This year, Hollywood has decided to browse the stacks of their local library to find ideas for this year's blockbusters. Practically every month this year, there is a major studio release of a movie based off of a classic or best-seller. Some have already been released (Peter Jackson's adaptation of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones is already creating some Oscar buzz), while many more are on the way.
The most recent big release based on a book is The Lightning Thief, the first book in the popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which came out on February 12th. The story centers around the young Percy Jackson, who not only has to deal with the revelation that he is the son of the Greek god Poseidon, but that he is also the primary suspect in the case involving the theft of Zeus' lightning bolt.
March 5th is the release date of Tim Burton's much anticipated adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll's children's classic. For those who have not seen or heard anything about this one, here's a quick look:
One that I am truly excited about is the film adaptation of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which comes out on March 19th. The book chronicles the life of Greg Heffley, a disaffected middle-schooler who has to deal with a whole slew of problems: a bullying older brother, acting in the school's rendition of The Wizard of Oz, being harassed by teenagers on Halloween and, worst of all, the dreaded cheese touch.
Later in the year, readers will be treated to two films that are based off of wildly popular book series that might challenge box office records: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, will be coming to the silver screen on June 30th while those anticipating the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 will have to wait until November 19th.
