[imagesource:flickr]

Finally, someone says it. Game Of Thrones creator, George R.R. Martin, has taken a swipe at producers and writers who seem to think that changing the original work will make a story better, saying that in most cases, they only make it worse.

“If anything, things have gotten worse,” Martin wrote. “Everywhere you look, there are more screenwriters and producers eager to take great stories and ‘make them their own.’ It does not seem to matter whether the source material was written by.”

You tell ’em, George. Martin went on to cite famous authors like Stan Lee, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Ursula K. Le Guin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Raymond Chandler, and Jane Austen.

“No matter how major a writer it is, no matter how great the book, there always seems to be someone on hand who thinks he can do better, eager to take the story and ‘improve’ on it,” he continued. “‘The book is the book, the film is the film,’ they will tell you, as if they were saying something profound. Then they make the story their own.”

“Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, they make it worse.”

Martin does not specifically mention them, but two of my favourite authors, Stephen King and Max Brooks, have both suffered under the ‘I know better’ stroke of an overzealous writer/producer’s pen.

The Dark Tower film adaptation as well as World War Z were likely the worst adaptations ever, and besides the titles of the films, the source material was nowhere to be seen (I have been itching to moan about this for years!).

I’m particularly miffed at the Dark Tower film, as the books are up there with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy in scope and imagination. Having someone tell me “I don’t know the books, but the movie was not too bad” makes me want to choose violence. Nikolaj Arcel did the King dirty on that one, and I simply cannot forgive it!

Martin however noted that “once in a while we do get a really good adaptation of a really good book” and mentioned he had come across the FX series Shogun.

The creator of the House of the Dragon said he had read the 1975 book by James Clavell when it was originally released. Martin also cited the 1980 miniseries adaptation in the 1980s starring Richard Chamberlain “was a landmark” and didn’t feel the need to have a new adaptation.

“I am glad they did, though. The new Shogun is superb,” he said. “Better than Chamberlain’s version, you ask? Hmmm, I don’t know. I have not watched the 1980 miniseries since, well, 1980. That one was great too.”

It does look pretty good, but I’ll see if I can find the book first.

Of course, the big guy is correct, and there are some really great adaptations, but my advice would be to rather read the book if you can get it.

[source:sportskeeda]