-
Sylvester Stallone plays a Vietnam veteran in First Blood, based on a novel of the same name.Orion
-
Who Framed Roger Rabbit could have been Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, the title of the novel.Buena Vista
-
Robin Williams dressed as a female nanny for the film adaptation of Anne Fine's Alias Madame Doubtfire, which won the Academy Award for best makeup.20th Century Fox
-
The Oscar-winning favorite Forrest Gump was actually a novel by the same name first, though author Winston Groom did admit that the film cleaned up the main character.Paramount
-
Field of Dreams could have been called Shoeless Joe, the name of the W.P. Kinsella novel it's based on.Universal
-
Ang Lee adapted Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from the Wang Du Lu series of the same name.Sony Pictures
-
Breakfast at Tiffany's shares a name with the novella that inspired the adaptation — and the film easily could have starred Marilyn Monroe, who author Truman Capote rallied for.Everett
-
David O. Russell's adaptation of Matthew Quick's Silver Linings Playbook elevated Jennifer Lawrence to big fame, though it strayed quite far from the original work.Weinstein Company
-
Slumdog Millionaire, based on Vikas Swarup's debut novel called Q&A, earned eight Academy Awards in 2008.Fox Searchlight
-
Martin Scorsese's 1990 crime drama Goodfellas was actually a nonfiction book called Wiseguy. Author Nicholas Pileggi co-wrote the Oscar-winning film with Scorsese.Warner Bros.
-
This novel, by Philip K. Dick, was originally called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? — but it used the movie's title of Blade Runner for later pressings of the book following the film's success.Warner Bros.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Column: The Tyre Nichols Videos Demand Solemnity, Not Sensationalism
- For People With Disabilities, Losing Abortion Access Can Be a Matter of Life or Death
- Inside the Clandestine Efforts to Smuggle Starlink Internet Into Iran
- How to Help the Victims and Community After the Monterey Park Shooting
- The Biggest Snubs and Surprises of the 2023 Oscar Nominations
- Talking Less Will Get You More
- Kamala Harris Subtly Emerges as Powerful White House Asset
- How Avatar: The Way of Water Became the 6th Movie in History to Make $2 Billion
- Is There Really No Safe Amount of Drinking?
- How Our Cells Strategize To Keep Us Alive