Movies Adapted from Novels That Ended up Being Better Than the Book

Adapting a book into a film is a tricky endeavor that often results in disappointment. Fortunately, this isn't always the case. Sometimes, Hollywood does right by fans of the original literature. Here are the most successful adaptations that manage not to butcher the original source material—and, in these cases, improve it substantially.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Lauren Wiesberger gained fame and notoriety for her debut novel, The Devil Wears Prada, chronicling a somewhat-fictional account of her time spent as an assistant to Anna Wintour. Weisberger’s plight is brought to life by Meryl Streep’s iconic performance as Miranda Priestly, who serves as the perfect counterpart to timid, sweater-wearing Anne Hathaway. Aline Brosh McKenna rounds out the screenplay by adding crucial depth and complexity to the characters—something they were desperately lacking.

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The More You Know

  • Scorpions are incredibly resilient: scientists have frozen scorpions overnight, left them in the sun the following day, and when thawed, the arthropod walked away unscathed.
  • If you sneeze while driving at 60 mph, your eyes are closed for around 50 feet.
  • You spend about 10% of the time you're awake blinking.
  • Honey is essentially bee vomit.
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