Poll: Writer with the most movies made from their novels? (1 Viewer)

[doug zdanivsky]

For my money: Steven King
From the best: Shawshank Redemption, Stand By me, The Shining
To the worst: The Stand, Maximum Overdrive, The Running Man (Not a bad movie, per say, but bears little resembalence to King's short story, but I digress..)
Just about every novel he's written has been made into a movie.
Wouldn't it be cool if the Dark Tower series made it to the movies when the series is done? Those are my favorites of all his books..

 

[ChuckDeLa]

Well, if you counted them, I'm pretty sure King would win.

Other contenders: Ian Fleming, Charles Dickens, Philip K. Dick, John Grisham

 

[Tom Ryan]

Actually, William Shakespeare is probably the winner.

 

[doug zdanivsky]

Tom Clancy's got to be up there, too.

 

[ChuckDeLa]

Shakespeare isn't known for his novels.

 

[Phil Florian]

Well, maybe it should be rephrased as "Writer who has seen his/her works adapted into films." Not all of Dick's works adapted for screen were novels. "Minority Report" was a short story. I think "Imposter" came from a short story, too. Some of Kings stuff would be the same..."The Body" is a short story as is "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." And "Apt Pupil." Short stories are much easier to adapt as they are lean and mean with details.
Just being technical, of course!
Phil

 

[doug zdanivsky]

Shakespeare, eh? Probably. But if we were to stick with authors of the 20th Century?

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Michael Crichton should be up there as well:
Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Sphere, Eaters of the Dead (13th Warrior), Congo, Disclosure, Rising Sun, The Andromeda Strain, Great Train Robbery, he had a hand in "Twister" too.
I believe studios have already purchased movie rights to "Airframe" and "Timeline" as well.
A few blockbusters in there and a couple of decent movies, too!
JKS

 

[ThomasC]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Michael Crichton yet. (edit: Damn you, Jeremy, you beat me by four minutes! ) His most famous is obviously Jurassic Park, probably followed by The Lost World. Others include The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Disclosure, The Thirteenth Warrior (originally known as Eaters of the Dead, basically an extention of the Beowulf story), Rising Sun, and Sphere. Airframe was picked up by Disney before the book hit shelves, but unfortunately the project was eventually shelved because the cost of filming/creating two key airplane flight sequences was deemed too high. I would've loved to see this movie, I read this book in two days flat. I've never read a book like Airframe before. According to Michael Crichton's official site, Timeline will be released this summer by Paramount, directed by Richard Donner. They started filming last April, but I haven't heard any news since then. Prey was picked up by 20th Century Fox last July, and the novel didn't hit stores until November.

 

[ChuckDeLa]

Not all of Dick's works adapted for screen were novels. "Minority Report" was a short story. I think "Imposter" came from a short story, too. Some of Kings stuff would be the same

Good point!

 

[chung_sotheby]

I think that Michael Crichton is the most published of the last ten years or so. BTW, Airframe has been in development hell for the past six years or so. I thought it would make a good movie, but not the type of flick that makes more than $75 Mil.

As for writers who have had their work made into movies, I think that the all time tops would have to be Graham Greene and Raymond Chandler. Both of those guys had almost every one of their novels put on the screen. Also, Ian Fleming (Bond) and Edith Wharton (House of Mirth, Age of Innocence), Charles Dickens, Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, etc. etc.

 

[Dheiner]

"Ahem"

Zane Grey:

