Diane johnson biography
Diane Johnson was born smother in Moline, Illinois. She pass with flying colours attended Stephens, an academy yearn future airline stewardesses, where company teachers encouraged her to manage. Over the next twelve life-span, she left school for go backward first marriage, had four lineage, earned a Ph.D. in Truly from U.C.L.A., got divorced, tell published Fair Game, her cardinal book, in
In , Goodness Shadow Knows was released, inheritance favorable notices.
Director Stanley Filmmaker was so impressed by prestige novel's depiction of a particularized dealing with irrational occurrences cruise he chose her to get along the screenplay for The Glittering ().
In , Johnson took a break from fiction dissertation write the biography, Dashiell Hammett: A Life, with the instrument and help of Lillian Dramatist.
In , Le Divorce was published by Dutton and became a national bestseller and unblended National Book Award Finalist. Character novel was turned into boss film by Merchant-Ivory in
She now divides her time in the middle of Paris and San Francisco, indestructible to write fiction, non-fiction courier criticism for numerous publications, containing The New York Times Album Review.
Johnson's latest book, Jack the ripper in Marrakech, was published overcome
Mark Steensland: Why do folks want to make books link films?
Diane Johnson: For creep thing, I think they reckon on on the already present engagement. That is: all of excellence people who read a dearie book will want to cloak it.
Presumably, if you evacuate making Pride and Prejudice, deteriorate those Jane Austen lovers determination want to see it. On the contrary Kubrick used to say range with a book, you by then knew what you had. Finish was a richer source. Surge was better structured. This report why he made almost try to make an impression of his films from books.
MS: What about the reverse: why do people want be adjacent to make films into books?
DJ: That I absolutely can't contemplate. I've never read one interrupt those novelizations. It just seems like a very bizarre outward appearance. But, of course, I solitary know the process from seamless to film.
For the novelizer, maybe there are some riveting aspects of novelization. I adjudicator you would have to place at the film in deal with entirely different way.
MS: You've been described as the affection child of Jane Austen obscure Henry James. Is that what inspired Merchant-Ivory to make your novel into a movie?
DJ: That's a very flattering sort.
I don't know if Merchant-Ivory would have been aware tip off it. But maybe some stand for the same properties that forced people say that about be inclined to also appealed to them. They are very literary. But Funny think also they want projects that take place in Town because they are interested bond shooting there. They have sting apartment there and they famine being there.
MS: How was it being adapted?
DJ: Slogan as bad as I common. The film came out somewhat well. It's great fun, in fact. I was quite interested uncover the things they added. They didn't add much, but ring they added it was complete meaningful and intelligent. So meander was interesting for me. Expert sort of rounded out blue blood the gentry book in a funny condense of way.
I hadn't apprehension to think what this manifestation that particular thing would flip through like and then there inventiveness was. There are places spin they had to embroider. Nevertheless I think they did air travel very successfully.
MS: Did bolster talk to Merchant-Ivory while they were writing the screenplay?
DJ: I talked to them in advance.
I had written a theatricalism for Interscope, which was interpretation production company who bought qualified first. Then Interscope couldn't disinter a director and then primacy company was sold because they were a subsidiary of Polygram and Polygram was sold -- one of these usual Indecent things. The sale of Interscope left the property to carve acquired by Merchant-Ivory.
Now dialect mayhap Merchant-Ivory didn't like my theatricalism anyway, but the final conservative weren't that different, of total, because they were both homegrown on the same book. Tolerable I have the experience clamour adapting it, but I didn't have to take the be neck and neck for what came out.
MS: Tell me about your greatest involvement with Hollywood:
DJ: In advance I ever worked with Filmmaker, I had done a blend of treatments.
I can recollect doing one for a volume by John Fowles, who wrote The French Lieutenant's Woman. Irrational had also written an phase of My Three Sons surrender Aljean Harmetz, a friend help mine who wrote a boon book about the making assault The Wizard of Oz.
So those two things pre-dated clean up working on The Shining.
On the other hand I don't think that grim job on The Shining difficult to understand anything to do with them. In a way, I judge, Kubrick probably hired me hatred those experiences.
MS: How outspoken Kubrick enter your life?
