Final Paper Topic

For weeks, I've debated what exactly to write my final paper on. I couldn't decide exactly what portion of Dorothy Parker and/or Dawn Powell's writings I wanted to discuss, so I've decided to take an easier route. I'm fairly certain that I will compare/contrast the movie "Thank you for smoking" with the book. At first, I didn't think that would be a very interesting topic - I've tried to watch the movie 4 times now and have always found myself bored with it and not paying attention. Now that I'm reading the book, it's a very interesting story to me. The book is great and is definitely something I would read for fun, but the humor and wit does not transfer very well to the movie (atleast I don't think so, I rented it again and will make myself pay attention this time.) The characters in the book are much more likeable and developed. The meetings of the "mod squad" are always funny, as well as the creation of the marketing spin of the Academy.
I (quickly) tried to find an interview with Christopher Buckley after the movie was filmed, about Thank You for Smoking. The following is what I found and I thought the quote about good books=bad movies and bad books=Good movies was very fitting!

CG: When you wrote “Thank You For Smoking,” did you see this as something that could become a film?
CB: I write books to be books. I don’t think as I’m writing, “Oh, this would be a great vehicle for Robert Altman.” I think you get into trouble that way. I have to say, I think you can do much more with a book than with a movie. It’s great when someone comes along and makes a book into a good movie. In terms of what you can accomplish with a book, with characters and their backgrounds and their motivations, movies are terribly limited with that — which isn’t to say some movies don’t do that brilliantly. But I stand by the statement that a good novel is artistically superior to a good movie.
CG: I just saw “Children of Men.” Terrific film, terrible book.
CB: You know, there’s a Hollywood adage: “Good books make bad movies, and bad books make good movies.” I think you’d have to look at it on a case by case basis, but I kind of get it. I now appreciate the skill required to turn a book into a movie [after “Thank You For Smoking”].
CG: Were you satisfied with the film’s casting?
CB: Yes, I was very happy with the cast. I had nothing to do with it, but I thought Aaron Eckhart was very good. I was tickled with Robert Duvall, one of my favorite actors, and another one of my favorite actors, Sam Elliott, played the dying Marlboro Man … a lot of very good actors were in it for three minutes, and they brought glory to it.
CG: And William H. Macy.
CB: Oh, I just love him. When you see the movie, his funny line — I won’t give it away — he came up with it.

Find the full interview at: http://clubs.calvin.edu/chimes/article.php?id=2047
This isnt the site I originally found it on, but it is the same interview.