Screenwriters know something terrible and oh, so true about Hollywood.
The industry will break your heart.
Submit the very best screenplay you can muster, and know that it might be unrecognizable by the time it reaches the big screen. The film's star may rewrite his or her dialogue on the fly. The director could call in a favor from a writing pal to "update" the material.
Meanwhile, the screenwriter stays far from the set, assuming the worst.
Perhaps the funniest story on this front comes from Guinevere Jane Turner, the scribe behind "BloodRayne." The 2005 genre film, directed by the notorious Uwe Boll, garnered awful reviews and made a pittance at the box office - $2.4 million U.S.
Turner publicly shared how her "first draft" became the film's go-to source.
That might be the worst-case scenario, but plenty of screenwriters have been let down by the changes made from script to final film.
We can add two more writers to that list.
We've already seen how Emily Wilson, the woman behind "The Odyssey" translation that inspired Christopher Nolan's film of the same name, mocked the finished product. Now, Wilson is doubling down on her critique.
I would be ashamed to write any part of this script […] I don’t think it’s a complicated movie. And I don’t think it’s even about a complicated man. I think it’s a quite simple action hero movie about an action hero who feels bad about being an action hero.
When did she become the late, oh-so-snarky Rex Reed? Either way, Nolan can shrug off her comments given the film's rapturous reviews and box office success. Still, here's betting it stings.
This will, too.
The film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s debut novel, "Children of Blood and Bone," will hit theaters on Jan. 15. Adeyemi co-wrote the screenplay and served as an executive producer on the project. She clearly hoped the film would capture her bestselling vision, a story meant to empower young black women. The story follows a pre-colonial West African woman trying to restore magic to her native land.
The movie boasts a stellar cast, including Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Regina King and Chiwetel Ejiofor (of "Backrooms" fame). Don't expect Adeyemi to help promote the film come January. She won't even have seen it by then.
She made it clear she has yet to screen the finished product and has no plans to change that.
“There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work,” the author cryptically said on TikTok. Was there tension surrounding co-star Amandla Stenberg, last seen in Disney+'s "The Acolyte?"
Perhaps.
The Guardian shared the author's messages to the actress regarding the film - “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me.”
The film adaptation might spark sales of "Children of Blood and Bone," just like "The Odyssey" boosted Wilson's translation. That didn't soften Wilson's stance. It likely won't do the same for Adeyemi.