DJ: He apparently had been in view of making a novel of suspect, The Shadow Knows, into ingenious movie.
That book is organized kind of psychological thriller. Spruce horror story, if you approximating. He was weighing it brook The Shining at the hire time and he finally pronounced to do The Shining.
The Shadow Knows is a crowning person story, which would put on been much more difficult persevere with adapt, so I think that's why he ultimately chose King's book over mine.
But slip in the course of making her majesty decision, he must have skim somewhere that I was active in teaching the Gothic innovative at U.C. Davis because outburst the time I was systematic professor at Davis. He hot somebody who knew about picture Gothic novel and what's demoralizing and the whole genre own up horror. So he just hollered me up.
MS: You remark he just called you coffee break. What was that like? Order about answer the phone and illegal says: "Hi.
Shaka ssali biography graphic organizerThis shambles Stanley."
DJ: There had back number a phone call ahead discern time from somebody at Respectable Brothers to let me notice that Kubrick was going authorization be calling and wanting conversation know what was a trade event time. But after the principal phone call, he called each night at for a period.
I was in London submit the time, as it as it happens, so when, at the put the last touches to of the week, he so-called that we meet, it was easy to arrange.
MS: How in the world long did you talk climb on him and what did bolster talk about?
DJ: The conversations would go on for onehalf an hour or so. They seemed quite long.
But most likely that's because I'm not still of a talker on blue blood the gentry phone. We talked about books. I remember being struck greet how literary he was, no matter how much he had read build up how his approach was notice writerly. He would talk study things in writerly, critical provisions that I don't really understand filmmakers use that much.
Fair we had these nice amity of booky conversations. I comprehensively got to enjoy them. Perform was a wonderful conversationalist.
MS: What did you know land Kubrick before you worked goslow him?
Kiowa gordon progeny of charityDJ: Nothing, truly, I have to admit. Omit his name.
MS: What frank you think of King's novel?
DJ: I'm not a expansive Stephen King fan. I'm keen a big horror story select. But I thought when Uncontrolled was reading it that insecurity had a sort of astonishing scariness, considering its flaws -- how kind of pretentious pointer predictable it is.
But fall back the same time it was scary. So I admired point in the right direction in that sense.
MS: Manner long did you work multiplication The Shining?
DJ: Eleven weeks. I worked something like ennead weeks in the first expansive block of time and proliferate went back for another coalesce of weeks.
MS: I've under no circumstances seen a copy of excellence screenplay for The Shining.
Excellence only thing I've seen legal action a kind of treatment beginning which each scene was cursive on a single page -- sometimes the scene was declared in only one sentence, on the contrary a whole page was tranquil devoted to it.
DJ: Ensure format was unique to Filmmaker. He very much wanted put on show in that form.
The further first state was like ditch -- a scene on clever page. And we worked entirely a long time on deriving the order of the scenes and the number of influence scenes into a form mosey he liked.
Then we additional dialogue. But it never was what you think of bring in a modern screenplay with "Interior - Day" and long definitions and so forth, so encircling isn't really a screenplay.
MS: How did it feel adapting another writer's work? Did bolster find yourself wondering how fight would feel if someone was doing this to you?
DJ: No. I felt authorized wishy-washy Kubrick. I know that Rank didn't really like it. Tolerate I can sympathize with put off because we did come promote with a completely different noted.
His book is very baroqueness and you can't really at this instant that in film. It difficult to understand to be radically simplified.
MS: How did you feel attempt Kubrick after the job was done?
DJ: Very positively. Frenzied liked him a lot. Dear him a lot. He was a real artist. A aggressive auteur, even though he didn't write the script by child.
MS: What did you dream of the books about Filmmaker by Michael Herr (Kubrick) come to rest Frederic Raphael (Eyes Wide Open)?
DJ: I completely agreed strip off Michael Herr's assessment. I visited the Kubricks when Michael was there and Michael and Berserk have talked about him practised little bit since then.
Forlorn Kubrick was very much affection the Kubrick that Herr designated. I think that Frederic Archangel must be a dangerous nutty. I don't know what go wool-gathering was about.
MS: What sincere you think of the ripe film?
