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My Movie Business: A Memoir
John Irving's memoir begins with his account of the distinguished career and medical writings of the novelist's grandfather Dr. Frederick C. Irving, a renowned obstetrician and gynecologist, and includes Mr. Irving's incisive history of abortion politics in the United States. But My Movie Business focuses primarily on the thirteen years John Irving spent adapting his novel The Cider House Rules for the screen--for four different directors.
Mr. Irving also writes about the failed effort to make his first novel, Setting Free the Bears, into a movie; about two of the films that were made from his novels (but not from his screenplays), The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire; about his slow progress at shepherding his screenplay of A Son of the Circus into production.
Not least, and in addition to its qualities as a memoir--anecdotal, comic, affectionate, and candid--My Movie Business is an insightful essay on the essential differences between writing a novel and writing a screenplay.
The photographs in My Movie Business were taken by Stephen Vaughan, the still photographer on the set of The Cider House Rules--a Miramax production directed by Lasse Hallström, with Michael Caine in the role of Dr. Larch. Concurrently with the November 1999 release of the film, Talk Miramax Books will publish John Irving's screenplay.
Mr. Irving also writes about the failed effort to make his first novel, Setting Free the Bears, into a movie; about two of the films that were made from his novels (but not from his screenplays), The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire; about his slow progress at shepherding his screenplay of A Son of the Circus into production.
Not least, and in addition to its qualities as a memoir--anecdotal, comic, affectionate, and candid--My Movie Business is an insightful essay on the essential differences between writing a novel and writing a screenplay.
The photographs in My Movie Business were taken by Stephen Vaughan, the still photographer on the set of The Cider House Rules--a Miramax production directed by Lasse Hallström, with Michael Caine in the role of Dr. Larch. Concurrently with the November 1999 release of the film, Talk Miramax Books will publish John Irving's screenplay.
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
29 people are currently reading
1119 people want to read
About the author
John Irving
159 books16.3k followersJOHN IRVING was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942. His first novel, Setting Free the Bears, was published in 1968, when he was twenty-six. He competed as a wrestler for twenty years, and coached wrestling until he was forty-seven.
Mr. Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for his novel The World According to Garp. He received an O. Henry Award in 1981 for his short story “Interior Space.” In 2000, Mr. Irving won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2013, he won a Lambda Literary Award for his novel In One Person.
An international writer—his novels have been translated into more than thirty-five languages—John Irving lives in Toronto. His all-time best-selling novel, in every language, is A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Avenue of Mysteries is his fourteenth novel.
Mr. Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for his novel The World According to Garp. He received an O. Henry Award in 1981 for his short story “Interior Space.” In 2000, Mr. Irving won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2013, he won a Lambda Literary Award for his novel In One Person.
An international writer—his novels have been translated into more than thirty-five languages—John Irving lives in Toronto. His all-time best-selling novel, in every language, is A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Avenue of Mysteries is his fourteenth novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
November 5, 2018
This book resembled a cosy fireside chat with John Irving on the conversion of novels into screenplays. Although The Cider House Rules is the main subject under consideration, there are detours into his other novels that ended up as films, notably The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire, and the one that, try as he might, never made it to the cinema, his first novel, Setting Free the Bears.
I wondered why the eminent novelist had considered writing this memoir of his dabbling in the movie business. When I realized that this book was written on the eve of the release of the film version of The Cider House Rules, I wondered whether the author was trying to absolve himself of any responsibility for the finished product. Why? Because movies do not reflect their book versions. They are slices of the novel, where scenes and characters come and go or are replaced depending on the director, the studio and audience tastes. The Cider House Rules had four directors during its journey to being filmed, and the screenplay, written by Irving, changed radically with each one. This is to be expected, for when compressing a story, some characters and scenes will be compromised or eliminated, and others created anew to compensate for the gaps in the story. Voice-over (narration in the novel) is a frowned upon device in the movies and is used sparingly.
