MovieChat Forums > Midnight Bayou (2009) Discussion > What were they thinking?

What were they thinking?

posted 15 years ago by nikki_huetwohl
14 replies | jump to latest

OMG, can this production company not butcher one of Nora's movies? Northern Lights, Midnight Bayou, Montana Sky, Blue Smoke... Carolina Moon and Angels Fall were good, but these others were just WAY off the story. I so want to write a complaint letter to Nora on how she allowed them to change her stories that much. Books tell so much more than a movie ever can, and I realize there are some laws (i.e changing of names if said name is indeed a real life person) but changing them up this much? ARGH. If I were a director/producer, I would wait until I had enough money to PROPERLY tell a story if I were sold the book rights to movie. So DISSAPOINTED.

[–] sunflowerstarr 15 years ago

Some of these books could be really awesome movies, makes me wonder if any chances of any justice being done to them can happen at this point since the Lifetime movies have been so horrible.

[–] TearzOfAcid73 15 years ago

I read Midnight Bayou last year and I thought it was one of the worst books ever written. Gave this film a chance, because I like Jerry O'Connell... It was just as awful as the book. So, I guess I'm dissapointed to... Because I've wasted so much of my life on Nora Roberts.

[–] vargamor 15 years ago

I respectfully disagree. While all of Nora's books are formula, I thought MB as a book was pretty good. Nora Roberts as a writer is very dependable. She gives you exactly what you expect every single time you buy one of her books. You get a Nora Roberts book. I buy her books and I don't expect a great work of art..I expect to be entertained for a few hours. Yeah..they're all the same book with all the same characters. She changes their names, gives them a different job. She has five basic women and five basic men and she mixes them up and gives them a situation to deal with. That's Nora. If you expect more then you're reading the wrong author LOL BUT...when I watch a movie that claims to be "BASED ON THE NORA ROBERTS NOVEL *WHATEVER*" Then I EXPECT..no, I damn well DESERVE to get a movie based on the novel. I do NOT expect some piece of garbage that bears little to no resemblence. I ask again, where IS Nora Roberts when they're doing this to her books. Does she not even care?

I do not understand what is so hard about keeping the characters true to the novel. I do not understand the point of taking Odette and making her a mentally defective whacked out psuedovodoo priestess freakjob. It didn't further the plot of the movie at all. It didn't add depth to a character already rich enough. It sure as shootin' didn't give Faye Dunaway, who is usually a brilliant actress, something to do. In fact, it did quite the opposite and made me sit there wondering where the real Faye Dunaway was. You know..Oscar winning Faye Dunaway. Of the four, I actually had the highest hopes for Midnight Bayou because it seemed to have the best cast and what one would think would be nearly foolproof source material.

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[–] SareandKim 15 years ago

I agree. Midnight Bayou is one of my favorite NR books, next to Carnal Innocence, which I think would be a great movie if they did it RIGHT! I expected good things, too. Great cast, good story, shooting in New Orleans; it should have been good.

I don't know why authors just sign their books over and let the screenplay writers do what they want with them. Surely NR has enough power that she could have a contract that allows her to approve the screenplay. Doesn't she care if they butcher it???

While all of Nora's books are formula, I thought MB as a book was pretty good. Nora Roberts as a writer is very dependable. She gives you exactly what you expect every single time you buy one of her books. You get a Nora Roberts book. I buy her books and I don't expect a great work of art..I expect to be entertained for a few hours. Yeah..they're all the same book with all the same characters. She changes their names, gives them a different job. She has five basic women and five basic men and she mixes them up and gives them a situation to deal with. That's Nora.

Exactly! She doesn't claim to be creating great literature. She's just trying to entertain. As many books as she puts out every year, they can't possibly be "great". She's a genre writer.

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[–] TearzOfAcid73 15 years ago

I will give you that. If there was anything in the book I did enjoy, it was the character of Miss Odette. She was really weird in the movie and I'll admit I was sad about that, because I thought for sure that I'd actually be able to appreciate her if nothing else.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] leola65 15 years ago

A little shocked at the hate. If you put in everything from the book, the movie would be 8 hours long. Too expensive for television. Look I enjoy Nora's books and I enjoyed the movies, but I also knew they'd only be a condensed version of the story. I have to say that after living in New Orleans for a short while, I felt that the production people did a great job of blending the sensual, playful side of the region as well as the darker edge of all the local lore. The casting was perfect and really loved the music score.

Looking forward to seeing how the others turn out.

[–] vargamor 15 years ago

"A little shocked at the hate. If you put in everything from the book, the movie would be 8 hours long. Too expensive for television. Look I enjoy Nora's books and I enjoyed the movies, but I also knew they'd only be a condensed version of the story. I have to say that after living in New Orleans for a short while, I felt that the production people did a great job of blending the sensual, playful side of the region as well as the darker edge of all the local lore. The casting was perfect and really loved the music score."

Oh..I really really disagree. Most respectfully, of course LOL (And by that, I actually MEAN respectfully, not GFY LOL)

I thought the casting was just a tiny bit better than script interpretation and I'm not new to watching books to movies so I don't even remotely think they need to get my whole book into the movie. But when they're saying based on the book, I expect a movie based on the book. I don't expect the plot to be a mangled mess of nothing but New Orleans and the same name. Lena..barely recognizable..in the book Lena was gunshy and tough..she wasn't a manly man. Odette was quirky and fun..not a freaky headcase voodoo queen. Declan was an uppercrust Bostonian..not that goofy "hey..ghosts..cool...let's check 'em out and not even react" whatever that Jerry O'Connell was playing. I'll give you the ghosts were done semi-decent. I think Nora would better served with some other network doing her movies.

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[–] keetashan 15 years ago

Okay I don't know if I am even worthy to comment on Nora Roberts. Midnight Bayou was the only book I ever read of hers. And I only read it because I saw the Movie advertise and I thought it looked intriguing. So I read the book in 3 days. And I loved the book. It was just what I was looking for. So of course I was psyched on Saturday night and believe me I was dissapointed. I understand movies have to be changed to fit the time slot etc. But why change the characters. I mean Declan was obssessed with the house in the book he redid almost every room but in the movie he was making it a place to work/home. I didnt feel his connection with the house like I did in the book. And Angelina (Lena) I honestly have to say she was alot less annoying in the movie and I think thats becuase her scenes were cut short. Who knows, I know I am an amateur when it comes to Nora Roberts but I didn't think it was worth my excitment. But the book most definitely was.

[–] disney213 7 years ago

horrible movie.. my god

[–] pitac89 15 years ago

I sorta liked it. Declan was nothing like I imagined, and Lena needed some weight on her(I pictured her more as curvaceous than willowy but whatever). The only thing that looked like it had just jumped from my imagination to the screen was Miss Odette's house. So that was a nice surprise, since I'm use to the movie taking a book an and maiming it beyong recognition (*cough*harrypotter*cough*)

I'm bored...Poke...Poke...Poke...HUG!

[–] vargamor 15 years ago

Declan in this movie sort of stunned me. It was almost like "Oh..ghosts..cool..let's see what they're up to.." who does that? I mean even a "real" movie who does that?

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[–] fatsoko 15 years ago

I thought I was the only one who was thinking that.

[–] wilmawilcat 15 years ago

SPOILERS

Declan was interested in the ghosts and not afraid of them out of instinct, I imagine. Inside himself, he knew the people they were. They were already dead -- what more could they do to him? Or the woman he used to be?