Episode 34. BookTok, Box Office, and Casting Controversies

Interview

May 10

Exploring the BookTok boom, controversialcasting choices, and why some bookstranslate better to film than others.

When books become blockbusters, not everyone celebrates. In this episode, David dives deep with Laura Max Rose—self-proclaimed Colleen Hoover expert—about the dramatic casting debates, adaptation controversies, and what BookTok really means for the film industry.

The It Ends With Us adaptation sparked serious debate among fans and critics. How do you adapt a beloved book when fans have strong opinions about casting? Laura Max Rose shares her honest take on Blake Lively's role, the challenges of bringing complex characters to screen, and what worked (and what didn't) in the adaptation.

But Colleen Hoover is just the beginning. We explore other controversial adaptations, BookTok's growing influence on film greenlight decisions, and which upcoming projects have people both excited and concerned. From Throne of Glass to Fourth Wing, the conversation touches on how reader expectations shape film criticism.

The episode concludes with recommendations for both book-to-film adaptations that nailed it and stories the industry should never touch. Whether you're a BookTok enthusiast, a film purist, or someone caught between both worlds, this episode offers a thoughtful look at one of entertainment's biggest phenomena.

Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform.

Subscribe and leave a quick rating or review if you enjoyed it.

“I do not think Lily was cast correctly. The casting director had specific ideas, but when you’re adapting a book that means so much to so many people, you can’t ignore what fans envisioned.”

— Laura Max Rose

Transcript

Laura Max Rose (00:00)
I guess with It Ends With Us, I had something similar going on. wasn't helping me process anything about my life, but I was having to process my thoughts and feelings about this adaptation because I loved that book. I love Colleen. It was so important to me. So I will say where I've ended up now is that I do not think Lily was cast correctly.

David Peck (00:58)
I am so excited to welcome Laura Max Rose back into the design studio today, because every time we talk, we just have so much to talk about. And I was so afraid that we would just talk about all the things I actually made an outline this time, because not that we have to stay on topic, Laura, but it is just so much fun to talk to you. But I really wanted to talk to you because this is something we talked about like months ago. So we've just before we started recording, we're talking about astrology and like.

Laura Max Rose (01:11)
Ha ha!

David Peck (01:24)
how the beginning of our year was. And so I think this was something we talked to about back in like November, December doing a podcast about. And so it is now almost May and we are doing this.

Laura Max Rose (01:34)
And we are. And there's a reason for that, apparently.

If anybody else feels like they made plans in November or December and now it's May and their year is finally starting to look like what they thought it was going to look like in November or December, apparently there's an astrological reason for that. Okay.

David Peck (01:47)
Astrologic, yeah. It is.

So we're starting our year. Happy New Year to you. ⁓ today, Colleen Hoover, Laura Max Rose is the resident expert in Colleen. Yeah, resident expert. Maybe that should be on the screen. Resident, yeah. Yes, for sure.

Laura Max Rose (01:53)
Happy New Year.

I love that. That's one of my favorite titles. Thank you.

Please, can that be my super resident Colleen Hoover expert? Yes, I would love

that.

David Peck (02:12)
But there are so many book adaptations. what the impetus for all this was back, I mean, the drama is still going on with Blake Lively and Justin Valdoni and it ends up with us because it it never ended. But there are other Colleen Hoover books that are being adapted and Laura has thoughts on thoughts and feelings on thoughts.

Laura Max Rose (02:27)
There are. ⁓ I have feelings, big feelings.

Yes.

David Peck (02:32)
So I

wanted to talk about that. And we want to talk about adaptations in general. And there's some interesting ones coming up that are sort of like getting a lot of buzz and or controversial. And then we'll talk a little bit about maybe some of our favorite adaptations and maybe which things we wish had never been adapted or want to see adapted. So let's dive into the Colleen Hoover of it all.

Laura Max Rose (02:44)
Yeah.

Yeah.

David Peck (02:56)
⁓ So and let's go back a little bit since you know, we were just talking about astrologically all things retrograde Let's go back a little bit to the ends with us thing. So I don't think we in Hindsight now that you've had some distance from this It's been released. It was a big hit like I finally watched it. I enjoyed it I did not read the book. So in terms of an adaptation So not that like because I know you enjoyed the movie but have it being somebody who read the book and also watched the movie

Laura Max Rose (02:56)
Yeah.

David Peck (03:23)
How did you feel it overall worked as an adaptation?

Laura Max Rose (03:27)
Well, I've only seen it six times, David. So I'm not, you know, I've only seen it six times and there's a reason for that. It's like, I have to go back and like understand. I've seen the Mad Men series, for example, I think seven times. So that means I've seen every episode of Mad Men seven times, which is completely insane. You know, it reminds me so much of my grandmother and there's something about it that like,

David Peck (03:30)
Only, ⁓ Like I said, you're a resident expert for a reason.

I love that actually.

Laura Max Rose (03:56)
helps me process my past or something. And I get something new from it every time and I love it so much. And I guess with It Ends With Us, I had something similar going on. wasn't helping me process anything about my life, but I was having to process my thoughts and feelings about this adaptation because I loved that book. I love Colleen. It was so important to me. So I will say where I've ended up now is that I do not think Lily was cast correctly.

I think that's a universal

That is people are universally in agreement around that. mean, she was completely almost the opposite of Lily in the book. Do I think, did that make it so I completely wrote her off and wouldn't go see the movie? Obviously not. I was willing to accept the movie for what it was as being something different. And that's what it was. She brought something new to the character. This is totally controversial and you're a fashion expert. So you can tell me all about what you think about this, but I actually loved her outfits. Like I've said this on another podcast.

David Peck (04:50)
⁓ I

thought it was very, like they were stylish in a character driven way. Like I felt like I knew who she was because of her clothes.

Laura Max Rose (04:57)
Yes.

Thank you. Exactly. And I loved it. And when you know, there's all this stuff coming up in the lawsuit about how much authority she took over her own wardrobe. And I feel really bad for her about stuff like that, because I feel like that actually is part of what makes her so special is that she really does know what she wants. And she really does say what that is. And she brings herself to the table and in a really cool way. And I actually thought that the wardrobe was great. I just accepted her as being a different Lily. So I didn't mind.