And yet it must have been a labour of angst for Irving to whom this book is close. He comes from a privileged medical family, and the book’s central character, Dr. Larch (played by Michael Caine in the movie), is modelled on the author’s grandfather.
One thing that became clear to me when reading this “how to make a screenplay” book, was how contrived movie scripts are. Effect, marketability, timing, and resolved endings are more important than moral and political issues that the author makes central themes in his novel version. So while Irving the author would like to make abortion and it’s representative, Dr. Larch, the focus, the movie deems a romance between the orphan, Homer Wells, and the temptress, Candy, more important.
A good read if one is interested in screenplays, and also for novelists who do not ever want their novels converted into movies.
I wondered why the eminent novelist had considered writing this memoir of his dabbling in the movie business. When I realized that this book was written on the eve of the release of the film version of The Cider House Rules, I wondered whether the author was trying to absolve himself of any responsibility for the finished product. Why? Because movies do not reflect their book versions. They are slices of the novel, where scenes and characters come and go or are replaced depending on the director, the studio and audience tastes. The Cider House Rules had four directors during its journey to being filmed, and the screenplay, written by Irving, changed radically with each one. This is to be expected, for when compressing a story, some characters and scenes will be compromised or eliminated, and others created anew to compensate for the gaps in the story. Voice-over (narration in the novel) is a frowned upon device in the movies and is used sparingly.
And yet it must have been a labour of angst for Irving to whom this book is close. He comes from a privileged medical family, and the book’s central character, Dr. Larch (played by Michael Caine in the movie), is modelled on the author’s grandfather.
One thing that became clear to me when reading this “how to make a screenplay” book, was how contrived movie scripts are. Effect, marketability, timing, and resolved endings are more important than moral and political issues that the author makes central themes in his novel version. So while Irving the author would like to make abortion and it’s representative, Dr. Larch, the focus, the movie deems a romance between the orphan, Homer Wells, and the temptress, Candy, more important.
A good read if one is interested in screenplays, and also for novelists who do not ever want their novels converted into movies.
October 7, 2021
Dry.
I must admit that I am a massive John Irving fan. However, this was a very dry memoir.
I knew all of his titles and struggled. I can only imagine how boring it would have Ben for first time Irving readers
I must admit that I am a massive John Irving fan. However, this was a very dry memoir.
I knew all of his titles and struggled. I can only imagine how boring it would have Ben for first time Irving readers
August 26, 2017
I thought this "memoir" might help me to get back into John Irving`s writing, as I haven´t been enjoying his novels lately. Unfortunately, if anything, it steered me farther away. I did however like learning about the movie business and the surprisingly complicated process of turning a book into a movie, but the text is just really dry. I couldn´t help being bored even though this is quite a short book. My Movie Business didn´t even make me want to watch the movies it discusses so unless you´re a dedicated John Irving fan and adore the movie adaptations of his novels, I can´t really recommend this.
March 5, 2012
The main gist of this book was to explain how some of his books were made into movies with the main one being "Cider House" because he wrote the screenplay for years. It touched on all his novels and it helped me remember something about the books I had read a long time ago but the most interesting and the one given the most information was "Cider House".
He explains that his grandfather was an OB/GYN who graduated from Harvard in 1910 and wrote 3 books. One his books was published in 1942 and gave clinical details of the early days of obstetrics and gynecological surgery and our laws about abortion that go back to very early days of this country and how they have gone through numerous changes. Many of the stories in "Cider House" were based on real cases his grandfather had written about. Assuming that the information here is correct (and I would guess that it is), it was very informative but just adds more to my conflicted thoughts on the whole abortion issue; doesn't give me an easy out-just more food for thought on an issue that will probably never be settled.
