PureWow: We love that the movie didn't feel like a carbon copy of the book, but still maintained the overall tone and message of the original story. How did you guys manage to strike that balance?
Caswill: I think Katie Lovejoy, the screenwriter, had a massive part to play in that. I think she really captured everything that was important and the real heart of the book, and then elevated it for screen so that it was cinematic to watch. I think what she did with the narrated character was just brilliant, having her actually be personified and come to life to play a kind of fate role.
I'm not going to ruin it because I don't want to spoil what happens. But in the book, where Oliver is going is different to where he goes in the film, and I think it's actually a really kind of uplifting and beautiful shift and probably more cinematic.
Smith: Definitely, I agree. Katie Lovejoy did such an amazing job with this. And when she and I were first in touch, she said she had read the book in one night and she cried and she loved it. And to her, it had almost every element that you needed to make a great film.
There were two things that she wanted to change, one was Oliver's story and one was adding the narrator, and I was so excited about both ideas because right away I could see how they would make it even better. I think that's the mark of a good adaptation, where it feels like the book, it has elements of the book. It's going to satisfy readers but it's also got just enough of a difference that makes it feel like its own thing entirely on screen and I couldn't be happier that it's just the tone of it. The feel of it the way it is, you know, light and sweet and cute but it also packs such a punch.