Issue Date: June 5, 2005

Books to box office

Six hot writers select the great reads they'd like to see depicted on the big screen.

By Frappa Stout and Lucia Walinchus

When author Jonathan Safran Foer decided to let his 2002 best-selling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated, be transformed for the big screen, he took a very hands-off approach. That is, he handed over his book and looked the other way.

"I could have written the screenplay. But I wouldn't have had complete control," says the gifted scribe, 28. The movie, written and directed by Liev Schreiber, stars Elijah Wood and opens Sept. 16.

Foer's second novel, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," follows a 9-year-old who finds inventive ways to cope with his dad's death on Sept. 11, 2001. Out in April, it's already on its way to movie-dom, without Foer's help.

Whether or not the author does the adapting, more and more brilliant movies come from great books. So we asked six best-selling authors for their picks for future book-to-movie hits:

Jonathan Safran Foer, author of "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."
Choice: "Blindness," by José Saramago.
Plot: A city is hit by a strange epidemic of "white blindness."

"It's very visual and non-visual, at the same time. How would you convey blindness in film? With a white screen? It's also a suspenseful story, with interesting characters, that could be done spooky or very romantic."

Christopher Paul Curtis, author of the young adults' book "Bucking the Sarge."
Choice: "Monster," by Walter Dean Myers.
Plot: A 16-year-old on trial as a murder accomplice copes by imagining he's in a movie.

"The boy is terrified. The prosecutor is trying to turn him into a monster, and he struggles not to see himself in that light. Much of it is already written as a screenplay. And the characters are handled with care, not with stereotypes."

Lynne Truss, author of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves."
Choice: "Clarissa," or "The History of a Young Lady," by Samuel Richardson.
Plot: An 18th-century girl escapes her overbearing family by fleeing with Lovelace, a man who will betray her.

"I would love to hear the language spoken by actors. Lovelace gets himself into a duel, and he says, "Let this expiate!" Today, he would say "Let that do." You could have [Spanish actor] Javier Bardem as Lovelace."

Mireille Guiliano, author of "French Women Don't Get Fat."
Choice: "The Gastronomical Me," by M.F.K. Fisher.
Plot: The famous American food writer recalls her life's travels through memorable culinary adventures.

"I share her food values, especially what she says about quality and pleasure. The scenes when she talks about shopping every day and cooking, they remind me of my life. I think it could bring a good lesson. And Annette Bening could play her!"

Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner."
Choice: "The Confessions of Max Tivoli," by Andrew Sean Greer.
Plot: In 1871 San Francisco, a baby is born as a tiny old man and grows physically younger as his mind matures.

"The age thing is a great idea. But it's really a love story -- he falls in love as a teen with this woman and keeps falling in love with her throughout his life, but she doesn't recognize him. It would be a knockout."

Melissa Bank, author of "The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing." (Her new novel, "The Wonder Spot," came out last week.)
Choice: "Man Camp: A Novel," by Adrienne Brodeur (coming July 19).
Plot: Two girlfriends create a "camp" to turn their male friends into perfect mates.

"The tone would work. It's realistic, but it's realism on tequila: It moves fast. One friend is a cut-up and kind of a mess; the other, a scientist, sees chimp behavior in the men she meets. It's hilarious."