Mary Poppins (1964)
Author - P.L. Travers. Her edits were largely disregarded, her characters were changed, or were almost left out entirely (Hence "Saving Mr. Banks" 2013). She hated the animated sequences and didn't like the songs.
◄ IMDb Polls
Poll: Movie adaptations the author disliked
All of these films were not best appreciated by the authors of their original pieces of work (novel/play) - Whether it's because you've read the book, or seen the original play in action and it's completely changed, or because the film is awful... Which author do you believe has the most cause to feel aggrieved at the film adaptation?
Discuss here
Make Your Choice
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The Shining (1980)
Author - Stephen King. He thought that Kubrick couldn't grasp the fact that the hotel was evil, so instead tried to portray the evil in the characters - he thought that the movie was made into a human tragedy and had little of the original supernatural intent. Also he felt that rather than Jack Nicholson's character being made crazy by the hotel, he started off crazy. -
Forrest Gump (1994)
Author - Winston Groom. Certain plot points were omitted (Gump became an astronaut in the book). He also felt that the film was made too child friendly with bad language and sexual scenes left out. As well as this the film didn't actually turn a profit so his contractual agreement of 3% of profits left him with nothing. -
Sahara (2005)
Author - Clive Cussler. Cussler was meant to have total script control, however the producer did not honour this agreement. Other than that the movie was just plain bad. -
My Foolish Heart (1949)
Author - J.D. Salinger. Salinger consented to have his short story Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut made into a movie retitled My Foolish Heart. He was so mortified by the swooning love story that he swore his works would never be made into film again. -
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Author - Anthony Burgess. He felt that "the book I am best known for, or only known for" was a novel that he regretted writing due to the film. This was because he felt it seemed to glorify sex and violence. And that film made it easy for readers of the book to misunderstand what it was about, and that the misunderstanding would "pursue me till I die". -
American Psycho (2000)
And other films; The Informers (2009) Author.- Bret Eaton Ellis. He doesn't think that any of the film adaptations of his books were that great but, with AP, he didn't think it should have been adapted at all. Because the mystery and ambiguity of the books was unrepresented within the film as the answer were there visually. -
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Author - Roald Dahl. The title was changed to promote a chocolate bar. Dahl was unhappy that Spike Milligan was not cast as Willy Wonka, and said Gene Wilder's performance was "pretentious and bouncy". And he was also infuriated by certain plot changes. -
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Author - Ken Kesey. He disagreed with the casting of Jack Nicholson and was unhappy that the story was not told from the view point of Chief Bromden. He has since refused to watch it after a small viewing. -
I Am Legend (2007)
And other adaptions; The Last Man on Earth (1964), Omega Man (1971). Author - Richard Matheson. 1964 - Vincent Price was miscast and the direction was poor. 1971 - The film was completely different to the book. 2007 - The entire ending was changed as it didn't test well with audiences. Leading him to say "I don't know why Hollywood is fascinated by my book when they never care to film it as I wrote it." -
A Farewell to Arms (1932)
Author - Ernest Hemingway. He thought the film betrayed the original ending of the book, and that it heavily focused on the romantic element of the story and failed to depict the sense of war time brutality that he had hoped to portray. -
Solaris (1972)
And other adaptations; Solaris (2002). Author - Stanislaw Lem. The author felt that neither of the adaptations capture the mystery of the novel -the film-makers - trying to grasp the human concerns of the story miss the point of the novel entirely. - credit - cartman_1337. -
Death Wish (1974)
Author - Brian Garfield. The lead character Paul Kersey shouldn't start killing until near the end of the story, as he ought to be a conflicted man who kills to prove he's in control of his life. However in the film Kesey seems to start on screen having already developed an intent to kill. As a result Garfield was deeply displeased with the final product. - credit - cartman_1337. -
The NeverEnding Story (1984)
Author - Michael Ende. He was so unhappy with the film version that he refused to have his name appear in the opening credits of the film. He thought that film was straying so far from the book, that he wanted them to stop filming entirely, or change the name, they did neither. - credit - cartman_1337. -
The Chamber (1996)
Author - John Grisham. He said that due to the numerous amount of re-writes, that this was the least favourite of his film adaptations, leaving him to say that "it was just a mess". - credit - cartman_1337. -
Das Boot (1981)
Author - Lothar-Günther Buchheim. He felt that despite his original intent of conveying an anti-war novel the adaptation was "another re-glorification and re-mystification" He called the film a cfoss between a "cheap Amercan action flick" and a "contemporary German propganda newsreel from World War 2". He also said that it was over-acted and unrealistic. - credit - cartman_1337. -
Tales from Earthsea (2006)
Author - Ursula K. Le Guin. She was not satisfied with the adaptation made of her film as she felt the film was not in keeping with the spirit of her book - a point defined by the fact felt that "the films excitement was maintained by violence". As well as this she thought that corners were cut in the animation of the film. - credit - Pencho15. -
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Author - Tennessee Williams. He hated the film, as the screenplay, removed almost all of the homosexual themes and revised the third act section to include a lengthy scene of reconciliation between Brick and Big Daddy. he disliked it so much he told those queuing for the film to "go home". - credit - Time_for_Some_Bad_Jokes. -
Queen of the Damned (2002)
Author - Anne Rice. She considers the film to be a terrible disappointment for both her and her readers. Feeling that it was too dissimilar to her novel, saying "Let’s forget the film. That’s the best thing to do there: simply forget it... I don’t count it as being based on my work. And I try to blot it out of my mind." - credit - cartman_1337.
