George RR Martin attacks book adaptations into films and series

George RR Martin attacks book adaptations into films and series



George RR Martin tackles novel adaptations

Series game of Thrones is one of the most popular films made since the early 2010s. A real phenomenon at the time of airing, it can therefore be considered a successful adaptation of the books on which it was based, even if its ending was controversial. Despite this, George RR Martin is convinced a story’s transitions from book to screen are rarely successful.

game of Thrones
Game of Thrones ©HBO

The author of the saga on which it is based game of Thrones recently wrote an article about his blog denounce adaptations of books into series or films. He explained that he is clearly not a fan of movie studios taking a story from a book and “just do it” to try “improve it”. According to him it doesn’t work:

They never improve it. Nine hundred and ninety-nine times out of a thousand they degrade it.

Shogunan exception according to the author

George R. R. Martin, however, went on to explain that successful adaptations should be praised. And according to him, Shogun is part of this category. The author admitted he was skeptical after learning a new miniseries was in the works. Because he was very impressed by James Clavell’s book after reading it in the 1970s. Then from its serial adaptation released in 1980. But the author of Iron Throne I liked the new version :

The new Shōgun series is superb. What’s fascinating is that although the old and new versions have major differences – the most important being the subtitles that allow English speakers to understand the Japanese dialogue – they are both faithful to Clavell’s novel, in their own way. I think the author would have been happy. The authors of both versions honored the original work, resisting the temptation to “make it their own.”

George RR Martin then invited his readers to discover the series for themselves. He also suggested that if Shogun was a fairly significant success, the authors of this series would perhaps have tackled other books by James Clavell. Exactly, that could be the case.

Other books in the Asian saga brought to the screen ?

As explained several days ago, FX and Hulu are currently working two more seasons of Shogun. Their plot remains unknown at the moment. But to develop them, their screenwriters could do it borrow elements from other books in the Asian saga by James Clavel. This saga has a total of six novels.

Whatever the writers decide for the sequel Shogun, you will have to wait to hear their choice. Meanwhile, the first season of the series is currently visible on Disney+ In France.

Source: Cine Serie

You may also like