David Peck (05:15)
Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (05:25)
any of that. But now that we have all the drama and everything that has surrounded it, there's no doubt in anybody's mind that that has taken away from the essence of the film. I can't really watch it without seeing Justin Valdoni and Blake Lively instead of Ryle and Lily. I think Ryle as Justin was actually almost perfectly done. I don't think that there was anything. He was the perfect person to play Ryle and Colleen was the one who asked him to play Ryle. I mean, he was the perfect Ryle.

David Peck (05:38)
Right.

Laura Max Rose (05:49)
I don't think that Atlas was cast. I think Atlas could have been cast correctly. I really liked the actor that played Brendan Skendlar. I mean, the actor, I really liked Brendan Skendlar, the actor that played Atlas, but I don't think that he played Atlas. I just don't, I don't think Atlas was given a chance in that movie. The love story between Atlas and Lily is the entire point of that book. I mean, for the most part, it's not the entire point, but it's an amazing part of the book. And it just wasn't there.

Like there was no connection. They were friends. They seemed like friends. So anyway, to answer your question, what do I think now? Looking back on it, you know, I think it was a good movie and I think that It Ends With Us was a great book and I think that they were very different and I would love to see a remake in 10 years where we really get these characters as they were meant to be in the book and we really get to see that love story. So I don't think it was a terrible movie at all. I think there's a reason why it was so popular.

David Peck (06:33)
you

Laura Max Rose (06:40)
I was totally emotionally gripped by it, but I don't think it quite lines up with the essence of the book, and I would love to see a movie that does.

David Peck (06:48)
That's, I think that's probably a very, having not read the book, I would agree with your take, that they stand on their own two feet, but they're not necessarily, and they have a conversation with each other, but they're definitely not, it's not a word for word, faithful adaptation, or even maybe in some ways a spirit. the...

Laura Max Rose (07:07)
Right. The spirit of the book

is very different than the spirit of the movie. With the exception of the best friend, Jenny, whose name is escaping me right now. ⁓ Jenny Slate. Jenny Slate's character is, I mean, that was the most well acted thing I've seen all year, quite honestly. I want people like that to get awards when they do such a good job, which I think it might be where we're going because I feel like the Oscars have totally overdone it in terms of only awarding things that are extremely eccentric and extremely ethereal.

David Peck (07:14)
Jenny Slate's character, yeah.

Laura Max Rose (07:33)
And what's ended up happening is that the work that we end up seeing and what we get to go see in theaters isn't really what the people want anymore. And we're getting all these new adaptations and people love them. And I'm so excited about what's to come at the movies. I'm so excited about it.

David Peck (07:40)
Yeah.

Yeah, and I think there's been, mean, for the longest time, there were always like book people versus movie people. Now it's book people versus movie people and like TV show limited series, like all the adaptation possible. ⁓ And there are people who are like book apologists and people who are movie apologists. you see the movie first? Did you see the book first? like, you know, and for me, like,

Laura Max Rose (07:58)
Yes, yes, absolutely.

David Peck (08:08)
I think there are some times where I have read both and it's just sort of like I can divorce the two and other times I feel like I've imagined them so much in my mind that when I see the movie it's hard for me to connect. But I really do try to see them as separate things when I'm going into it because I think when we have, it's like anything in life when you have preconceived notions, you you limit your ability to fully be present in the moment.

Laura Max Rose (08:29)
Yes.

Yes, exactly. Exactly. And I feel like as a viewer, I'm like very open to being surprised or having these characters maybe look different than how I imagined them to some degree. With a few exceptions, you know, when an author like provides, there's this whole thing with Bookstagram right now where authors and fans will create artwork after their book has been released, showing the characters interacting.

David Peck (08:43)
Right.

Laura Max Rose (08:55)
And I read a book recently and somebody did like a fan artwork of the two main characters interacting and the female main character looked absolutely nothing like she does in my mind. And I just hated it. I was like, this is not who she is. I don't like this at all. So I think it depends, but I think when it comes to the movies, I'm open to just seeing somebody else's interpretation of something I really love.

David Peck (09:05)
Yeah

Okay, so since we're open-minded people, this is what we're telling ourselves, I'm so open-minded. Let's talk about the next Colleen one that's getting a very huge, if you will, amount of buzz is Verity. And this cast has been announced and it's Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett.

Laura Max Rose (09:27)
Mm-hmm.

David Peck (09:34)
so Verity we've actually talked about on this podcast. You can go back and listen to that, that episode. it was a book that was not your favorite Colleen book. I think you enjoyed it if I remember right, but yeah.

Laura Max Rose (09:43)
Yeah, I liked it. And I totally

know why it was picked. I mean, I know it is so clearly the right choice for a remake. I mean, for a movie adaptation, 100%.

David Peck (09:51)
Yeah.

Yeah, so it's very creepy. So I think we even talked about who we would cast. And I don't even remember. I should have gone back to listen to find out.

Laura Max Rose (10:01)
I said something really

funny about the woman who plays Loan. It was the woman from American Pie, Natasha. Yeah, I don't know why I saw her face, but let me just say, think Dakota Johnson is an epic, epic choice for that character. Not one I would have made, but I do think she's going to do a great job. That's my prediction. What do you think about Dakota?

David Peck (10:07)
that's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

was very happy with the two female leads. was like, get Anne Hathaway. I think in my mind, I had imagined Verity being a little bit older. So she's on the younger side of what I imagined, but also I think it heightens the tension a little bit, which I think is good. And I mean, Anne Hathaway is looking really amazing right now. are pictures of her in Fashion Week in New York, and she's just like the high ponytail and things. She just looks so cool.

Laura Max Rose (10:36)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, she is.

David Peck (10:49)
Anyway, so two male, two female leads I was on board with. The Josh Hartnett thing really kind of surprised me. One, because we haven't seen him in a long time. So it's either really brilliant because he was like the hot star, you know, back in the day. And so in a way, like he feels older, even though he's probably not that much older than I am. He feels...

Laura Max Rose (11:00)
We have it.

It's so weird

with these stars like aging and I'm like, wait a second, how old am I? What's going on right now? Why are we old?

