Adapting Your Book

A challenge that a film maker would come across for Dear John would be explaining his thoughts because the entire book is in John's perspective. I also think that it would be hard to not make the movie like cheesy and a big cliché because the book has a lot of cheesy lines and the plot isnt very orginal.

One scene that would need to be kept in the movie is when John and Savannah first meet. When they first meet a character named Randy accidently knocks Savannahs purse into the water. When Randy refuses to jump in Savannah prepares herself to jump in after it, John then rushes over and jumps in for her to retrieve her purse. When John talks about why he did this for a stranger he says that it was for the “genuineness of her smile and the warmth of her laugh”. Another scene that is a must keep is when Savannah gives John the book about his Father. Savannah admits that she thinks his father has Asperger’s disease (mental illness). When she tells him this he becomes very angry and leaves the pier very aggravated with Savannah. When he rushes down the beach to get home Randy tries to stop him and when John tries to convince him to get out of the way Tim attempts to break them apart. John’s reflexes begin to kick in and he ends up elbowing one man, breaking Tim’s nose and Randy’s wrist. One other scene that must be in the movie is when John leaves. John has to leave Savannah and travel to Germany and return from his military leave. John and Savannah has one last day together and they agree to send letters back and forth. John promises Savannah that when he returns form the military he will marry her. Savannah gives him a note to read on the plane and when he opens it, she tells him to never forget her and whenever there is a full moon out he must look at it and remember the week that they spent together.

To show what is most important you would have to cut a few things from the film. One thing that should be cut is when he sees his old buddies at the bar. It does show how John did turn his life around and didn’t end up like that but I don’t think that it is a critical thing to leave in the plot. I also think that they should shorten the day that John doesn’t spend with Savannah when he goes surfing by himself and goes to the bar, etc. I think that it should sum up the day just to show that he misses her.