Before the VCR and other home media(laserdisc anyone?), before the ad nausea repeat nature of cable (HEY!Beastmaster is On) or the "at your fingertips" accessibility of streaming, once a movie left the theater, you might never get to experience it again.
Periodically, if the movie was a successful hit, it would return to the theaters for an anniversary showing. If a genre favorite, the film might make the rounds of conventions or themed film marathons. But more often, once the reel ran out and the house lights came up: Th-th-th-tha-tha-tha-that's all, folks!
Enter...the Novelization!
For decades now, the novelization has been another media tie in for the ever growing ways to market and merchandise a movie. A close relative to the novelization is the official movie magazine that was sometimes sold in the lobby at the popcorn stand. I recall fondly owning the official Goonies magazine. And if those were not enough, we've even seen "fotonovels",full of pages and pages of screen captured images with dialogue bubbles telling the story. View Masters with 3-D dioramas. Read along story 45's.Entire movies represented from start to finish in book form via hundreds of black and white photos taken directly from the screen image. And sequels and prequels for unfilmed stories.
Now,Imagine,as a child, watching a beloved movie like Star Wars (A New Hope here people, keep up,lets not discuss that other tragedy of a trilogy) on the big screen during it's original release in the late 70's. Knowing that in a short time it will be gone and you may never see it again. Sure , you have the toys to recreate the story and your own sugar pop cereal fueled Saturday morning imagination to expand the universe. But its only three more weeks till the summers over and you've only seen the movie fifteen times.WHAT TO DO?!?!
So to your surprise ,what do you see on the book shelf of your local library but your favorite movie's poster image emblazoned on the cover of a paperback. You check it out , eager to go on the same adventure you enjoyed. But wait...what's this? this wasn't in the movie??? And she didn't say that?? whats going on here?
I have a fascination towards movie novelizations . The strange transformation from movie to book, vs the more traditional book to film.That literary opportunity to re-immerse yourself in the 'verse's entertainment. As many times as you wished. No longer having to wait for that possible glimpse of the edited for television pan and scan version to grace your home screen.Though, with the countless original novels out there that could be turned into a movie, why write a book on something that already exists as a finished product?
I think my first novelization was for the movie TRON. With a close second being for the movie E.T.
I've always assumed that the novelization is written in that short period of post production near a films completion and future release.Likely, along the lines of a four to six week time-frame. Hurriedly, the hired writer plunks down at the keyboard and tries to get from point A to point B all the while giving the characters internal monologues a voice. Why the screenwriter never seems to be hired to flesh out the novelization is a strange choice. Wouldn't the one who created the story in the first place know the devil of the details?The hired writer has no idea what the finished product looks like as they are handed a script, a selection of stills or production art and sent away with a release date deadline. Imagine someone trying to write a novelization for a David Lynch movie before seeing the finished product
Often, the adaption is from an early version of the script.I've discovered some novelizations that bear only a passing resemblance to the final product.Most seem to be written without director notes of changes that were made due to budgetary constraint or artistic whims. Whole scenes might be missing from the book.And complete sequences may be in it's place.
Granted,for the writer, the action and plot are already predetermined, Though too often,the writers goal is to make sense out of odd narrative moments and unspoken character motivations.These books can sometimes lead to fascinating insights into a films production history.
Occasionally the book is released before the movie . Why the rush? I've never heard of a novelization ever building excitement for a film. Before, or after it's release. Supposedly, the Disney Dick Tracy movie was released as a novelization without an actual last chapter so as not to spoil a big reveal only to be published later with the final chapter.Yes, some novelizations have been released more than once. Sometimes decades apart (i.e. Grease). The novelization for the Tim Curry movie ,Clue, actually had all three filmed endings as seen on the screen with the scripted fourth ending that has yet to see the light of DVD. Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula saw a novelization of his version of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Think about that one for a second.....there is a novelization...based off the screenplay.....based off the original book.
