It Was A Book First is a weekly podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Hosted by culture reporters and former colleagues Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg, IWABF dissects the TV and film adaptations everyone is talking about, what you'll be reading and watching next, and the business behind what actually makes it off the page.
What this show covers
Kazuo IshiguroKlara and the Sunfilm criticismTaika Waititibook adaptationsweird comedyfantasy romancefilm discussionperiod piecebook adaptation
What listeners will find here
A sharp takedown of Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun adaptation
Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun is the focus here, as Sophie and Rudi unpack why the film version of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel didn’t work for them. They compare the movie with the book, debate Waititi’s strengths as a filmmaker, and dig into why the adaptation stumbled creatively and commercially.
A wicker husband, Olivia Colman, and a fable that gets gloriously strange
Wicker is a period-piece adaptation of Ursula Wills’ short story The Wicker Husband, starring Olivia Colman, Peter Dinklage, and Alexander Skarsgard. Sophie and Rudi dig into how this oddball premise became a feature film, why its charm works, and where its weirdness tests your suspension of disbelief.
