Guest Post Spencer Blohm - Odd Thomas, what could have been...

Let's Talk Book to Movie! 

I first met Dean Koontz when I was in elementary school, at a book signing with my mom. Since then, I have been to only one other of his signings, but have read just about every book he has published. Needless to say, I am a HUGE Dean Koontz fan and was particularly enthralled with his Odd Thomas series. Earlier this month a fellow blogger got in touch with me about doing a feature on Odd Thomas! He is a media blogger and fan of Koontz's work. So, we figured we'd talk a bit about the book and also, the Odd Thomas movie--a movie that unfortunately, will not grace many of our screens. 

"The dead don't talk. I don't know why." But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn.

Maybe he has a gift, maybe it's a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd's otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.

A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd's deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15.

Today is August 14.

In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares, and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere

~ My Review ~

Dean Koontz is capable of writing such an array of amazing novels. He is, by far, in my top three adult authors. After reading Odd Thomas I am convinced that this book is one of his best, or at least has snuck it's way into my favorites section.  Koontz is definitely not an author you should overlook just because your parents read him--I'm speaking from experience here. This book will take you on a powerful, paranormal ride and is definite proof that he is a master of his genre. There have been a few other Koontz novels that I loved, but they did not grip me the way this one did! If you have never picked up one of his books, really you should. And start with Odd Thomas. It's a good way to get into his writing and style. I could get into every detail about this book and series, but honestly the synopsis speaks for itself. And if that doesn't peak you interest, then it is probably not for you. 

Gushing review aside, I am excited to learn that Odd Thomas is now a movie! I will be hunting it down soon. If you are already a Koontz fan then this post will peak your interest. Below you will find all the info on this movie and what became of it.

Without further ado, lets welcome Media Blogger, Spencer Blohm! 

The Odd Thomas Movie: What Could Have Been

Any fan of reading has likely come across or read a book by American author Dean Koontz. At this point, he’s joined the list of best-selling American authors with a staggering 450 million books sold worldwide, putting him in league with authors like Danielle Steele, Dr. Seuss, Harold Robbins, R.L. Stine, and Stephen King. Whether or not you’re a fan of his work, it’s impossible to deny his ability to sell books and create an interesting story for the public.

Like many of the other best-selling authors mentioned, many of Koontz’s books have been adapted into film. The newest adaptation, Odd Thomas, will actually mark Koontz’s 15th foray into the film world. What makes Odd Thomas different from his other film adaptations is the popularity of this series, the possibility of creating a multiple film sequels based off the text, and the curious implosion of the film following its completion. 

When the filming for Odd Thomas started back in 2011, Koontz fans were incredibly excited for the big budget treatment of this beloved series. The filming process went smoothly, was completed, and the scenes were sent off to be edited and marketed, but it was then that things began to fall apart. According to a lawsuit filed by Two Out of Ten Productions, the company never received their payment of $25 million in order to promote, market, and distribute the film. In addition, Two Out of Ten Productions also claimed they were owed another $10 million to repay loans used to make the $27 million film. The defendants in question were ABS Investment Group and Outsource Media Group (OMG), as well as Craig Chang and Mark Bishop. The lawsuit effectively stopped the movie in its tracks, disappointing both literary and film fans alike. Though the film hadn’t even been promoted yet, there was still enough buzz within the entertainment and literary circles that caused Odd Thomas to be already hotly anticipated.

Odd Thomas the film closely follows the sci-fi basis of the books. Both tell the story of Odd, a young man with the ability to speak to the dead and foresee cataclysmic events through the presence of Bordachs, a breed of ghostly/demonic being that only rears its head when death or disaster is imminent. Odd uses his ability to speak to the dead, get answers about their death, and help law enforcement crack unsolved crimes, but with this ability comes the stress of trying to maintain a somewhat normal life amid incredibly unordinary circumstances. The story really takes off when Odd notices a slew of Bordachs surrounding a frequent customer of the restaurant he works at, whom he dubs “Fungus Bob.” 

Up and coming star Anton Yelchin offers a somewhat quirky take on the character of Odd in a performance that will surely endear him to the younger generation. However, the film doesn’t quite follow through every aspect of the book’s deep plotline, understandable since the movie is only 95 minutes long. As expected when adapting a book to a film, certain elements have to be cut, but still, 95 minutes is on the short side for a movie, so perhaps expanding it to fill in some plot holes would have been beneficial to viewers who aren’t familiar with the book. This could be the result of a shoddy editing job due to the post production issues the film faced.

The film is currently available exclusively on DirecTV and available through their Direct Ticket packages and for streaming online (details here). For those of us without DirecTV, it doesn’t appear this film will ever make the jump to theaters, it’s more likely that it will jump the B-line route to the land of forgotten films known as direct-to-video. While the film isn’t perfect, it would be nice to see what director Stephen Sommers (of The Mummy fame) could do with a sequel and bigger budget. Unfortunately, this is will likely never happen, which is a loss for Dean Koontz and Odd Thomas fans everywhere.

Thanks so much for being here today Spencer and enlightening fellow fans! Spencer Blohm is a freelance entertainment, culture, and lifestyle blogger. He lives and works in Chicago.