Once a fairly popular release , the modern novelization tends to favor the big summer blockbusters. No more do those weird cult movies or low budget art house creations get the special extra treatment. In the past, we have seen novelizations for such cult movies and musicals like Phantom of the Paradise, ridiculous sequels,Grease 2, and even porn ,Deep Throat. And still today,some movies are receiving retroactive novelizations decades after the films original release.Despite the instant gratification accessibility of having a movie mere months after its theatrical release, this genre of books prevails.
And as long as they keep making them, I will probably be foolishly inclined to buy them .
Below is a testament to that last statement.....my ever growing list of literary lunacy..
Last Update August 2018:
6th Day
9 to 5
30 Days of Night
58 Minutes
101 Dalmations
2001 : A Space Odyssey
Making of Kubricks 2001
The Abyss
The Accused
The Addams Family
Addams Family Values
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
Air Force One
Airport 77
Alias, Madame Doubtfire
Alien
Alien (Special Edition, inside cover says Young Adult Edition)
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien Resurrection
Alien Covenant
Alien Nation
Altered States ( not technically a novelization)
Amazing Stories Volume II
American Gigolo
American Graffiti (presented as a script with photo illustrations)
Amityville 3D
Apollo 13 ( not a novelization,previously titled Lost Moon)
April Fool's Day ( signed by Amy Steel I asked her to sign it
"Final Girls are made of STEEL, Amy Steel"
Arachnophobia
The A-Team
Back to The Future Parts I,II & III
Bad News Bears
Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
Bad Seed ( Not technically a novelization)
Basic Instinct
Batman ( Tim Burton )
Batman Returns
Batman Begins The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight Rises
Batteries Not included
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica :photostory
The Beatles in Help ,Yellow Submarine
Big
Blackbeards Ghost (Disney film )
The Black Hole
Blade
Blair Witch Project :"fotonovel"
Blair Witch Files : #3 The Drowning Ghost
#5 The Death Card
The Blob
The Blues Brothers
The Bodyguard
Boogeyman
Brain Damage
The Bride
Buffy The Vampire Slayer ( based off of Joss Whedon's script)
Burnt Offerings ( not a novelization)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Cabin in the Woods
The Cable Guy
The Cannonball Run
Cape Fear (formerly titled the Executioners, not a novelization)
Capricorn One
Cat People
Child's Play 2
Child's Play 3
China Syndrome
Clash of the Titans
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind :Special Edition (revised to include new Director's Cut scenes )
Close Encounters of the Third Kind "fotonovel"
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Diary
CLUE ( With the fourth possible ending that was part of the original script-which I own as well)
CLUE The Storybook(A Picture book version that includes a map of the house)
Cocktail
Cocoon
Condorman
Creature From the Black Lagoon
CFTBL: Time's Black Lagoon
CFTBL: #5 Black Water Horror
Crimson Peak
The Crow : City of Angels
Dark City
Dark Crystal
Darkman
Dark Star
Dawn of the Dead
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Dead Poets Society
Deep Throat (Yes, there is a novelization for that movie, go figure?)
Desperately Seeking Susan
Dick Tracy
Die Hard (originally published as Nothing Lasts Forever)
58 Minutes( inspiration for Die Hard 2 )
Die Hard with a Vengeace
Dirty Harry
Dracula ( ok get this one......it's a novelization......of the screenplay.... of the novel by Bram Stoker)
Dragonslayer
Dressed to Kill
Dungeon & Dragons
Earthquake
Eddie and the Cruisers
El Cid
The Elephant Man
Embryo
Enemy Mine
Escape From New York ( two covers, one illustrated, another Kurt Russell photo)
eXistenZ
Making of Exorcist II : The Heretic
Exorcist-The Beginning
Explorers
E.T
E.T."sequel" : The Book of the Green Planet
Letters to E.T.
