Ink to Film

Henry Selick's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's CORALINE is a marvel of craftsmanship and artistic vision, featuring memorable vocal performances by Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, and Ian McShane. Laika Studios has gone on to further a legacy of incredible stop-motion production in an age where CGI is king. The adaptation does introduce a few significant changes to the story, in particular, the inclusio...

Neil Gaiman is a living legend in the writing community and beyond, and CORALINE is one of his most famous works, and rightfully so. The novella tells the story of young Coraline Jones as she does battle with an otherworldly and sinister "Other Mother" who wants to steal her soul but is thwarted by the little girl's bravery and wit.  Topics include: Neil Gaiman's bio, Coraline's characterization,...

The twisted, hellish descent into Camille Preaker's life in Wind Gap comes to an end in the finale episode of HBO's series as well as in the final two chapters of Gillian Flynn's novel. Series creator Marti Noxon and director Jean-Marc Vallée stick the landing with a gripping, shocking hour of television that will have people talking for years to come. The differences in the book vs show make for...

Director Jean-Marc Vallée combines with Gillian Flynn to create three more powerful installments of quality television in episodes 5, 6, and 7 of Sharp Objects. From Adora's histrionics at Calhoun day when Amma goes missing to Camille's personal life spinning out of control, it all builds to a penultimate episode that delivers. Amy Adams can definitely add this one to her Emmy reel.   Episode 5: 1...

The sordid mysteries of the Wind Gap murders and Camille Preaker's tragic past begin to reveal themselves in these eight chapters from Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects. Luke and James have seen half of the HBO series starring Amy Adams and compare their experience with the show to what they get in the novel. This coverage does not include the final 2 chapters of the book, so all has not yet been reve...

HBO's limited series "Sharp Objects" proves to be a powerful adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel from the jump. Creator Mari Noxon and director Jean-Marc Vallée craft a sweaty, oppressive, and bloody look at small town life in Middle America. Amy Adams' portrayal of journalist Camille Preaker returning to Wind Gap to cover a young girl's murder is heartbreaking and bleak, but undeniably captivatin...

Gillian Flynn's debut novel SHARP OBJECTS has been adapted for HBO in a limited series starring Amy Adams, so the guys have devised an experiment in how they will cover this project to fit the release (described below). This episode begins with a spoiler-free chat for the curious, followed by some interesting author bio tidbits, before the full-spoiler discussion begins. SPOILERS BEGIN: 19:57 Topi...

The original summer blockbuster, directed by none other than Stephen Spielberg himself, provides the perfect subject matter for Ink to Film's 50th episode. Luke and James begin with a brief retrospective, then charge into an iconic piece of cinema history. Reading Peter Benchley's novel only deepens the experience of watching the movie again. Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Schneider, and Robert Shaw each d...

It's been long enough since JAWS was released in theaters that there are people who may not be aware that it was based off a very popular novel at the time by Peter Benchley. Those familiar with the characters of Brody, Hooper, and Quint might be surprised to find how different the book's versions are from the ones in Spielberg's landmark film. Luke & James break the book down into four quarters a...

Christian Bale's portrayal of a deranged serial killer in high society helped make Mary Harron's American Psycho into a cult classic. The film takes a sprawling narrative from Bret Easton Ellis's novel and turns it into a more focused, deliberate story. Much like the book, the movie was condemned in its time for its violence, misogyny, and overall brutality. Topics include: the pros and cons of vo...

Bret Easton Ellis is (in)famous for his controversial novel about suave serial killer Patrick Bateman, the famously unreliable narrator of AMERICAN PSYCHO. A book that was critically panned on its release and caused such an uproar with its portrayal of sadistic violence, misogyny, racism, and more that it was dropped by its publisher shortly after release. Yet, the legacy of the book lives on and...

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Special guest author Taylor Zajonc (THE MAW, WRECKING CREW, RED ROGUE SUN) joins Luke & James this week to discuss one of Stephen Spielberg's all-time classics, Jurassic Park! Taylor's bio is filled with real-life adventures like travelling 3-miles down in a soviet-era submersible and he brings that knowledge along with his storytelling insights into their discussion of the film. Topics include: T...

