2012 Movies Based on Books

Each year an average of thirty novels are made into movies for the big screen. Authors watch tensely as their stories are filtered through the hands of screenwriters, directors, cinematographers and studio chiefs. If they're lucky, these film adaptations do the original story justice. However, it is often the case that the book is significantly better than the movie 

• 1EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
  A nine-year-old boy searches New York City for the lock that matches a key left behind by his father, who died on 9/11.
  Based On: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
  Release Date: 20 January 2012
  Starring: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock
  
• 2ONE FOR THE MONEY
  Stephanie Plum, an unemployed Jersey girl, blackmails her cousin to get a job as a bounty hunter and attempts to track down a murder suspect.
  Based On: One For the Money by Janet Evanovich
  Release Date: 27 January 2012
  Starring: Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara, Debbie Reynolds
• 3THE WOMAN IN BLACK
  A lawyer is haunted by a series of disturbing sights and sounds when settling the affairs of a recently deceased client in a remote village.
  Based On: The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill
  Release Date: 3 February 2012
  Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer
• 4BIG MIRACLE
  A family of grey whales becomes trapped in the Alaskan ice in 1988 and a reporter starts a campaign to get them rescued. Based on a true story.
  Based On: Big Miracle by Tom Rose
  Release Date: 3 February 2012
  Starring: Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, John Krasinski
• 5DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX
  A young boy tries to win a girl's heart and encounters the Lorax, an environmentally conscious creature, along the way.
  Based On: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
  Release Date: 2 March 2012
  Starring: Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Danny DeVito
  
• 6JOHN CARTER
  A Civil War veteran who is imprisoned by aliens on Mars attempts to save the planet and its princess.
  Based On: A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
  Release Date: 9 March 2012
  Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe, Lynn Collins
  
• 7THE HUNGER GAMES
  Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen struggles to survive the Hunger Games, an annual televised battle in which children fight to the death.
  Based On: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  Release Date: 23 March 2012
  Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks
• 8THE LUCKY ONE
  A US marine searches for the woman whose photo became his lucky charm while serving in Iraq.
  Based On: The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
  Release Date: 20 April 2012
  Starring: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner
  
• 9WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING
  An ensemble romantic comedy in which five couples prepare to become parents.
  Based On: What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
  Release Date: 11 May 2012
  Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Kendrick, Elizabeth Banks
• 10THINK LIKE A MAN
  A romantic comedy based on comedian Steve Harvey's self-help book about relationships. 
  Based On: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment by Steve Harvey
  Release Date: 6 June 2012
  Starring: Chris Brown, Gabrielle Union, Kelly Rowland
• 11ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER
  President Abraham Lincoln begins hunting down vampires after his mother mysteriously dies.
  Based On: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
  Release Date: 22 June 2012
  Starring: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper
  
• 12ANNA KARENINA
  A rebellious Russian socialite forgoes her loveless marriage in favor of a tumultuous affair that eventually leads to tragedy.
  Based On: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  Release Date: 3 August 2012
  Starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law
  
• 13THE BOURNE LEGACY
  A very loose adaptation in which Jason Bourne does not appear and a new CIA operative takes center stage.
  Based On: The Bourne Legacy by Eric Van Lustbader
  Release Date: 3 August 2012
  Starring: Edward Norton, Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz
  
• 14DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS
  Greg's video game-filled summer plans go up in smoke when his mother forces him to participate in outdoor family bonding activities.
  Based On: Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 4) by Jeff Kinney
  Release Date: 3 August 2012
  Starring: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Devon Bostick
• 15SAVAGES
  Two marijuana growers battle the vicious Mexican drug cartel that kidnaps their shared girlfriend.
  Based On: Savages by Don Winslow
  Release Date: 28 September 2012
  Starring: Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively
  
• 16THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 2
  After Bella gives birth to her hybrid daughter, Edward and his family seek help from other vampires to fend off the Volturi.
  Based On: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
  Release Date: 16 November 2012
  Starring: Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart
  
• 17LES MISERABLES
  An ex-convict seeks redemption in France during the early nineteenth century.
  Based On: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
  Release Date: 7 December 2012
  Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Helena Bonham Carter
  
• 18THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
  Bilbo Baggins is dragged along by a group of dwarves who plan to reclaim a stolen treasure.
  Based On: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  Release Date: 14 December 2012
  Starring: Luke Evans, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving
  
• 19LIFE OF PI
  A 16-year-old Indian boy is stranded on a lifeboat with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena and a tiger. 
  Based On: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
  Release Date: 21 December 2012
  Starring: Tobey Macguire, Irrfan Khan, Tabu
  
• 20WORLD WAR Z
  A representative of the United Nations travels the world to interview survivors of a zombie war that nearly eliminated the human species.
  Based On: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
  Release Date: 21 December 2012
  Starring: Brad Pitt, Matthew Fox