Could you elaborate on that?
What would a Hollywood version ofOne Daylook like?
Well, I dont think Hollywoods a dirty word at all, I love a lot of Hollywood films.
Dexter in particular behaves incredibly badly.
There was never any pressure to change the ending, which I think was probably the biggest anxiety.
[Where the interview took place]
Yes, Knightsbridge.
It is Hackney and Dalston and all of those places, as it was intended in the book.
I dont know, I havent read the reviews [Laughs].
I didnt even know they were lukewarm.
I dont know, do you think people wanted a more… a glossier film?
More that they came to it with different expectations.
Maybe, Im happy to defy those expectations.
I certainly dont have any regrets about that.
I think thats the case with most movies now.
So again, I dont think of that as British, but certainly its something Im aware of.
Im very embarrassed by corniness.
I think probably its a tendency on my part.
Maybe that is also a British, self-deprecating thing, a desire to undercut things perhaps, though.
Do you feel that you fit into a similar position as Hornby as a British novelist?
I know its a comparison that comes up a lot, and Im certainly very flattered by it.
I think Nick is a really fine writer who is constantly doing new things.
Again, Im not consciously aware of an influence.
No, I wonder if Id have readOne Day?
I think I would, I think I would.
You should, its really good.
[Laughs] Ive heard that.
I hope that people…
I mean, I hate cultural snobbery.
Again, its a bit like looking too long in the mirror.
I dont know if its very healthy to think too much about where you belong.
No, definitely not.
Actually, quite the opposite.
I never asked, What does it feel like for a woman to…?
I never particularly worried about it.
No, I saw that one.
No, not at all.
But you didnt want to frogmarch people to emotions rather than let them…?
I love being moved by books and films and television.
Oh yes, yes.
That was one place, I felt, that the letters werent missing from the film.
Perhaps it worked even better as a dramatic scene than as a letter.
But for the rest of the film though, the letters were missed.
The letters, yes…
I was a huge letter writer.
Which you wanted to avoid?
Yes, I think so.
We did talk about it.
Yes, yeah, absolutely.
Both on this andStarter For Ten.
Can you tell us at what stage yourGreat Expectationsadaptation is at the moment?
Im really excited about that.
The script is pretty faithful to the book.
Events are slightly concertinaed, and theres a little more urgency in the screenplay.
Theres much less of the kind of satire and the comic grotesquery, and much more energy and violence.
I thinkGreat Expectationsis the leanest and tightest of Dickens novels.
Youve certainly got a strong cast.Yeah, Im very excited.
I mean, Helena Bonham-Carter as Miss Havisham, I think, is a terrific idea.
Great Expectationsis one in a series of adaptations youve done of novels by writers who are long-dead.
Okay, last question.
No I wasnt [Feigns outrage].
Can you tell us where to look out for you in the film?
Okay, well its not even a cameo.
I walk up some stairs in the background.
David Nicholls, thank you very much.
One Day is out now in the UK.
you’re able to read our reviewhere.