He explains that his grandfather was an OB/GYN who graduated from Harvard in 1910 and wrote 3 books. One his books was published in 1942 and gave clinical details of the early days of obstetrics and gynecological surgery and our laws about abortion that go back to very early days of this country and how they have gone through numerous changes. Many of the stories in "Cider House" were based on real cases his grandfather had written about. Assuming that the information here is correct (and I would guess that it is), it was very informative but just adds more to my conflicted thoughts on the whole abortion issue; doesn't give me an easy out-just more food for thought on an issue that will probably never be settled.
October 19, 2009
Repetitive, dull and self-aggrandizing. Can't believe this is the same JI who wrote Garp, Owen Meany etc. I learned nothing about movies, nothing about JI and nothing about the process of adapting novels to the screen. One of the laziest books I've read in a long time. At least it's short.
June 28, 2021
A most enjoyable book - if you have read "Cider House Rules". Interesting to see how a novel gets turned into a movie. Going to go watch the movie again now.
October 23, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this. The medical stuff was interesting. The scriptwriting stuff was interesting. The abortion stuff was interesting
July 21, 2020
I don’t believe this is one of Irving’s best outings. Ostensibly, it is mostly about bringing three of his novels to the big screen: The Cider House Rules, The World According to Garp, and The Hotel New Hampshire. A Son of the Circus gets some attention, but then it ultimately is not made into a film. For almost 170 pages (along with a large number of photographs), he tells the reader about the experience of writing the screenplay for The Cider House Rules, getting his son cast for a minor role, and tells about his relationships with four different directors, right up to the end, when the cast wraps the film about an hour from Irving’s home in Maine.
Having read six of his novels and his book of essays, I believe Irving usually swarms the page with important detail: sensory detail, historical detail, emotional detail, whatever is required to bring alive the scene or the chapter. However, here he seems to shorthand a lot of that information. Anecdotes that could be opened up are not. Arguments with others on the set could be brought alive; mostly they are not. He is privileged to be on the set of a major motion picture (Miramax) with access to everyone from the best boy to the seamstress to someone in charge of mess. And yet he doesn’t seem to want to share the finer details of that experience with the reader. If he had, the book could easily have been 250 pages or more. Disappointing.
Having read six of his novels and his book of essays, I believe Irving usually swarms the page with important detail: sensory detail, historical detail, emotional detail, whatever is required to bring alive the scene or the chapter. However, here he seems to shorthand a lot of that information. Anecdotes that could be opened up are not. Arguments with others on the set could be brought alive; mostly they are not. He is privileged to be on the set of a major motion picture (Miramax) with access to everyone from the best boy to the seamstress to someone in charge of mess. And yet he doesn’t seem to want to share the finer details of that experience with the reader. If he had, the book could easily have been 250 pages or more. Disappointing.
March 6, 2019
This really should be called "The Making of Cider House Rules." While Irving does discuss Garp and Hotel New Hampshire a little bit, you can tell that Cider House was top of mind when he was writing this. (The simplest explanation being that Cider House was his most recent movie effort at the time.) Because this was a toilet book for me, I heartily enjoyed it -- the chapters are small and easily consumable in a single bathroom session, and Irving's blunt, sentimental language shines through in this memoir. However, as a solid, full-attention, straight-through-read, this book is simply not enough. It is really more of a series of quick conversations with Irving, as opposed to a well thought out narrative. So, as long as you approach it as such, this book can augment your knowledge of Irving and his movies, but only as an add-on to your other experiences with his writing. And, if you don't know Irving very well, do not start here.
May 6, 2019
Sólo para los muy fanáticos de John Irving que hayan visto la película "Las normas de la casa de la sidra" muy recientemente y hayan leído su novela.
December 15, 2008
Irving recounts his experiences with the filming of his books. He provides considerable detail, particularly, for the transition of Cider House Rules from novel to film. It is a very nice look into the process of translating from novel to screenplay. He provides many examples of the decisions that had to be made and why they worked, or didn't.
