Bookish Questions: So what do you think of movie adaptions?

This past week the YA world was hit with Hunger Games casting news. Josh Hutcherson is officially cast as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth is officially cast as Gale. *cue sad music and angry fan outbursts*

I know. I can't believe it either. This was me on the morning the casting news hit:

-Log in to Facebook
-Start reading my news feed
-See the official casting announcement
-FREAK OUT! (And not in a good way.)
-Start throwing a mini temper tantrum inside my head ala "OH MY GOSH MILEY CYRUS' EX BOYFRIEND IS SO NOT GALE!!!!"
-Torture my family with casting complaints for the remainder of the day
-Console myself by painting my toenails to look like dinosaur eggs (no joke!)

So yeah to say that I was disappointed about the casting announcement would be the understatement of the year. Unlike most people it isn't Josh Hutcherson that I'm sad about. On the contrary I like Josh Hutcherson for Peeta! (if you still need convincing just watch this interview of him on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He's totally channeling a Peeta vibe!) No the casting decision I'm peeved about is Liam Hemsworth as Gale. If you've been reading my blog for awhile then you should know that Gale is at the top of my favorite literary guys list. Yep, even after reading Mockingjay I still like him. Don't judge me!!! So the fact that Miley Cyrus' ex is going to be playing him on the big screen? Yeah I'm sad beyond all compare. Everytime I see a picture of him my first reaction is to scream (and NOT in a good way) and then to gag. I just don't find him attractive..... At all.... Plus I don't trust his acting skills. I mean Nicholas Sparks? *gag reflex*

So after experiencing my own reaction to this casting (this is the first time I've ever been this emotionally invested in the casting of a movie) and reading the reactions of others I was inspired to ask the question: What is it that makes a book to movie adaption great? Is it the actors and the quality of their acting? Or is it keeping close to the source material? And should we think of books and their adaptions as the same entity or two separate things entirely?

My all time favorite book to movie adaption is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. (oh and I totally have this movie poster on my wall. I'm such a nerd.... XD)

In my mind these movies are what book to movie adaptions should be. Its like the book is coming to life before your eyes. The world is vibrant, the essence of each character is intact, and the story is preserved.

But sometimes movie adaptions just don't turn out that way. We read the book, and they make a movie and gosh they BUTCHER IT. Kind of like what happened with the Percy Jackson movie that came out last year.

I love Logan Lerman and all but even he couldn't save this movie. It wasn't that the acting was bad (though I really did not enjoy Annabeths performance) but more that the script was TERRIBLE.

I think its better to separate the book and the movie, at least until the movie actually comes out, that way there isn't as much disappointed when the movie pales in comparison to the original source material. Like for the Hunger Games movie: I'm totally looking forward to it (even with Liam playing Gale) but I don't want to build it up to be something in my mind that it just can't measure up to. That way when I actually see it instead of being marginally disappointed, I might be pleasantly surprised, or totally blown away in awesome!

So my lovely blog readers, what is your stance on book to movie adaptions? Love them? Hate them? Do you think its better to separate the movie and the book? Or do you think we should expect them to both be equally amazing? And what do you think is the most important element of a movie adaption? (personally I think its preserving the essence of the characters!)

Ohhh and I also would love to hear your thoughts on the Hunger Games casting news! Are you as devastated about certain members of the cast as I am? Or are you relatively happy about who they have chosen to play Katniss, Peeta, and Gale?

Julia :)