Many Book Geeks know that Hollywood gets a lot of its inspiration from publishing – Harry Potter, Twilight, the Bourne movies, James Bond, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Atonement, Bridget Jones’ Diary, the list really is endless. But there are a lot of people, Book Geeks included, who won’t know that the following famous movies are also based on books:
Mrs Doubtfire
Originally a book titled Madame Doubtfire written by Anne Fine for a YA audience in 1987, the movie adaptation starring the late Robin Williams has become a favourite with audiences both young and old over the last 25 years.
Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride by Edward Streeter was turned into a movie by the same name in 1991. Starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. I LOVE this movie!
Forrest Gump
We know Forrest Gump as being Tom Hanks in the Academy Award winning movie of the same name, which was released in 1994. However, before Forrest hit the silver screen, he was created by author Winston Groom in 1986.
Goodfellas
The amazing Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci made the infamous and Academy Award winning, GoodFellas, in 1990, but before it became a classic Mafia movie, it was a non-fiction book that was released in 1986 by crime reported Nicholas Pileggi that chronicled the story of Mafia mobster-turned-informant, Henry Hill. The book was called, Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family.
Sleeping With the Enemy
We may think of the beautiful Julia Roberts when we think of this 1991 Hollywood release, but the book also titled Sleeping With The Enemy, has had some great reviews on Amazon.
A Beautiful Mind
The 2001 movie starring Russel Crowe features an asocial mathematician, who gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to work in cryptography. The book, a biography, amazingly has just 50 reviews on Amazon.
Minority Report
I LOVE this movie! The story-line, the action, the science, it’s all good! Considering I love this movie so much, it was a shock to discover it is based on a series of books released from 1954 to 1963.
Did any of the movies on this list surprise you? Which other films based on books do you think should be on this list? Let me know in the comments!
Confessions of a Book Geek 
I don’t think I knew that any of these movies were based on books!
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Was Father of The Bride from the 90’s a remake of an older film too? Loved it!
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I think it was! Though I’ve never seen it. I love the 90s one too much! R xx
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Mrs Doubtfire is based on a book? How did I not know this? I need to watch that film again. I didn’t know about Forrest Gump or A Beautiful Mind. It’s crazy how many films are based on books and people really don’t realise.
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I KNOW!! I bought it on DVD recently. I love Robin Williams. Books don’t get half the respect they deserve! R xx
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