Q&A With Karyn Bosnak discussion

Hello,

I was just wondering what it's like for you as a creator to see your work deconstructed in such a way as to turn it into a movie. I finished the novel recently and found its plot and the way it was executed (a drive across the US with check ins at rebabs and such) too integral to be left out in a film form. This craziness is what makes Delilah Delilah and it's a fun journey to take with her. I watched the movie yesterday and it appears the only thing that was kept of your entire novel is the name Colin and the 10.5 number. How do you come to terms with your own work, good in its own right, becoming something so...well, less good?

Jennifer wrote: "Hello,

I was just wondering what it's like for you as a creator to see your work deconstructed in such a way as to turn it into a movie. I finished the novel recently and found its plot and the ..."

I have a very long answer for this!

First, thank you! The flip side of the movie being "less good" is "the movie is so much better than the book!" So, at least I have that. ;)

The road trip was always a big obstacle when constructing the script. It was too difficult to develop the relationship between Delilah/Ally and Colin when they weren't in the same place. Making the guys local solved that problem.

A lot more of the book was in the movie, however, than what you mention. The book starts with Delilah/Ally at the end of another failed relationship (Gregg the East Village Idiot) with a guy who happens to be her #19. She reads the article about the 10.5 average, makes a vow that "20 men" is going to be her limit, loses her job, goes to her sister's engagement party, gets drunk, and ends up sleeping with her boss Roger who turns out to be #20. Having someone say “people change” is what prompts her to start tracking down the guys. Replace Gregg with Rick (played by Zachary Quinto) and the movie starts the same way.

The sister character of Daisy and her story line of getting married and being pregnant are the same. The disapproving mother is the same. The character of the grandfather was turned into a father and a story line was created for him and the mother and to create a bit of tension. They ditched her friend Michelle and gave her bridesmaids, which did bother me because in doing so they took away one of the only people who seemed to care about her.

The exes in the movie are different, yes, but most of their elements were taken from guys in the book. I do feel like some of the exes and situations that I created in the book were better and more original than the ones in the movie. (Like, in the movie, the gay Senator wanting her to be his “beard” feels dated and is something I’ve seen before. In the book, having her crash a funeral and pretend to be a former lover of the deceased, who happens to be the former love of her now gay ex [then getting wasted with said gay ex and then high after learning two more of her exes are gay] seems a lot fresher and edgier.) However, they thought some of my guys/situations were over the top and unrealistic and wanted them to be more grounded.

There are some additions to the script that I think are better than the book (like her and Colin’s “deal”—her allowing him to use her apartment to hide out instead of just paying him), but it does suck that some of the things I thought were so important were left out—especially because the movie was beat up by the critics. So when I read someone say, “They never really go there with the number and explore the double standard,” I want to scream, “They do in the book!” And when someone says, “A modern woman wouldn’t care about her number,” I find myself cursing because they left out the important character element of her being Catholic (which absolutely affected how she felt about it.) And when someone says, “Having her go on a journey because she reads in a beauty magazine that a woman with 20+ lovers is suddenly ‘unmarryable’ is stupid,” I cringe. “20” was a self-imposed limit because if other women were finding love by 10.5 lovers, why wasn’t she? She wanted to get her number under control because if she kept going at the current rate she’d have 78 lovers by the time she was sixty years old. It had nothing to do with her being “unmarryable” after 20. She initially made her list because a priest told her to do so, so she could examine what—if anything—she was doing wrong. She started to do this but then realized that if she could make it work with one of the 20, she could get around having to look inside herself. So, her journey started from a place of denial, not because 20 was a magic number that somehow made her “unmarryable.” In hindsight, having these issues lost in the adaptation bother me more than any of the plot or character changes.

However, while the movie was in development, none of the above issues were glaringly obvious to me. I knew the script was a broad stroke of the book, but isn’t that always the case? All in all, I was happy with the movie while it was happening; I didn’t notice these things until the film was totally completed.

