The authors who hated Hollywood's versions of their books – from The Shining to Mary Poppins

Oftentimes, when a film version is being made of a popular novel, the writer of the original book is heavily involved in the adaptation process – sometimes even writing the script themselves.

For that reason, there are many cases where, even when one or two departures are made from the source material, those writers are very happy with how the finished products end up, going on to play a major part in the film's promotion.

But there are many examples in Hollywood history where the opposite is true. In fact, even when it comes to some hugely acclaimed films, there are instances where the author's themselves aren't so keen – perhaps even going so far as disowning the adaptations.

This week, we've rounded up eight examples of authors who took issue with film adaptations of their beloved works, from PL Travers' well-documented distaste for Mary Poppins to the always outspoken Alan Moore's complaints about V for Vendetta – and the one adaptation that Stephen King despised.

Read on for our picks.

1. PL Travers – Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins was a major box office hit, scored 13 Oscar nominations and has endured as one of the most beloved family films ever made – but there was one very significant detractor upon its release in 1964: PL Travers.

Despite the general acclaim, the Australian-British author – who had been enlisted as an advisor and consultant on the movie – was not happy with the end result, even ruling out further adaptations of the other novels in her series.

Among her complaints were the fact that some of the harsher aspects of the titular nanny's character had been softened for the adaptation, and her aversion to the animated segments.

She was also not overly fond of the original music composed by the Sherman Brothers – having preferred the use of existing standards from the Edwardian period – or the casting of legendary leads Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke.

Travers's distaste for the film has been covered in numerous projects, including the biography Mary Poppins She Wrote by Valerie Lawson, the documentaries Travers: The Real Mary Poppins and The Shadow of Mary Poppins and the 2013 film Saving Mr Banks.

2. Stephen King – The Shining

Few writers in history – and no other author currently living – have had their work adapted more for film and television than Stephen King, and the legendary horror writer has often sung the praises of those adaptations (even some of the less critically acclaimed ones).

But Stanley Kubrick's The Shining – perhaps the most revered of all the films based on one of his novels – famously had pretty strong criticism from the author, owing in part due to the departures it makes from the source material.

Writing in his non-fiction book Danse Macabre in 1981, just a year after the film's release, he called it "a maddening, perverse, and disappointing film" while at various points he has expressed that the film felt too "cold".

He was also opposed to the casting of Jack Nicholson in the lead role as Jack Torrance, while speaking on the depiction of his wife Wendy (played by Shelley Duvall) he said she was "basically just there to scream and be stupid, and that's not the woman that I wrote about".

Later, he explained: "Not that religion has to be involved in horror, but a visceral skeptic such as Kubrick just couldn't grasp the sheer inhuman evil of the Overlook Hotel. So he looked, instead, for evil in the characters and made the film into a domestic tragedy with only vaguely supernatural overtones.

"That was the basic flaw: because he couldn't believe, he couldn't make the film believable to others. What's basically wrong with Kubrick's version of The Shining is that it's a film by a man who thinks too much and feels too little; and that's why, for all its virtuoso effects, it never gets you by the throat and hangs on the way real horror should."

At the time of release, King was not along in his feelings; the film received a pretty mixed reception from critics and was even handed two awards at the inaugural Golden Raspberries (worst director for Kubrick and worst actress for Duvall).

Of course, it has come to be regarded as one of the finest horror movies ever made, while the 1997 TV miniseries version – which King wrote the script for, owing to his continued dissatisfaction with Kubrick's movie – has largely been forgotten.

3. Anthony Burgess – A Clockwork Orange

Interestingly, King wasn't the first author who had had concerns about a Kubrick adaptation of his work.

Almost a decade earlier, English writer Anthony Burgess had also expressed reservations when his landmark 1962 dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange was made into a controversial film by the legendary director.

Although it's not true to say that Burgess hated the film – there were certainly aspects he praised, including the performances and music, and he has spoken of a good relationship with Kubrick – he did have one major reservation.

That concern centred around the omission of the final chapter of his novel, which suggested a redemption for central character Alex.

The lack of this part from the film was actually due to the fact that the chapter had also been missing from the American edition of his book – a decision that Burgess did not agree with.

"Kubrick discovered the existence of this final chapter when he was halfway through the film, but it was too late to think of altering the concept," Burgess later explained. "Anyway, he, too, an American, thought it too milk-and-watery.

He added: "They seem to me to express in a sense the difference between the British approach to life and the American approach to life. There may be something very profound to say about this difference in these different presentations of the novel. I don’t know; I’m not able to judge."

Later, Burgess felt a general sense of resentment towards both his novel and the movie, based largely on how much he was forced to defend it from its detractors.

"I was not quite sure what I was defending – the book that had been called ‘a nasty little shocker’ or the film about which Kubrick remained silent," he said.

"Kubrick’s achievement swallowed mine, whole, and yet I was responsible for what some called its malign influence on the young."

4. Truman Capote – Breakfast at Tiffany's

Another film adaptation which was strongly disliked by the original author is Breakfast at Tiffany's – which, of course, gave Audrey Hepburn one of her most iconic roles.

