10 Unfilmable Properties That Should've Stayed That Way

8. On The Road

Walter Salles has a reasonable track record as a director comfortable adapting various sources to cinema screen - from the travelogues of Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries to an interesting remake of Hideo Nakata's Dark Water, his filmography should've put him in good stead for delivering an effective adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road. While it would be tempting to blame Kristen Stewart and the other members of the cast - all of whom are unconvincing playing such iconic characters of the Beat Generation - the performances alone are not to blame. For such an exuberant, life-lusting novel to be adapted to the screen with such lacklustre appeal is a crying shame, and the film lacks both emotional punch and a sense of the spirit of the times. On the Road is a movie that languished in development hell for several years, with Gus van Sant and Francis Ford Copolla both attached to the project at one time or another.. At least we can all be grateful that the planned Joel Schumacher version never saw the light of day.