Special guest author Emily Suvada joins Luke & James to discuss the last third of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. Emily's book, This Mortal Coil, is a gripping dystopian Sci-Fi novel about gene hacking and a horrifying plague, so she brings a wealth of expert knowledge when it comes to writing a genetics-focused thriller. And that's not even mentioning her background in coding, mathematics, and...

What would YOU do if a T-Rex started attacking a car full of children in front of you? Turns out Dr. Grant and Dr. Malcolm behave quite differently in the novel than their movie counterparts do. Join Luke and James as they discuss the third and fourth (of seven) "iterations" of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park.  Topics include: What makes children love dinosaurs, Grant being rough with a velocirap...

Michael Crichton wrote many famous novels, but arguably none made as huge an impact as his 1990 Sci-Fi thriller, Jurassic Park. In this episode (AKA "The Dino Hour"), Luke and James cover the first and second "iterations" (of seven) in the novel. But first, who was Michael Crichton? They begin by discussing the author's run-in with a professor at Harvard and his scientific background. Topics inclu...

Ramin Bahrani made an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic Sci-Fi novel, "Fahrenheit 451" starring Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon. That much can be said without reservation. Well, you might argue it was an extremely *loose* adaptation, but, dammit that's a reservation… Anyway, Luke and James saw it and have thoughts. SPOILERS BEGIN: 14:02 Ideas include: how the actors performances stack up,...

The troubling concepts and ideas of Ray Bradbury's prescient 1953 Sci-Fi classic  Fahrenheit 451  come to a stirring crescendo in the last two parts of the novel. This episode covers part two: The Sieve and the Sand, and part three: Burning Bright. Ideas include: The confluence of religion and capitalism, those who build vs those who burn in society, the superficiality of some voters, the staggeri...

Ray Bradbury is a legend for many of the books he wrote, but most notably for his 1953 Sci-Fi novel, Fahrenheit 451. This episode marks the beginning of a three-episode as Luke and James discuss part 1: The Hearth and the Salamander. Now, let's allow ourselves to be bothered by ideas for a while. Ideas include: A look back at the life and career of the author, the novel's iconic opening line, the...

Peter Jackson set the bar for fantasy adaptations with his 2001 film based off JRR Tolkien's classic, The Fellowship of the Ring, part one of The Lord of the Rings. This episode is jam-packed with behind-the-scenes facts and insights about filmmaking that James brings to the table with his expertise.  Also in this episode, Luke brings up a couple of particular members of the cast that he didn't lo...

The final third of JRR Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring contains some of the most legendary fantasy scenes of all time, but one in particular stands out. Join Luke and James as they pass through the mines of Moria alongside the nine walkers chosen by Elrond, worry about the fate of Bill the pony, come up with some wild theories about Tolkien and CS Lewis, debate whether Gimli asking Galadriel...

So just what the hell is up with Tom Bombadil? The guys tackle that and more this week as they discuss the middle nine chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring, part one of The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. James asks what the deal with all the songs is in this book and in fantasy as a genre, Luke makes several references to Dungeons & Dragons, the guys talk about how this book gives them wander...

JRR Tolkien is a giant in genre literature and the guys are eager to discuss his novel, The Fellowship of the Ring, part one of The Lord of the Rings. In this episode, they cover the first five chapters of the novel. But first, who was JRR Tolkien? They begin by digging into the life of the legendary author and how fighting in World War I and living through World War II may or may not have informe...

The guys are through the final gate and rewarded with Steven Spielberg's nostalgic video game romp, Ready Player One, adapted from the Sci-Fi novel by Ernest Cline. They begin with a SPOILER-FREE section where James talks a bit about what makes Spielberg so great, what their theater-going experiences were like, and their overall thoughts about the movie. SPOILERS begin: 25:10 Topics include: react...

Crystal key in hand, the guys head into the final gate to finish "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline. In this episode covering level 3 they begin with their overall thoughts on the novel before diving right into the summary. Spoiler topics include: Wade's invasion of Art3mus's privacy, James reveals what hit him hardest in this novel, the importance of remembering the real world, a possible Deus Ex...