George RR Martin blasts Hollywood for making changes to books
George RR Martin has criticised Hollywood for making extensive changes to books when adapting them for film.
Appearing at New York City's Symphony Space for an event with Neil Gaiman, the Game of Thrones creator called on Hollywood to remain faithful to books.
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Martin stressed that it was important film writers and directors respect the original material: “How faithful do you have to be? Some people don’t feel that they have to be faithful at all.
"There’s this phrase that goes around: ‘I’m going to make it my own.’ I hate that phrase."
The best-selling fantasy author added: “There are changes that you have to make — or that you’re called upon to make — that I think are legitimate. And there are other ones that are not legitimate.”
Martin, who has also worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter, said he was also asked to make changes to stories he was adapting such as the work of Roger Zelazny for The Twilight Zone.
Of being asked to make the changes, Martin said: “I was new to Hollywood. I didn’t say, ‘You’re f***ing morons.’”
Martin recently commented that his next novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series was "three-quarters of the way done".
Fans have been eagerly anticipating The Winds of Winter for over a decade with the previous book A Dance with Dragons released in 2011.
A Dance with Dragons was the only book to be published during the run of Game of Thrones on TV with the show surpassing events of the books.
Martin also teased that the ending of the books will be slightly different to the controversial finale of the show: “And the ending? You will need to wait until I get there.
"Some things will be the same. A lot will not.”
Watch below: George RR Martin says he's three quarters through The Winds of Winter