It’s always interesting to see if the movie version of a book is actually better than the book itself. So here’s a handy list of fan-favorite movies that were actually based on books for you to check out! Gonna go out on a limb here and say that most people probably don’t know that these movies have literary origins because the film versions are just as good, if not better!
- Die Hard
Bruce Willis’s classic action movie was first a book entitled Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. However, the name of the protagonist had to be changed from Joe Leland to John McClane because this is actually the second book in the series – the first was already made into a movie in 1966.
- Forrest Gump
Yes, I am also very shook that Forrest Gump started out as a book (Forrest Gump by Winston Groom), but let’s all note that the book was way less popular than the film. I personally think that the incredible acting of Tom Hanks was what really set this film apart from the book.
- Fight Club
Fight Club is based on the 1996 book of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. There’s even a sequel!
- Red Sparrow
Jennifer Lawrence’s spy thriller didn’t just spring from the minds of a group of screenwriters – it’s actually based on the Red Sparrow trilogy by Jason Matthews, a veteran CIA officer.
- Mean Girls
Tina Fey didn’t base Mean Girls on a book in the traditional way. She created the characters, plot, etc., herself, but she was ultimately inspired by Rosalind Wiseman’s self-help book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends & Other Realities of Adolescence.
- The Parent Trap
This one shocked me, too, since I grew up watching this movie and had no idea that it was based on a book! The German novel, Lottie and Lisa by Erich Kastner, was first published in 1949. It has been turned into various film adaptations across multiple countries – but I think we can all agree that this version is the best.
- How To Be Single
It seems weird to me that this silly movie is actually based on a novel, but facts are facts!
- Jurassic Park
We all owe a debt of gratitude to Michael Crichton for writing the book Jurassic Park in 1990, which eventually became the cultural icon that it is today.
- Shrek
Shrek, including its many, many spin-offs and sequels, is not an original creation of DreamWorks. It’s based on a picture book in which a terrifying ogre kind of accidentally saves a princess. The movie won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, which is amazing!
- The Help
Yep, the idea for “poop pie” came from the mind of Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, not Emma Stone. Although she was phenomenal in the film version of this story.
