Origin story: Loading

Forget books. These 10 adaptations draw from songs, viral tweets, theme park rides, even a National Park guide

- Kritika Kapoor

Zola (2021) Inspiration: Viral Twitter thread.

“Y'all wanna hear a story about why me and this b*tch fell out?” 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, and a roommate. There was crime, sex work, and trafficking. Zola’s darkly comic voice narrated “the greatest strip per saga ever tweeted”. Janicza Bravo's film captures all the absurdity, horror, and humour in one hypnotic rollercoaster ride.

Cocaine Bear (2023)

Inspiration: News article. In 1985, a smuggler dropped a giant stash of cocaine over Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee 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 the Kentucky Fun Mall. Elizabeth Banks's alternate history, in which the bear goes on a bloody, coke-fuelled rampage? It’s art.

Pirates of the Caribbean series (2003-)