At the end of the day, the whole thing was a learning experience. Next time I will insist on more input and control over the process. And when that little voice inside my head says, “I think they’re making a mistake leaving xx out,” I will speak up and say something. It’s just that when you have never made a movie and you’re working with people who have that you respect and admire, it’s easy to think their choices and reasons for doing things are correct.

All in all, I do like the movie and I’m thrilled that it got made. And despite the issues with the final film, I’ve learned to love it.

You believe the movie is so much better than the book. That's so refreshing to hear. I can't imagine what it's like for authors to be told "well we like it as a whole but we're going to remove this and this and this." That would make me cringe. I'm very glad you had such a positive experience overall.

I find for me the book itself is more effective than the movie in character development. I tend to like characters that are created to be really out there (crashing funerals, joining rehabs etc) and for me, as you mentioned, it seemed the movie was downplaying that somewhat to include standards like: The stereotypical lady's man (Colin), the Gay but wanting to rise up the political ladder character and basically just making Delilah be just another 20 something woman with "love issues". Sure Ally is still a like-able fun character to meet but I just feel that she was also so much more than that in the original version. You really created a strong original in Delilah and only part of her came through in the movie, for me anyway.

I do feel that in terms of this combination, the book and the movie almost are two separate projects that need to be analyzed without regard to the other. I haven't looked at the movie as an independent entity yet and determined whether it works successfully as a stand alone, but do know the novel definitely stands alone successfully.

Thanks for giving me a light, fun read. With my fiance deployed it's been critical for me to find laughter and you definitely know how to create that.

Jennifer wrote: "You believe the movie is so much better than the book. That's so refreshing to hear. I can't imagine what it's like for authors to be told "well we like it as a whole but we're going to remove this..."

Wait, just to clarify--I don't think the movie is better than the book. I was saying the flip side of people saying the movie is bad is people saying the movie is so much better than the book. Obviously I want the movie to be good, just not too good. Ha. (I was making a joke.)

Regardless, I am so happy something I created made you laugh and brought joy to your life. Knowing this is more rewarding than having a movie get made.

Hello Karyn,

I've been following you, your blog, your life for years now since that time you've been featured in the local newspaper here. Obviously, I have always been a fan! Thank you for sharing your life Karyn. I appreciate your honesty and happy outlook with life and truly I am more than amazed!

I wanted to take this opportunity to say that I appreciate the fact that there is a Filipino touch in the book. I just wonder and wanted to ask you now, how did you learn the word? and what inspired you to include it? I am from the Philippines, I hope it's fine to be thrilled about it since it doesn't always happen and other books can be discriminating when they mention a part that is Filipino.

To be honest, if it weren't for Chris Evans (he totally met the Colin and the abs that I am expecting) I probably would end up feeling disappointed about the movie. A lot of the things that I consider essential in the book are not included in the movie. One of my favorite part is the last part of course. I like how it ended in the book, how it was Colin who went after her with the boom box and their conversation about it before Colin made that move was also removed in the movie. (They edit it so much that after watching the movie, I am suddenly trying to recall if I really understand the book correctly.) I have strong belief that the last part is where you get to feel that delilah is "done finally with the number after the long exhausting chase to the pathetic 19 exes". I like the idea that at the end of the day, the one meant for her, would be the one who would chase after her. That would make him all the more different than the rest.

Another question is, when will you write another book? Actually, this is more of a favor than a question. So let me end this with... please Karyn, write another book!

Cienne wrote: "Hello Karyn,

I've been following you, your blog, your life for years now since that time you've been featured in the local newspaper here. Obviously, I have always been a fan! Thank you for shar..."

Hi Cienne! Thanks for being a fan for so long!

So others know what you're talking about, the word you're referring to is "Lola" which is Filipino for grandma. I actually grew up with a number of Filipino friends and remembered the word from when I was younger.

I've gotten a lot of emails from people saying they are disappointed in the movie adaptation of the book. I can definitely see everyone's point of view and will work harder on trying to make the next book (because yes, there is one in the works!) a better movie (if it ever becomes one!)

xx

PS - I also have mad love for Manny Pacquiao.