June 3, 2018
This is a very short memoir/long essay of sorts about Irving turning his novel “The Cider House Rules” into a screenplay. I have not read the book or seen the film, but after reading this, there are enough spoilers and details to extinguish most of the mystery within both. The author also gives us some insights into many of his previous experiences in trying to adapt some of his other novels onto the silver screen, with some predictably mixed, though entertaining results.
There is some interesting historical background information in here, particularly in relation to abortion and medicine within the US. But this is also, in part a pro-life essay/novel/film and Irving himself says, “Politically speaking, if I were to make a list of people who should see ‘The Cider House Rules’, two groups would go to the top of the list: politicians who call themselves pro-life (meaning anti-abortion) and twelve year old girls.”
He recalls one story when he was doing a book signing and a pro-life woman cut in line to tell him, “We just want people to be responsible for their children.” as she patted his hand. He patted her hand in return and quoted from his own book, “If you expect people to be responsible for their children, you have to give them the right to choose whether or not to have children.”
With this basically being a promotion for the film, we get plenty of script excerpts and even small passages from the original novel. There are also many run of the mill images and stills from the movie, including three of the author himself, who plays the role of ‘the disapproving stationmaster’.
This is sprinkled with some colourful detail about his rather snobbish sounding, yet highly talented grandfather, who was a doctor and Harvard graduate whose stories informed many aspects of the novel in question. There are some interesting insights into Irving's writing process but owing to the nature of the subject it can get a little tedious and self-indulgent. And yet this does possess a quirky, understated appeal. Some of Irving’s various digressions can often give it the feel of sitting down with an old timer by an open fire, recounting really interesting old war stories, which really come to life nicely.
April 10, 2019
John Irving is one of my favorite novelists, but I haven't read much of his nonfiction. He might not HAVE much available nonfiction, but I always enjoy his forewords and afterwords to his novels. I like novelists with introspection.
I had passed this slim book by more than once, and even now I don't know why. My journey with John Irving began with The Cider House Rules. The film was coming out in fewer than two weeks, and my friend Tracey and I challenged each other to finish the book before we went out to see it. I had never read a book like Cider House Rules (likely because I'd never read any Dickens), but I immediately fell for the author's way with words, his dialogue, his semicomic situations. I plowed through Cider House ... and then was hugely underwhelmed by the movie.
I was mad about every change, especially the wholesale elimination of Melony (a hugely important character) from the whole thing. I didn't think Michael Caine deserved the award for Best Supporting Actor (I was holding out for Haley Joel Osment in Sixth Sense, Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile, or Tom Cruise in Magnolia). Now, looking back, I may have unfairly maligned the film. Reading My Movie Business, that seems all but assured.
I loved hearing the behind-the-scenes stuff about movies based on Irving's books, even the stuff that kind of makes him seem like a jerk (one insight: Rob Lowe was a hot teen actor; Jodie Foster was not). My biggest wish is that the book didn't end with the wrapping of the film. I wanted to see how Irving reacted to the popularity of it, winning an Oscar, etc. etc. You always try to rate art on what's there rather than what isn't, but this seems like a missed opportunity. (Caveat: there is some fictionalized discussion of this in Until I Find You, but it's not the same).
All in all, I liked this book a lot, and it's always good to "discover" a work by a writer you love that you haven't yet dug into. Which reminds me, I've never read Setting Free the Bears. Time to jump in to that pre-Garp world!
I had passed this slim book by more than once, and even now I don't know why. My journey with John Irving began with The Cider House Rules. The film was coming out in fewer than two weeks, and my friend Tracey and I challenged each other to finish the book before we went out to see it. I had never read a book like Cider House Rules (likely because I'd never read any Dickens), but I immediately fell for the author's way with words, his dialogue, his semicomic situations. I plowed through Cider House ... and then was hugely underwhelmed by the movie.
