Game Of Thrones Creator Slams Screenwriters, Producers For 'Improvising' TV And Film Adaptations

Renowned author and the creator of the epic HBO series Game of Thrones, George RR Martin, is unhappy with the recent practices of film and television adaptations. The legend, through a blog post, shared his thoughts and called out screenwriters and film producers for taking great stories and “making them their own.” He also claimed that these adaptations don’t live up to their source material.

Recalling a 2022 event with fellow creator Neil Gaiman, Martin wrote, “Very little has changed since then,” further adding that things have only gotten worse. While he refrained from commenting on Gaiman’s Sandman adaptation for Netflix, Martin lamented, “Everywhere you look, there are more screenwriters and producers eager to take great stories and make them their own.”

Naming a few acclaimed authors like Stan Lee, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Ursula K. Le Guin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, and others, he added, “No matter how major a writer it is, no matter how great the book, there always seems to be someone on hand who thinks he can do better, eager to take the story and “improve” on it. “The book is the book, and the film is the film,” they will tell you as if they were saying something profound. Then they make the story their own.”

Martin also shared how such adaptations turn out to be worse, mentioning that the rare instances of a “really good adaptation” deserve applause. The author also cited the example of the FX version of Shogun and said, “I was dubious when I first heard they were making another version of the Clavell novel. I am glad they did, though. The new SHOGUN is superb. Acting, directing, set design, costume… it’s all splendid here. Along with the writing.”

Game Of Thrones Creator Being ‘Faithful To Source Material’

During the event, the authors also shared their views on remaining faithful to the source material. Martin shared that the “obligation to be faithful to the written material” is controversial in Hollywood. Both Martin and Neil made it clear that they hate the practice of trying to own someone else’s work. “I spent 30 years watching people make ‘Sandman’ their own. And some of those people hadn’t even read ‘Sandman’ to make it their own, they’d just flipped through a few comics or something,” Gaiman added, as quoted by Variety.