Adapting Book 2 Post #4

Blog Post #4

1.       The first thing that I think is the most important for adapting The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the cast. The book is told from a shy high school boy, Charlie, who doesn’t have any friends and is writing journal entries, which makes up the book. It’s important to cast him as he is described in the book. Also Sam and Patrick are very essential to cast correctly. They both are carefree kids that struggle with a lot of things real high school students struggle with. I think how they were cast in the film adaptation is perfect. All of the characters are played very true to how they are in the book.

2.       Music is also very important in Perks because Charlie likes to make mixtapes and loves when his sister gives him mixtapes she receives from her boyfriend. Music also plays a role in describing how Charlie feels when he is with Sam and Patrick. Since the book was written in the 1990’s, a lot of the music is old and dated, so to reach the target audience, I would incorporate more modern music to the film.

3.       When Sam, Patrick and Charlie are driving and go under the tunnel is an important scene in the book because it’s the first time Charlie feels happy and wanted. When filming this scene, I would include the music that was playing on the radio. I would also have close up shots on Charlie and Sam as they both stand up in the wind.

4.       In the book, Charlie only subtly mentions that he was molested by his Aunt Helen. I think to bring that out on film, there would have to be flashbacks to when Charlie was boy. Also flashing back to Helen’s death would be important as to why he was so upset when she died. Adapting this part of the book on the screen would be hard because Charlie still loves his Aunt Helen a lot even though she molested him, so that can be hard for an audience to understand.

5.       The story is told by journal entries of Charlie’s, so I think that having him narrate the movie with his thoughts and feelings will bring more of the book to the screen. It would be easy to do because the book is already kind of written like a script due to the fact that Chobsky is a screenwriter and director.