The conventional wisdom is that it’s usually wise to read the book before you see the film. But as filmmakers cast their sights further and further afield for inspiration, sometimes the film is definitely better than the book.
A case in point is news that a film is to be made of a how-to guide to pregnancy. Production company Lionsgate has announced that Kirk Jones, director of Waking Ned Devine and Nanny McPhee, is to adapt What to Expect When You’re Expecting for the screen as a romantic comedy. Written by Sharon Mazel and Heidi Murkoff (who will co-executive produce the film), the pregnancy manual spent almost 10 years on the New York Times bestseller list and is now in its fourth edition.
It’s not the first time the book will have graced the silver screen: it has already made cameo appearances on film (in Knocked Up) and on television (Jennifer Aniston’s character Rachel is seen reading it during her pregnancy on Friends). It’s also not the first time a feature film has been made based on an instruction manual. The film He’s Just Not That Into You (starring the aforementioned Aniston) was based on eponymous 2004 how-to book on dating written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo (excerpt), which was in turn inspired by a TV show (Sex and the City). For more book recommendations on pregnancy and parenting, see this recent Daily.
The Children’s Book Festival, hosted on the State Library Lawns by the Wheeler Centre and the State Library of Victoria, is on this Sunday 3 April from 10am.