Post 4: Adapting Book 2

Some specific challenges that a filmmaker would encounter in adapting Perks of Being a Wallflower include how the movie would be structured because the book is a series of letters. I feel like this may be difficult to translate on screen. A scene that I believe is important to the story is when Charlie first meets Sam and Patrick at the football game. This scene would need to be in the movie because it shows how Charlie felt alone before he met his friends. It is the first time that he felt he belonged somewhere and it is an important starting point for the story. Another scene that I thing needs to be in the movie is the ride through the tunnel. This is an important part of the story and it captures the mood that the book conveys. This scene is the chapter that ties the book together. A third scene that would be necessary to include in the movie would be when Sam kisses Charlie at the Christmas Party. I believe that this is a strong scene in the book because it is emotional and truly displays Charlie's relationship with Sam. This is an important part of the story because it is Charlie's first kiss and it explains Sam's childhood.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a very short book and most of the plot would be able to fit into a two hour movie, however two parts of the book that could be cut out are his sister getting pregnant and Charlie's lunch with Bill. I feel that Charlie's sister getting pregnant would not be important enough to keep in the movie because it was not a necessary plot line in the book. Another part that could be kept out of the movie is when Charlie goes to Bill's townhouse and meets his girlfriend. I feel that filmmakers would see this scene as boring and not important enough to stay.