Arizona Mahoney (1936) (novel Stairs of Sand)
Avalanche (1928) (novel)
Border Legion, The (1940) (novel)
Born to the West (1937) (novel)
Call of the Canyon, The (1923) (story The Call of the Canyon)
Code of the West (1947) (novel)
Desert Gold (1936) (novel)
Drums of the Desert (1927) (novel "Captives of the Desert")
End of the Trail (1936) (novel Outlaws of Palouse)
Fighting Caravans (1931) (novel)
Forlorn River (1937) (novel)
Graft (1915) (story)
Gunfighters (1947) (novel Twin Sombreros)
Heritage of the Desert (1939) (novel)
Last of the Duanes, The (1930) (novel)
Last Round-Up, The (1934) (novel Border Legion)
Last Trail, The (1933) (novel)
Life in the Raw (1933) (novel)
Light of Western Stars, The (1940) (novel)
Lone Star Ranger (1942) (novel)
Man of the Forest (1933) (novel)
Maverick Queen, The (1956) (novel)
Mysterious Rider, The (1938) (novel)
Nevada (1944) (novel)
Open Range (1927) (novel Valley of Wild Horses)
Rangle River (1936) (novel)
Red Canyon (1949) (novel Wildfire)
Riders of the Dawn (1920) (novel The Desert of Wheat)
Riders of the Purple Sage (1996)
Robbers' Roost (1955) (novel)
Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935) (novel Golden Dreams)
Roll Along, Cowboy (1937) (novel The Dude Ranger)
Smoke Lightning (1933) (novel Canyon Walls)
Stairs of Sand (1929) (novel)
Sunset Pass (1946) (novel)
Thunder Mountain (1935) (novel Thunder Mountain)
Thundering Herd, The (1925) (novel)
To the Last Man (1923) (novel)
U.P. Trail, The (1920) (novel)
Último de los Vargas, El (1930) (novel)
Under the Tonto Rim (1947) (novel)
Vanishing American, The (1955) (novel)
Vanishing Pioneer, The (1928) (novel Golden Dreams)
Wagon Wheels (1934) (novel Fighting Caravans)
Wanderer of the Wasteland (1945) (novel)
West of the Pecos (1945) (novel)
Western Union (1941) (novel)
When Romance Rides (1922) (novel Wildfire)
Wild Horse Mesa (1947) (novel)

This list only includes the movies where Zane is credited with "novel". In addition, several of these were remade multiple times.


PS. Agatha Christie would be my second place guess.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Although Ian Fleming has been mentioned, an argument can be made that more of his works have made it to film than he actually wrote. The Bond franchise is still going strong.
Graham Greene might take the prize for ‘serious’ writers in the 20th centaury, with the most works adapted to film, the latest being The Quiet American.
I expect that mystery writers like Agatha Christie will also be very high on the count list.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Bram Stoker, with Mary Shelley close behind.

 

[doug zdanivsky]

Hmm.. Zane Grey would appear to be in the lead.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

H G Wells has quite a few, although in his case the same handful of novels are re-made over and over again.

 

[Lew Crippen]

As for writers who have had their work made into movies, I think that the all time tops would have to be Graham Greene and Raymond Chandler. Both of those guys had almost every one of their novels put on the screen.

And Greene was quite prolific—many of his short stories have had screen adaptations as well as his novels.

 

[Steve Christou]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Edgar Rice Burroughs

 

[BrianV]

Just for poo and laughs, here's a list of Steven King works turned into movies.

Carrie (1976)
'Salem's Lot (1979)
The Shining (1980)
Knightriders (1981)
Creepshow (1982)
Cujo (1983)
The Dead Zone (1983)
Christine (1983)
Disciples of the Crow (1983)
Children of the Corn (1984)
Firestarter (1984)
Cat's Eye (1985)
Silver Bullet (1985)
Stephen King's Nightshift Collection (1985)
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Stand By Me (1986)
Creepshow 2 (1987)
The Running Man (1987)
A Return to Salem's Lot (1987)
Pet Sematary (1989)
Stephen King's World of Horror (1989)
Graveyard Shift (1990)
It (1990)
Misery (1990)
Tales from the Darkside (1990)
Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
Golden Years (1991)
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
Sleepwalkers (1992)
Pet Sematary 2 (1992)
Children Of The Corn 2 (1992)
The Dark Half (1993)
The Tommyknockers (1993)
Needful Things (1993)
The Stand (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Mangler (1995)
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
The Langoliers (1995) Stephen King's Nightshift Collection (1995)
Children Of The Corn 3 (1995)
Thinner (1996)
Sometimes They Come Back Again (1996)
Children of the Corn 4 (1996)
The Shining (1997)
Quicksilver Highway (1997)
Trucks (1997)
The Night Flier (1997)
Apt Pupil (1998)
Children of the Corn 5 (1998)
Storm of the Century (1999)
Sometimes They Come Back For More (1999)
The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
Children of the Corn 666 (1999)
The Green Mile (1999)
Paranoid (2001)
Children of the Corn 7 (2001)
Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
Rose Red (2002)
Firestarter 2: The Next Chapter (2002)
The Mangler 2 (2002)

Coming soon:

Dreamcatcher (2002?)
Carrie remake (2002?)
Stud City (2002?)
Dolan's Cadillac (2002?)
The Talisman (2002?)
The Secret Window (2003?)
Salem's Lot remake (200?)
Desperation (200?)
The Mist (200?)
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (200?)
Eyes of the Dragon (200?)
Asylum (200?)

 

[doug zdanivsky]

Why would they bother with The Girl Who Loved Tom Gorden? That wouldn't translate on to the screen very well at all..