Fantasy author George R.R. Martin has a bone to pick with adaptations. But he is delighted with the remake of the historical adventure Shogun, which is being shown on Disney+ in Germany.
As a novelist and TV author, George R.R. Martin has some experience with adaptations. After all, he was personally involved in Game of Thrones, the film adaptation of his fantasy saga A Song of Ice and Fire. At least up to a certain point.
On his personal blog, GRRM recently opened up about adaptations, perhaps even secretly trashing the two GoT showrunners, and confessed his love for a very recent adventure series that is also based on a book
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin loves the new Shogun adaptation
Gorge R.R. Martin writes:
Everywhere you look there are screenwriters and producers who want to take great stories and ‘make them their own’. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the source was written by Stan Lee, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Ursula K. Le Guin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen or … anyone else. […] But they never do it better. In 999 out of 1,000 cases, they make it worse.
No wonder Martin writes this as an author of novels, which are naturally very close to his heart. Others think it’s part of the job of screenwriters and directors to change things when they change medium and reappear under their name. Even very successful adaptations, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, have done this. And let’s not forget who “appropriated” Beauty and the Beast in the 80s to reinvent it for modern television, shall we, George?
(Hiroyuki Sanada in Shogun)
Martin admits, however, that he has only just been incredibly taken by an ambitious remake: the historical Japanese adventure Shogun, which is the second adaptation of James Clavell’s novel after the 80s mini-series Shogun:
Must confess, I was doubtful when I heard they were doing a new version of Clavell’s novel. It’s been a long, long LONG time since I read the book when it came out in the late 70s, and was mightily impressed. And the 1980 miniseries with Richard Chamberlain as Anjin was a landmark of serialized television along with Roots; why do it again if that version was so good?
Martin continues:
I’m glad they did it though. The new Shogun is superb. […] The fascinating thing is, although the old and new versions have significant differences […] they’re both true to the Clavell novel in their own way. I think the author would have been pleased.
The new Shogun series appeared on FX in the US and can be streamed on Disney+ in Germany. It was originally conceived as a self-contained mini-series, but is now set to receive further seasons