I was mad about every change, especially the wholesale elimination of Melony (a hugely important character) from the whole thing. I didn't think Michael Caine deserved the award for Best Supporting Actor (I was holding out for Haley Joel Osment in Sixth Sense, Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile, or Tom Cruise in Magnolia). Now, looking back, I may have unfairly maligned the film. Reading My Movie Business, that seems all but assured.
I loved hearing the behind-the-scenes stuff about movies based on Irving's books, even the stuff that kind of makes him seem like a jerk (one insight: Rob Lowe was a hot teen actor; Jodie Foster was not). My biggest wish is that the book didn't end with the wrapping of the film. I wanted to see how Irving reacted to the popularity of it, winning an Oscar, etc. etc. You always try to rate art on what's there rather than what isn't, but this seems like a missed opportunity. (Caveat: there is some fictionalized discussion of this in Until I Find You, but it's not the same).
All in all, I liked this book a lot, and it's always good to "discover" a work by a writer you love that you haven't yet dug into. Which reminds me, I've never read Setting Free the Bears. Time to jump in to that pre-Garp world!
November 20, 2020
I love John Irving's books - he's one of my top 5 authors - and I was hoping this was going to include some background on Garp, my favorite of his works, both the book and the movie, but 90% of the book focuses on The Cider House Rules, a book I read when it first came out and a movie I've never seen, tho I would still like to. Sort of. Cider House Rules was, for me, one of those books that sticks with you so much, you never need to reread it, or see it on the screen, because it was so vivid and intense and detailed you didn't need a movie. And it sounds like the movie was drastically different, due to the condensing of a huge book into 120 minutes. Remember, a page of dialogue generally equals a minute of screen time, so a 560 page book cut down to even 130 pages is a huge loss of storyline. And Irving does explain the how and why. it took him 18 years to manage to get the movie to screen.
This book was okay, but really, it's a book about the difficulties of turning a novel into a movie. It was nice, but nothing special, nothing I'd hoped. It was nice information to know - what a killer cast Cider House Rules had! - but I'm not into writing screenplays, so the book had little to offer me outside of a nice little aside. Thankfully, it's short and reads very fast.
It's not a bad book - not at all - if that's your thing. Sadly, it's not mine, and I found it rather blah because of that. C'est la vie.
This book was okay, but really, it's a book about the difficulties of turning a novel into a movie. It was nice, but nothing special, nothing I'd hoped. It was nice information to know - what a killer cast Cider House Rules had! - but I'm not into writing screenplays, so the book had little to offer me outside of a nice little aside. Thankfully, it's short and reads very fast.
It's not a bad book - not at all - if that's your thing. Sadly, it's not mine, and I found it rather blah because of that. C'est la vie.
October 6, 2025
I think I may have enjoyed this memoir more if I had read it 25 years ago when the movie was coming out. Even then, I may have struggled with the various storylines of his many books. It’s been over 40 years since I read Garp or Hotel New Hampshire and over 35 since reading Cider House Rules and nearly as long since reading A Prayer for Owen Meany. I am a huge Irving fan and a believer that the movie is never as good as the book. After reading this memoir, I understand why.
A film student, enthusiast, or future screenwriter may find this book more interesting than I did. After this read, I have to believe that it is a miracle that any movies get finished at all!
If you’ve read Cider House Rules, you know that the theme is abortion. Even in the memoir, he does not let go of his belief. At the end of Chapter 22, he is discussing the filming of the scene where a 12-year old girl is dying from a botched abortion and Dr Larch knows he cannot save her. The culmination of everything is Larch’s hope to change Homer’s mind about abortion in order to avoid a situation like this one. “THIS is what doing nothing gets you, Homer. It means that someone else is going to do the job—some moron who doesn’t know HOW!”
Irving discusses abortion, the history of abortion, and the politics of abortion in between discussions about movie making, screenwriting, his other books, and his attempts and making other movies.
A film student, enthusiast, or future screenwriter may find this book more interesting than I did. After this read, I have to believe that it is a miracle that any movies get finished at all!
