Adapt or Perish

Whether it's stage to screen, book to television, comic to blockbuster, or movie to musical and back again, this podcast leaves no adaptation unturned.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Ep. 138) 04/30/2024

I Didn't Come Prepared for a Life Story (Ep. 137) 04/16/2024

Tarzan (Ep. 136) 04/02/2024

Tarzan (Ep. 136) In Episode 136 of Adapt or Perish, we’re heading to the jungle to spend some time with one of the pulpiest of pulp heroes: John Clayton II, Viscount Greystroke, better know as Tarzan of the apes! In this episode, we discuss: Edgar Rice Burroughs’ , the 1918 silent movie directed by Scott Sidney, and starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, and Madame Sul-Te-Wan , the 1932 movie directed by W.S. Van Dyke, written by Cyril Hume and Ivor Novello, and starring Johny Weissmuller, Maureen O’Sullivan, Neil Hamilton, and C. Aubrey Smith , the 1935 serial directed by Edward Kull and Wilbur F. McGaugh, written by Edwin Blum, Bennett Cohen, Basil Dickey, and Charles F. Royal, and starring Herman Brix , the 1959 movie directed by Joseph M. Newman, written by Robert Hill, and starring Denny Miller, Joanna Barnes, Cesare Danova, and Robert Douglas , the 1981 movie directed by John Derek, written by Tom Rowe and Gary Goddard, and starring Bo Derek, Richard Harris, John Phillip Law, and Miles O’Keefe , the 1984 movie directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Robert Towne (as P.H. Vazak) and Michael Austin, and starring Christopher Lambert, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, and Andie MacDowell , the 1989 TV movie directed by Michael Schultz, written by Anna Sandor, and starring Joe Lara, Kim Crosby, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Tony Curtis , the 1998 movie directed by Carl Schenkel, written by Bayard Johnson and J. Anderson Black, and starring Casper Van Dien, Jane March, and Steven Waddington , the 1999 Disney animated movie directed by Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, written by Tab Murphy, Bob Tzudiker, and Noni White, and starring Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Lance Henriksen, and Brian Blessed , the 2003 TV series developed by Eric Kripke, Mike Werb, and Michael Colleary, and starring Travis Fimmel, Sarah Wayne Callies, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Leighton Meester, Mitch Pileggi, and Lucy Lawless , the 2013 animated movie directed by Reinhard Klooss, written by Klooss, Jessica Postigo, and Yoni Brenner, and starring Kellan Lutz and Spencer Locke , the 2016 movie directed by David Yates, written by Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer, and starring Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, and Samuel L. Jackson Footnotes: You can follow Adapt or Perish on and , and you can find us and all of our show notes online at . We're also on Patreon! You can find us at . We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, bonus show! We hope to see you there. If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at . /episode/index/show/adaptorperishcast/id/30630863

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Ep. 135) 03/19/2024

Super Mario Bros. (Ep. 134) 03/05/2024

An Announcement (January 2024) 01/02/2024

A Christmas Carol, Part 4 (Ep. 133) 12/05/2023

A Christmas Carol, Part 4 (Ep. 133) Season's greetings and happy holidays from Adapt or Perish! It's that time of year, so we're back with our fourth look at A Christmas Carol, and 10 more screen adaptations of the Charles Dickens classic. Our previous Christmas Carol episodes: Part 1 on , , , and Part 2 on , , , and Part 3 on , , , and In this episode, we discuss: , the 2003 Hallmark TV movie directed by Matthew Irmas, written by Tom Amundsen, and starring Tori Spelling, Gary Coleman, and William Shatner , the 2008 animated movie directed by William Lay, written by Elisa Allen, and starring Kelly Sheridan and Morwenna Banks , the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas special directed by Toby Haynes, written by Steven Moffat, and starring Matt Smith, Michael Gambon, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill , the 2012 Hallmark TV movie directed by Michael M. Scott, written by Christopher Sey and William Penick, and starring Emmanuelle Vaugier and Carrie Fisher , the 2017 theatrical movie directed by Bharat Nalluri, written by Susan Coyne, and starring Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, and Jonathan Pryce , the 2020 modern dance adaptation written and directed by David Morris and Jacqui Morris, starring Simon Russell Beale, Carey Mulligan, Andy Serkis, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman, and Siân Phillips , the 2022 TV special directed by Ian Fitzgibbon, written by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto, and starring Suranne Jones , the 2022 TV movie directed by Rusty Cundieff, written by Aydrea Walden, starring Ashanti, Vivica A. Fox, and Robin Givens, and adapted from , which we covered in Part 3 , the 2022 animated movie directed by Stephen Donnelly, written by Donnelly and Leslie Bricusse, starring Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, and Jonathan Pryce, and adapted from , which we covered in Part 2 , the 2022 filmed staging directed by Adam Penford, written by Mark Gatiss, and starring Gatiss and Nicholas Farrell You can follow Adapt or Perish on and , and you can find us and all of our show notes online at . We're also on Patreon! You can find us at . We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, bonus show! We hope to see you there. If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at . /episode/index/show/adaptorperishcast/id/28930278