David Peck (11:20)
Yeah,

exactly. I don't know. Like, he's not, I don't picture him. And it'll be interesting to see how he looks in the movie, because there aren't a lot of recent photos of him, because he hasn't done a lot of work recently that I'm aware of. He doesn't look as suave or as like, sexy, maybe, as I imagined is it Jeremy to be. That was just my thought on.

on that. was like, hmm, I'm open minded to see how it works. But that's it's just not who I think because Dakota Johnson's character in the book really idolizes him and like her vision of him as a man is like he is a specimen of like perfection. And not that Judge Hartnett isn't, but I just am.

Laura Max Rose (11:46)
Yeah.

Mm.

Yes.

He is a perfect specimen. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah.

David Peck (12:06)
Yeah, and so I just, I guess I haven't seen him. He just looks almost, he looks too old to be the perfect specimen if I'm being ageist and all the things about it.

Laura Max Rose (12:14)
No, it's

okay. You know what? actually, he looks exactly like Jeremy to me. I think I view him, I see what you're saying objectively, but I will always view him as like D. Josh Hartnett that I had posters of on my camp wall in my cabin.

David Peck (12:28)
Well,

and maybe that's it. Maybe because I'm not that target demographic. I did not have pictures of Josh Hartnett on my wall. ⁓ You can still picture him that way. Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (12:31)
You're not. You're not. I think he, for me, he fits the bill completely. was actually Anne Hathaway looks,

is Verity described as a brunette in Verity? I cannot remember that because when I was reading it, she was a hundred percent blonde. And I feel like one of the things that I noticed about Verity is that the women's features were not detailed. So we didn't really get a very good description of Loewen at any point compared to a lot of Colleen's other books. And she was kind of like up for interpretation.

And with Anne Hathaway, I would usually catch on to an actor's hair color. But with Anne Hathaway, I was not, I definitely didn't think Verity looked anything like Anne Hathaway when I was reading. I'm okay with the fact that Verity is Anne Hathaway now. But perhaps something about the last name Crawford, I saw like a very tall, like model looking woman who was blonde. That was what I imagined as Verity and older. Yes, that's true.

David Peck (13:02)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, yeah, I think I had imagined Verity as being blonde, but I think that's also because I imagined Cate Blanchett playing her. So I, in my mind, she, yeah.

Laura Max Rose (13:32)
Right, similar type of actress though. Like I

think that was what I was thinking. She was older. But again, I'm very open to it being Anne Hathaway. I'm excited to see what that's gonna be like.

David Peck (13:44)
Yeah, I think it'll be really good.

so there's a couple other Colleen books that are being adapted right now that you expressed some very strong thoughts in. I can't wait to hear them. So there's Regretting You and Reminders of Him, neither of which, because I am not the Colleen apologist that you are, or super fan. I know nothing about these books, but...

Apparently they're a big deal and they're being adapted. did look to see if they had announced any of the casting and the only regretting you does have a cast. We have ⁓ Alison Williams, McKenna Grace and Dave Franco. I think like Alison Williams is underrated. I mean.

Laura Max Rose (14:12)
Yeah, yeah. My favorite, yes.

I think she's

the most beautiful. I'm obsessed with her. Like whenever I go get my hair done or something, like I'm like, just here's Alison Williams. I just make, I love her. I think she's amazing. Totally underrated. I loved her as Marnie and girls. I think that's an example of where the movie might end up being better than the book. I, I really do. I have read all 24 of Colleen Hoover's books, as I've said so many times before, and in all the podcasts I've done, I have made it very clear that regretting you is the, my least favorite of all of them.

David Peck (14:27)
You

Okay.

Laura Max Rose (14:49)
which is interesting because I couldn't put it down when I was reading it. I remember very specifically, I was going on a date with my husband and I couldn't put the book down and I'm like holding it and he's like, can you read that? And I'm like, I know this is so ridiculous, but like I actually have to finish this page. And then when I was done, I just was like, there were so many things about it that were so incredibly unrealistic. And I guess it was, it's about a situation that obviously I've never, I didn't live through myself, but

as a child, like I had sort of similar traumas to the character that Marnie, not the character that Marnie is going to play.

Allison Williams plays the mother, which is another moment of like, how effing old am I? What is going on? Because when I saw it, I'm like, she's gonna be the 16 year old. No, she's the mom. She's my age.

Laura Max Rose (15:35)
my God, I have to see this as a movie. Please somebody make this a movie and like reminders of him and regretting you were two of the ones that I never had any desire to see as a movie not even a tiny little speck of want so I'm like, ⁓ is anyone are they gonna keep making her books into movies, please So there's this book called hopeless by Colleen Hoover. I talked about this every time It's my favorite book by Colleen Hoover If you go read the reviews every person who has read all of her books like me is obsessed with hopeless

Hopeless is the perfect movie. I'm just praying that they make Hopeless into a movie. Reminders of him, I found to be extremely depressing. I didn't personally get a lot of joy out of reading it. She has other books that are darker, but I still enjoyed a lot more. It's a very popular book of hers. So I think as a director or producer, it's a great choice from the standpoint of a lot of people really like it, but I don't know. I just, not my favorite. Will I see it? ⁓ 100%.

It looks pretty well cast. Like when I was looking at the characters, thought, oh, you're who I imagined. So I'm looking forward to seeing it. I just don't want any of the producers out there to say, okay, we've turned four of her books into movies and we're done because I need to see Hopeless. I have to see it in theaters. I want to see Too Late in theaters. So I'm still waiting.

David Peck (16:51)
I think it's interesting when books are not as strong and maybe it's because they hit first and that's what they, you and it wasn't until later. I don't know the logistics because I know it takes a lot of time to get things adapted. Do you feel like maybe Colleen is more involved now after the whole end, it ends with us debacle or like less involved or distancing yourself or like maybe really involved behind the scenes? Like what is your take on?

Laura Max Rose (17:16)
Yeah.

I'm really glad that you asked that question because I think she's actually less involved in some ways and more in others. It seemed like with casting, the way that she posted about the casting for reminders of him, she, think, said that she was really proud of the director for making such a great casting choice. So it was really clear she had nothing to do with it. She seemed a lot more removed from it in that sense, but I can imagine that in other ways she might end up involving herself more because of what happened with It Ends With Us.

