Book Vs Movie Podcast

Book Vs. Movie: Sweet Smell of Success Ernest Lehman was an accomplished writer and adapter of material for the screen, known for his work on movies such as Hello Dolly!, The King and I, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In 1950, he wrote an original short story, "Tell Me About It Tomorrow,” published in Cosmopolitan magazine. This story became the basis of Clifford Odet’s screenplay for the 195...

Book Vs. Movie: The Gambler The 1978 Song & Kenny Rogers as The Gambler TV Movie Yee ha! The Margos' latest episode is all about the Kenny Rogers classic " The Gambler ." The song was written in 1976 by Don Schlitz , who was only 26 years old at the time. It took two years before Rogers made it a number 1 hit. The song's lyrics tell the story of a chance encounter on a train between the narrat...

Book Vs. Movie: Misery The 1987 Stephen King Novel Vs. the 1990 Classic Movie The Margos and special guest Alex Steed of the You Are Good film podcast discuss one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever--1990’s Misery. I n both the novel and the film, the characters of Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilkes are central to the story. However, there are notable differences in their portrayals. In the book,...

Book Vs. Movie: I Know What You Did Last Summer The 1973 Lois Duncan YA Novel Vs. the 1997 Movie " I Know What You Did Last Summer " revolves around a group of friends, Julie, Helen, Ray, and Barry, who accidentally hit a stranger with their car on a dark, lonely road. In a panic, they make a harrowing decision to hide the accident, believing they can escape the consequences. However, one year lat...

In honor of the recent passing of Piper Laurie, we are replaying our 2018 episode that revisits a classic Stephen King tale--Carrie, which we originally covered in 2014 (using the old, old way we recorded back in the early days.) This is not only King's first movie adaptation but also based on his first published novel. There are so many changes between book & movie that we wanted to give it a...

Book Vs. Movie: House of Usher The Edgar Allen Poe Short Story Vs. the 1960 Vincent Price Movie The Margos continue our month of scary movies with the 1839 short story, The Fall of House of Usher, by Edgar Allen Poe, and how it was adapted by Roger Corman in 1960 for the Vincent Price classic House of Usher . The story of the Roderick family, consisting of siblings Roderick and Madeline, is a goth...

Book Vs. Movie: Wait Until Dark The 1966 Richard Knott Play Vs. the 1967 Audrey Hepburn Film The Margos kick off "Scary Movie Month" by discussing Wait Until Dark , both the play by Frederick Knott and the 1967 Audrey Hepburn f ilm. The movie features one of the best jump scares in cinema history. The original production starred Lee Remick and Robert Duvall as Susy and Roat, respectively. The stor...

Book Vs. Movie: Ghost World The 1997 Daniel Clowes Graphic Novel vs. the Terry Zwigoff 2001 Film The Margos are feeling very moody and isolated, discussing the 2001 film Ghost World starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson as best friends Enid and Rebecca, who are perfect early 00’s angsty and unimpressed with the world and was catnip for audiences and critics alike. Based on chapter five’s “ H...

Book Vs. Movie: The Lorax The Dr. Seuss 1971 Children’s Book Vs. the 2012 Adaptation The Margos close out “Banned Books Month” with a visit with Dr. Seuss and The Lorax , a tale of environmental conservation and the dangers of rampant deforestation. Theodore Seuss Geisel was known for his colorful characters, accusations of racism , and having some of his books pulled for outdated notions or contr...

Book Vs. Movie: The Bridge to Teribithia The 1977 Classic YA Novel Vs. the 2007 Adaptation Bring out your tissues! The Margos continue Banned Books Month with the 1977 classic by Katherine Paterson -- Bridge to Teribithia . The story of Jess Aarons, a fifth-grade kid who grows up lonely and poor but with an artistic temperament that helps him imagine other places and realities. His life changes wh...

Book Vs. Movie: Fahrenheit 451 The Ray Bradbury 1953 Classic Novel Vs. the 2018 HBO Adaptation The Margos turn up the heat (get it?) with a look at the 1953 literary classic Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury --a banned book for decades. Inspired by the Cold War and the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigating actors, artists, and writers claiming communism, Bradbury’s work has b...

Book Vs. Movie: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret JUDY BLUME Y’ALL!!!!! The Margos begin our annual “Banned Books Month” as always, loving the books and hating why we must feature them. Judy Blume is one of the most successful authors of all time, and her books, some of the most requested to be removed from libraries, make our hearts hurt and fill us with rage! Are You There, God? It’s Me Marg...

Book Vs. Movie: Smoke Signals The Sherman Alexie Short Story Vs. the 1998 Movie In this episode, the Margos delve into the acclaimed indie film Smoke Signals , released in 1998. This film was based on a series of short stories by Sherman Alexie in 1993, titled The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven . The story follows two young men, Victor Joseph and Tom Builds-the-Fire , who grew up on a S...

