AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES; THIS YEAR'S BOOK ADAPTATIONS ARE THE CREAM OF THE CROP.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer

Judging from this year's slate of holiday movies, it seems as though studio executives must be spending some time in the library. That, or they received a lot of gift certificates to Barnes & Noble last year. Of the 30 major releases arriving in theaters in the last two months of 1999, more than half are based on books.

``It's a little scary,'' says director Scott Hicks, who made David Guterson's best seller ``Snow Falling on Cedars'' as his follow-up to ``Shine.'' ``You wonder if there's enough of an audience for all these movies. I think there is, but it would be nice if studios spaced the films out a little more.''

That would be breaking form. November and December are traditionally the months when Hollywood puts aside (at least a little bit) thoughts of commerce and deluges audiences with the sort of mature, highbrow fare that Oscar voters love to honor.

But this year's literary crop is an embarrassment of riches, ranging from Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning ``Angela's Ashes'' to potboilers like Stephen King's ``The Green Mile.'' There are classics (``Mansfield Park,'' ``Stuart Little,'' ``Sleepy Hollow''), best sellers (``Girl, Interrupted,'' ``The Cider House Rules''), literary cult favorites (``The End of the Affair,'' ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'') and Oprah book club selections (``Anywhere but Here'').

All told, there are enough books-on-film to give movie and literature lovers cause for joy - and pause for thought. After all, for every sterling adaptation (say, ``The English Patient'') there are two or three clunkers like ``The Bonfire of the Vanities,'' movies that make the book's fans wish Hollywood hadn't bothered in the first place.

``It's more than a little intimidating, adapting a beloved book like `Angela's Ashes,' '' says director Alan Parker, who did exactly that. McCourt's bittersweet memoir about growing up poor in Ireland wasn't the first time Parker had made a movie in the Emerald Isle. (Parker adapted Roddy Doyle's ``The Commitments'' in 1991.) But it was the first time Parker had to deal with an author - whose life he was depicting - on the set of his film.

``Frank McCourt was very encouraging,'' Parker says. ``But on those days that he visited, I think he felt like he was intruding on his own life. I felt a little uneasy myself.''

Adds Emily Watson, who plays McCourt's mother, Angela, in the film: ``He seemed somewhat traumatized, like the world was picking through the pieces of his life.''

That same dynamic could be applied to the relationship between director and author. Parker, Hicks and James Mangold, who directed and co-wrote the adaptation of ``Girl, Interrupted,'' all expressed a strong determination to satisfy both the author and the author's audience with their movies. Part of that desire, Hicks says, comes from the fact that directors know that Hollywood has butchered so many literary adaptations over the years.

``You're very mindful of those failures as you're making your movie,'' Hicks says. ``I was also conscious of how intensely possessive readers are of `Snow Falling on Cedars.' I felt like I had an obligation to do right by them, not to mention David (the book's author, David Guterson).''

The danger of such a mindset, most filmmakers admit, is becoming a slave to the book instead of making the book serve the movie.

``That's one reason why so many of these literary movies fail,'' says Douglas Wick, a producer who has been raiding the bookshelves quite a bit lately. Wick's Red Wagon Productions is responsible for ``Girl, Interrupted,'' Susanna Kaysen's memoir of the two years she spent as a teen in a psychiatric hospital, as well as ``Stuart Little,'' an adaptation of the E.B. White children's classic. Wick will also produce Steven Spielberg's film version of Arthur Golden's best-selling ``Memoirs of a Geisha.''

``The best way to fail a book is to make a lousy movie,'' Wick says. ``When you adapt a book for the screen, you must make new life occur. You can't just visualize the book, otherwise it's just going to be a mediocre movie. You have to plant your own seeds, remaining true to the spirit of the book, and hope something new will grow.''

Filmmaker Anthony Minghella took that approach when he adapted Michael Ondaatje's novel, ``The English Patient,'' three years ago. Now he's hoping lightning will strike again with his film version of Patricia Highsmith's literary thriller, ``The Talented Mr. Ripley.''

``I really used the same approach with both movies,'' says Minghella, whose ``English Patient'' won nine Oscars, including best picture and best director. ``I'm looking for the alchemy between the reader and the novel. Highsmith's Ripley is seen as a monster by some, but I wasn't interested in that. I was interested in what I recognized about myself in the character, and that was a fear of being alone.''

``We live in an age,'' Minghella continues, ``where every message is that we're inadequate, that we should should try to change ourselves, change our nose or our hair or our wife or our shoes. But it is not enough. And this pursuit of the fake somebody instead of the real nobody is so germane and prescient, it seemed worth exploring.

``Some could, I suppose, see this as changing the novel, but I see it as a layering process. And it's a process I believe necessary when you're bringing a book to the screen.''

It's a process that won't be tapering off any time soon, not with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio signing up for the film version of Alex Garland's best seller ``The Beach.'' (The film is due in February.) And, in fact, it's precisely because of the enthusiasm of A-list talent like DiCaprio and Winona Ryder that so many literary works are making their way into movie theaters.

Says Ryder: ``It's better to initiate a project that you love, like `Girl, Interrupted,' than sit around and hope that a worthwhile script will come your way. I absolutely loved this book and have spent six years getting it made into a movie. I've never been so passionate about a film.''

And she'd probably be hard-pressed to say that about a big-screen version of ``I Dream of Jeannie.'' Indeed, with a dwindling number of vintage television shows left to pillage (next year brings ``Charlie's Angels,'' ``My Three Sons'' and a ``Mission: Impossible'' sequel), books provide Hollywood with proven commodities that sometimes transcend commerce and become works of art.

``I don't know why there are so many of these movies right now, but I'd like to think it's a reflection of the success of films like `The English Patient' and `Shine,' '' says ``Cedars'' director Hicks. ``Those films were regarded as art-house fare and yet they became huge box-office successes. I think studios saw that and recognized there was an audience for films of substance.''

Adds Watson: ``It sure beats 'The Flintstones.' ''

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11 Photos

Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) Winona Ryder in ``Girl, Interrupted''

(2 -- cover -- color) Michael Legge in ``Angela's Ashes''

(3 -- cover -- color) Matt Damon in ``The Talented Mr. Ripley''

(4) Director Alan Parker adapted Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning ``Angela's Ashes,'' a memoir about growing up poor in Ireland.

(5) James Mangold, who directed and co-wrote the adaptation of ``Girl, Interrupted,'' wanted to satisfy both author and audience.

(6) Anthony Minghella, who adapted Michael Ondaatje's ``The English Patient'' three years ago, hopes lightning will strike again with his film version of Patricia Highsmith's ``The Talented Mr. Ripley.''

(7) David Guterson's best seller, ``Snow Falling on Cedars'' is director Scott Hicks' follow-up to ``Shine.''

(8 -- 11) no caption (Book covers)