Three Books that Would Make Great Movies - "Catch-22," "Atlas Shrugged," and "World War Z"

Have you ever read a book and wondered how good of a movie it'd make? Or maybe you knew right off the bat that the imagery would translate well to the big screen to create an epic film, perhaps like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Well, here's a list of my top three books that I would like to see made (or remade) into movies.

World War Z

World War Z is the first book on my list, as it's a sequel to the acclaimed Zombie Survival Guide, but it tells of a much more bleak future where the undead have risen up and crushed civilization. The book follows several different stories, so the director and writers would probably need to choose just a few to work with. Due to the nature of the book, there are no lead characters so most of the roles would need to be filled by lesser-known actors. The zombies will also require a high number of extras, as there are some scenes where hundreds or even thousands of zombies are killed. There are two directors that I think could do well with the movie: Danny Boyle and Ridley Scott. They would probably take the film in similar directions, but with their own spin. Boyle is experienced in the zombie genre, having directed "28 Days Later," but Scott has shown skill in creating dystopian societies and horror, with "Blade Runner," "Alien," and "Hannibal." He also has a directed a good amount of combat, with films such as "Black Hawk Down" and "Kingdom of Heaven."

Catch-22

Catch-22 is one of my favorite books, and while it was made into a movie some time ago, I still think it would do great with modern special effects and film making techniques. The book is about an air force pilot, Yossarian, that does everything he can to seem insane so he doesn't have to fly, but he falls into a catch where if he proves he is insane then he doesn't have to fly but by not flying he shows that he is sane and has to fly. Because of this catch it is impossible for him to leave the air force. There are few actors that I think could tackle the role of Yosarrian, although I think Robert Downey Junior and Jim Carrey could both give solid performances as the character. Other important characters are Captain Aardvark, for whom I'd cast Ryan Reynolds, and Nately who would be well-played by Michael Cera. So far as directors go, I'd probably take Oliver Stone as he's good with war commentary.

Atlas Shrugged

The final book I would like to see made into a movie is Atlas Shrugged. This project has been brought up several times in Hollywood, but it never seems to happen. This is unfortunate as the book is very profound and would do very well on the big screen. For casting, I'd choose Brad Pitt as John Galt, Kate Beckinsale as Dagny Taggart, and George Clooney as James Taggart. The director I'd choose for the job is Paul Thomas Anderson, who has directed a few movies in the same sort of genre and seems to have it down.