If you’ve read Cider House Rules, you know that the theme is abortion. Even in the memoir, he does not let go of his belief. At the end of Chapter 22, he is discussing the filming of the scene where a 12-year old girl is dying from a botched abortion and Dr Larch knows he cannot save her. The culmination of everything is Larch’s hope to change Homer’s mind about abortion in order to avoid a situation like this one. “THIS is what doing nothing gets you, Homer. It means that someone else is going to do the job—some moron who doesn’t know HOW!”
Irving discusses abortion, the history of abortion, and the politics of abortion in between discussions about movie making, screenwriting, his other books, and his attempts and making other movies.
March 10, 2024
No tenía demasiadas expectativas porque hay libros de Irving que me han encantado como El Hotel New Hampshire y otros que me han quitado las ganas de seguir leyéndolo: El mundo según Garp . Este libro es muy entretenido, es breve y es interesante. Es un raconto de los vaivenes como guionista de la adaptación a cine de Los Príncipes de Maine pero es a la vez un texto general sobre la dificultad de adaptar novelas al cine. Los detalles autobiográficos son curiosos y está plagado de excelente humor. El libro se enfoca en el proceso de guión que tardó muchísimos años y se fue construyendo con diferentes directores, y por tanto no incluye el enorme éxito que tuvo la película una vez estrenada, Tuvo un reparto excelente; Tobey Maguire, Michael Cane, Charlize Theron, Paul Rudd, etc, ,f ue nominada a 7 categorías para el Oscar, Irving ganó la estatuilla por mejor guión adaptado y Michael Cane se llevó la de mejor actor secundario. No leí la novela ni vi la película; de modo que ahora tengo ambas cosas pendientes. Pero esto no disminuyó en absoluto mi disfrute de este libro.
July 4, 2025
There are a few things that would be necessary for enjoying this book:
-An interest in film production and screen writing
-An interest in literary adaptation
and most importantly
-An interest in John Irving's Dickensian sentimentalism
-A tolerance for the film adaptation of "The Cider House Rules"
I liked (if that is the word) Lasse Hallstrom's films in my late teens/early twenties and I have a soft spot for Michael Caine's performance as Dr. Larch, so I enjoyed this very much. It actually could have been longer and I would not have complained. What makes it a *little* special is that this memoir was completed before the accolades that Hallstrom's "Cider House Rules" were received. So even with his confidence in craft, I felt that John Irving was not quite sure how well this film would be received. I appreciated learning about how he reduced a novel that takes place over decades to a movie that largely takes place over a year and a half.
Only recommended for fans of the author or his filmed adaptations. If you fall into these categories, it is kind of a treat.
-An interest in film production and screen writing
-An interest in literary adaptation
and most importantly
-An interest in John Irving's Dickensian sentimentalism
-A tolerance for the film adaptation of "The Cider House Rules"
I liked (if that is the word) Lasse Hallstrom's films in my late teens/early twenties and I have a soft spot for Michael Caine's performance as Dr. Larch, so I enjoyed this very much. It actually could have been longer and I would not have complained. What makes it a *little* special is that this memoir was completed before the accolades that Hallstrom's "Cider House Rules" were received. So even with his confidence in craft, I felt that John Irving was not quite sure how well this film would be received. I appreciated learning about how he reduced a novel that takes place over decades to a movie that largely takes place over a year and a half.
Only recommended for fans of the author or his filmed adaptations. If you fall into these categories, it is kind of a treat.
June 17, 2017
Could anyone feel more self-important than Mr. Irving? There is nothing of note here. It is a sanitized, glossing-over of both novel writing and filmmaking. A reader unfamiliar with either will learn absolutely nothing. I'm still baffled as to the point of this book at all.
I'm sorry to say that the most interesting and memorable points in the 'story' are in the beginning. Once Mr. Irving abandons his remembrance of his grandfather, you'd might as well stop reading. Indeed, I'm inclined to try and find his grandfather's book, and if I do that will have been worth reading this one.
