A friend of mine, Neil Gaiman, had the film rights to his book 'Stardust' bought by producer Matthew Vaughn and suggested I adapt it for the screen.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Whether you're in a blockbuster or an art film, you have to be able to adapt.
I loved, in 'Starman', the use of anamorphic lenses, the creation of blue light, and Carpenter's use of the widescreen format.
Most films are rooted in a book or a comic strip, but I don't go out there saying I want to do adaptations.
I would never do 'Stardust Memories' because I don't particularly like that kind of movie - that would be why I wouldn't do that.
'Stardust' ended up being my first film in 2007.
I wanted to write and direct movies and not be forced to adapt them from a bestselling book.
People sometimes ask who I would cast in my books and I never have any idea. I don't think I could ever write a book thinking of it as a movie the whole time. This would be like building a house and filling it with furniture just so you could have blueprints.
To be quite honest, I've been very blessed when I've worked with Hollywood. The studios that have purchased my work to be adapted to film have really liked the work and wanted to stay as close as they could to what the book was.
To adapt a play into a movie, you have to change it.
As an author, you can't expect a movie to be an illustration of the book. If that's what you hope for, you shouldn't sell the rights.