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Adapting a novel, but not adapting the whole novel.

what is the best way to do this. I originally started out years ago writing a fan remake of a movie that was adapted from a book over 20 years ago, i used the original movie as a template, and added more tuff from the book.

over time i decided to re do it into something original, eschewing lots of elements of the plot, new charachters, changed the titular ship to be "resurrected" to another related ship. etc. I also shrunk down the scale a LOT. no more globe hopping, less tech thriller.

what i am trying to do is just adapt the third part of the novel as the last half or third of the movie (the best part) pretty loosely, and modernized, and have a new first half as a contained and grounded disaster film that takes place on board a fast mode of transport, like a big bus, train, or jetliner. the main charachter is supposed to be an everywoman, who has authority, like a train driver, or pilot, or bus driver.

A mystery flu like virus breaks out after a simultanous global terror attack, panic strikes on the ground, looting, people shooting the infected, and terrorizing people who appear to be Middle eastern. instead of showing the whole world, we focus on the CITY the main charachter's teen sister is in and how the disaster effects her, and her older sibling on the fast mode of transport.

In the middle of the film, from the main charachers college professor who worked for the CDC we learn the virus was created during WWI by the british government to infect german troops, to end the war, fearing the war would continue into the 1920s. They soon realize it is too effective, and uncontrollable, so they destroy most of it, hide several samples and half the documents to make the cure in a vault somewhere under London. However a shipment of the antidote that was to be given to british troops who would be deploying the virus, along with the other documents, in heavy bombproof metal boxes, was transported on board the HMHS BRITANNIC, which struck a mine taking the cure with it. I am taking a tiny creative license with the Britannic's condition (still remarkable in real life). every acrion movie does this.

I also had an idea to do it more like a serous version of armageddon, with a little bit of elements from true survival at sea/ industrial accident stories. (no virus in this one) Basically what was supposed to happen is that during the recovery effort something goes wrong and a batheyscape is put in danger, and we follow the rescue effort to get the people out, which culminates into the raising of the britannic a year ahead of schedule.

i akso had something like an underwater narritive heavy version of 2001 where the quest to get the cure is years after the virus, and it plays more like oblivion or interstellar, very fact heavy.

i also had an idea for another one that was a mystery like TGWTDT or the quest to decode the ENIGMA code.
 
Well, well. First of all congrats for taking so much into consideration and describing something that's a total mess. I already thought I'd comment that everything you bring up is either wrong or completely uninteresting, but then you involve the Germans, and as I can be assumed as German, I can't even say that anymore.
 
what is the best way to do this. I originally started out years ago writing a fan remake of a movie that was adapted from a book over 20 years ago, i used the original movie as a template, and added more stuff from the book. over time i decided to re do it into something original ....
Before investing lots of energy, you need to understand that there are potential copyright concerns. You have a movie copyright and a book copyright. The original movie probably bought adaptation rights for the book. Just because you consider it a "fan film" does not grant you the right to use the materials without permission. You would be better off finding out if you can get rights to the book's publisher or author and write it from scratch. A 'fan film' can be squashed even if you are not charging money for people to see it or trying to sell/rent your video. Given your description, it sounds like a lot of money would be invested in the effects, so you'd like some return. And some copyright owners would be happy to let you adapt their material if you ask.

While ideas can't be copyrighted, using characters, place names and similar plot details as part of a 'fan film' can be construed as infringement. It sounds like you have enough differences that your story is going off in a different direction. That is probably the best way to handle it and abandon using the book or film as a template. There are certainly enough epidemic-based zombie stories that trace back to Richard Matheson's "I am Legend" as well as stage and film adaptations. Again, I suggest you go totally original and be inspired by but not literal to the earlier works.
 
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