Today we have an exclusive interview with Beautiful Creatures authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. They discuss the film adaptation and their favorite scenes in the movie. Plus we have an amazing giveaway!
Your whole journey into publishing was unique. You wrote the book on a dare and then it was picked up rather quickly. What was it like when you heard it was being optioned for film?
Kami: The whole thing was pretty surprising because we weren’t writing to be published so we were excited that people liked it and when it optioned it was great. At the same time we are both from LA so an option doesn’t mean your movie is going to get made but what was really shocking was when we got that call that they were making the movie.
Margie: We didn’t believe it at first but little by little it all became more real and Kami always said “I don’t believe the movie is going to be made” until we were actually on set and they had built Gatlin all around and I was like, “Kami I think they’re making the movie.”
What was your experience like reading the script for the first time?
Margie: I had a really concrete reaction to seeing the script for the first time. I looked at Kami and I said, “Where are all the words?”
Kami: And I said, “Margie you only get 120 pages,” and she was like, “What are you talking about?”
Margie: The words are only down the middle of the pages.
I can image your shock because your books are pretty hefty.
Kami: This is why novelists shouldn’t write their own screenplays unless they know what they are doing.
Margie: Apparently I would be a terrible screenwriter because I require 600 pages. Although our new novels are a little bit shorter you’ll be pleased to know.
What is your reaction when you found out that Amma and Marion have been melded into one character?
Kami: Richard has talked about this in interviews and he said he had to do it to draw in the talent like Viola Davis, and when you see it you understand. It is hard to imagine anyone else playing that role. I know people keep saying there is no Marion but once they see the movie they see that Amma does things that Marion would have done. She actually dresses the way I imagined Marion to dress and the costume department did that without any input. Viola is just amazing as Amma.
Margie: It just works, and to be honest we were nervous about it but this is why we wouldn’t make good screenwriters.
Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to step on set the first time? What it was like to enter the world of Gatlin?
Kami: It was so surreal and just crazy.
Margie: Kami kept saying “He’s in my mind.” The set designers and cinematographers had studied the books. It was incredible to see the level of care and respect going into the universe and that was overwhelming. The famous story of course is that our editor started bawling when she first saw Jeremy Irons speak the first line of the book.
Kami: She just saw him on the monitor and started crying. But that’s the thing with the production, the high level of every detail from the set to the costumes. I hope that our fans come in and understand what he tried to do and how he brought the world to life for them so that they could enjoy it.
Was there anything in the film that you made you think, “Oh god I wish I had written that”?
Kami: Though the ending of the movie is different, the very last scene makes me cry every time. It’s brilliant and perfect.
Margie: Some of the banter between Ethan and Lena is so utterly and hilariously charming, I’m completely jealous of Richard (our writer/director) and his sense of humor. Funny is hard!
After seeing the film what was your favorite scene, and does it differ from your favorite from the book?
Kami: My favorite scene is when Macon (Jeremy Irons) and Emma Thompson (Mrs. Lincoln/Sarafine) face off in the church when Mrs. Lincoln is rallying for Lena’s expulsion from school. The scene is a little different, but all the bones are there. And watching Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson go head-to-head gave me goosebumps.
Margie: Lena and Ethan have a balcony scene that rivals Romeo and Juliet’s. Right now it’s my favorite. It’s sort of a compressed re-imaging of several scenes from the book, but I love it all on its own.
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