Jonathan Nolan is no stranger to adaptions of popular media, with the writer starting his career when his brother, Christopher Nolan, adapted his short story into the feature film Memento. Over the years, Nolan has contributed to his brother’s adaptation of Batman and also helmed a television adaptation of the cult-classic film Westworld.
During a recent interview, Nolan shared his take on the increase in television adaptations in Hollywood. Nolan spoke about how he feels about the rapid rise in books and other media serving as source material for some of the most popular modern television shows. Nolan’s comments mean that Gravity’s Rainbow, a sci-fi novel that is widely considered unadaptable deserves a chance, and here is why.
Fallout‘s Jonathan Nolan Discusses the Rise of Television Adaptations
Jonathan Nolan most recently served as a director and executive producer on Amazon Prime Video’s critically acclaimed television series Fallout, an adaptation of the popular video game series. Following the show’s success, Nolan spoke with Variety where he discussed the growing trend in television shows being an adaptation of preexisting media.
During the interview, Nolan also spoke about how television shows were adapting various forms of media, even those source materials that are typically considered unadaptable. As a result, Nolan was of the opinion that nothing is truly unadaptable in the modern age of television. He said:
My antenna always goes up when someone says, it’s unadaptable. There’s an opportunity there because there’s an invitation to find the right way to fit it into the projector or TV.
Similarly, David Benioff, who co-created the hugely popular series Game of Thrones, cited the example of The Lego Movie, stating that on paper the idea seemed implausible to execute.
However, the film turned out to be extremely charming and watchable. As a result, it is safe to say that the notion about certain pieces of media being unadaptable as television or films is starting to fade away with the increase in adaptations being produced in Hollywood.
Jonathan Nolan’s Comments Prove Unadaptable Sci-Fi Novel Gravity’s Rainbow Deserves a Chance
Gravity’s Rainbow is a 1973 novel written by Thomas Pynchon. Despite the novel’s popularity and critical acclaim, it has yet to receive an adaptation of any form. The book revolves around several characters trying to uncover the secret of a mysterious device during World War II.
The book was featured on Time’s list of 100 Greatest Novels of All-Time, making it a lucrative prospect for an adaptation. However, the book’s content has often been described as difficult to read and obscene. Furthermore, the plethora of characters, themes, and a generally abstract plot structure are all factors contributing to the novel being considered unadaptable as a film.
Nolan’s recent comments suggested that more and more studios are looking at books for producing the next big movie or television show. As a result, the sheer scope of the novel, which was difficult to execute in film would be possible to pull off in a television show.
Moreover, Nolan’s comments also imply that the more challenging a source material is to adapt to the more exciting it is for creators to work. As a result, with the right person behind the wheel, Gravity’s Rainbow television adaptation could prove to be the next big thing.
