Cathryn Wellner
asked
Diane Ackerman:
Translation from page to screen is always challenging. Could you talk about your collaboration with the filmmakers and what changes had to be made to your book to make it fit the parameters of film?
Diane Ackerman
Well, the film actually stays very close to the book. It’s been fascinating for me to discover how one art form gets translated into another art form. For example, I had the luxury of being able to write at length about the unfolding of events over four years, but the film had to somehow compress that into two hours and still retain the soul of what happened, and the daily sense of urgency and danger. It’s been really fascinating for me to see how that happens. So, when I visited the set for four days in Prague I was riveted just to see the exchange of facial expressions, the gestures, how scenes got compressed and tinkered with in different ways, and yet stayed very close to the original. It’s been fascinating. However, I didn’t actually work on the screenplay because I don’t have a background in screenplay writing. So, I thought that should be left to people who are stellar at that form of art and I think Angela Workman did a fabulous job on it. I did read the screenplay though in one of its final forms and commented on that, and I spoke with Workman at great lengths early on and the producers as well. So, we really were all on the same page about what we wanted the film to express.
More Answered Questions
Bitchin' Reads
asked
Diane Ackerman:
I met you when you visited Franklin & Marshall College. Thank you fo believing in ne and validating my choosing Creative Writing over Chemistry. You had told me I had made a wise but difficult decision, and that I would find English more adaptable to my wants in life. Do you have a favorite momebt from the book that came out well in the movie, and can we know what it is?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more