What's interesting about Truman Capote's criticisms of the film is that Hepburn's casting was one of the key reasons for his reservations, with his preferred candidate for the lead role of Holly Golightly having been Marilyn Monroe.

In fact, Capote was so annoyed by the casting decision that he claimed "Paramount double-crossed me in every way" by choosing Hepburn for the role.

He also did not like how much the film version deviated from his original novella, including the decision to replace his book's gay narrator with a love interest for Holly, and the addition of a new ending that wrapped things up too neatly.

On one occasion, when asked what he disliked about the film, he replied: "Oh god, just everything. It made me want to throw up."

5. Roald Dahl – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Another author whose books have been adapted for the big screen on many occasions – both during his lifetime and since his death in 1990 – Dahl was no fan of the film which remains, arguably, the most famous adaptation of his work.

In fact, Dahl was so annoyed by some of the changes made for the movie that he completely disowned the film, despite having initially been listed as the screenwriter for the project (though he never submitted a completed screenplay).

Certain aspects of the film which have now become iconic – including the expanded role given to Wonka's rival Arthur Slugworth and the famous scene that sees Grandpa Joe and Charlie having "fizzy lifting drinks" – were among the things added into the film after Dahl left the project.

The author said he was "infuriated" by the changes – including the fact that there was too much emphasis on Wonka and not enough on Charlie – while he also wasn't happy with the music, labelling it "saccharine, sappy and sentimental".

It wasn't the only adaptation of his work that Dahl wasn't impressed by – he also expressed reservations about Nicolas Roeg's take on The Witches, which was released the year of his death, due to the addition of a happier ending.

Later, after his death, Dahl's second wife Felicity said: "They always want to change a book's storyline. What makes Hollywood think children want the endings changed for a film, when they accept it in a book?"

6. Alan Moore – V for Vendetta

Another author who has a long track record of voicing opposition to the film adaptations of his work is the famously outspoken comic book writer Alan Moore.

When his 1988–89 graphic novel V for Vendetta was turned into a hit film starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman in 2005, he was annoyed that much of his original intention in writing the work had been missed.

The original work – inspired as a response to Thatcherism – presented a battle between a fascist state and anarchism, and Moore argued that this was nowhere to be seen in the movie.

"There wasn't a mention of anarchy as far as I could see," he said, "The fascism had been completely defanged. I mean, I think that any references to racial purity had been excised, whereas actually, fascists are quite big on racial purity."

Moore later removed his name from the project, and spoke at length about his various issues with the film – exlianing that the script was "imbecilic" and "had plot holes you couldn't have got away with in Whizzer And Chips in the 1960s".

It wouldn't be the last time Moore expressed opposition to adaptations. Ahead of the release of Zack Snyder's version of Watchmen in 2009, he stated he had no desire to see it, a stance he did not change when Damon Lindelof turned the same source into an acclaimed TV show a decade later.

7. EB White – Charlotte's Web

Just like PL Travers and Roald Dahl, EB White was another writer of hugely-adored children's books who wasn't happy with how his work was adapted for the big screen.

When an animated musical film of his most famous and beloved work – Charlotte's Web – was released in 1973, White expressed many reservations, despite having been involved in the process.

Writing to Gene Deitch, who had previously been approached to direct a film, White said that he regretted that that version never went ahead, calling the film that was made "a travesty".

Interestingly, similar to Travers and Mary Poppins, one of his objections was around the music that had been composed by the Sherman Brothers for the film.

"The story is interrupted every few minutes so that somebody can sing a jolly song," he wrote. "I don't care much for jolly songs."

He added: "The Blue Hill Fair, which I tried to report faithfully in the book, has become a Disney World, with 76 trombones. But that's what you get for getting embroiled in Hollywood

8. Agatha Christie – most films based on her works!

Agatha Christie is another writer whose novels will likely never stop being adapted as long as TV and film exist – but she wasn't always the most complimentary about the adaptations that were released during her lifetime.

Indeed, shortly before her death, the legendary crime novelist said that there were only two films based on her books that she liked: Billy Wilder's 1957 adaptation of Witness for the Prosecution and Sidney Lumet's 1974 film of The Murder on the Orient Express (although even in that case she wasn't impressed by Albert Finney's Poirot moustache.)

Christie was especially against the 1960s Miss Marple films starring Margaret Rutherford – even though she was fond of the actress herself – and said that she regretted ever selling the rights to the character.

"It was my fault," she said. "One does things for money, and one is wrong to do so, since one parts with one's literary integrity."

Meanwhile, a 1965 film titled The Alphabet Murders – based on The ABC Murders – had its release delayed because Christie so objected to the script, and her friends and family reportedly barred her from going to see the finished product.

Just after she'd agreed to the aforementioned Murder on the Orient Express, her husband Sir Max Mallowan said: "Agatha herself has always been allergic to the adaptation of her books by the cinema, but was persuaded to give a rather grudging appreciation to this one."

We wonder what she'd think about the fact that her work continues to be quite so widely adapted...

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