Eyes of Laura Mars
Fame
Famous Monsters of Filmland : Best From
Fantastic Voyage ( and the unfilmed sequel FV II: Destination Brain)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Fierce Creatures
The Final Cut
Fifth Element
Final Fantasy : The Spirits Within
The Fisher King
Fly Away Home
The Funhouse ( written by Dean Koontz as Owen West )
Flash Gordon
Flatliners
Fletch (Not a novelization)
The Fog
Foul Play
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th Part 2
Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D (Michael Avallone)
Friday the 13th Part 6 ( signed by the actor who performed Jason: C. J. Graham, )
The Frighteners
Fright Night
Fugitive ( Harrison Ford movie )
The Funhouse (Dean Koontz writing as Owrn West)
Galaxy Quest
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters II
Ghostbusters(2016)
Godzilla (2014)
The Good Son
The Goonies
Grease , one of those rare novelizations that has actually been
published twice, '78 and '98
Grease :Fotonovel
Grease 2
Gremlins
Gremlins 2
Hackers
Halloween
Halloween II
Halloween III
Halloween IV
The Hand
Harold & Maude
Harry and the Henderson
Heartbeeps
Heaven Can Wait
Hellboy
Hellboy 2: Golden Army
High Anxiety
Highlander
Hills Have Eyes 2
Hook
Howard the Duck
Howling (not a novelization ) , as well as II & III
Hudson Hawk
Identity
Independence Day
Indiana Jones : Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom & The Last Crusade
Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark
Innerspace
Invaders From Mars ( based off the Dan O'Bannon script)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (foto-novel)
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Jazz Singer
Jaws 2
Jaws 2 Log
Jaws the Revenge
The Jerk
Judge Dredd
Karate Kid I & II
The Killing Fields
King Kong ( both the original and the Peter Jackson versions)
Kingdom of the Spiders
Kramer vs Kramer
Krull
Labyrinth
Ladyhawke
Last Starfighter
Lifeforce
Logan's Run ( not a novelization) and Logan's Search & Logan's World
The Lords of Flatbush
Lord of the Rings Foto-novel
The Lost Boys
Lost in Space
Love Bug & Herbie Rides Again
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Magic (Not a novelization)
Manhatten Project
Man Who Fell to Earth ( not a novelization)
Mars Attacks!
Mask-Jim Carrey
Mask-Cher
Men in Black
Meteor
Midnight Madness
Mission Impossible '96
Moment by Moment (A Travolta/Lily Tomlin movie I have NEVER heard of before)
Monkey Shines
Monty Pythons Life of Brian
Moonraker
Mork & Mindy a novel & a Mork & Mindy video novel
Mortal Kombat
The Mummy
The Munsters
Murder By Death
My Science Project
National Lampoon's Class Reunion foto-novel
Natural Born Killers
Nightmares on Elm Street Parts 1,2,3 : The Continuing Story , plus
Freddy Krueger A Life short story
The Nightmares on Elm Street parts 4 & 5
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Freddy vs Jason
Night of the Living Dead
Return of the Living Dead ( both the original John Russo sequel that takes place after George A. Romero's movie and the Dan O'Bannon versions . Signed by the Author)
Nightwing
Nosferatu
Notes by Eleanor Coppola ,Apocalypse Now diary
Oceans 11
On Golden Pond
Oh,Heavenly Dog
Oh,God
The Omen
Damien Omen II
The Final Conflict
Omen IV & V
One Hundred and One Dalmations
On Golden Pond
Outbreak
Pacific Rim
Panic Room
Phantom of the Paradise
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
Pitch Black
Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes : Tim Burton version
Spaceballs: THE BOOK(got this one from my Father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate)
Space Camp
Spawn
Speed 2
Spider-Man I,2 & 3
Spies Like Us
Splash
Splinter of the Minds Eye
Stargate
Starman
Making of Star Trek ( TV show)
ST:Trouble with Tribbles
Making of Star Trek the Motion Picture
Making of Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn
Star Trek :The Wrath of Khan and the foto-novel
Star Wars : Trilogy
Star Wars : Once Upon a Galaxy : A Journal of the making of the Empire Strikes Back
The Making of Return of the Jedi
The Sting
Supergirl
Superman : Last Son of Krypton & Miracle Monday
Superman III
Superman IV
Sugarland Express
Swamp Thing
Switchback
Tales from the Crypt 1972
Tales from the Crypt :Demon Knight
Tales from the Darkside : Volume One (TV series)
Taxi Driver
The End (Burt Reynolds)
The Terminator
The Terminator 2 : Judgement Day
The Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines
The Thing
THX 1138
The Time Bandits
Titan A.E.
