9 Authors Who Made Terrible Films Of Their Own Books

"You want something done right, you gotta do it yourself."

By Padraig Cotter /

Authors and comic writers will often complain about how badly their work is translated by filmmakers; they get the tone wrong, they cast the wrong actors or they completely betray the spirit of the book. It must be heartbreaking for a novelist to see the story they spent years toiling over get butchered on the big screen, while they have to sit there helpless. Be it having a hand in casting, writing the script or, in some cases, even getting to direct, a lucky few are powerful enough to keep creative control over a film adaptation. Writing and directing are two very different tasks, though, and a lot of writers quickly find the story they envisioned from the comfort of their desk doesn€™t translate very well to the screen. In fact, some of the very worst adaptations of a book can be attributed to the authors themselves, especially when they€™re behind the director€™s chair. This can be a result of clinging too tightly to the original material, or just having a poor grasp on telling a story visually. Whatever the case, the result is a terrible movie, and this time the writers can€™t use €œBlame the filmmakers!€ as an excuse.