Little Shop of Horrors (Ep. 132) 11/07/2023

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Ep. 131) 10/03/2023

Peter Pan (Ep. 130) 09/05/2023

Peter Pan (Ep. 130) With Episode 130 of Adapt or Perish, we're finally tackling the story of the only child who never grew up: Peter Pan! In this episode, we discuss: , directed by Herbert Brenon, written by Willis Goldbeck, and starring Betty Bronson, Ernest Torrence, and Mary Brian , directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, and Wilfred Jackson, and starring Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, and Bill Thompson , originally directed by Jerome Robbins, music by Moose Charlap and Jule Styne, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, with Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and starring Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard , directed by Dwight Hemion, written by Andrew Birkin and Jack Burns, music by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse, and starring Mia Farrow, Danny Kaye, and John Gielgud , directed by Yoshio Kuroda, and written by Michiru Shimada and Shun’ichi Yukimuro , directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Jim V. Hart and Malia Scotch Marmo, and starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, and Maggie Smith , directed by P.J. Hogan, written by Hogan and Michael Goldenberg, and starring Jeremy Sumpter, Jason Isaacs, Richard Briers, and Rachel Hurd-Wood , directed by Marc Forster, written by David Magee, and starring Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman, and Julie Christie , directed by Rob Ashford and Glenn Weiss, written by Irene Mecchi, and starring Allison Williams and Christopher Walken , directed by Joe Wright, written by Jason Fuchs, and starring Levi Miller, Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, and Rooney Mara , written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, and starring David Suchet and Mischief Theatre , directed by Benh Zeitlin, written by Zeitlin and Eliza Zeitlin, and starring Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, and Gavin Naquin , directed by David Lowery, written by Lowery and Toby Halbrooks, and starring Jude Law, Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Yara Shahidi, Alyssa Wapanatâhk, and Jim Gaffigan Footnotes: (our introduction to Mischief Theatre) You can follow Adapt or Perish on and , and you can find us and all of our show notes online at . We're also on Patreon! You can find us at . We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, bonus show! We hope to see you there. If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at . /episode/index/show/adaptorperishcast/id/27941079

Persuasion (Ep. 129) 08/01/2023

The Great Gatsby (Ep. 128) 07/04/2023

Moby Dick (Ep. 127) 06/06/2023

Hamlet, Part 2 (Ep. 126) 05/02/2023

Hamlet, Part 2 (Ep. 126) In Episode 126 of Adapt or Perish, we're back for a second discussion about William Shakespeare's Hamlet! This time we're focusing on a selection of what can best be described as the many Hamlet "derivatives" that have been brought to the stage and screen. In this episode, we discuss: , directed by Ernst Lubitsch, written by Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer, and starring Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Robert Stack, and Sig Ruman , directed by Akira Kurosawa, written by Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Eijirō Hisaita, Ryūzō Kikushima, and Shinobu Hashimoto, and starring Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura , directed by Alan Johnson, written by Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan, and starring Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Christopher Lloyd, and Tim Matheson Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ( and ), both written by Tom Stoppard, who also directed the movie, which starred Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, and Richard Dreyfuss , directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton, and starring Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, and Ernie Sabella , written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, and starring Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Joan Collins, Nicholas Farrell, Celia Imrie, and Julia Sawalha Mystery Science Theater 3000 Ep. 194: Hamlet ( and ), directed by Michael J. Nelson, and starring Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy (while this Hamlet was written and directed by Franz Peter Wirth and starred Maximilian Schell) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) ( and ), written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company (Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield) and starring Long, Reed Martin, and Austin Tichenor , created by Susan Coyne, Bob Martin, and Mark McKinney, directed by Peter Wellington, and starring Paul Gross, Stephen Ouimette, Martha Burns, McKinney, Coyne, and Rachel McAdams , directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and Elisabeth Shue , directed by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and starring Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones, Beyoncé, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, and John Oliver , directed by Claire McCarthy, written by Semi Chellas, and starring Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, Tom Felton, and George MacKay , directed by Robert Eggers, written by Eggers and Sjón, and starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe, and Ethan Hawke Footnotes: and Alan Johnson's as covered in and You can follow Adapt or Perish on and , and you can find us and all of our show notes online at . We're also on Patreon! You can find us at . We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, bonus show! We hope to see you there. If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at . /episode/index/show/adaptorperishcast/id/26699562