David Peck (17:45)
Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (17:45)
I

was reading, Dakota Johnson was talking about her experience filming Fifty Shades of Grey, which I was reading about because I was so fascinated that she could do those movies. Like they're just so vulnerable and I'm like, just totally, I want to know more about how she did that. And I'm reading about it and she said that working with E.L. James was just so challenging that she loves the author of Fifty Shades of Grey, but that she micromanaged every aspect of the project to the point where they would film every scene multiple times versus like,

how they wanted to do it and how she wanted to do it. And that it was just sort of a nightmare and that she doesn't know if she would have even signed up to do the movie if she knew filming it was gonna be like that. I think Colleen is really the opposite. And when she talked about it ends with us, she just would always talk about how proud she was of everyone for putting a great movie together. I don't know if people remember this, but when it ends with us started filming and there were photos being taken, she was already getting heavily criticized because they didn't like Lily, they didn't like Lily's outfits.

David Peck (18:17)
Right.

Laura Max Rose (18:41)
and she would come out and say, please give these people a chance. They've worked so hard. Their movie is so great. I feel like she's taking a similar approach, but I also think she's distancing herself even more in some ways because I think that what happened to her seems like it was pretty traumatic. I mean, she seems pretty traumatized to me and I think to a lot of others as well, which breaks my heart.

David Peck (19:00)
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see with, one, how long the ends with us fallout continues and if it will impact these other movie and adaptations. Like if the residual effects are gonna have an effect or if it's just gonna be, you know, people kind of separate them and take them on their own merit. Because I will say like, I didn't realize.

what a big deal Colleen Hoover was as an author until I heard about the movie. And so like I came to Colleen Hoover because of the movie being done, not vice versa, where you were excited about the film because of the book.

Laura Max Rose (19:30)
Yeah.

Right, right. Well, we haven't even really talked, David, about what your thoughts are on the It Ends With Us drama. We could easily accidentally turn the entire episode into this. But just in a few sentences, what do you think now with everything where it is about what's going on?

David Peck (19:46)
Hahaha ⁓

now that

I think people are complicated. I think women are more easily demonized than men. I think that Justin Baldoni strikes me as a performative feminist. And I think people can do good things for the wrong motivation. And I think sometimes people can do bad things for the right motivation. And I think...

Laura Max Rose (20:08)
Yes.

Yeah.

David Peck (20:21)
a combination of all those things happened on this movie. And the truth is probably not as interesting as they're making it out to be. I think it probably was a conflict of personalities and one person didn't like how it was handled. The other person wanted to take control or take control back. And I think it became a fight of egos. I think both of them have pretty strong senses of self and brand and

they didn't wanna let it go. And so I think it left a big mess. I think my tendency is to always default and believe women ⁓ more than men because I just think this is my own bio showing that men can have historically tended to be a lot more creepy and predatory than women. That doesn't mean women cannot act in ways that are ⁓ untoward. ⁓

Laura Max Rose (21:18)
Yeah? Yeah.

David Peck (21:21)
And I do think that Blake has not, here's what I will say, no matter what happened on the set, I think the fallout and what Blake has done in response has been ill-advised. And so whether that was her team or her taking the lead, I don't know, but I think that all of it could have been mitigated and handled a little bit better than it was.

Laura Max Rose (21:44)
yeah, 100%. I love your response. I totally agree with a lot of what you said. I think that he did, from reading what she has said and reading her texts to her friends about him when she was on the set, I think she was creeped out by him. And I think that her feelings are okay, but I don't think the facts support her feelings. And I'm not telling, I'm not, been, I mean, I've been creeped out by people before, but that doesn't mean that.

David Peck (22:01)
Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (22:11)
I can sue them for sexual harassment and win in a court of law. And I don't think that the facts line up. And I think she tried to say that they did. And I think it was a really bad move. And I actually, I feel very badly for her that she has been so pummeled in the public eye because I don't think that she's all bad. I do think she did something that she shouldn't have done. But I don't think he's the be all end all either. And I think people put...

David Peck (22:14)
Exactly.

Yeah.

No.

Laura Max Rose (22:39)
themselves in a camp and it's like, well, he doesn't have to, I mean, it's a really sticky situation. I don't know, I think people are complicated. I always wish that we had more room for that in our society. ⁓

David Peck (22:52)
Yeah, we don't

have room for nuanced conversations. And I think that's hard. And it's very easy to just vilify somebody in the press. think it was a very easy thing to latch onto. And so it kind of got out of control. And I do get the sense that maybe that Blake and her team have tried to dial it back and even some of the motions to keep things private in terms of discovery. ⁓

Laura Max Rose (22:56)
We don't.

David Peck (23:20)
but it's almost like the cat's out of the bag and it's gonna be really hard to, I think she can recover from it, but it's gonna take some time.

Laura Max Rose (23:28)
It's going to take some time. do too, actually. I think she can recover from it. I wonder what a trial would or will look like. ⁓ I think it's a very interesting choice that, that either one of them would want that. well, he, makes sense that he would, but I keep thinking like she's going to have something really big that would come out in a trial and that somehow people would empathize with her more, but I don't know. We'll see. Yeah. Yeah. We'll have to do another episode for sure.

David Peck (23:51)
Yeah, it'll be, it remains to be seen. We'll have to do another episode. Yeah.

Okay, so moving on to some of these other buzzy projects. So one of the ones that I'm most interested about is ⁓ Wuthering Heights because it's a book that I don't know, you haven't read it, I don't think.

Laura Max Rose (24:10)
Well, what's funny, David, is that when I was a kid, so my mom thinks I've read it because I bought like multiple versions of Weathering Heights because I thought the cover was so beautiful. And I would just sort of collect books, but I wouldn't read them. So I have not read it. I'm ashamed to say that, but tell me your thoughts. Tell me your thoughts about the remake. I know Margot Robbie has been a controversial choice. Tell me what you think.

David Peck (24:30)
Yes,

there's a lot of controversial opinions. And I will say, so of the Bronte sisters, Wuthering Heights was not my favorite. I was obsessed with Jane Eyre. I really loved, loved, Jane Eyre. ⁓ And there have been multiple adaptations of that book as well. So I'm interested to see Wuthering Heights because it wasn't the book that I connected to the most. And at first, when they announced Margot Robbie, I was like, OK. ⁓

But not really, because I hadn't studied the book. I hadn't realized like, ⁓ she's like double the age of the character in the book. And then the whole thing with ⁓ Heathcliff being, you know, perhaps not British and definitely not white and like all of these things. So I was like, OK, this is really interesting. But I do love Emerald Fennell as a director and the idea of it and the stills I have seen or the clips that I have seen from the filming.

