Summary

• Authors may hate film adaptations of their books because they lose control over how their stories are told.
• Some popular movies loved by audiences are disliked by the authors of the books they are based on.
• Authors may object to adaptations miscasting characters, changing key plot details, or misinterpreting themes.

Every time a popular book is adapted into a movie, some fans object to the changes that are made, but in extreme cases, even the author will voice their hatred for the film. Each filmmakers taking on an adaptation must decide which parts of the book to alter or cut, and what the book will look like on film. Sometimes, authors praise the movie adaptations of their works, but it's just as likely that they'll hate the final outcome. Once an author signs away the movie rights to their book, they may lose control over how their stories are told.

Even if an author hates the way a movie interprets their work, this doesn't mean that everyone else does. Some hugely successful movies seem to be loved by pretty much everyone except the author of the book. Authors grow attached to their characters and stories, so seeing someone else's take on them can be painful. The harsh reality is that once a project is out of their hands, the author has very little ownership of the story. Different authors have objected to movie adaptations miscasting characters, changing key plot details, and misinterpreting the themes.

10 The Lawnmower Man (1992)

Stephen King

King went so far as to sue New Line Cinema to have his name removed from The Lawnmower Man.

Stephen King has seen dozens of his works adapted into movies and TV shows over the years. He has even written the scripts for many of them, most recently Cell, starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. However, King doesn't always love the ways Hollywood interprets his works, and he even went so far as to sue New Line Cinema to have his name removed from The Lawnmower Man. The Lawnmower Man because it had nothing in common with his short story of the same name. The Pierce Brosnan movie isn't the only adaptation King hates.

9 V For Vendetta (2005)

Alan Moore

Legendary comic book author Alan Moore has been vocal about his distaste for the way Hollywood has adapted his work over the years. V for Vendetta isn't the only movie which he feels is a disappointment. He has also gone on record stating how Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen failed to live up to his standards. V for Vendetta excludes key details from the comic book, and Moore has theorized that the movie was a halfhearted attempt at commenting on George Bush's politics, although Moore wrote the graphic novels in the 1980s.

8 American Psycho (2000)

Bret Easton Ellis

While he appreciates the film's dark humor, he sticks by his belief that American Psycho didn't need an adaptation.

There were plenty of attempts to turn Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho into a movie during the 1990s, some with Ellis writing the script himself and some without. Ultimately, Mary Harron directed the project with Christian Bale in the lead role as Patrick Bateman. Ellis has stated that he has mixed feelings about Harron's adaptation. While he appreciates the film's dark humor, he sticks by his belief that American Psycho didn't need an adaptation. On an episode of the podcast "American Psycho's ending tries to introduce too much ambiguity all at once.

7 I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Lois Duncan

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I Know What You Did Last Summer

Cast

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• 
  Ryan Phillippe
• 
  Freddie Prinze Jr.
• 
  Muse Watson
• 
  Sarah Michelle Gellar

Release Date

October 17, 1997

Director

Jim Gillespie

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Duncan has said that she was "appalled" that her story was twisted so much

Few movie adaptations are bold enough to completely change the genre of the text they are adapting, but this is precisely what happened with I Know What You Did Last Summer. Lois Duncan wrote the book as a suspense novel for young adults, but her work was turned into a gory slasher flick. Duncan has said that she was "appalled" that her story was twisted so much. (via AbsoluteWrite) The hook-handed killer was a creation of the film, not the book, and Duncan was shocked to see her characters being killed off one-by-one against her wishes.

6 My Foolish Heart (1949)

Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut by J. D. Salinger

Although there has been persistent interest from Hollywood studios in making an adaptation of J. D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the author refused after seeing one of his short stories butchered in the 1940s. (via The New York Times) Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut is a heartbreaking tale about an alcoholic woman who takes her resentment out on her daughter's imaginary friend in a misplaced tirade against the men who have wronged her. By comparison, My Foolish Heart is a dramatically inept melodrama that was quickly forgotten. Salinger never allowed any of his other stories to be adapted.

5 Murder at the Gallop (1963)

After the Funeral by Agatha Christie

Christie's hatred for the movie industry's adaptations of her crime novels was so intense that her friends and family would have to warn her not to watch certain movies.

Agatha Christie saw her work adapted into dozens of movies and TV shows over the years, but she was rarely fond of the outcome. Murder at the Gallop is just one example of an adaptation which irked the Queen of Crime, who particularly disliked Margaret Rutherford's comedic interpretation of Miss Marple. Christie's hatred for the movie industry's adaptations of her crime novels was so intense that her friends and family would have to warn her not to watch certain movies, knowing that she would find them too upsetting to endure. (via RadioTimes)

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4 Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

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Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Cast

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• 
  Jack Albertson
• 
  Gene Wilder
• 
  Peter Ostrum
• 
  Denise Nickerson

Release Date

June 30, 1971

Director

Mel Stuart

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Dahl also wanted Spike Milligan or Peter Sellers as the chocolatier, so Gene Wilder's casting was a disappointment to him.

Roald Dahl was originally supposed to write the script for the adaptation of his beloved children's book, but the project was taken out of his hands when it moved too slowly. In the end, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory after it strayed too much from his book. The title change underlines how the film shifts focus to Willy Wonka rather than Charlie, the true hero of the story. Dahl also wanted Spike Milligan or Peter Sellers as the chocolatier, so Gene Wilder's casting was a disappointment to him.

3 Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Susanna Kaysen

Girl, Interrupted doesn't change Kaysen's work, it alters the story of her life.

Susanna Kaysen's gut-wrenching memoir of institutionalization in the 1960s was made into a film by James Mangold, with Winona Ryder playing the part of Kaysen. The film has courted controversy ever since its release for its depiction of mental illness and suicidal thoughts, but Susanna Kaysen disliked Mangold's adaptation for other reasons. Kaysen claims the film is "melodramatic drivel," and she accused Mangold and the other writers of inventing plot points that weren't in the book. (via the Justice) Girl, Interrupted doesn't change Kaysen's work, it alters the story of her life.

2 Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)

Truman Capote

Truman Capote's biggest issue with the movie was the casting of Audrey Hepburn, since he preferred Marilyn Monroe as Holly.

Audrey Hepburn gave one of her best performances in Breakfast at Tiffany as Holly Golightly, an eccentric but flighty socialite. There are many key differences between the novella and the movie, especially the time period and the fact that the unnamed narrator is gay in the book, rather than a love interest played by George Peppard. Truman Capote's biggest issue with the movie was the casting of Audrey Hepburn, since he preferred Marilyn Monroe as Holly. (via Far Out Magazine) Hepburn owned the role, and it's hard to imagine anyone else in the iconic black dress and pearl necklace.

1 Mary Poppins (1964)

P. L. Travers

Mary Poppins is a Disney classic, with classic songs and a charming animated interlude, but P. L. Travers despised what Walt Disney did with her book. In fact, the animation and the songs were part of what Travers disliked so much, as she thought it made the magical nanny far too nice. Mary Poppins author P. L. Travers clashed with Walt Disney throughout the film's conception and production. Their combative relationship is fictionalized in the 2013 Tom Hanks movie Saving Mr. Banks, although this isn't the most faithful retelling of the story.

Sources: WTF with Marc Maron, AbsoluteWrite, The New York Times, RadioTimes, the Justice, Far Out Magazine,