We chat with Jane Goldman about working with Tim Burton to adapt Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
(you might read David Crows reviewhere.)
Jane Goldman:Yeah, almost.
So you had a few meetings with him before you started to write the script?
It was a really lovely collaborative, creative experience.
Did you meet Ransom at all during these early stages?
Did Ransom want to have any involvement with the process of making a movie?
I honestly dont know if Ransom is a he or a she.
No, Ransoms a guy.
Hes a very tall good-looking guy, and hes around somewhere.
I didnt meet him until the movie was actually finished.
His feedback was always positive.
Whats it like to keep Ransoms voice but also cater it to Tims sensibilities?
Anytime he threw ideas my way, I always adored them, so it was sickeningly pleasant.
It was a really good experience.
Everything that was planned was in.
Lets do more for him to do, and that was the only change.
More than any other director, Tim has a plan and really sticks to it.
You mean he doesnt start filming until the script is right.
But yeah, I think all directors work differently, but theyre all good relationships.
Ive been really lucky not to have a duff experience with a director.
I assume theres stuff in the book thats so complicated that you just dont do it.
Actually, weirdly, that stuff isnt in the book.
And then we worry about how were going to do that.
Most directors are great problem-solvers, and Tim is no exception.
Theres always a way to approach anything.
Since I havent read the book, were all the Holocaust references part of it?
Yeah, thats really integral to the book, and I felt it was important to preserve that.
That was something that was important to Ransom, and I think it would be wrong to lose that.
When do you start talking about a sequel?
Do you have to wait until Monday?
[Laughs] I think so.
I think most of the time, no one wants to jump the gun.
[Laughs]
Sometimes they do and then it never works out, but you never know.
I hope this does though since I like the characters a lot.
Were there any characters created specifically for the movie or were they all taken from Ransoms books?
Im just trying to think.
Its an expanded character, but its really hard to describe without being too spoiler-y.
Other than that, the characters are unchanged.
And Emma, in terms of who she is in terms of a character and person, is unchanged.
Oh, I dont know.
WithKick-AssandKingsman, you and Matthew started with Mark Millars original idea then you went off in your own direction.
There isnt anything to adapt, so this is an original story, theKingsmansequel.
Hows that been in terms of figuring out what to do?
Had you talked about what might be possible while writing the originalKingsman?
It was a fun experience.
I was thinking youve only written one movie that wasnt an adaptation,The Debt.
Youve written quite a few books before your movie work.
Have you ever talked about adapting some of those into a movie?
Oh, no, theyre not good enough.
[Laughs] Nah.
I think its something theyre still talking about.
Have you ever thought about getting into that world?
Yeah, like writing something original or a spin-off of one of the things youve done as a movie.
That seems to be a theme.
Its kind of like working with musicians.
[Laughs] No, no.
What are you working on next?
Annoyingly, nothing thats at the stage where Im allowed to talk about it, which is annoying.
I know you have a lot of stuff youve been attached to like an adaptation of Nate SimpsonsNon-Player.
I adored that comic.
Did they ever even release a second issue?
There is now a second issue.