Laura Max Rose (25:10)
You

David Peck (25:24)
they're not historically accurate costumes, which tells me, and not in just that they're in the wrong time period, but they are not accurate for any time period. So there's a mix of drawn it, which makes me think that there must be some other take on Wuthering Heights that Emerald is doing beyond just a straight up literary adaptation. I don't know if it's going to be, ⁓ have a bit of fantasy to it. And I don't mean fantasy as in like,

Laura Max Rose (25:46)
Yeah, yeah.

David Peck (25:53)
the genre, but like, ⁓ there's dreamscapes because Wuthering Heights, the book was actually set at the end of the 1700s, so the late 18th century. Whereas like the stills that have come out of Margot Robbie in a wedding dress, it's very like Victorian-esque, but not actually period Victorian. And then her like, wedding bouquet is like very strangely like 1980s. ⁓

Laura Max Rose (26:18)
Interesting,

interesting.

David Peck (26:19)
And so it's weird.

And then there was a photo that I just saw of Jacob Elordi, and he has a gold tooth. ⁓ So there's something going on here that I don't know. So I'm actually very excited to see it, because I'm excited to see somebody do something different with it and what they're trying to say. ⁓ I don't think it's supposed to be out next February, February of 26. So we have almost a year. But considering how quickly this year went.

Laura Max Rose (26:25)
Wow.

Yeah, yeah. When does it come out?

Okay.

I have time to

finally read it.

David Peck (26:48)
Yeah, one of your many versions of Weathering Heights, you can read it. So I think it'll be interesting. also, yeah, I don't know necessarily the other actors, but it does seem to be, I mean, it's definitely in the news. And the fact that something as ⁓ classic literature is getting this much buzz tells me that there hopefully is something really interesting about it. OK, so there's one I want to talk about.

Laura Max Rose (26:51)
I will, somewhere, yes, yes.

Yeah. ⁓

David Peck (27:16)
touch on briefly because I'm really interested in it because I was not allowed to read Judy Blume growing up. So I was not allowed. She was controversial. That's a whole other podcast. ⁓ I have since come to love the Judy Blume that I have read with my kids. I just think that she's fantastic. So Forever is a seminal and very pivotal book for so many people. ⁓ they have, Regina King is directing, which is so cool.

Laura Max Rose (27:22)
Really?

a whole other podcast.

David Peck (27:45)
I Regina King. And it's re-imagined as a modern black teen romance set in 2018 Los Angeles. So definitely not the 1980s that Judy Blume wrote this in. So I'm really interested to see this take because I think it will give a different perspective on such a classic book.

Laura Max Rose (27:54)
Wow. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It sounds really interesting. And what's funny about Judy Blume is an author actually recently wrote a book about like growing up with Judy Blume and that author actually reached out to me to be on my podcast and she just followed up like right before this. And I'm like, you know what, that's a sign I should probably talk to her. I was not a huge Judy Blume reader as a kid, but I'm curious to know, I mean, you read them to your children. I'm wondering if my kids would like Judy Blume. I have had a hard time

David Peck (28:22)
⁓

Laura Max Rose (28:38)
finding books that my children really love and they watch me read and they see how much I love it. And I think my oldest is like trying to figure out how to make that happen. But like she's not, she hasn't found that serious yet. Like I used to read R.L. Stine when I was her age and have like the shit scared out of myself and loved it.

David Peck (28:49)
Right.

Hahaha

Laura Max Rose (28:58)
which

is why as an adult, got really into Dateline probably, but I loved it. And I think it would scare the hell out of her. I mean, I don't even think she has any contact. I mean, I can't believe I was reading that stuff when I was that young, but ⁓ I don't know. I'm still looking for like a really great series for my kids. So I love that you read Judy Lume to yours. I might try that.

David Peck (29:15)
Yeah, we

always have an audio book going. And so we listen to all the Ramona Quindby books, the Henry Huggins books. They loved Fudge, the Super Fudge, like all of those, like, because they're just very kind of, know, slab stick and they're, you know, kids being kids and, you know, she really has an amazing way of getting into a child's point of view. Like it's not an adult writing about children. You really do feel the characters. And I think that's why my children

Laura Max Rose (29:23)
Okay, very cool.

Yeah.

David Peck (29:44)
loved them so much. I want them, like there's other books that she wrote more for like young adults and I want to make sure that they're exposed to those as well. We've, you know, moved on to other things like my oldest son is really into Percy Jackson right now, ⁓ loves Percy Jackson. So, you know, and we did the whole Harry Potter thing, you know, we've been there. My younger son is a little bit more... ⁓

Laura Max Rose (29:45)
Yeah, yeah.

Very cool.

David Peck (30:11)
reticent to take on some of those more fanciful or magical type stories. ⁓ So I think that's why the Judy Blume types of things are grounded in reality and people that are really funny. He just thinks fudge is hilarious. Yeah. there's one of, I can't remember what it's called, but there is one that's written from their neighbor, the girl's point of view. So there is, because since you have girls, maybe that would be a good one.

Laura Max Rose (30:24)
Awesome. Okay, fudge. I'm going to have to check that out for my oldest.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

David Peck (30:38)
Okay, so moving on to more adaptations, The Housemaid. I have not read this one, so it's by Frieda McFadden. And I have not. So tell me.

Laura Max Rose (30:43)
ooo

⁓ David, yes. Have you read any Freedom McFadden? Okay. Housemaid is the only

book of hers that I've read, but I'll tell you, I read it and I almost read the entire thing in a three and a half hour flight. I mean, I was completely engrossed. I could not, I couldn't breathe until this book was resolved. It is, I mean, an incredible thriller mystery plot twist.

David Peck (30:58)
Okay.

Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (31:13)
I'm not shocked at all that it was turned into a movie. I am so curious to see it. I think Brendan Skendlar as the husband is almost a perfect match, literally exactly what I imagined when I was reading it. I think Amanda Seyfried is going to do an incredible job playing the woman who is essentially the villain throughout a large part of the story. And I also think that Sidney Sweeney is a great pick for the character that she's playing. I think it's phenomenally cast and I'm really excited to see it. I think it's going to

David Peck (31:26)
Mm-hmm.

