Book-to-screen adaptations are fairly common in today's version of Hollywood. Authors are almost always elevated when their literary work is adapted. Be sure to check out our extensive list of screen adaptations coming soon!
However, what happens when a book is adapted and no one knows it? Let's explore that. This article came to fruition thanks to the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding It Ends With Us, an adaptation of a book that made Colleen Hoover a bestseller where everyone appears to be feuding with Justin Baldoni who played Ryle and directed the film.
1. Confess - Colleen Hoover
The first entry on this five-part list is Collide by Colleen Hoover. The television show of the same name dropped on the now-defunct streaming service, go90 in 2017. The show (and the book) tells the story of Auburn Reed, a young woman who has seen trouble. Auburn has a young son, born when she was just a teenager. His father died before his mother found out she was pregnant. The story revolves around Auburn attempting to get custody of her child back. There is very little information on the show and we only found out about it thanks to some random snooping. For more on the series, check out Nikki Carreon's video on it. Also, the story in the series is an absolute mess as the storyline isn't coherent and the performances aren't exactly stellar. Confess is probably an adaptation Colleen Hoover would rather forget.
2. Nick Fury - Marvel Comics
Everyone knows Samuel L. Jackson as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., but did you know that before Jackson became the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Fury, David Hasselhoff played the role years earlier? Yes, there was a television movie on Fox in the late 90s starring the former Baywatch star and Lisa Rinna. The film was supposed to be a backdoor pilot for a television series, focusing on the character. Rinna played Contessa Valentina Allegra De Fontaine, played in the MCU by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The movie also featured Strucker, Alexander Pierce, Dum-Dum Dugan and Armin Zola. Understandably, the film did not do well and the idea for any associated media, was scrapped, despite Hasselhoff having signed on for several projects.
3. Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
For many years, an adaptation of the beloved book series Artemis Fowl was in development hell. At one point, Harvey Weinstein was announced to produce the film but was pulled from the project after his many years of scandal were exposed. When the project did get off the ground and released on Disney+ the result was less than spectacular. The movie was panned by critics and fans.
4. Fallen - Lauren Kate
In the mid-2010s in 2016, Lauren Kate was a pretty big author in the space of young adult romances. She wrote the Fallen series, which was about a teenage girl who falls in love with an angel. The first book was so big that it caught the attention of Hollywood and got greenlit for a film. However, the movie was not wide-reaching at all. There was little to no publicity for it. The marketing was horrible and no one knew the film had even come out. There were plans for the sequel, Torment to be made as of 2014. There has been no news since.
5. The Dark Tower - Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the most recognizable authors of our time. Many of his books have been adapted to screen including Carrie, It, Cujo, and Firestarter, amongst others. One rather forgettable one is The Dark Tower, starring Idris Elba. Despite the A-list talent, this film was a total letdown. Despite King's praise of Elba, the film bombed at the box office, and the fans and critics all agreed that the project was not great. The film before it even started production went through development hell twice before it landed the final director. After the movie failed to impress, King expressed his views, saying that it's possible that the failure was likely due to the removal of a significant amount of source material and that it had to be toned down to maintain a PG-13 rating.