Some New Pros Take on Old Prose

Everyone loves a good story. Especially when the characters are stolen from a wildly successful earlier one.

Times readers were asked to jump on the bandwagon of the publishing world’s new trend of “borrowing” liberally from old literature (for instance, the controversial sequels to “Gone With the Wind” and “Les Miserables”). And jump they did. We received scores of entries to our “Don’t Wait for the Movie” contest. Here are some of the best:

Winners

“Lord of the Fries”

The schoolboys get rescued from their desert island and open a fast-food franchise back in civilization. The specialty of the house? Piggy in a blanket.

--GIL CHRISTNER

Los Angeles

*

“Oliver’s New Twist”

The story of a onetime orphan and street urchin who ascends to fame and fortune by devising an innovative yoga stance.

--MEL BLOOM

Ojai

*

“This Billy Budd’s for You”

Melville’s brother, Hisman, writes a rip-off sequel about an American seaman who has to deal with a “don’t ask, don’t tell” problem.

--WAYNE SCOTT

Camarillo

Honorable mentions:

“A Passage to Indiana”

Bobby Knight wants his old job back.

--SARAH MONTOYA

Monterey Park

*

“Star Wars and Peace”

Having survived Napoleon and communism, Moscow families face the greatest challenge of all, the George W. Bush administration.

--SHARON RUDAHL

Los Angeles

*

“The Grapes of Roth”

The heartwarming story of the descendants of the Joad family who convert to Judaism and open a successful winery.

--MARK MILLER

Los Angeles

*

“The Scarlet Letterman”

Boston adulteress-psychotic-Southern-belle-twin stalks a television talk-show host. He rebuffs her advances because he doesn’t give a damn, so she plots revenge against his bandleader.

--PHILLIP HAIN

Glendale

*

“Alice in Wonder Bra Land”

A new adventure where we learn why the Cheshire Cat had that silly grin and the reason why the rabbit was late for a very important date.

--STAN KEGEL

Via Internet

*

“Of Mice and Mental Wards”

After the cruel murder of Lennie, George is arrested and pleads insanity at his trial. He is sent to a sanitarium, where he befriends some mice living in his cell.

--TIFFANY WIMBERLY

Fayetteville, Ark.

*

“The Naked and the Bread”

Norman Mailer’s classic story about bakers in a nudist colony.

--STAN KEGEL

Via Internet

*

“Men Are for Mars Bars, Women Are for Mounds”

Wherein the inherent difference in candy preference between men and women is deemed responsible for potentially significant problems in interrelating.

--SAM CHEN

La Crescenta

*

“The Old Man and the Season”

He tackled the meanest of marlins. Now, the aged fisherman tries to hook the network execs in the midst of a writers’ strike.

--MARK MARINO

Via Iinternet

*

“The Moon Also Rises”

But an important part of Jake’s anatomy doesn’t. During a vacation in Pamplona, He Xavier, a mysterious and controversial plastic surgeon who is working on a penile implant, wants to experiment on Jake, but Jake is reluctant.

--AURIEL DOUGLAS

Santa Monica