The Film

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Q: Beloved was made into a film in 1998. What is your opinion on books being made into movies in general?

A: My general feeling is that some books should not be made into films. Many of the books that I've read throughout my life have impacted me in such a way that films have not. I think that a book should only be adapted into a film if its message is something that should be shared with a larger audience. By this, I mean that I was happy to see "Beloved" made into a film since its subject matter is still very relevant in our society today, and I was hoping that it would provide a wake up call to those who continue to live in ignorance about the effects that it had on our society

Q: How much faith did you have handing over your novel to the filmmakers? Did you trust them to be true to the novel?

A: My trust was secured the day that Oprah approached me about undertaking the project. I was so moved by her passion and motivation to do it. She told me that she felt as if it were her calling in life to bring the novel "to life" as it were. She said that the novel had allowed her to truly feel what it must have been like for black people to endure such horrific cruelty and such nightmarish existences, and that she wanted others to realize the scope of this time period and the ramifications that resulted from it.

Q: How much involvement did you have making the film, and do you think it turned out true to the novel?

A: I had little to do with the actual making of the film. I simply turned over the rights to the novel to Oprah after she had approached me a long time ago with the idea of adapting the novel into a film. Beyond this, the material for the film was left up to the screenwriters that were hired on and, as a whole, I believe that they remained faithful to the novel's essence.

Q: When watching the film adaptation, several scenes involving the supernatural reminded us of The Exorcist. The phantasmagoric aspects of the story seemed to be more apparent in the film than in the novel. Was it your original intention for these scenes to evoke this effect?

A: In all honesty, this is one of the first times that I've been asked about a connection to "The Exorcist," and it's interesting to me that you made this connection. My intention, when I wrote the novel, was to evoke a very foreboding sense that Sethe's home was in dire unrest. That is to say, the house itself was under a demonic possession of sorts. This is why I was happy to see that the film was able to translate this so well. As far as the phantasmagoric aspects are concerned, their translation in the film was, I think, a projection from the minds of the filmmakers. I do think it was interesting though, how there were aspects of Beloved (as in the character)in the film, that were reminiscent of Linda Blair's character in "The Exorcist."

Q: Are there any aspects of the novel that were changed in the film that you really wish hadn’t been changed?

A: The only aspect of the film that I was somewhat in disagreement with, were the special effects used to convey the haunted energy of Sethe's home. I understand that the filmmakers had a hard time translating my material into something tangible for a film-going audience, and this is where it can be difficult to translate a book into a film, especially when the material is of such a complex nature. Other than this, I was satisfied with the way the film turned out.

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