We are living in the golden age of tent pole movie$. I don’t care about superhero movies because they’re all terrible and just about boring dudes fighting each other. Hulk, just don’t get mad. PROBLEM SOLVED. But sweeping fantasy and sci-fi epics based on well-loved literary properties? Bring them on.
The studios seem to be saying the same thing. With The Lord of the Rings series set to make 2 BILLION dollars by the time it’s all out and The Hunger Games above 1.5 Billion (and only half way through) there is a lot of “butts-in-seats love” for properties like this. So where do they find more? Well, they’re out there. Game of Thrones, The Maddaddam Trilogy, Dragonriders of Pern, Outlander and A Series of Unfortunate Events have been snapped up but there are plenty more available. And based on The Hunger Games and Divergent (over 288 million) it’s just fine with the audience if there are women in these movies or TV shows.
So here are some things I’d love to see get made based on books loved by me that just happen to be written by women. A lot of these are probably optioned already. If they aren’t, they should be.
- A Wizard Of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin and its sequels. How scary would The Tombs of Atuan be!!??! Here’s a great io9 article about how great they are. You might say “But Etta, there was already an Earthsea movie made by SyFy.” And I’d say, “shut up, shut up, shut up”. That was an Earthsea movie like pee is a delicious drink.
- The Dragon Prince and it’s sequels by Melanie Rawn is epic in every sense of the word. I haven’t read them in years but there is a great rereading blog here that looks at these books from a more modern perspective. While the cover may be a little embarrassing to read on the bus this very long and sweeping story is perfect for long form multi season character heavy storytelling that TV allows with sex and magic and killing enough for all. I’m looking at you HBO.
- The Pit Dragon Trilogy by Jane Yolen VFX are finally catching up to this story about dragons. If Smaug is any indication some beautiful dragons can be made these days. The fighting pits in this coming of age story would be spectacular.
- Wise Child, Juniper and Colman by Monica Furlong These three books take place in medieval Scotland and England and are more spiritual than the other books on this list. Furlong wrote non-fiction books on myths, medieval women mystics and Zen and advocated for women in the Anglican Church. These books paint a beautiful picture of pagan traditions in the British Isles through some unforgettable characters knocking up against the Christian majority and the frequent witch hunts of the time.
- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley This is basically the Arthurian legend from the women’s point of view. If you’ve never read this book it had better be because your carpel tunnel makes it hard for you to carry books as heavy as a brick around. Well, get a Kindle or something. There was a miniseries in 2001 with Julianna Margulies and Angelica Huston who were both fantastic. The style of big TV storytelling has evolved so much since this time that I’d love to see a Game of Thrones type treatment given to this epic, epic.
What great books would make you show up for opening weekend?
About Etta Devine
Etta Devine is an actor, filmmaker, and writer with a script on the 2017 Blacklist and one of 2017's Movie Maker Magazine's 25 Screenwriters to watch. With partner Gabriel Diani she directed, wrote, produced and starred in the feature film “Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse” which premiered at the 2016 Austin film festival and won awards from the Mill Valley Film Festival, Spokane International Film Festival, Omaha Film Festival, San Luis Obispo Film Festival, and many others. She co-produced and starred in the horror comedy “The Selling,” ruined classic literature by creating “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Robotic Edition” and is a member of the Antaeus Classical Theatre Company in Los Angeles and the Film Fatales. She recently recorded voices for the popular Frederator cartoon “Bee and Puppycat“ and wrote multiple episodes of its upcoming second season.