Hamlet (Ep. 125) 04/04/2023

Hamlet (Ep. 125) With Episode 125 of Adapt or Perish, it's time for us to revisit the Bard and take a look at William Shakespeare's greatest theater kid antagonist, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark! In this episode, we discuss: , most likely written between 1599 and 1601 directed and adapted by Laurence Olivier, and starring Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons, and Peter Cushing directed by John Gielgud, and starring Richard Burton, Hume Cronyn, Alfred Drake, Eileen Herlie, John Cullum, and the voice of Gielgud directed by Philip Saville, and starring Christopher Plummer, Robert Shaw, Michael Caine, June Tobin, and Donald Sutherland directed and adapted by Tony Richardson, and starring Nicol Williamson, Judy Parfitt, Anthony Hopkins, Marianne Faithfull, and Mark Dignam directed by Peter Wood, adapted by John Barton, and starring Richard Chamberlain, Michael Redgrave, Margaret Leighton, Richard Johnson, and John Gielgud (and part of the ) directed by Rodney Bennett, and starring Derek Jacobi, Claire Bloom, Patrick Stewart, Eric Porter, Lalla Ward, and David Robb directed by Franco Zeffirelli, written by Zeffirelli and Christopher De Vore, and starring Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, and Helena Bonham Carter written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, and starring Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Richard Briers, Kate Winslet, Nicholas Farrell, Brian Blessed, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Robin Williams, and Billy Crystal directed by Campbell Scott and Eric Simonson, adapted by Simonson, and starring Scott, Blair Brown, Jamey Sheridan, Roscoe Lee Browne, John Benjamin Hickey, Michael Imperioli, LisaGay Hamilton written and directed by Michael Almereyda, and starring Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Venora, Sam Shepard, Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, and Bill Murray directed by Gregory Doran, and starring David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie, Mariah Gale, Edward Bennett, and Oliver Ford Davies Footnotes: You can follow Adapt or Perish on and , and you can find us and all of our show notes online at . We're also on Patreon! You can find us at . We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, bonus show! We hope to see you there. If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at . /episode/index/show/adaptorperishcast/id/26434407

Pollyanna (Ep. 124) 03/09/2023

Pinocchio (Ep. 123) 02/07/2023

Pinocchio (Ep. 123) In what has turned out to be a mega-episode of Adapt or Perish, we're taking a look at Carlo Collodi's classic children's story Pinocchio! How quickly will these adaptations go off the rails? Give a listen and find out (hint: it's immediately). In this episode, we discuss: , produced by Walt Disney, direction supervised by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, and story by Ted Sears, Otto Englander, Webb Smith, William Cottrell, Joseph Sabo, Erdman Penner, and Aurelius Battaglia , directed by Dmitriy Babichenko and Ivan Ivanov-Vano, and written by Nikolai Erdman and Lyudmila Tolstaya , directed by Nick Havinga, written by Jim Eiler, and performed by The Prince Street Players , sometimes listed as The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio, directed by Corey Allen, and written by Allen and Chris Warfield (released in English in the United States in 1978), written and directed by Giuliano Cenci , directed by Ron Field, music by Billy Barnes, and starring Sandy Duncan, Danny Kaye, and Clive Revill , directed by Barry Letts, and written by Alec Drysdale , directed by Peter Medak, written by Mark Curtiss and Rod Ash, and starring Shelley Duvall, Paul Reubens, Carl Reiner, Lainie Kazan, and James Coburn , directed by Steve Barron, written by Barron, Sherry Mills, Tom Benedek, and Barry Berman, and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Martin Landau, Udo Kier, and Geneviève Bujold Geppetto, , directed by Tom Moore, written by David I. Stern, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and starring Drew Carey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brent Spener, René Auberjonois, and Seth Adkins , directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, written by Benigni and Vincenzo Cerami, and co-starring Nicoletta Braschi, Carlo Giuffrè, Peppe Barra, Franco Javarone, and Kim Rossi Stuart , directed by Alberto Sironi, written by Ivan Cotroneo and Carlo Mazzotta, and starring Bob Hoskins, Robbie Kay, Joss Ackland, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster , written and directed by Enzo D'Alò , directed by Matteo Garrone, written by Garrone and Massimo Ceccherini, and starring Roberto Benigni and Federico Ielapi , directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Chris Weitz, and starring Tom Hanks, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Cynthia Erivo , directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, written by del Toro and Patrick McHale, and starring David Bradley, Ewan McGregor, Gregory Mann, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and Ron Perlman Footnotes: You can follow Adapt or Perish on and , and you can find us and all of our show notes online at . We're also on Patreon! You can find us at . We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, bonus show! We hope to see you there. If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at . /episode/index/show/adaptorperishcast/id/25848531