I picked up this book because I love 'The Cider House Rules', and really did not love the movie. As odd as it seems to dedicate and entire book to one book to film adaptation, I thought it might shed light on why that might be. In other words, what were they thinking? In some ways that question was answered, so I suppose that's why it felt worthy of three stars and not fewer.
I'm sorry to say that the most interesting and memorable points in the 'story' are in the beginning. Once Mr. Irving abandons his remembrance of his grandfather, you'd might as well stop reading. Indeed, I'm inclined to try and find his grandfather's book, and if I do that will have been worth reading this one.
I picked up this book because I love 'The Cider House Rules', and really did not love the movie. As odd as it seems to dedicate and entire book to one book to film adaptation, I thought it might shed light on why that might be. In other words, what were they thinking? In some ways that question was answered, so I suppose that's why it felt worthy of three stars and not fewer.
January 4, 2020
Mostly stories from the lengthy process of turning his novel 'The Cider House Rules' into a movie with little detours into details of his other publications and their movie versions, this book provided a perfect entry into John Irving's world for me.
I must admit that after a good friend and bookseller warned me that 'his books might just be a little too distasteful for my tender age' (which, back then, she was certainly right about) I never showed any interest in one of Mr. Irving's books or their movie adaptations anymore... until a colleague I often share books with lent me this one.
Talking about what he was trying to say in the novel 'The Cider House Rules' and where and why the plot needed to be changed for the movie adaptation in a calm but humorous conversation tone that made him seem a nice enough person, Mr. Irving now has me quite curious about the movie... and I might at some point need to pick up one or two of his novels, too.
I must admit that after a good friend and bookseller warned me that 'his books might just be a little too distasteful for my tender age' (which, back then, she was certainly right about) I never showed any interest in one of Mr. Irving's books or their movie adaptations anymore... until a colleague I often share books with lent me this one.
Talking about what he was trying to say in the novel 'The Cider House Rules' and where and why the plot needed to be changed for the movie adaptation in a calm but humorous conversation tone that made him seem a nice enough person, Mr. Irving now has me quite curious about the movie... and I might at some point need to pick up one or two of his novels, too.
February 8, 2023
Fun, simple, short. Having read Cider House Rules, and having seen the movie, will help you get through the book. But Irving does his best to summarize. This refreshed my memory. I don't know if it would suffice for those who are unfamiliar with the story.
There are a lot of gentle stories, sweet and simple, describing the writing process, the filming process, and how these things differ and work together. Irving provides insights into the actors and scenes as well. The book is nostalgic, but I wonder if that's just me. It's a call back to my youth, and this movie, and the book.
I found this book in a free book bin. Not even sure why I picked it up. Glad I did. Now I will put it back in the bin for someone else.
There are a lot of gentle stories, sweet and simple, describing the writing process, the filming process, and how these things differ and work together. Irving provides insights into the actors and scenes as well. The book is nostalgic, but I wonder if that's just me. It's a call back to my youth, and this movie, and the book.
I found this book in a free book bin. Not even sure why I picked it up. Glad I did. Now I will put it back in the bin for someone else.
September 7, 2025
The Cider House Rules was never that fascinating to me as a book or a movie, and the majority of this memoir concerns itself with it. I wanted to read more struggle when it came to getting things made. Things seemed to come fairly easily to Irving, having to cut scenes and characters notwithstanding. His primary interest in making The Cider House Rules was to cast his son as one of the main characters, and Irving by his own admission almost never sees movies in the theatre. These two things were fairly disappointing for me to read for some reason. I wanted more desperation and more frustration. Ah, well.
June 12, 2020
As with all of Irving's work, the interesting stories make the writing more interesting. I read Cinder House Rules when it was first published and saw the movie when it was released. In this book, Irving shares stories of his grandfather and the inspiration for the book.
