Dead Living Optioned For a Screenplay
Dead Living has been optioned for a screenplay. I’ve seen some reviews mention that Dead Living would make for a pretty good movie, a very nice compliment. I tried to keep Dead Living close to the rules we’ve all become familiar with (except for, of course, my own little twist on the main character). The zombies are relatively slow, are dangerous in groups, there is no explanation for how they came to be, etc. When you read a book or watch a movie, some scenes stay with you more than others. The same thing goes for writing. Scenes like Aaron first saving Samantha in Baltimore, the escape back to the school, the hospital raid, the slave camp assault, I can see very clearly in my head, and I think would make great movie scenes. Any scene with Aaron walking with zombies would be cool. I know they’re not action-packed, but I think watching Aaron and Samantha grow closer in a dead world would be neat to see.
What do you guys think? Would Dead Living be cool to see on a screen? What scenes would work? What would you change?
March 13, 2012 @ 2:51 pm
Hi Glenn,
Congratulations on your success for a deserved recognition of your talented writing skills and a formal publishing of “Dead Living” and a possible future movie of the book.
I read in your post that you may write a sequel, but without Aaron as a main character. I must admit that I was very disappointed at the concept that Aaron would not continue to carry the torch of humanity and hope in a world filled with disparity.
I am a daily avid, ravenous reader of books. I have read more than I can count. Out of all of the books I have read there are few exceptions that I can re-call the plot of the book, must less the name of the main character. Your book “Dead Living” is one of those rare exceptions where the plot and the main character Aaron became unforgettable. There are many zombie books written and while some may entertain, very few are unique with an added twist of both sweet and bitter originality. A sequel without Aaron is a gamble that could prove to be very successful, or it could become a failure struggling in the shadows of the original cast of characters (Aaron, Sam, etc…) to capture the readers attention and devotion as a fan base to buy a future series. To me a successful series is one that may change in settings or struggles of adversity, but the main character/characters persevere taking the fan base on unforgettable journeys of imagination. I guess what I’m really trying to say here is, if it is not broken don’t fix it, and your book is not broken; in contrast, you have created a rare jewel in the form of a book. Ride the waves of success with Aaron and his band of survivors until your inspiration or desire to continue the story have ceased.
I would love to see a movie based on the book “Dead Living.” I read where you mentioned it was not an action filled book, but I beg to differ with you on that point. The scenes leading up to the birth of Aaron in the hospital prior to Aron’s birth were heart pounding. The scenes in the town where his father and those he called his family were killed was heart wrenching and hauntingly scary as the dead attacked in mass. There does not have to be a zombie encounter behind every closed door or lurking in every dark shadow to define action filled. In contrast, a great writer allows the readers imagination to continue creating past the written action scenes to fear what is waiting hungry in the darkness. You achieved that with “Dead Living.” “Dead Living” is an adrenalin page turner, my imagination was in overdrive, once I picked it up, I could not put the book down. I have re-read it several times to enjoy it again, something I rarely do. A movie has the potential to become a series based upon the foundations of a series of books. However, following fans of a series want to continue their journey with the same cast of characters to discover their fates.
What should be changed? My answer is, I would not change the base characters (Arron, etc…), more could join, but I would not abandon the foundation of what made it a success.
You are a talented and inspiring writer and I wish for you a continued long, very successful writing career / screen writing career.
Sincerely,
Anita McCurry
March 27, 2012 @ 2:09 am
Oh my gosh!!!! This is by far my favorite zombie books, and on my top ten best books list for sure! I love the story, the pace, the characters, the romance, the tension, the character development! I cannot count how many times I’ve nagged my friends and family to read this book! hahah..
I’m sooooooooo glad this is getting adapted! Honestly, whenever I read your work, I think it would look amazing on-screen but then I remember all the great books that turned into bad movies!
I love your work! I wish you the absolute best! Keep writing!!!
March 27, 2012 @ 2:39 am
I would love to see Dead Living adapted.
Things might get cut, that’s inevitable. I read Hunger Games then watched the movie and was VERY disappointed that they changed certain key aspects to save time. I understand their reasoning but some things should stay (ex. Rue’s song, not Katniss’).
Two to two and half hours is probably the runtime an average studio will be going for and honestly, there’s a LOT of story in Dead Living, so some things will be cut or condensed. Off the top of my head, I wouldn’t mind of the whole beginning leading up to the hospital was omitted for time. Start with Aaron’s mom’s water breaking maybe? It’d be a nice fast-paced beginning leading to an interesting opening credits scene. While I absolutely adore the story, the title may change and I’m open to that. It’s too similar to “Dead Alive” in my honest opinion. I’d maybe do two days in the woods then lead into the supply run gone bad with the tragic death of Aaron’s family. Then move into Sam’s story line and her supply run gone wrong.
Let me back track a little, the scene where Aaron’s family gets murdered should leave off with the audience not knowing if he’s dead or alive. Then Sam’s story. Then a nightmare of Aaron’s family getting killed but the z’s leaving him alone. Then he wakes up in his house to sound of gunshots (Sam).
I hope you leave the antagonists because they will get there comeuppance in the end and that is usually satisfying.
I’m guess many characters will be cut simply because there’s not enough time for the audience to get emotionally invested in them.
These are all just one man’s opinions by the way. I’m a huge fan of your work so I’m sure whatever you write will be golden!
Good luck!! Please make this into a cool movie!
March 27, 2012 @ 8:27 am
Man, that would be an awesome beginning. 🙂 I didn’t want to spend much time on “day one”, as we’ve seen it often enough. An opening of a woman in labor in the middle of a ZA would be nuts.
That would have been a nice cliffhanger to Aaron’s family’s demise. I wish I would have used that now. 🙂
I’m not the one who’s actually working on the screenplay, but I believe the human antagonists would remain. They would almost have to, as one of the hooks of the story is that Aaron can walk with the undead, but that doesn’t put him in a lot of danger. The slave traders would need to be there to provide some danger.
April 9, 2012 @ 7:16 pm
Do you have any other zombie books?
April 10, 2012 @ 11:28 am
Dead Living is it at the moment. 🙂 Four books in total, with a fifth on the way.
August 29, 2012 @ 3:03 pm
Great discussion. Would love to hear more thoughts from those that read the book. Glenn – Human antagonists are safe. 😉
JB