Laura Max Rose (31:43)
I think people are going to love it whether or not they've read the book, but that book has really been a phenomenon. Frieda McFadden has been a phenomenon. It's the only book of hers that I have read because even though this is something that happens to me with books, even though I couldn't put it down and even though the twist was insane, it still wasn't like a happy story, David. So I really don't want to read another one. I'm not interested in reading another one.

David Peck (32:02)
Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (32:06)
But it was an amazing journey to go on. I'm glad I did. I have a friend who reads her books all the time. She calls them palette cleansers because she reads them like between reading other like sort of longer, deeper books. But I am, I'm very excited to see the house made. I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

David Peck (32:22)
There was something about it, and I don't know that you've read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but the casting gave me those types of vibes. Maybe I'm completely off. I don't know.

Laura Max Rose (32:33)
The casting gave you Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes. I haven't read it. I haven't read any Taylor Jenkins read. Everybody who tells me to read a book by Taylor Jenkins read wants me to read a different book of hers that nobody can agree on which one's the best one. And there are some people who love Malibu Rising and then people who are like, it's the worst book I've ever read. I don't want to waste my time. So I have like a thing about that. What is the book of hers that you think I should read if I were to read one?

David Peck (32:36)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I've only read one. I've read The Seven Husbands. I did not love it. Hot take. I did not love it. I, yeah.

Laura Max Rose (33:03)
and you loved it. Interesting. Really? This is what happens. It's like so many

people's favorite book and then you don't like it. I'm like, I don't have time for this.

David Peck (33:15)
No, here's the thing, what I felt about it. I felt like it was an excellent screenplay. Or actually, a screenplay for a limited series. I don't think it's a movie. I think it's too much to tackle in a movie. I think it's an excellent limited series, maybe seven parts. ⁓ But I could very much see how the characters were written, and it's very cinematic. I felt the same way. This is really...

Laura Max Rose (33:31)
Seven parts, yeah.

David Peck (33:41)
dating me and years ago when I read the Da Vinci Code, I hated Da Vinci Code with a passion. ⁓ But I was like, this is going to be an amazing movie because the book was written like everything was a ⁓ cliffhanger and a page turn. was like, you know, it was written as if it was going to, you know, what is coming next. ⁓ And so I felt like Seven Husbands.

Laura Max Rose (33:45)
love you, Georgia.

Yeah.

David Peck (34:04)
the characters I'm fascinated by. I'm really interested. I think the idea of it is so good. I think it's going to make an amazing series and I can't wait to see it. I just did not like it as a book.

Laura Max Rose (34:14)
Okay, that's another take. I have never read an author that has created so many different kinds of opinions, but the general consensus is obviously that she's a great author because she's a very popular and well-read author.

David Peck (34:16)
Yeah.

I mean, I think she's obviously very talented because she's been able to create these characters and this book that people can't stop talking about. So whether or not I like it is sort of irrelevant. ⁓ The book wasn't for me. However, I think the character she created I'm super excited about. And I think the adaptation, when it happens, because it is in the works, is going to be amazing. OK, speaking of another author that people can't get enough of apparently and like Colleen Hoover has many.

Laura Max Rose (34:34)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

David Peck (34:52)
adaptations coming up is Emily Henry. And the big buzzy one right now is People We Met on Vacation. And the cast is Tom Blythe, who is in The Hunger Games, the latest one, the ballad of songbirds and snakes. And there's another rising star, Emily Bader, who's in it. So it's buzzing because Henry's rom-com universe is officially a cinematic franchise in the making. And fans are very protective of these books. And there's been a lot of really strong reactions online. So.

Laura Max Rose (34:55)
of

Yes.

Interesting.

David Peck (35:20)
Do you think

that she can dethrone Hoover as, I wouldn't call it rom-com, but the queen of the screen?

Laura Max Rose (35:28)
No, they write completely different types of books and there are Emily Henry fans and they're not the same as Colleen Hoover fans. And I feel like people who love Emily Henry are obsessed with Emily Henry, but it does feel like a smaller number of people to me than like the way Colleen Hoover's books have just gone viral. seems more explosive. here, Emily Henry is in Bookstagram and the Bookstagram universe that I am now a huge part of, David. It's like my whole.

my whole discovery feed me feed. I'm like, they're like, you only want to see this. So we'll only show you this. It's all books. There are people who are just completely obsessed with her and then people who don't care for her that much at all. I have only read one of her books. I read funny story and this is the Taylor Jenkins read problem. Funny story was touted to me as being the best of all of her books. It's the most recent one she's come out with until a couple of days ago, she came out with the my great big beautiful life.

David Peck (35:55)
Hahaha

Laura Max Rose (36:22)
I read Funny Story because I was like, I'm going to read an Emily Henry. Let me read the best one. People are completely obsessed with this book. I don't get it, David. don't, I'm not super critical. I mean, a lot of people would tell me that what I, a lot of what I read is quote unquote low brow. Certainly not all of it, but I'm not, I'm not over here like giving you a New York Times book review for a book that's just supposed to be a really happy rom-com. I didn't think it was nearly as good as so many of the other books that I've read. did not make me want to read another book by her, but

David Peck (36:45)
Right.

Laura Max Rose (36:52)
Other books by her have been pushed in my face so much that I have purchased some other ones that I haven't read yet. They're like sitting on my Kindle app. I will see a review of Emily Henry books that puts the people we meet on vacation as number one out of the five books that she's published. And in the same day, this literally happened yesterday, I see it as number five. So it's either everyone's favorite or it's everyone's least favorite. It is never in the middle. I think that, you know, I think her books,

just like you said about the Evelyn Hugo thing, when I think about Funny Story, I think that has the potential to be an incredible movie. And I think her books are going to do really, really well at the box office and maybe be a little bit more of a stable experience than what we've experienced with Colleen Hoover's books. ⁓ But I think, yeah, I mean, I don't because I don't think that they have like her fans don't have like the rabid nature of Colleen Hoover's fans either. We're like, I don't I don't know. But

David Peck (37:26)
Yeah.

Right.

