About eight years ago, right after I read Yann Martel's immensely popular novel, Life of Pi, I heard there was a film adaptation in the works. While I loved the book, my immediate thought was that it was unfilmable, that the story just wouldn't lend it self to movie adaptation. Because I really liked the book, I was relieved to hear about the several attempts at filming the story that fell through.
The problem was the story. Basically, it's a story about a teenage boy and tiger sitting on a boat, with the boy's thoughts on life, religion, and everything becoming the subject of his inner monologue. Those ruminations were compelling in book form, but no one wants to watch some kid think about God for two hours. Yet, it is the thoughts and epiphanies of the main protagonist, not the story of what takes place on the boat, that gave the book it's emotional weight. That won't make for a good movie.
For most part, I was wrong.
