Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with adaptation

I could almost handle the headaches, but I can I handle the stupids?

onshi — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:33:31 -0800

Tips & tricks for adapting to the side effects of Topamax (topiramate) for a full-time office worker & part-time grad student? I have been dealing with chronic migraines for about ten years, and have tried a number of preventative drug therapies during that time (elavil, flunarizine, propranolol) with limited success. Recently another disruptive health issue cropped up, which spurred me to try to get the migraines under control.

I am now a few weeks into a daily dose of Topamax.

Some of the much-discussed (on AskMe and elsewhere) side effects have already become apparent, most notably:

Difficulty with attention / concentration - last week there were at least two days where I accomplished almost literally nothing at work. I continually zoned out for quarter- to half-hour periods, and had trouble thinking clearly even when I did remain on-task for more than a few minutes at a time. Although this did provide some useful insight into my partner's not-always-so-wonderful-world of living with ADHD, I probably cannot justify trading sick days at home with migraine for zombie days at work on "Dopamax" for too long.

Clumsiness / ataxia / psychomotor slowing - terminologically, I'm not sure how to differentiate between these, but at any rate, I'm much more of a klutz than usual. I had been walking carefully on a torn medial meniscus since May while awaiting an MRI and (maybe) surgery, but since the Topamax my knee has been very sore due to countless stumbles and mis-steps. One slip was bad enough that I was walking with a cane for stability for two days afterwards, and I was almost tempted to keep doing so just for the added sense of security. I'm normally a brisk walker, and on top of the cognitive side effects it feels like adding insult to injury that I should have to shuffle along in physical space as well as in my mental environment.

Communication - both in written and verbal form... even simple sentences come out mangled, and I've been producing the most egregious typos -- e.g. "licidiouse" for "delicious" -- and completely mixing up word order to the point of utter nonsense without noticing (with that in mind, I apologize if my sixth proofread doesn't catch all of the errors in this post). At school, I have had to drop one of the two courses I was taking this term because the prospect of full participation in a grad-level seminar was too much to bear right now; as it is, I had to revert to a 'behind the scenes' preparatory role for a group debate for fear of making an ass of myself in front of a tutorial tonight.

Getting to the point, my question for anyone who has taken Topamax or another drug with similar side effects is: what strategies were you able to emplyo successfully to mitigate these (or other) impacts on your life? I know that it will only be possible to 'push back' against the drug to a certain extent, and that I will ultimately have to decide if its effectiveness versus migraine (if any!) is worth the cost, but at this point I'm trying to remain optimistic and gather whatever tools I can.

Thanks.

short story for short film

breadfruit — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:24:10 -0800

What are some short stories/myths etc. with a sole female protagonist for film adaptation? The setting is a city (dark in mood, the usual city locations such as parks, metros, bars available). The cast consists entirely of one young female actress and possibly other people for just bit parts. The film is to be silent and about 10-15 minutes long.

I'm looking for any stories that come to mind that could be adapted.

Faithful book/movie adaptations?

zardoz — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:35:02 -0800

Can you think of examples of movies based on novels (or short stories) that are very, very faithful to the source work? The two movies that I think of are Stephen King's "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" and more recently Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men". I think both film versions of these are amazingly close the original novels. Can you think of any others?

Looking for Raiders of the Lost Ark: the Adaptation

rkent — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:00:17 -0800

Is there any earthly way - preferably on the up & up - to get a copy of Raiders of the Losk Ark: The Adaptation? (see also, see also). Gaining admission to a local screening would also be acceptable. After hearing about it for years, and finally seeing the first 10 minutes on YouTube, I feel like I really, really have to see this remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I'm not even asking for pirating advice; I'm entirely willing to pay for a copy or a ticket to a screening or whatever.

The more or less "official" website has a list of screenings, but I'm in the SF bay area and the closest one is Portland. I feel like buying a 200 buck plane ticket (not to mention hotel & cabs) would be a bit excessive. Is there any good way to get ahold of this movie? I'm not really part of the film community and so I don't know who to talk to locally about getting a copy, but man, I want to see this remake!

Proposal for a stage play?

Sticherbeast — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:09:22 -0800

A friend of mine is in talks with a certain comic book writer to adapt a certain graphic novel for the stage. According to the writer's manager, they're interested in at least one run of the show, provided he can show them a satisfactory proposal. Great news! The only problem is, what should that proposal consist of and look like, for presentation to the writer and his manager?

