What does an established playwright do when he hasn't written a new play in a decade? "Plunder" and "violate" the work of a widely acclaimed novellist, apparently, according to John Nathan's exclusive interview with Zoë Heller and Patrick Marber in this month's Prospect.
The conversation takes in the painful process of turning Heller's bestselling novel, Notes on a Scandal, into the award-winning film for which Marber wrote the screenplay, as well as plans for Marber's film adaption of Heller's latest book, The Believers. Heller to wonder if she is a "much meaner, bleaker, nastier person" than she has given herself credit for, while Marber announces "my problem as a writer is that I have achieved everything I wanted. Now I think maybe I could do something else."
But which is better, the novel or the film adaptation? As ever, let us know your thoughts below.
When Patrick met Zoë
July 22, 2009
