They say that ''a picture is worth a thousand words'', but the briefest look at books and the movies based on them would have anyone questioning this common saying. All too often, great words end up being turned into cinematic ''turkeys''.

Good movies need good stories. If so, why has one of the earliest and greatest works in Western storytelling, Homer's The Odyssey, never had an equally great movie based on it? Movies need strong characters. So why have the movies based on The Great Gatsby never been praised as ''great''? Movies of course need impressive images, so why has Alice in Wonderland only resulted in movies best described as ''interesting''?

One of the key reasons behind this is that while a book usually takes a few days to read, a movie typically lasts under two hours. This means that great books can lose plot details and characters when they move to the big screen. This is something that even the highly successful Harry Potter movies can't escape from, with fans of the books disappointed not to see some of their favorite characters in the movie versions.

Movies also disappoint us when things don't look the way we imagined them in the books. Take, for example, the epic movie Troy, which is in part based on Homer's The Iliad and was met with mixed reviews from the audience. The most questionable issue was the actress chosen to play the part of Helen. Many people thought she didn't live up to Helen's title of ''the most beautiful woman in the world'', influencing opinions of the movie to some extent.

There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes. Furthermore, books and movies are two different forms of media and therefore have different rules. With this in mind, perhaps we should judge a movie in its own right, and not against its original source. Interestingly, audiences have in recent years turned to television series such as Sherlock or Mad Men, which can have many characters and gradual plot development. Perhaps, one day, readers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's most admired work will find themselves glued to their screens by episodes of The Great Gatsby.

The 2016 Oscars, the 88^th Academy Awards, once again thrilled people around the world, including the Chinese, who were excited about Leonardo DiCaprio winning the Best Actor Award.

But the annual carnival also put Chinese filmmakers in an awkward position, as no Chinese film makers ever pocketed a golden trophy(奖杯). The hard truth leaves people wondering when the nation, which is already the second largest film market, will earn a place in the well-known award ceremony’s spotlight.

There are good reasons to be optimistic about such an ambitious outlook.

First, China is one of the fastest growing film markets in the world, attracting abundant capital from home and abroad, which will attract more talented people to get into the industry. Latest statistics showed Chinese cinemas took a record of 6.87 billion yuan (about $ 1.05 billion) in ticket sales in February, with the monthly box office overtaking that of North America for the first time.

The achievement, which may be repeated in the future, has led to thinking that China’s annual box office could go on to surpass(超过) North America as soon as 2017. As capital rushes into the Chinese film industry, fierce competition is expected. The creativity and quality of homegrown movies, two outstanding shortcomings compared with Hollywood productions, will be improved.

Second, Chinese culture and stories have provided a rich source of inspiration for domestic(国内的) productions. For example, the most popular animations in China are the Kung Fu Panda series and Monkey King films. Once they master cutting-edge film technology and improve narration(叙述), Chinese film makers could see their potential released. Also showing promise is the younger generation of filmmakers, who are born after 1970. With more professional and international training compared with their predecessors(前辈), such as Zhang Yimou, they are equipped to make breakthroughs.

Young directors, who often travel to the United States and Europe for seminars and award ceremonies, are also more familiar with Hollywood productions. This being said, no one can predict the exact year when a homegrown film will surprise the world greatly. Patience is gold for domestic filmmakers.