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Originally Posted by Rich_D
A few years back, maybe 10 or more, I went to one of Brooks' book signings. There was a Q&A and the impression I got at the time was that it's all about the money for him. He was asked about movie/TV adaptations about his work and basically said, if they pay him for the rights, they can do what they wish. I remember being surprised at the time thinking that he would have more of an attachment to the worlds that he created instead of a "show me the money" attitude. Now, not so much.
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That jives with what I'm seeing too. He's very polite, and will stay until the last fan's last books are signed, but I don't get the feeling he's really "in love" with his own work, to tell the truth. In a very recent interview about the show, he indicated that one of the reasons that the collaboration between himself and the show writers/runners went so smoothly was that, "I wrote the book 30 years ago and have since let go of it." Continuity issues in later books lead me to believe that he's not really all that up to speed on his own canon, either. Statements in recent show interviews confirm that (for me anyway).
Which is fine. I don't begrudge the guy his right to make coin, but I don't think he's been particularly honest about his level of involvement with the show (which was sold as him making sure they didn't take too many liberties with his story).
Since the show's announcement, hardcore fans of Terry's books have worried that MTV would butcher it. We were assured (through statements from Terry himself or his online surrogate) that Terry was working diligently to make sure that didn't happen. That he retained, and used, creative veto rights. That he read and approved of every scene of every episode. That the story remained intact. "Trust in Terry" was the mantra that was used for over a year.
Apparently that was all horse-puckey. Terry's just being a good "team player" and taking the heat for the massive (pointless) deviations and cheesy ridiculousness that MTV ultimately came up with. He used his huge fanbase as a markeing tool to spread the word about a show that he knew damn well was going to alienate those very same fans when they saw it.
This production never intended to please the book's fanbase. Not even a little bit. Which is a shame since that huge, dedicated fanbase is one of the big reasons a movie/television adaptation was so attractive to a production company in the first place.
We got played. Congrats on a great game Mr. Brooks.