Hello Readers,
Many great stories portrayed on screen, big or small start their journey as a previously published written work. Most of the time this is a book or graphic novel but could also be an interview for a biopic or an article in a newspaper/magazine.
Many people whose favourite work of fiction is about to be adapted visually want it to remain as true to the story as possible. This is not always practical due to the production company’s budget, the length of the tale, the nature of the story or trying to adapt something to fit with today’s society – more diverse and inclusive of different people’s characteristics.
Other times, the owner/author of the base for the project will work on the script and make changes that they approve and feel fit with the theme of their story. These changes are more likely to be accepted as they have still come from the imagination where the work was created.
I think that a project will always benefit from the original author being involved whether as an executive producer/consult or as the writer/showrunner. Things being changed to be less boring/more dramatic for the viewer is not always a bad thing but when that starts to erase the heart of the work and change the fundamental message, it can upset those who were looking forward to watching something they loved on the page be brought to life on screen.
I am going to cover a few examples and their different approaches to adapting for the screen. All of these are projects that I enjoyed first as a book/graphic novel which made it into cinemas or onto streaming services.
Red, White and Royal Blue (2023)
This book was very popular when it hit the shelves as Casey McQuiston’s debut novel in 2019. The story was their alternate reality to give themselves and readers hope after the 2016 Presidential Election. It is told from Alex’s POV, he is the son of the female POTUS with a Mexican father in congress and has a journalist sister. In the lead up to his mother’s re-election, he helps to uncover a plot to bring his mother down and works to flip his home state of Texas to blue. The heart of the book centres around his enemies to lovers relationship with Henry, the Prince of England. The two collide in a PR disaster at Henry’s brother’s wedding but when the two are forced to be best friends, a real friendship starts.
Henry and Alex carry out a secret friends with benefits arrangement whenever they happen to be in the same city with only their closest friends and sisters in the know.
The book was adapted as a film produced by Amazon Prime and released on streaming in 2023. Many fans loved the adaption as the director also a queer Latino man, focused mostly on Alex and Henry’s love story, a part that is often repressed in films. I did enjoy the adaptation and have re-watched it again but I felt there were a lot of changes to Alex and Henry’s story that altered their motivations and characters.
With so many characters and interweaving plot lines, I think this adaptation would have been better as a series. While the romance is a large part of the story, Alex figuring out his bisexuality and having the bravery to admit his feelings to someone not allowed to be gay in the public eye; the politics and his passion for helping Texas to become a blue state was an important part too. We still see Alex helping with the campaign and even having a working summer in Texas but the political story was diminished with characters being erased and bundled into one.
Fundamental changes to Alex’s persona include not having his parents divorce. In the novel, they broke up when Alex was 11 and his father moved to California to become a senator there. His mother lives with his stepfather, Leo in the White House who worked in tech but became a house husband so she could focus on becoming President. Alex’s sister, June is also not a character in the film and has been folded into the characters of Zahra, the President’s chief of staff and Alex’s handler and Nora, the Vice President’s daughter. Without June, there is no White House Trio and no Super Six when they party in LA.
Another fundamental change was the character of Miguel. He and Alex had hooked up in the film at a conference and Miguel was the one to leak Henry and Alex’s romance, partially out of jealousy. He may have been bribed by the President, Ellen’s rival but it’s not as clear. He does not exist in the book and while Alex did hook up with his high school friend who in the book has a boyfriend, there is no adult encounter for Alex until Henry. The character of Rafael Luna has also been erased. He was a mentor and role model of Alex who was gay and was an example that Alex could be himself and go into politics. Rafael was part of the plot to bring down Ellen but only under duress and in the end, he came to his senses.
As for Henry, his siblings, Philip and Bea are both present but their characters have been shrunk. In the book, Bea is presented as a wild musician who snuck out of the palace to play secret gigs and unfortunately had to go to rehab for cocaine addiction. This led to her being labelled the ‘Powder Princess’ and more of a recluse. The Bea of the film did not have this back story and is merely used as a plot point for Henry to be able to voice his feelings for Alex aloud. Henry’s mother is merely mentioned in the film but in the book is suffering from depression after her husband’s death. She is a key player in getting the Queen to agree to letting Henry and Alex be out and proud.
I do understand the change from Queen to King given the recent death of Queen Elizabeth and the way that Queen Mary is portrayed unfavourably in the book but I think Stephen Fry was not the right age for the King and as a well-known gay figure, I couldn’t imagine him objecting to Henry and Alex’s relationship.
Henry’s mental health challenges were also written out in the film. In the book, they are subtle until he confesses to Alex about suffering with anxiety and depression since his father’s passing. With his mother falling into depression and Bea going into rehab, he lost all his support system so when first meeting Alex in 2016, his self-esteem is at an all time low.
There were other smaller scenes taken out of the story for the film such as meeting at Wimbledon, going to LA, Alex’s graduation from university and Alex working in the campaign office in Washington but these did not affect the story as much as the above points. I still enjoyed the film as its own entity but in comparison to the book, the book takes it every time.
Heartstopper (2022-)
Based on a much loved web comic, Heartstopper has since graced the shelves in print form with the fifth volume of the graphic novel coming out this December. The author and artist, Alice Oseman has had a lot of creative control over the television series that debuted on Netflix in 2022. She has written all the episodes, served as creator and executive producer on the show and even done some of the art seen in the background.