Laura Max Rose (37:46)
She fascinates me. think she's like a wonderful person. She's a really cool like backstory. She writes really well. I just haven't found the Emily Henry book that I love so much and I hope I do. I want to read her newest one. given that all of her books are being adapted, I'm absolutely going to read them before I see the movies. I mean, they're literally all being turned into movies.

David Peck (38:06)
Yeah, they're very interesting. There's book lovers with a screenplay by Sarah Hayward, which speaking of girls, she's from that whole genre. And then we've got Beatry being directed by Yulin Kuang and then Happy Place, which is going to be a Netflix series. And that's being produced by Jennifer Lopez, which is very interesting. And then Funny Story.

Laura Max Rose (38:14)
huh. Yes, yes.

Yes.

David Peck (38:28)
funny story is actually being adapted by Henry herself. So maybe that whole idea of like she had always imagined it as a screenplay is true and like, yeah.

Laura Max Rose (38:36)
She's the one writing the screenplay for it. I

know I saw that yesterday and I thought that Jennifer Lopez adaptation was interesting too because happy place is very often the one that I hear as being people's least favorite, but sometimes it's people's first. So, ⁓ you know, who knows, but those are books that because they're being turned into movies, I will read them.

David Peck (38:55)
Yeah, so ⁓ another one, not Emily Henry, author Carly Fortune has written Every Summer After, which Amazon apparently has picked up, and it's being turned into a series called Every Year After. I'm not really sure why they needed to change the title to something so close.

Laura Max Rose (39:11)
Me neither. Me neither. Me neither. My favorite summer

romance of all time. I just like will drop everything for that book. I love that book so much. I cannot wait. I will literally cancel everything to watch this series.

David Peck (39:20)
Aww.

to go,

so that's a hearty endorsement. So the show runner is Leila Gerstein, who is known for Heart of Dixie. So if that's kind of, I don't know, maybe she's giving it that kind of vibe. She's serving as the show runner executive producer and she's also adapting it. But they have not yet announced the cast, so that's to be determined.

Laura Max Rose (39:39)
Maybe.

That is a cast I will probably have feelings about. I really hope that the actors and actresses look like they did in the book because I love that book so much, but we'll see. I'm going to see it either way.

David Peck (40:00)
and for your sake, I hope so too. So another big, big author that I feel like everybody talks about, and I did not know of this book. I knew of Rebecca Yaro's because of The Fourth Wing. Like I feel like I've seen so many people on Instagram reading The Fourth Wing. ⁓ But in the likely event is being ⁓ done on Netflix. It's being adapted by Lindsay Ferentino, but there is no cast yet announced thoughts.

Laura Max Rose (40:19)
Oof.

can't wait. just like I read that book and I'm like, I need to see the movie right now. I love In the Likely Event. ⁓ In my Rebecca Yarrow sort of pantheon, The Things We Leave Unfinished is my favorite book by her and I have not read The Fourth Wing. But my second favorite is In the Likely Event. And it is it is such a great book and I cannot it is such movie material it takes place and I mean half of it is in Afghanistan it is

so good and I cannot wait to see the movie. I'm just so excited that these books are being turned into movies that we are finally catching on to what the people want to see. And then I've read these books that I get to see. I mean, I'm so excited about this one. I don't think this is obviously not going to be the last time Rebecca Yarris' book is going to be turned into a movie. I cannot wait to see who adapts The Fourth Wing and, you know, the Accord of Thorns and Roses series, which people have been talking about lately.

David Peck (41:19)
Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (41:21)
all of her books I've read. just like, have to see the movie. So I can't wait to see this one.

David Peck (41:25)
Yeah, I feel like it might be like we're in a golden age of book to movie or series adaptations. It's sort of like.

Laura Max Rose (41:31)
Yeah, we're in a golden age of

reading too. I I joke that I picked up reading at 35 and I've read 100 books since then and 36. I'm not alone. I think like I have a whole theory about how like the algorithms have kind of picked up on what people want to read and so have authors and books are better now and we want to read more of them.

David Peck (41:52)
Yeah, so there's so many new things coming out, but I do want to touch briefly on some of at least my favorite ⁓ movie adaptations or book adaptations to movies or shows. So one of my favorite films of all times is the talented Mr. Ripley. Like it has stayed in the top three of my top three films since it came out. ⁓

Laura Max Rose (41:59)
Please.

Ugh, so good.

Epic movie. And you read the book before

you saw the movie?

David Peck (42:16)
I read the book after because I loved the movie. I had never heard of the talented Mr. Ripley. I frankly watched the talented Mr. Ripley because Gwyneth Paltrow was in it. ⁓ Everything about that movie is perfection. The way it looks, the cast, the cast was absolutely perfect. I don't think Matt Damon has been better. This may be a hot take in a movie since that movie.

Laura Max Rose (42:18)
Wow.

And she was incredible and just stunning in that movie. So good.

Uh-huh. All of it.

No, 100 % agree with you.

Ever. Yeah.

David Peck (42:42)
He was

so, good. Jude Law was so, he like rode the line between being like, I understand why everyone's in love with you and also you are the biggest dick ever. ⁓ Speaking of dicks in Mr. Ripley. ⁓ Anyway, Dickie. ⁓ Yeah, it was just so good. And then Philip Seymour Hoffman, like the cast is just stacked. The cinematography is...

Laura Max Rose (42:53)
Yeah?

Uh-huh.

David Peck (43:10)
absolutely stunning. The costumes, like every layer to the film is just so good. My favorite version of My Funny Valentine as sung by Matt Damon is in that movie. It's just so, so good. And so when I read the book, I was not disappointed. The book was, I remember it being different because it's more fully fleshed out in some ways. Like the movie is sort of like a painting of it. It doesn't have all the details.

Laura Max Rose (43:31)
Yeah.

David Peck (43:37)
I thought it captured the essence of it so clearly and it made me read more Patricia I. Smith. So ⁓ I love that movie. And I am so sad. And I think part of the reason why I've held off on watching it is I have not yet watched the new Netflix series with ⁓ Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning because I think I love the original so much. I know I'm gonna love the new one, but I just, I don't know. That's held me back subconsciously, I think.

Laura Max Rose (44:03)
Yeah, I can't. I'm right there with you. don't I think I feel the exact same way. It was absolutely a perfectly it was a perfect movie. I cannot think of one thing about that movie. I would change. I did not read the book, but I don't see any reason to see a different version of it. Although who knows it could be good, but I feel the same way.

