Shutter Island Movie Trailer

Adapting My Book

                I don’t think there would be many challenges adapting this book into a movie. Shutter Island seems like one of those books that was written to be a movie. I think the only challenge would be to be able to capture the creepy and eeriness of the book. The island itself needs to just look off, like something isn’t right about it. And all of the people need to have a feel to them that makes you weary of their character. To make this happen I think that personality and appearance changes of the characters should be kept to a minimum. They’re what adds to the feel of the plot and without it you would almost never guess that something is not right with the facility. If changes with them did have to be made then it should only be done to the way they look, because then at least you can still judge their personality by their dialogue and the way they interact with each other.

                One scene that I think would be essential to keep would be when Teddy and Chuck interview the patients to find out where Rachel is. It’s important because it is the only chance you get to hear from the patients and find out what they have to say. This is the part where Teddy starts to develop a hunch that people are scripted, since one of the patients says something almost word for word from what Dr. Cawley had said earlier.

                Another vital scene is when Teddy talks to Noyce. Noyce says some things that are really important when it comes to the ending of the book, and cutting this conversation out would almost eliminate that ‘oohhh’ feeling you get when you realize the twist at the end. The movie didn’t leave this out, and I thought they did a good job with it because it definitely got the point of the dialogue across and then they referenced to it at the end.

                The last scene I would want to be kept would be one of the last ones where Dr. Cawley tries to explain to Teddy that he in face it Andrew Laeddis. Obviously, the movie didn’t cut this out since it’s the whole ending, but they didn’t really change any of the dialogue which I thought was important. This part could be a bit confusing as your try to comprehend it, so the more dialogue they keep the better chance you have at completely being able to wrap your mind around the idea.

                If a scene had to be cut I think it would be fine if it were the one where the two marshals and the two orderlies were playing cards in their room. I didn’t really see much point to it in the book, and without it the plot would still make sense. All that I had gotten out of it was that Chuck was good at reading people and being able to decide if they were bluffing or not.

                Another scene the movie could do without is when Teddy wakes up after having his migraine to find Dr. Cawley watching him as he slept. This part didn’t have any importance to me, and as long as they got across the point that Teddy gets migraines, this scene wouldn’t be needed. All it does is add to your suspicions of Cawley, but I think there are already enough parts in the book that you would be fine if this wasn’t included. 

Book 1 Project

Book: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Idea: Looking for Alaska TV show

                Looking for Alaska is filled with many scenarios and topics relatable to teens. So why not broadcast it to every teen out there, instead of just the ones who like to read? A TV show directed towards young adults could be created, bringing all of the characters from the book to life. The pilot episode could start off with Pudge heading off to boarding school, and meeting all of the characters. Then the rest of the season could play out the book, ending with Pudge reading off his concluding essay about Alaska’s death. But the show wouldn’t have to stop there. Season two could open up to Pudge and the Colonel  going through Alaska’s stuff and discovering, under a pile of her books, a journal she kept labeled “Pranks”. From there on out the show could show Pudge and all his friends trying to play out all of Alaska’s pranks also with, of course, normal school teenage drama as a sub-plot.  

How does this relate to the book?

                When Pudge spends his first night at his new school, he soon learns that pranks are a way of life there. He awoke to people grabbing at him, leading him out to the lake, and tying him up. From there “they picked [him] up and hurled [him] into the water” (25). This was the first and last prank played against Pudge. He then proceeded to team up with the Colonel, Alaska, Takumi, and Lara to prank these kids back. In the Colonel’s words, the point of it was to “prove once and for all that [they] are to pranking what the Weekday Warriors are to sucking” (102). Then, only a day after the pay back prank was played out, Alaska dies in a car accident. The group wants to do something in her honor, so they carry out a plan that Alaska had wanted to do her senior year. They call it “The Alaska Young Memorial Prank” and decided to make it an annual event. They did it because they said “it would be etched in the memory of everyone at the Creek, and Alaska deserved nothing less” (201). So season two would come from the boys deciding to make the memorial prank more than an annual thing, and instead a weekly thing. They want to make sure the school never forgets Alaska, and they do so by carrying out pranks in her name.

Will the show be successful at reaching a wider audience?

                Not every teenager enjoys reading, nor do they always have info on the latest and best-selling books. A TV show would be a great way to get word about Looking for Alaska out there. It would draw in the young adults that watch TV more than read. Then, if the audience really likes the show, they can go pick up the book at their local bookstore and get a more in-depth viewpoint on Pudge’s first year at the school (since the TV show would not only show Pudge’s viewpoint, but the other character’s too). People who have already read the book can, obviously, watch the show too. With the help of the author the actors and actresses will portray the characters accurately, so the readers will enjoy watching the characters they came to know come to life in the show. The show will give them an image to go with the words they read, and hopefully they will enjoy it. Then, if the show becomes widely popular, the network can start selling other things such as t-shirts or journals made to look like the one Alaska kept as another way to bring in the audience and advertise for the book/show.