This involvement has delighted fans and even with some changes, as Alice has made them herself for story or plot reasons, the fans trust her writing enough that the series has been very well received and was quickly renewed for a second and third. The third is currently in production now with all the cast still on board despite having become very successful in the last 2 years.
Heartstopper started as a spin-off project from Alice’s debut novel, Solitaire about Tory Spring and her dealing with undiagnosed depression all while starting a new school and tracking down a mystery blogger. Charlie, Tory’s younger brother and his boyfriend Nick are side characters in the novel who Alice decided needed their own story.
Now 10 years on there are 4 published volumes, 2 novellas, 2 companion books and 2 series of a Netflix show about the couple. The story starts with Charlie aged 14 meeting Nick, 16 at school. Charlie has a secret boyfriend, Ben and 3 best friends, Tao, Aled and Elle. Elle has just moved to the girls school as a trans woman and Tao is missing her. Charlie is then seated next to Nick, a typical rugby lad in his form group and falls head over heels for him. The problem is that everyone thinks Nick is straight. The two quickly become thick as thieves and after a kiss at a party begin another secret relationship. After Ben’s treatment of Charlie, Nick and Tao fight over Charlie’s wellbeing especially after he was bullied the previous year when he came out as gay.
The graphic novels and show deal with heavy themes such as trans/homophobia, assault, mental health issues, bullying and self-harm but overall they have a lovely warm tone and have really helped many LGBTQ+ teens and young adults realise that life is not all bad and that they are worthy.
The main changes in the show are Charlie and Tory’s younger brother being written out and the character of Aled changed for Isaac. The addition of Imogen as a barrier between Nick and Charlie was also a change but she was added for some drama. The characters of Ben and James in Series 2 were also expanded along with Isaac’s asexual storyline. More trans characters were added as Elle’s friends along with the possibility of her moving away to art school.
I think all the changes to the show have been well crafted and nothing has taken away from Nick and Charlie’s personalities. Charlie is still a geek who is good at maths, running and playing the drums. He still has mental health issues and struggles with telling people his worries. Nick is still a rugby lad with a love of Marvel films, hoodies and dogs. They move the conflict with Nick’s father to the second series but I think it works and I love that they kept the fact that Nick can speak French as a surprise for Charlie and the gang to discover.
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (2010)
One franchise that the fans and author both didn’t like is Percy Jackson. The first two books: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters were adapted into big Hollywood blockbusters but with the author not being involved and major changes, it left the fans upset.
As a action-adventure film by itself it works: the actors are charismatic, there is some funny dialogue and the main plot points still exist with the presence of the Greek Gods. However, the age of the main trio was changed along with the ending of the first film. The second one had many, many changes that dumbed down the film.
In the books, Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old from New York discovers that his absent father was actually the Greek God Poseidon and the gods have been living in America for a few centuries. His mother sends him to Camp Half-Blood for protection where he meets Annabeth and learns that his best friend Grover is actually a satyr and his teacher is really a centaur. He learns sword skills and how to fight strategically but when fate comes calling he has to complete a quest to save society.
One of the major plot points changed was that Percy has a big fight on the Empire State building with Hades who wants to overthrow his godly family on Mount Olympus. The ending originally entailed Percy being betrayed by fellow camper Luke and bitten by a deadly spider and that is how the audience learns that the Son of Hermes has been lured to the dark side.
Another change was the chemistry between Annabeth and Percy. They are not meant to get together until the fifth book when they are 16 but in the film they have many flirty moments which totally negates their strong dynamic as friends first.
Luckily for fans, another adaption is happening as a Disney Plus series with the author, Rick Riordan now heavily involved. There have been a few changes to the ethnicities of characters which updates the series and helps the audience to see that people of all races can be heroes. Percy’s hair is also dark blonde, the actor’s hair but I don’t mind that so much as after seeing Walker Scobell in another film, I think he will make a great Percy. The actors are all also young and playing the ages of the characters in the books.
I was a big fan of the books and eagerly await the new series that is coming around Christmas time this year.
Good Omens (2019-)
This television series is based on an older book from 1990 by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. As Terry Pratchett is no longer with us, Neil Gaiman took on creative control and became the showrunner/writer/executive producer.
Series 1 follows the book with Angel Aziraphale and Demon Crowley uncovering a plot between Heaven and Hell to cause the Apocalypse and wipe out life on Earth. This series was very faithful to the original book with barely any changes to the characters other than perhaps diversifying a little.
For the second series, the show has gone beyond the books but Neil Gaiman assured fans that it was very much based on the ideas that himself and Terry had when discussing a sequel to the book.
I think Series 2 was great and without the Apocalypse storyline we got to see much more of Aziraphale and Crowley and their lives together on Earth for the last six thousand years. There is also the development of the love story that many fans had hoped for and based on the chemistry between the actors in the first series, fan art had already appeared.
With such a cliffhanger at the end of Series 2, the future of the series hung in the balance but the producers and Neil himself have pretty much confirmed its looking good for a third and final series of the show.
With a show going beyond its source material, there is not much to compare it to but as it has been written by and based on ideas by the original authors, I think one can consider it as faithful to the book.
There are many adaptions happening all over the world virtually every day, good and bad but remember if your favourite book gets an unfavourable one, then the book is always there to be re-read.
Happy Watching,
Robyn