Tomb Raider
Top Gun
Total Recall
Tron
True Lies
Twelve monkeys
Twilight Zone : The Movie
Twister
Vampires ( not a novelization, inspiration for John Carpenter film)
Van Helsing
Videodrome
Virus
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
War Games
Warlock
Warriors
Waterworld
West Side Story
When Worlds Collide
After Worlds Collide
Willow
Willard
Ben
Witness
The X Files : Fight the Future
The X Files : I Want to Believe
Yellow Submarine
Young Frankenstein
Zorro (George Hamilton)
NON Novelization Media Tie-ins :
Elvira Mistress of the Dark : The Boy Who Cried Werewolf: SIGNED by Elvira(Cassandra Peterson)
Elvira Mistress of the Dark : Camp Vamp: SIGNED by Elvira(Cassandra Peterson)
Elvira Mistress of the Dark : Transylvania 90210 : SIGNED by Elvira(Cassandra Peterson)
Laverne & Shirley-Teamwork,Easy Money,Gold Rush
Nightmares on Elm Street : Freddy Krueger's Seven Sweetest Dreams
A Nightmare on Elm Street : Protege,Suffer the Children,Dreamspawn,
The Dream Dealers, Perchance to Dream
Freddy Krueger's Tales of Terror : Blind Date , Fatal Games
,Virtual Terror,Twice Burned
Friday the 13th : Mother's Day , Jason's Curse
Hamlet II : Ophelia's Revenge
Planetfall
Kings Quest : The Floating Castle, Kingdon of Sorrow
Wishbringer
The Zork Chronicles
The Lost City of Zork
Zork : Conquest at Quendor
Unofficial guide to the West Wing Inside Bartlet's White House
Monk : Firehouse, Hawaii, Blue Flu
Welcome Back, Kotter : The Super Sweathogs, the Sweathogs Newshawks
War of the Worlds : The Resurrection
Xena : Empty Throne , Huntress and the Sphinx, the Thief of
Hermes,Prophecy of Darkness
V : Original novel
V The Second Generation
V : East Coast Crisis
V:The Pursuit of Diana
V:Chicago Conversion
V:The Florida Project
V:Prisoners and Pawns
V:Alien Sowrdmaster
V:The Crivit Experiment
V:The New England Resistance
V:Death Tide
V:The Texas Run
V:Path to Conquest
V:To Conquer the Throne
V:The Oregon Invasion
V:Symphony of Terror
V:Below the Threshold
The Panic Broadcast : Whole story of Orson Welles radio showra
Resident Evil 2 :Calinban Cove
RE: 3: City of the Dead
RE :4 Underworld
RE:5 : Nemesis
RE: Code Veronica
RE: The Umbrella Conspiracy
Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers
Darkman 1: The Hangman
Darkman 2: Price of Fear
Darkman 3: Gods of Hell
Darkman 4: In the Face of Death
Shadow
Indiana Jones : Dance of the Giants
: and the the White Witch
: and the Philosopher's Stone
: and the Unicorn's Legacy
: and the Army of the Dead
: and the Interior World
: and the Peril at Delphi
: and the Sky Pirates
: and the Dinosaur Eggs
: and the Seven Veils
: and the Genesis DEluge
: and the Secret of the Sphinx
: and the Hollow Earth
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