Novelists and Hollywood

On the wire:

By Randee Dawn Sun Jan 7, 11:42 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Author Christopher Buckley remembers clearly when his novel "Thank You for Smoking" was first optioned as a film because he had an excellent suggestion for a screenwriter: himself.

"In my callow, jejune way I said, 'I'll give it a shot!' and you could hear the frost forming on the telephone lines," he chuckles. "They said, 'This will be a major motion picture. We don't want to walk you through your first script.' Very early on, I realized this was no place for me to hang out."

So it was, and so it almost always is: Authors write books. Screenwriters write screenplays. And while there are strong exceptions to every rule (Herman Wouk, Larry McMurtry), a savvy author tends to know when to step aside and let the filmmakers take charge -- or, in some cases, the sausage makers. For some reason, authors tend to refer to pork products when discussing Hollywood.

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