There are some wonderful books that have never been filmed. The mystery is why? Were they deemed unfilmable in the first place, have they got caught up in development limbo, or has the production money dried up? Here Giles Foden considers some of his favourite non-starters.

The film tie-in book jacket is big business. They are a lazy way for the reader to make the connection with the major motion picture. Susie Steiner looks behind the blatant opportunism.

As we all know, great books don't necessarily make great films. So what is the mysterious alchemy that comes to bear in the process of a successful adaptation? Screenwriter Deborah Moggach believes that the rules need to be broken

What happens when the film adaptation process goes badly awry? John Patterson provides a few examples of his least favourite attempts to translate the majesty of the book into celluloid

1984George Orwell (Penguin)The book that gave us Big Brother and Room 101 provides a compelling and chilling view of a totalitarian state. Even more horrifying than the loss of freedom is the constant rewriting of history which effectively removes the past. Although Winston and Julia's love affair provides a temporary haven, their fate is inescapable. JH

When it all goes right, we get a masterpiece. When it doesn't, we get a monster. Andrew Pulver looks at how even one miscasting can make or break a movie.

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