LIT LISTS: Five great novels that will probably never be made into movies

At the B&N Reads blog Brian Boone tagged five great novels that will probably never be made into movies, including:

The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger

It’s arguably the most famous 20th century American novel, probably because it’s almost a rite of passage to read it during or after adolescence. The mystique of The Catcher in the Rye has only grown over the decades due to the reclusiveness and few other novels of its author, J.D. Salinger. Had it been written by someone a bit more willing to play with others, The Catcher in the Rye could’ve been a 1950s classic of American cinema, a searing black-and-white masterpiece of rage on par with On the Waterfront. (It probably would’ve even been remade a couple of times by now.) But alas, this one never went anywhere beyond a 17-year-old’s bookshelf. In the early ’50s, Jerry Lewis asked to adapt it but was turned down. So were all-time greats in their pursuits: Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, and Billy Wilder. More recently, Leonardo DiCaprio allegedly tried and failed to secure the rights. So did Steven Spielberg.