Interview (Written): Emma Donoghue (“Room”)

The Writer Sue interview with Emma Donoghue who adapted her own novel “Room” for the movie for which she was recently nominated for a Golden Globe.

Lesley Coffin (TMS): When adapting your own book and writing the screenplay, had the book already been optioned for a film?

Emma Donoghue: Not at all. While waiting for the book to be published I had a feeling that it would make a good film. And I know that the film industry tends to suggest someone more experienced than me to adapt books. So I thought I would just go ahead and give it a try. That might seem a bit naïve, but I thought it couldn’t do any harm if I could show them what I had written. It felt easier to write the screenplay before anyone gave me any advice or there was any publicity.

TMS: When you came up with the initial story, did you ever consider writing it as a film rather than as a book?

Donoghue: No, never. I’m a novelist first and foremost, and I thought the novel was the right format for this story initially, because I wanted to truly be in the head of a five year old boy. And in order to know what someone is thinking every minute, there is nothing better than a novel. But after doing that I thought it would be an enjoyable challenge to tell the story dramatically and visually in a film by really seeing him going through his everyday life. You get fewer thoughts but you get more of his body, and five year olds say so much with their bodies. So I think it gains as much as it loses as a film.

TMS: What kind of pitch did Lenny Abramson give when he approached you about wanting to make the film?

Donoghue: What is funny is that he wrote me a 10 page letter, explaining everything he liked about the book and detailing everything he thought about it. He understood that the kidnapping story is just a pretext for a more universal mother-child bond. And he gave a lot of detail about how he would film the movie if he were to be the director. And he says he was trying to compete with all these other directors who must have been sending me detailed pitches, but no one else was sending me detailed pitches. I had plenty of overtures, but it is unusual for someone to be that upfront and generous with their ideas. People don’t usually want to give that much away. So from receiving that letter and watching his other films, I had no doubt that he would be the right person to make Room. His previous films have such warmth and burning liberal heart, but they are always artistic and subtle, never exploitative or propaganda.

For the rest of the interview, go here.

Twitter: @TheMarySue.