15 popular movies that are actually based on books

André Aciman's 2007 novel, "Call Me by Your Name," was adapted for the screen in 2017.

The movie focused on a shorter time frame than the book and ditched the novel's long bouts of narration in favor of a more visual story. But it still follows the book's main characters, 17-year-old Elio and 24-year-old Oliver.

"Forrest Gump" was originally a 1986 novel by Winston Groom. It was adapted into a film in 1994, which went on to receive six Academy Awards.

Although the basic plots are the same, Groom told The New York Times in 1994 that the movie "took the rough edges off the character," noting that his protagonist was more profane.

"Clueless" is loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel, "Emma."

Although most of the characters' names were changed in the film, Cher was inspired by Austen's titular heroine, and the film's plot parallels the classic novel's — but with modern twists.

Audrey Niffenegger's "The Time Traveler's Wife" was adapted for the screen six years after it was published.

Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams starred in the movie version, in which many of the book's main plot points remained intact — even if a few details were left out or changed.

Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" was published in 2005, and its film adaptation came out in 2011.

The movie had an all-star cast, including Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Viola Davis, and it followed the story of a young boy trying to pick up the pieces after his father was killed during the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City.

Deborah Gregory's 1999 novel, "The Cheetah Girls: Wishing on a Star," was adapted into the Disney Channel original movie in 2003. Although the network only went on to make two sequels, there are 16 novels in Gregory's book series.

The first film and book both focus on an emerging musical girl group, but in the film, there are only four members, whereas the book features five.

Tina Fey's cult-classic teen film "Mean Girls" was inspired by Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 self-help book, "Queen Bees and Wannabes."

After Fey read Wiseman's book, which details the ways in which teenage girls form cliques and develop aggressive behaviors, she came up with the idea for the teen film.

Since then, the story has also been adapted into a Broadway musical.

The beloved animated film "Shrek" is based on William Steig's 1990 picture book of the same name.

The film version starred big names like Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, and it followed a similar storyline to the book — with added cynical humor.

Meg Cabot's book series inspired both "The Princess Diaries" and its sequel. However, the book series consists of 15 books (plus three spin-off novels), and it's slightly different from the movies.

For example, in the books, Mia lives in Manhattan instead of San Francisco, and her father is still alive.

"Legally Blonde," a 2001 novel by Amanda Brown, was the precursor to the popular film of the same name.

Brown actually wrote the story about her own time at Stanford Law School, and both the film and book follow the same basic plot.

After the novel was adapted into the film, a sequel and Broadway musical followed.

Emma Donoghue's "Room" was published five years before the film adaptation starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay premiered.

The novel is told from the perspective of Jack, a boy who grew up in captivity with his Ma, and much of the book's plot remained intact in the film

The romantic comedy "She's the Man" is based on William Shakespeare's famous play, "Twelfth Night."

The movie modernized the classic work, but it used most of the original character names and followed a similarly confusing love story.

The 1991 novel "American Psycho," written by Bret Easton Ellis, was turned into a film in 2000.

Both the book and the movie follow the gruesome crimes of Manhattan-based investment banker Patrick Bateman, who's actually a serial killer.

"Pitch Perfect" was inspired by the nonfiction book "Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory" by journalist Mickey Rapkin.

The book is more focused on exploring the phenomenon of collegiate a capella from the students' perspective. The film, on the other hand, parodies the concept through the lens of fictional college singing groups.

Stephen King's 1982 novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" inspired the classic 1994 film.

Both the novella and the movie tell a story about perseverance, hard work, and belief in oneself.

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