The World of Movie Novelization: From Screen to Novel

2020/05/19

Imagine a scene from a movie like this. The setting is a skyscraper with a futuristic design. On its rooftop, the heroine, cornered by her enemies, closes her eyes as if accepting her end and lets herself fall backward into the void—

To "cinematize" such a scene, movie-specific perspectives would be necessary—for example, a long shot of the cornered heroine from above, or a close-up of her feet standing on the very edge of the building. So, if this were to be "novelized" again, what should the writer do?

While the phenomenon of adapting literary works into film has attracted much academic interest and resulted in the publication of numerous research books, research on the novelization of visual works—that is, the act of "novelization"—has been scarce both in Japan and abroad. In my previous book, "An Introduction to Adaptation for Movie Source Material Purists," I discussed the "cinematization" of American literature. Since then, I have spent two years researching the "novelization" of primarily American films. What became clear was that when turning visual expressions like the one at the beginning into text, surprisingly many novelizations tend to avoid visual descriptions.

Rather than reproducing visual realism, they focus on what is happening as a matter of fact and what the heroine is thinking. After all, the writing of a novelization begins based on the first draft of the script, aiming for publication before the movie's release, regardless of the progress on the filming set. What is considered important is how to construct a "narrative" that serves as promotion without destroying the production team's image; writers are not permitted the overstepping of authority involved in freely creating visuals they have not yet seen. While deeply involved in the development of commercial film, they have all continued to fight a lonely battle under unimaginable constraints, both in terms of time and finances.

From the time when movies were still called serials to the present day, where CG has become commonplace and visual expression is becoming limitless, the world of movie novelization has continued to develop quietly alongside film history. I hope you will enjoy this old yet new aspect of print culture through this book.

The World of Movie Novelization: From Screen to Novel

Keita Hatooka

Takanashi Shobo

200 pages, 2,000 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.