FAQs about screenwriting 2
Do authors have any say in the adaptations of their books?
In the year 2000 or so, during the process of bringing my book About A Boy to the screen, we lost a director (see FAQs 1. It happens all the time.) At around this time, I happened to meet another author who was having a novel adapted. I asked whether theirs had a director, and they told me they had: they named a very hot and very cool indie film-maker, a foreign film-festival guy, and I was duly impressed. This director was exactly the kind of person I was interested in, as a moviegoer.
Shortly afterwards, I was told that About A Boy was going to be directed by two guys, brothers, Chris and Paul Weitz.
“What have they done before?”
“You seen that movie American Pie?”
AMERICAN PIE? THE AUTHOR I WAS TALKING TO GETS THE HOT INDIE DIRECTOR AND I GET THE GUYS WHO MADE AMERICAN PIE?