Whittle, Whittle

When it comes to film adaptations, I love to read the book first to get a feel for the original vision, then go see how closely the screenwriter either stuck to it, or if they at least nailed the vibe. Man, when those two things hit....music, baby.
I was a freshman in college when I saw the first trailer for Peter Jackson's film adaptation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Lost my friggin' mind, yo. He rocked that entire trilogy and even with the extended 3+ hour director's cuts, I wanted more of Middle Earth.
...and then we have the, erm, blatant expoloit--I mean, Hobbit trilogy. What the heck? That didn't need to be three movies, dude, as clearly evidenced by this good ol' animated Rankin Bass version. **To be fair though, I'm still grateful for a) This incredible scene of the dwarves singing Misty Mountains Cold, b) Martin Freeman rocking the Bilbo role, and c) All of The Cumberbatch. 
We all have that friend who insists the book was better than the movie. (And, let's be honest, I'm probably that guy). So what gives? Why does it seem so difficult for Hollyweird to get it right more often than not?
'Cause it's harder than it looks, friends. 

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