I enjoyed reading that both he and his son had parts in the movie.
As with Joyce Carol Oates and Margaret Atwood, I will read anything by John Irving. I read these authors as a teenager and have continued to anticipate their next novels.
I enjoyed reading that both he and his son had parts in the movie.
As with Joyce Carol Oates and Margaret Atwood, I will read anything by John Irving. I read these authors as a teenager and have continued to anticipate their next novels.
January 25, 2019
I won t say much more than that i enjoyed reading this book, because it explores the joys, and sometimes also the frustrations of a renowned author getting his favorite books brought to the big screen. It also goes into the relationship this author had with his family and, especially, his famous doctor grandfather. It is very flattering for any author to have even one book made into a movie, but three or four of his were, and he seems to have gotten alot of enjoyment and a genuine satisfaction out of every aspect of each film making project. He even enjoyed the three times that there was an attempt to make The Cider House Rules into a releasable movie that failed. There is some discussion of the way Hollywood has of leaving out, in the name of scoring more profits at the box office, some of the most essential elements of the story line thought to be too vulgar or little understood. I would really encourage others to read this somewhat unpopular book, though, as it is rare that a man of letters will devote an entire book to just to all that went into adapting his books to the silver screen.
February 25, 2022
Decent enough book, focused on John's screenplay of The Cider House Rules, and his involvement in getting the screenplay made into a movie. The author needed a lot of patience on this one, given his 1) lack of control of the process, 2) four different directors for which he rewrote the screenplay dozens if not hundreds of times, and 3) every producer, investor, and caterer had an opinion of the screenplay.
March 21, 2024
There are several ways to read this book.
Fans of John Irving's novels might be interested in his account of writing both the novel and screenplay of The Cider House Rules.
Film mavens will find what Irving has to say about the film business enlightening.
Writers will appreciate the insight into the writer's life and the process Irving uses to be interesting.
This is a book with numerous quotable passages. Well worth reading and revisiting.
Fans of John Irving's novels might be interested in his account of writing both the novel and screenplay of The Cider House Rules.
Film mavens will find what Irving has to say about the film business enlightening.
Writers will appreciate the insight into the writer's life and the process Irving uses to be interesting.
This is a book with numerous quotable passages. Well worth reading and revisiting.
October 20, 2023
John Irving is hands down one of the greatest American writers still living, and arguably in the top 10 post WW-II. Clear, concise, and revealing his distinction between novel and screenwriting is remarkable (but don't read this without having read The Cider House Rules). His devotion to the craft of writing, regardless of the genre, is up there with any great.
December 3, 2024
Irving relata los pormenores de adaptar una obra suya al cine. Los conflictos con los productores, directores, las cancelaciones momentáneas de los inicios de filmación, la elección de los actores, etc. pero en el fondo no deja de ser una encendida defensa al aborto.
Tema que no está en el texto es que Irving ganó el Oscar por la adaptación a la que hace referencia este libro.
Tema que no está en el texto es que Irving ganó el Oscar por la adaptación a la que hace referencia este libro.
August 13, 2025
I have enjoyed Mr Irving for over 40 years now. Something recently reminded me of this title of his so I dusted it off from the TBR shelf. It mostly concerns the time of Cider House Rules as book then movie but covers the Garp era, a little about Owen Meany etc. I might have to re-read some of his old classics even if I've got several more recent books I haven't read.
October 12, 2018
A bit repetitive in parts, but I enjoyed reading about one of my favorite movies (and favorite novels). It was probably more interesting to me because the movie was partially filmed in the town I went to college in, as well as a drive-in movie theatre I frequented as a kid.
February 6, 2022
I admit I am a fan of John Irving. His early fiction especially. I have mixed feelings about some of his later work, but I cannot help but personally admire his discipline and strength. This non-fiction book proves he earned his Oscar with sweat. I wish him health and many more years.
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