on.

Exactly one year later Paul W. S. Anderson adapted the Street Fighter copy Mortal Kombat (1995), it seems he saw the potential and was hoping it would do better. In a way it did, becoming the most successful video game adaptation to date.

Eight years had passed and once again someone new was ready to step up to the jinxed podium of game to film and have a stab at it, or in this case stab it…to death.

That man was (regrettably!) Paul W. S. Anderson …again! The game was another hugely successful story, even more so than Mario and Street Fighter.

Resident Evil (2002) stunned audiences with its engaging game play and creepy storyline. Everything about the game was perfect and didn't need adjusting in anyway.

The film was rather successful, but still was not considered a decent adaptation. Hyped up to be one of the greatest game to film adaptations ever, people were soon struck down after witnessing what Paul. W. S. Anderson had done. The story was drastically adjusted and popular characters were removed. However it did gain two sequels both considered average RE: Apocalypse and RE: Extinction (2004, 2007). This could've been a one off for Anderson until Alien vs. Predator (2004) was released and we all began thinking "Is he doing this on purpose?"

He may claim he loves games and think they have interesting concepts and fantastic stories, but bear in mind that's only fifty percent, the rest is game play. The one thing that can't really be put into film, otherwise it would be a game. So if you change that concept or story you're pretty much screwed.

I'm sure by now everybody must have heard of Uwe Boll, if you haven't consider yourself one of the luckiest people alive. I must admit I have not seen any one of his films, the reason being the trailers actually put me off.

For those of you who don't know Uwe Boll is renowned for making the worst game to film adaptations, his tainted resume consists of House of the Dead(2003) Alone in the Dark (2005), Dungeon Siege (2008), Far Cry (2008) and Postal (2008).

I'm not sure whether I should mention the Tomb Raider films (2001, 2003), I mean everyone agrees they weren't very good, they were pretty bad. Saying that though Angelina Jolie was the perfect choice for Lara Croft and so I feel as though that balances out the bad points

Then out of the mist came a man, a man who believed he could eliminate game to film sceptics and make them believe again. Christophe Gans was prepared to take on the game to film concept with a different type of game, Silent Hill (2006). The game has a main focus on story and horror and Gans managed to keep true to the idea, yet much of the story was converted to accommodate a female lead rather than a male starring in the game. The horror was there with a good, yet sometimes confusing narrative. The film did well becoming more successful than previous tries, but still did not do as well as expected.

Recently we've seen Hitman (2007,) many a review were negative and so it's clear some games don't make good films. Maybe it's like books; they say the worst books make the best films.

By looking at the films and the stages they have gone through it's clear producers are understanding that if you stay true to the game the film succeeds. Don't get me wrong though, I love games and I love films and I would love for them to make a film from a game that is just as good as the source material, but it seems Hollywood just can't do that.

For my money it's the best comic book adaptation. Until relatively recently the only competition was Batman, other adaptations going for a fluffier market. Let's face it, Generation X was terrible! The tide turned with X Men, a film that united comic geeks and normal people. It may have messed with the time line, like the Summers Family Tree hadn't enough already, but it had the spirit of the original. So consider the first two X Men films a close second.

The Crow works if you haven't read the comics. It altered some plot details, changed a few names but kept the atmosphere. There's a real anger, a sense that retribution is needed. Without that the violence would just be gratuitous. The viewer doesn't just sympathies with Eric, there's empathy. We want him to succeed. I know I'm not the only one with streaky eyeliner at the end.

The cinematography is lush. Look at the crow swooping along, the set piece where Eric plays his guitar on the roof. The mirror being smashed. The flaming crow. Sarah skating through the rain. The iconic round window. How many other films have so many readily called up images?

The Crow is hard to classify. Is it love story, horror or fantasy? It's a bit of all of them without becoming a mishmash of reference points. There aren't many films that sit happily in all these camps. Fewer still that apply to a wide audience. This isn't just a film for boys.

The soundtrack is superb. The Joy Division quotes from the book are replaced with a Nine Inch Nails cover of Dead Souls. Burn by the Cure, sublime. It Can't Rain All The Time? Well, it's off key but doesn't it capture the emotion of the film? This was the film that made soundtrack CD's for horror/ sci fi/ fantasy a must.

It even manages to have a “kid” character who's not annoying. Most adult films with a child in would only cast an overly cute kid, preferably with a lisp. It's Sarah's hardness that makes her genuinely appealing.

Many people would say The Crow only has its following because Brandon Lee died. Quite frankly, we'll never know what would have happened otherwise. But whatever led you to watch The Crow in the first place, that not the same as the impression you're left with.

So, as far as I'm concerned, you can keep your Spiderman, it's just Dawson's Creek with super powers. Constantine and League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen were unspeakable. And there's still nothing that has bettered The Crow.

What genre of movie? Would this book make an excellent TV movie, an independent film?

If you think this is an excellent cinematic novel, then read and reread the novel, taking notes on how you might adapt it into a film.

Highlight the important scenes?

What is the POV? Is the movie point of view the same as the novel?

Then reread the book making a scene by scene outline.

The length of a full-length movie is about 120 pages.

Do you have enough material and significant movie scenes for this number of pages?

What about characters?

How many characters are central to the movie? Are these the type of characters who would make interest movie characters? Think about what movie stars could play the characters in the movie? As you write the movie, thinking about these characters help you to write the movie. You can imagine these characters speaking the lines.

Of course, if a production company decides to make the movie, this doesn't mean these stars are going to play the characters in your movie. Nevertheless, thinking about them helps you to dramatize the scene.

After your first draft is written, reread, take notes, and revise.

Read the dialogue out loud. How does it sound? How would it sound in a movie?

If you don't know how to format screenplays, then get a sample screen play script and/or purchase screenplay software. You can also find free screenplay software online.

This is just an exercise, of course. If you want to make use of this novel for commercial purposes, you would have to obtain the screenplay rights. You would have to have the permission of the author to adapt their work. You would have to option the rights. You would have to contact the author and/or the author's literary agent.

If this is your own novel, of course, you would already have the rights to adapt it as a screenplay. These are some of the techniques that you can use.

In addition to adapting novels into screenplays, you can also adapt works of nonfiction. Often works of nonfiction can make more interesting movies than fictional works, especially creative nonfiction that makes use of fictional and cinematic techniques.