Joanna Trollope Quotes

Books and movies are different art forms with different rules. And because of that, they never translate exactly.

Everything I've wanted to turn into a film becomes something new and different when it becomes a movie... Each time I work with an author, I say to them, 'A book and a movie are different things.'

Films for TV have to be much closer to the book, mainly because the objective with a TV movie that translates literature is to get the audience, after seeing this version, to pick up the book and read it themselves. My attitude is that TV can never really be any form of art, because it serves audience expectations.

Some things work better as a book, some things work better as a story, some things works better as a film.

With 'Battlestar Galactica,' we had such resistance from the fan base to changing it. The upshot was, we ultimately won them over.

For me as a writer, it's so joyful to know that someone hears and responds to what I write.

If you're going to be adapting something across media, you should at least have the moves that people want you to hit and that you want to hit.

'Gossip Girl' was an adaptation that, although very different from a Marvel property, had a vocal fan base. On that show, we started off very nervous about making any changes from the book. As we got our sea legs underneath us, we became more bold.

Sometimes what works in a book is too "in your face" when converted to the big screen and sound.

We've seen from shows like 'Game of Thrones' that the book can become a seed, which you plant in the ground of great TV creators, and it can sprout out into a big tree.

There are some channels that are trying out new content. These shows have new and fresh stories. The trend on TV is changing, and along with this, there are web series, too. But the audience needs to get used to these stories.

You know, things that might work in a book just do not work in the visual medium of movies.

I'm fascinated to see how 'Black Watch' connects with an American audience.

That's the thing about TV: it gives you so much time to tell your story; it's comparable to comics.

I have 16 plays, and we don't ever do subtitles. You can't do subtitles in the theater, so I was like, 'I'm not gonna do subtitles.' You'll never lose the story. There might be a little joke that you might miss, but you'll never miss the story, even in the Spanglish of it.

When I was in England, I did a lot of wrestling and moves. Over here, they were like, 'You don't need to do that much. Save your body. Become an entertainer rather than a wrestler.' And I wasn't used to wrestling on TV and in front of huge crowds, so it was a big adjustment.

When you are preparing for a role, you have a script to comb through and the writer's help in telling you about the character, and then you can fill in the gaps. When you are doing a cabaret show, it's very personal. You have the opportunity to share parts of yourself with an audience and figure out how you want to connect.

Prior to being in 'Carousel,' I had only seen the movie. So, when I read the script, I felt like it was a lot deeper than the movie portrayed it to be.

Certainly in the case of 'Gnomeo & Juliet,' if it makes children or adults a little more interested in Shakespeare, there's nothing wrong with that!

Directing is so dope to me, man, 'cause it doesn't necessarily have to be your material. You're making someone else's material come to life. There's something amazing about that.

Adapting a book doesn't mean the book stops just because you've made a film out of it.

I think comics can be the basis for great films, but I think the focus of such a project should be on making the film as good as possible, not on painstakingly replicating the comic.

I have no problems with remakes, and I think it's interesting. I mean, coming from the theater, we've been remaking 'Hamlet' for a hundred years, so it's no problem to me at all. A good story can be told in many different ways in different places; I just think it's interesting.

Theater is where you go to find out something new that you don't know. It goes through somebody's brain and comes out in a comprehensible way that is beautiful, that's really interesting.

I really just love reading. It's my favorite thing, performing my poems live. Reading by reading, I just kind of follow my nose.