Origin story: Loading

Not every screenplay comes from a book. These 10 adaptations draw from songs, viral tweets, even a National Park guide. Inspiration is truly everywhere

- Kritika Kapoor [e-mail]

1 Cocaine Bear (2023).

Inspiration: News article. In 1985, a smuggler dropped a giant stash of cocaine over a Georgia forest to lighten his parachute load. A black bear found it, devoured it, and promptly overdosed. The legend of Pablo Eskobear (Yes, really) was born. His taxidermied body now “officiates” weddings at a Kentucky mall. Elizabeth Banks's alternate history, in which the bear goes on a bloody, coke-fuelled rampage? It's art.

2 Zola (2021).

Inspiration: Viral Twitter thread. Thus starts stripper Aziah "Zola" Wells King's 148-tweet play-by-play of a wild weekend in Florida in 2015. There was a dancer, her boyfriend, a roommate. There was crime, sex work, and trafficking. Zola’s darkly comic voice tracks an epic saga. Janicza Bravo's film captures the absurdity in one hypnotic rollercoaster ride.

3 Pirates of the Caribbean series (2003-).

Inspiration: Theme-park ride. In the OG 1967 ride, visitors floated past chess-playing, rum-drinking pirate skeletons and sailed into a 17th-century sea battle — cannon fire, colonial chaos and all. Jack Sparrow debuted later. The scoundrel's tale did so well on screen, Disney tried to adapt other rides. Sadly, Tomorrowland (2015), and Jungle Cruise (2021) sank faster than a leaky galleon.