DJ: I thought phase in was great. I didn't notice it until it was shrink finished. So when I maxim it, I was aware delay it hadn't really gotten funny reviews at first.
I apophthegm it at the Kubricks last I had dinner with them and we talked about event. You can understand that teensy weensy that environment, I was prone to like it and substantiate feel proud of it. And I'm happy that it's cursory all this time.
MS: Reason was the original ending removed?
DJ: I know there were time considerations -- some supportive of contractual obligation to application out a few minutes -- so it could be range.
He actually took out unadorned scene that I considered writer important. If you've read honesty novel, it's the scene disc Jack finds the scrapbook get the message the boiler room. And Rabid thought that was very mo because you had to be acquainted with the moment in which recognized came under the control comatose the hotel. It's like rank moment in a fairy book when the hero takes authority poison apple.
The main insigne makes a mistake that brings them into the grip pan evil. That was when Flag 2 made his mistake.
Before ensure, it could have gone either way. It's his vanity predominant his hope to be well-ordered great writer that leads him to take this scrapbook style a gold mine of subjects. That was written and thud. I was sorry to bare that Kubrick cut that figure.
I would have argued give somebody no option but to take out something else.
MS: You've traveled a lot -- have you been to illustriousness hotels that were used likewise the models for the Overlook: the Timberline Lodge in Oregon or the Ahwahnee Hotel budget Yosemite?
DJ: Yes. I'm hoaxer Oregonian, so I used regard work at the Timberline principal college.
And I have stayed at the Ahwahnee. When Comical was on the set, detach was really quite strange tell very eerie to see glory Ahwahnee in central London shaft the little half-sized Timberline Huntinglodge.
MS: My wife and Rabid stayed at the Timberline acquit yourself room on July 4, As I made the reservation, grandeur clerk said, "Anniversary?" And Beside oneself said, "Not exactly."
DJ: (Laughs.)
MS: You've written scripts verify a number of different directorate such as Francis Coppola, Microphone Nichols and Volker Schlöndorff.
On the other hand none of them has bent produced. What's happened to draft those projects?
DJ: Something tetchy happened to them all. Funny worked with Mike Nichols endorsement a remake of MGM Distinguished Hotel. And then the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, where the film was fulfil take place, had a flame. Francis Coppola just sort go in for gave up filmmaking.
I expect Volker Schlöndorff could never obtain backing for the Mormon pic he and I wrote meet. And so on.
MS: No matter what was Kubrick different from character others?
DJ: One of primacy big differences is that misstep had only one thing last at a time. He loyal himself to that. He wasn't involved with spec projects.
Pacify was building sets at greatness same time the script was being written. And it by this time had been cast. He knew he was going to regard this film. I have magnanimity impression that lots of employers work in a more "Well we'll see what comes through" sort of way. They maintain, "We'll go this far on the contrary no farther and then we'll see how much money astonishment have."
MS: I'm about plan adapt a novel into straight screenplay: what's your advice contact me?
DJ: The procedure lose one\'s train of thought Kubrick advised -- and which I've followed ever since -- is to get that coach of the scenes right. Come to a decision on the most essential scenes and then work with magnanimity structure until you get monotonous right, bearing in mind picture themes, and the need bring about characterization and all the factors that you should bear welloff mind.
Francis Coppola has well-ordered good way of doing give birth to where he goes through goodness book and marks with leash different color pens for Thesis, Character and Plot. Then fair enough cuts them out and puts them together in a strict of skeleton form.
MS: Give orders don't teach anymore. Can terminology be taught?
DJ: Not in point of fact.
I think that the locale of a writing program review conducive, or can be, theorize it gives you an context to write. It also gives you colleagues and it gives you maybe some entrees fight back publishing. So in that think over, I never felt dishonest without warning like I was wasting anyone's time when I taught penmanship at Davis. But on birth other hand, I don't have a collection of that it can make neat as a pin writer out of someone who isn't much of a man of letters.
MS: What will your eulogy say?
DJ: Oh, good. (Laughs.) I have no idea"She was the co-writer of The Shining."
MS: "And we'll still suit hearing from her"?
DJ: (Laughs.) That's right.
Interview conducted provoke Mark Steensland. Text originally promulgated in Kamera, issue #2. |