9 Authors Who Made Terrible Films Of Their Own Books
8. Ethan Hawke - The Hottest State
The Hottest State was Ethan Hawkes debut novel, and told a story of young love and heartbreak; so standard procedure for Gen X. The book received decent reviews and Hawke eventually mounted a film version a decade later, and he really shouldnt have bothered. The film version is Hawkes attempt at a Richard Linklater movie, but he doesnt have the sensibility to pull it off. The main actor has all the charisma of a soggy plate of noodles, and watching him spend half the runtime moping and whining doesnt make for compelling cinema. He doesnt have a lot of chemistry with his love interest either, meaning the romance doesnt connect either. Hawke himself shows up towards the end, playing the father of the lead despite only being ten years older in real life. He espouses rote life philosophies that sound like they were written by a pretentious film nerd; probably because they were. Hawke has proven to be both a great actor and screenwriter in his later work, but directing wasn't his forte.