Book Vs. Movie: Three Days of the Condor The James Grady Book Vs. the Robert Redford-Starring Movie The Margos talk about the paranoia-soaked 70s with a discussion about the novel & film Three Days of the Condor starring a dreamy Robert Redford and a luminous Faye Dunaway . The story is about a man who loves to read and works for the CIA and gets sucked into a life-threatening chase between hi...

Book Vs. Movie: Special Guest, Author Kristen Lopez " But Have You Read the Book? " Our special guest, Kristen Lopez , is the film editor for The Wrap and the author of But Have You Read the Book? In this episode, we talk about her favorite book-to-movie adaptations, how she came across this fun project, the latest on the SAG AFTRA strike, the world of Turner Classic Movies, the hotness of Ben Man...

Book Vs. Movie “The Exorcist” RIP William Friedkin (1935-2023) Replay of the DEC 2018 episode. The Margos revisit the 1971 novel The Exorcist written by the very interesting William Peter Blatty. Based on a true-ish story about a boy possessed by a demon in the 1950s, Blatty changed some key details to create this fiction classic. Director William Friedkin in 1973 just came off an incredible spate...

Book Vs. Movie: The Red Shoes The Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale vs. the 1948 Classic Film The Margos (and a special guest star!) put on their dancing shoes with the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale “ The Red Shoes ” along with the 1948 adaptation that is considered a ballet/film classic with some of the most beautiful sequences along with a meditation on “art versus life.” Published in 1845...

Book Vs. Movie: The Swimmer The 1964 John Cheever story vs. the 1968 Burt Lancaster Film Burt Lancaster always claimed that his 1968 film The Swimmer was his best work, and we are here to show you exactly why! The John Cheever short story that appeared in the July 18, 1964 issue of The New Yorker is a surrealistic tale of an alcoholic man ( Neddy Merrill ) who journeys to his home through suburban...

Book Vs. Movie: Ode to Billy Joe The 1967 Song Vs. the 1976 Movie It was a hot and steamy summer day when we recorded this episode, so we decided to go as far south as we could get here in the USA with the tale of Billie Joe Macallister (named Billy Joe for the movie adaptation) and why he may have jumped to his death off the Tallahacthie Bridge. Mississippi native Bobbie Gentry wrote the song in...

Book Vs. Movie: The Killers The 1927 Ernest Hemingway Short Story Vs. the 1946 Classic Film The Margos are discussing Ernest Hemingway for the first time on the podcast after nine years of producing, which is shocking! His 1927 short story, The Killers, was first published in 1927 for Scribner’s Magazine and is a return of his character Nick Adams who appears in several short stories. Set in Summi...

Book Vs. Movie: Valley GirlsThe Frank & Moon Zappa Song Vs. the 1983 Classic Film We know that Frank Zappa did not authorize using the song Valley Girl (co-written with his 14-year-old daughter Moon Unit in 1982.) But we had to cover this movie because if there was ever a song that influenced the culture of the early 80s --this was it. Moon Zappa is the oldest child of the late Frank Zappa, an...

Book Vs. Movie: Rumble Fish The 1975 Novel Vs. the 1983 Movie Rusty James is a 14-year-old kid in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who lives a troubled life in 1975’s Rumble Fish , written by former teen sensation S.E. Hinton who published her first work (the YA classic The Outsiders while a freshman in college in 1967. James spends his days getting into fights, hanging out with best friend Steve, trying to find...

Book Vs. Movie: The Children’s Hour The 1934 Play Vs. the 1936 ("These Three") & 1961 Adaptation Lillian Hellman’s first play, The Children’s Hour , caused a sensation in 1934 when it debuted on Broadway with the tale of two schoolteachers accused of being lesbians when homosexuality was illegal in much of the U.S. The show was so scandalous that a Chicago run was canceled. Hellman always stat...

Book Vs. Movie: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The 1955 Play Vs. the 1958 Classic Film The Margos are feeling very Southern in this episode devoted to the work of Tennessee Williams and his personal favorite work-- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . The 1955 play was based on his 1952 short story “Three Plays of a Summer Game” and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama during its Broadway debut. The story of the Pollitt fa...

Book Vs. Movie: Strangers on a Train The 1950 Novel Vs. the 1951 Classic Film The Margos return to Alfred Hitchcock with his classic thriller Strangers on a Train , based on Patricia Highsmith’s debut novel. The story of two men meeting up and deciding to commit double murder in just a few hours may strain credulity--but it is a fun story ride! In the novel, budding architect Guy Haines meets weal...