Mansfield Park (Ep. 122) 01/03/2023

A Christmas Carol, Part 3 (Ep. 121) 12/06/2022

A Christmas Carol, Part 3 (Ep. 121) Seasons greetings from Adapt or Perish! In Episode 121, we're taking our third look at Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol, and 10 more adaptations from the big and (mostly) small screen. In this episode, we discuss: , directed by Leedham Bantock, and starring Seymour Hicks of , directed by Daniel Petrie, book and lyrics by Janice Torrie, music by Fred Spielman, and starring Basil Rathbone, The Four Lads, and Vic Damone , directed by Moira Armstrong, written by Elaine Morgan, and starring Michael Hordern, John Le Mesurier, Patricia Quinn, Zoë Wanamaker, and Brian Blessed , directed by Katsuhisa Yamada, Jules Bass, and Arthur Rankin, Jr., written by Romeo Muller, and starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, Tom Bosley, and Theodore Bikel , directed by Eric Till, written by Jerome Coopersmith, and starring Henry Winkler, Dorian Harewood, R.H. Thomson, and David Wayne , directed by Burny Mattinson, with story by Mattinson, Tony L. Marino, Ed Gombert, Don Griffith, Alan Young, and Alan Dinehart , directed by Joanna Romersa, written by Glenn Leopold, and starring Henry Corden, Jean Vander Pyl, B.J. Ward, Frank Welker, and John Rhys-Davies , written and directed by Richard Schenkman, and starring Vanessa Williams, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Brian McNamara, Kathy Griffin, and John Taylor , directed by Richard Boden, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, and starring Lewis, Sayer, Shields, Dave Hearn, Charlie Russell, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Zamit, Diana Ring, and Derek Jacobi , directed by Sean Anders, written by Anders and John Morris, with songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Sunita Mani, and Patrick Page Footnotes: by The Four Lads from A Diva's Christmas Carol (our introduction to ) You can follow Adapt or Perish on and , and you can find us and all of our show notes online at . We're also on Patreon! You can find us at . We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, biweekly bonus show! We hope to see you there. If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at . /episode/index/show/adaptorperishcast/id/25233369

The Secret Garden (Ep. 120) 11/01/2022

Death on the Nile (Ep. 119) 10/04/2022

The Three Musketeers (Ep. 118) 09/06/2022

The Three Musketeers (Ep. 118) Adapt or Perish is back, and with Episode 118, we're taking an extended look at the adventure classic The Three Musketeers! We've also got a new focus for the show, and we can't wait for you to see what we've got planned! In this episode, we discuss: Alexandre Dumas' , directed by Fred Nibble, written by Edward Knoblock, Douglas Fairbanks, and Lotta Woods, and starring Fairbanks, Léon Bary, George Siegmann, and Eugene Pallette , directed by Rowland V. Lee, written by Lee and Dudley Nichols, and starring Walter Abel, Paul Lukas, Moroni Olsen, and Onslow Stevens , directed by Alan Dwan, written by William A. Drake, M.M. Musselman, Sam Hellman, Ray Golden, and Sid Kuller, and starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers , directed by George Sidney, written by Robert Ardrey, and starring Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, June Allyson, Vincent Price, and Van Heflin , directed by Peter Hammond, written by Anthony Steven, and starring Jeremy Brett, Brian Blessed, Jeremy Young, Gary Watson, and Richard Pasco and , the 1973 and 1974 movies, directed by Richard Lester, written by George MacDonald Fraser, and starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, Richard Chamberlain, Charlton Heston, Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch, and Christopher Lee , directed by Stephen Herek, written by David Loughery, and starring Chris O'Donnell, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Oliver Platt, and Tim Curry , directed by Peter Hyams, written by Gene Quintano, and starring Justin Chambers, Tim Roth, Mena Suvari, Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Stephen Rea, and Catherine Deneuve , directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, written by Anderson and Andrew Davies, and starring Logan German, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Mads Mikkelsen, and Milla Jovovich , created by Adrian Hodges, and starring Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, and Luke Pasqualino Footnotes: , but seriously, watch the whole thing, it's a delight performed by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting You can follow Adapt or Perish on , , and , and you can find us and all of our show notes online at . We're also on Patreon! You can find us at . We have multiple reward levels, which include access to a patron-only community and a patron-only, biweekly bonus show! We hope to see you there. If you want to send us a question or comment, you can always email us at . /episode/index/show/adaptorperishcast/id/24260703

Angels in the Outfield (Ep. 117) 05/24/2022

Clue (Ep. 116) 05/10/2022

Rear Window (Ep. 115) 04/26/2022

Heidi, Part 2 (Ep. 114) 04/12/2022

Heidi, Part 1 (Ep. 113) 03/29/2022

Bedazzled (Ep. 112) 03/01/2022

Lady Chatterley's Lover (Ep. 111) 02/14/2022

Hairspray (Ep. 110) 02/01/2022

Adapt or Perish

TOPICS