by Jon Partridge
It is with a heavy heart I finished up this article as it coincided with the heart-breaking news that NBC had decided to cancel Hannibal after 3 beautifully twisted seasons. First, I applaud NBC for having the bravery and insight to allow such a unique vision to unfold on their network. Secondly, the next season would have been The Silence of the Lambs adaptation. Who in their right mind cancels the series right before THAT?!?!
Bryan Fuller was asked at the ATX TV Festival that if it was cancelled, what were the chances of the show’s return on another network? To which he replied with something along the lines of, “it could be done, but it would likely require a reduction in budget and if I can’t do it right, I don’t want to do it”. Words to quench hope but draw respect. Fingers crossed something falls into place for this truly exceptional piece of TV.
Now, on to the business at hand. The “To Adapt is to Evolve” panel at this years fest drew together three of today’s foremost showrunners, dealing with crafting a show which is rooted in someone else’s work. First, the aforementioned Bryan Fuller with Hannibal coming from the Thomas Harris novels (and multitude of film adaptations). Secondly we had Noah Hawley, fresh off the acclaimed TV series Fargo, adapted from the Coen Brothers film of the same name. Rounding off the panel was Graham Yost who has overseen the adventures of Raylan Givens in Justified, stemming from the works of Elmore Leonard. Read on for insights into how they adapted their respective works.
- Asked about what they each owe to the original work, Fuller cited the “purple prose and poetry” of Harris’ books, playing with the distribution of lines to craft new things. He describes himself and the writers as “mashup DJs” in this respect. Hawley cited the tone of the Coens’ work as being the main inspiration and that he needed to remind people that it wasn’t a comedy per se, aiming for something in between Raising Arizona and Miller’s Crossing. Yost mentioned how the inspiration and indeed the entire pilot for Justified came from the short story Fire in the Hole. His main pledge was to “stay within the writing” for Leonard.
- Subverting expectations was discussed. Hawley mentioned how the series had gone to some length to distance itself from the film so the 1 year jump and pregnangcy at the end of the season was their attempt to throw people back on track. “Unpredictable but inevitable” were the words he used. For Hannibal, Fuller said that so many adaptations already existed he wanted to “steer around things” and “shift characters from their original place and see how wild the tail will whip”.
- The panel were asked to talk about the pitfalls of adapting someone else’s work and how to avoid them. Fuller say “if you stay true to the character, you can take liberties. You cannot make a change that is an affront to the character”. Fans will forgive other things you change but that is key. Hawley spoke in more general terms that “the only reason to adapt something is if you have something new to say”.
- Apparently Stephen Moffat, showrunner for Doctor Who and Sherlock once suggested that some showrunners adapting material are “writing fan fiction”. Yost said it really was a different kind of job from normal writing as he had to “write like Elmore Leonard”. He said the problem previously is how people just adapted the plot but “the real joy in his work is the way characters express themselves”. He loved having a licence to do it for 6 years. Fuller agreed, saying he was a “staff writer emulating someone else’s voice”. Hawley said his guide was the “traditional morality” inherent to the Coens’ work. You transgress and you are punished. Within that framework you can play a lot but the one rule is there is no room for melodrama.
- The panel were asked about any possible contact or opinions expressed by the original creators about their efforts. Fuller said he had not met Harris, with most communication with the author going through De Laurentiis. He feels that books are being written to resolve the Clarice and Will stories and is curious what happens next. Hawley has spoken to the Coens but remarked they tend to exist in their own bubble. They read and liked the script for the first episode but haven’t commented on any more and he didn’t expect them to. They are aware of the show’s popularity and critical praise though. Yost said that Leonard was involved until his death at the end of the forth season. The most pleasing review the team ever got was when he said about the show “I got a kick out of it”. Leonard never gave notes, it was something he hated receiving himself when he was a script writer in the 60s and 70s. The staff did get bracelets (think the rubber “Livestrong type”) that says WWED, What Would Elmore Do. Yost was still wearing his at the panel.
- In a similar vein, they were asked about any outrage or backlash from the fans at their effort to adapt the works. Fuller spoke of the vitriol at killing off a cast member in the second season of the show, one who happened to be a female of Asian descent leading to accusations of racism and misogyny. He was fascinated by the outrage and cited “adolescent, hormonal imbalance combined with rage and the retardation of social media” as the cause. The character had been a well written and cherished one, her death a matter of narrative, and to read more into that was frankly too much. He finished by saying “outrage is the nitro in our war machines” in what was not the only Mad Max: Fury Road mention of the day. Hawley spoke of the importance of getting it right in your own mind, standing by it even in the face of studio notes. Your own peace is more important than worrying about a bit of backlash.
- Yost spoke a little of how beholden to the studios they were, as well as to the fans, and that Justified Season 1 didn’t deviate too far from the source material. Studios buy a property to adapt and get the readers, a built in fan base. IF you deviate too much, why buy it? So building from that was important.
- The moderator cited a quote from Joss Whedon about efforts to bring back Firefly in which he said he “preferred to focus on building new worlds rather than revisiting old ones”. Did the panel have thoughts on reinterpreting works rather than doing original pieces? Fuller admitted there was a glut of reboots and reimaginings but “if it’s good, I don’t care”. He admitted he “yearned to go back to something signature to me” and that “Hannibal gives a sense of mimicry that can be confusing at times”. Hawley said his Fargo carried the “tone and sensibilities” of the original film but had been able to do his own thing within that. He also said Season 2 was going to be VERY different and it may become something of an anthology show, reinventing itself each year.
- Bryan Fuller admitted he got a speeding ticket the day prior to the fest and blamed playing the Mad Max:Fury Road soundtrack in his car.
- Fuller spoke a little on the licencing aspect of the show and how Hannibal is particularly tricky as some books/characters lie with another studio who was working on their own project when he and others swept in to obtain the rights to do their version, so some tension remains. Many characters they hold rights to, some require fees per use (in some cases as high as $35k) and they are hoping to work out things to bring characters they need in later seasons (Silence of the Lambs notably) on board in deals that would be beneficial to all.
During the Q&A I managed to get a question to Bryan Fuller about, despite his mention earlier in the panel of wanting to speak with his own voice, returning to adaptations with his upcoming American Gods series. He said it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up and would be approached as a “anthological story” although he would never pitch it like that. It delves back 5000 years into the past, unfolding the story and filling in a lot of the history mentioned in the book.
He’s adapting the book with Michael Green and they are both Catholic and interested in mythology so it will explore those aspects heavily. He also said that Bilquis and her infamous vagina will be a main character. So those distraught by the loss of Hannibal may be somewhat comforted to know Fuller will be back soon enough with another audacious and disturbing piece of TV.
Photo Credit: Jack Plunkett