Thursday, November 19, 2009

Translating a book to film - the ups and downs

Having just listened to Elizabeth Knox's response to Nikki Caro's production of her novel Vintner's Luck raises some interesting questions. Especially in the area of how much input an author has in the final product if ones novel is translated from prose to film. As an English teacher and (in a past life) a media studies teacher, I recognise the different demands of each genre.

Still, a story is a story and I can appreciate Knox's dismay that, for her, the essential love story was ignored to the 'fourth level' Knox says. For her, the lack of information about what had happened was the disconcerting.

So, everyone who reads Banquo's Son and contacts me says the cinematic potential is clear. That there are currently three American producers currently reading the novel makes me take a time to pause.

I may be a bit more proactive in looking at my contract should a film maker come knocking.

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