reading?

[Debra]

Just discovered that his group is #4 most active which depresses me, as it exists on a site about reading books. Though I enjoyed the discussion with Robert (thanks, Robert, for the Wim Wender book), and will likely use this statistical information on my vodcast, I am extricating myself from the group. Thanks for the invite, Ed. I hope you can find a way to shift the focus back to reading.

[Alison]

Good point, Debra. I was thinking the same myself. However, so many of these movies were based on books anyway. It's fun to see how they contrast/compare. And there's obviously an interest with so much activity here among all these readers. However, I see where you're coming from. My main beef right now is that I spend more time on this site than I do reading! It's just too addictive.

Another argument in favor of this group might be that arent' movies a manifestation of screenplays--the written word? Most of the movies that I enjoy come from great scripts which celebrate writers. Is that really much different than an listening to an audio book? Just my thoughts.

[Debra]

I'm both a fiction writer and screenwriter, and I assure you the two are quite different. Whhat hits the screen has less to do with the screenwriter(s -- there are often multiple writers attached to one project) than with the director. Plus, there is often the editing demanded by producers.

Perhaps, Alison, you can sway the conversations toward book-to-film? -- nudge and wink. That might make up for the unfortunate detour.

[Alison]

Again, I see your point Debra. Your comments brought to mind the big budget movies that seem to be made soley to market to a certain demographic that is willing to get out and generate millions for big "event" movies. Personally, after watching Miller's Crossing last night, I couldn't shake the feeling that the Coen Brother's screenplay was more of a literary contribution than some books I've tried to read...books reviewed on this very site. Not sure how much editing and so forth went into it, but it turned out great!

Yes, I, too would hate to see the discussion turn toward National Lampoon's Barely Legal and so forth. Haha. I'll make a personal effort to keep mine literary-minded. Best wishes!

P.S. You have an impressive author profile! :)

[Ed]

It's in the section..entertainment--film. I didn't create that section. I do think film is different but films are very related to literature and really a part in a general way of an effort to express creatively a certain vision. I think a forum for book lovers to discuss film is fun.

Ed

[Pamela]

I personally enjoy the opportunity to get in a little off-topic discussion on the site, and though films are not books, they are a type of literature. I don't understand why an active, fun group that discusses film is a problem. [shrug] Just my two cents.

[[deleted user]]

I agree. While I see Debra's point, I feel that narrative is narrative, regardless of the medium. There aren't many book lovers I know who don't love film as well - and film can often do such different things to books, it seems a shame to completely discount one or the other. Look at the way the discussion on book adaptations has got people talking!

I think the biggest concern is people who don't watch movies outside of Hollywood blockbusters and don't read either, not people who love books AND love films.

[Nicole]

I love this group and I also belong to Hollyweird which has little to do with books. Books, film and the quirky people who are in the business of both are a passion of mine.

Goodreads is a great forum for all types of entertainment.

[[deleted user]]

The worlds of film and books are so intertwined these days--books made into films and films being retroactively made into books (The Abyss). I certainly don't feel any guilt for discussing movies here. I'm a certified bookhound, but I love any art form, really. They are all interrelated and inform and influence one another.

[Rachel]

absolutely, angela. narrative is narrative. and as michelle said, literature and film are so intertwined. sure, maybe some people will think discussing "harold & kumar go to white castle" a little below them, but lucky for you no one's forcing you to participate. i love goodreads, but sometimes the group/booklist bashing on here kills me...

[Ed]

I agree...plus I like what Nicole said about books, films, and the quirky people involved in both are passions of most of us...I think a forum like this with contributors who share a love of books is just perfect. :)

Ed

[Robert]

Rather than see the popularity of a discussion group that includes films with Goodreads as ironic, I would defend this group - and other hybrids - by pointing out that the film discussions I've seen and been a part of here on Goodreads tend to hold higher standards than anything I've seen on movie-oriented sites like Flixster. As a recovering film critic and film studies professor, I have a lifelong love for movies than is nearly as old as my love for reading, so I enjoy sharing ideas and enthusiasms with the many people here who obviously share both interests. Perhaps this is just my opinion, but anyone interested in the arts should remain open to all of its forms. Artists cross-reference each other all the time: There are, after all, films about novelists and novels about filmmakers. Where would Proust be without the musicians and painters? What would Degas and Toulouse Lautrec been without dancers?

[Ed]

I agree...there is such a mixture. I just read this quote:

"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages."
— Friedrich Nietzsche


Now this quote can make me recall films, books, real life...etc. It really is such a mix in the end and I have really enjoyed the discussions on this site for the very reason that people are able to bring a love for various forms of literature to numerous topics.