What's the sociological term for our acceptance of cumulative airport security demands?

AgentRocket — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:37:26 -0800

Is there a word or phrase that describes people's ready acceptance of increasingly odd and demanding airport security procedures? I realized after going through security at the airport today that I had thought nothing of the goofy requirements of modern air travel. I just did them as if they were routine.

It occurred to me that there used to not be security at all, then there were metal detectors, then only ticketed passengers (meaning you had to show a ticket and ID to get to the metal detectors), then you had to take off your sport coat before going through, then you had to take your laptop out and scan it separately, then you had to take your shoes off and walk through in your socks or bare feet, then you had to put any toothpaste/lotion/deodorant in a clear plastic bag and scan that separately. The requirements never go away, they just keep adding new ones.

I have thought that each new recent requirement was a pain, but I have accepted them and do them freely and without complaint, even as security for business travel becomes a 9-step process. In 20 years, perhaps we will have a 19-step process, where we turn our shirts inside out and comb our hair and get our eyeballs scanned and speak into a microphone for voice analysis or whatever else they cook up. And we will probably just do it, all the while in our socks and with our shampoo in a clear plastic baggie.

Here's my question: is there a word or sociological phrase that describes this behavior? Something more specific than "acceptance" or "adaptation" (or "knuckling under" or "giving in to the man").

Optioning film rights

strangeleftydoublethink — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 16:20:21 -0800

I'm finishing up a first draft of a screenplay adaptation of a novel. I've contacted the company who owns the rights to the novel and they told me to send a proposal for an option to the film rights. Has anyone ever had any experience with obtaining options to film rights? The book was published in 1975. The author is dead. None of his works have ever been adapted for the screen, so I doubt if there is or has been much demand. The baseline for my proposal is $1,000 for a one year option and 30% of the purchase price. Does that sound reasonable?

MovieFilter: Protecting my IP/Screenplay

bkdelong — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:23:59 -0800

How to I protect my book from being adapted to film/screen/movie without my permission? I have a friend who registered her first screenplay based on her first book with the Writers Guild of America. She has written her second book but it is not yet adapted to screenplay form. She wants to make sure she protects her book/IP from being adapted for a movie without her permission.

Should she register her Book as "intended for Screen" with the Guild? Are there other ways to protect her works?

What book should I turn into a movie?

unSane — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 22:14:09 -0800

I'm a professional screenwriter. I have $5000 to option a book to adapt into a movie. That means it can't be a past or present best-seller, or have been previously adapted for stage, TV or screen. It should have a strong narrative, preferably in a clearly defined genre (eg thriller, love story, crime story, horror, coming-of-age) but NOT science fiction. It should also NOT be a classic which everyone will complain I've ruined. What books (or short stories) meeting this description have you read that you thought would have made a great movie?

Never judge a book by its movie!

wannalol — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 16:14:19 -0800

I'm interested in hearing personal experiences of movies based upon literary works. Which movies are best experienced only after you've first read the book? Has reading the book afterwards altered your opinion of a movie or indeed has your appreciation of a book changed after you watched the film adaptation? For instance, I had always avoided watching Nineteen Eighty-Four, starring John Hurt, because I presumed it would bore me rigid. It was only after I first read the George Orwell classic that I watched the movie and found it rewarding to compare my own imagery with that which was realised on film. Have you ever found the director's vision radically different from what you had imagined?

Another question is the degree to which movies influence the visuals we create when reading literature? For instance, I have a habit of "casting" Harrison Ford as the main protagonist in books I read.

Does releasing an album that retells the story of a novel require permission from the author/estate?

ddf — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 08:14:13 -0800

I've written an album based on the book A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick. That is to say that it retells the story of the novel in pop song form. It's not a musical because there's only one vocalist and there's no "book". But it's like a musical insofar as it basically follows the plot, uses the character names, has key phrases worked into the lyrics, and I'm calling it "A Maze of Death". So, is that enough of an adaptation to be considered copyright infringement if I don't get permission?

How do I get the rights to a book before adapting it into a screenplay.

geryon — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 01:14:01 -0800

CopyrightFilter: If I want to adapt a copyrighted(?) book into a theater performance, do I need to get the rights? Can I write a script, maybe even do a workshop production or do I need to get the rights before I can even think about adaptation? Who do I talk to to get the rights, and how much does this usually cost? Does it matter if the venue is tiny, and the theater company has no money?