David Peck (44:19)
I've heard it's amazing

and they did a completely different take on it. So I'm glad that they did not try to just like do a shot for shot like remake, ⁓ which has happened in the past, but they did not. Okay, so there have been in the past and I feel like every time there's a Jane Austen adaptation, I just, love Jane Austen as an author. I don't know if you've read her as much as I have. I've read all of her books. I've been fascinated by her life. I just think she was a feminist before feminism. Like I just, love her so, much. ⁓ Her insights into,

Laura Max Rose (44:22)
Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

David Peck (44:49)
the human condition and character, especially ⁓ in a certain class level. Like, I don't think she speaks to every class, but I think, and I just am like, ⁓ I was never a Francophile, but I was an Anglophile, I guess. ⁓ So she's, there's been the very famous Pride and Prejudice adaptations, but there is a new one coming out with Emma Corrin, famously from The Crown as Diana, as playing Elizabeth Bennet.

Jack Lodin as Mr. Darcy and Olivia Colman, everyone's favorite queen as Mrs. Bennett, which I just, think it's going to be very interesting. It's interesting that Pride and Prejudice, strangely not my favorite Austin book, not that I don't like it, it's just not my favorite, ⁓ gets remade so many times. Thoughts?

Laura Max Rose (45:33)
Well, I mean, people are obsessed with the Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice, which I haven't seen. ⁓ I know. I know everyone's obsessed with it.

David Peck (45:36)
Yeah.

It's so good. Shockingly,

I like it better than the Colin Firth version. I know that's a hot take, but like.

Laura Max Rose (45:48)
I

know it's not a hot take actually. I think people really love that version so much. ⁓ I think it's obviously a story that really resonates with people and it's not something I mean, I guess I'm trying to like Batman. Okay. How many times have we seen the Batman movie, right? Or different versions of it. And I think that these books just are, they're timeless. I mean, they don't lose. And when we remake them, we can make it so they resonate more with the people of the time that are watching it. And I think that that's why we've seen so many Pride and Prejudice remakes, but

David Peck (46:02)
Yeah, true.

Laura Max Rose (46:17)
I think it has such a soft spot in the heart of so many people. And even if you haven't read it, you can watch it and just, you're there. So I think that's it.

David Peck (46:26)
Yeah.

Yeah, my favorite, ⁓ not only Jane Austen book, but Jane Austen movie is Sense and Sensibility. I think it's because Ellen.

Laura Max Rose (46:36)
That was, my

mom's. I watched that when I was a kid with my mom. She loved it.

David Peck (46:39)
It is my absolute favorite. It's where I discovered Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. I just thought they were the best thing I'd ever seen. I fell in love with Kate Winslet. Actually, the whole reason I went to see Titanic, that's a whole other story for another podcast, was because of Kate Winslet. I didn't know who James Cameron was. I had no idea. I was just like, Kate Winslet's gonna be in this movie about the Titanic. I really wanna see it. ⁓ I just thought she was stunning and...

Laura Max Rose (46:52)
was because of Kate Winslet?

Yeah.

Let's go see it.

David Peck (47:05)
The wit, think, because Eleanor is such a Capricorn. She's either Capricorn or Virgo. I think she's a Capricorn. I identified so much with Eleanor. But strangely, it's just there have been other like BBC adaptations, but there has not really been another like big movie production. And I was fascinated by the fact that Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay and like she wrote a book actually about writing the screenplay. And it's so good, ⁓ her process. And it's also Ang Lee's like first English speaking film, which I mean, who adapts like?

Laura Max Rose (47:35)
Yeah.

David Peck (47:35)
Jane

Austen as your first English language film. It's so cool. Yeah. So Emma is another one that has gotten several adaptations. And I will say as a Gwyneth Paltrow stand for life, like her version of Emma is absolutely perfection to me. ⁓ Her, Jeremy Northam as, ⁓ what's his name? I'm drawing a blank. Perfect.

Laura Max Rose (47:38)
It's incredible. Yeah, I didn't even know that. That's amazing.

David Peck (48:01)
And I also loved Anya Taylor-Joy in the more recent, I guess, adaptation. I thought that was really great. But then there's also Clueless, which is essentially Emma without being.

Laura Max Rose (48:13)
That's the version of Emma that I've seen.

David Peck (48:15)
⁓

I was not allowed to watch that version of, ⁓ and I did not know until like much later in my life that it was an adaptation of ⁓ Emma. ⁓ But it's interesting because there was also another, we didn't touch on it, but with Pride and Prejudice, Fire Island, which came out a couple of years ago, was sort of like a modern queer Pride and Prejudice. I hadn't seen that one, but it's interesting that somebody like Jane Austen is able to.

Laura Max Rose (48:20)
⁓ my god!

David Peck (48:43)
continue to inspire people so many years later. Like for somebody who did not follow conventional norms in her own period of time, like she, yeah, and I think it just gives me hope maybe that maybe some way my work will live on someday. ⁓ thank you. And then another like timeless one that does, and I will say I loved both of the most recent.

Laura Max Rose (48:46)
Yeah.

Right. She like fit into a different time.

I believe it, David, I do. I love your work. I hope it does.

David Peck (49:11)
adaptations of Little Women. So like I grew up watching, and this is very much around the same time as Sins and Stability, watching the Winona Ryder, Little Women.

Laura Max Rose (49:21)
Yeah,

I saw that as well long time ago. Yeah, yeah.

David Peck (49:24)
Tears, ball,

like I read the book, like I had read the book before I watched the movie. When Beth dies, spoiler alert, I lose it every single time. Like I read all of Louisa May Alcott. Like I just, I was fascinated by her. And then Greta Gerwig's most recent adaptation, I just thought was such a, it was, it built on the legacy of that original one with Wynonna Ryder. ⁓ So, and that movie, I mean, not only Wynonna Ryder, she was already a star, but.

Laura Max Rose (49:33)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

David Peck (49:53)
Kristen Dunst, Susan Sarandon was in it. yeah, Christian Bale. Like, it was a stacked cast. I mean, they weren't all who they were now.

Laura Max Rose (49:57)
my god, I didn't even remember that. Wow.

Yeah,

yeah, isn't that amazing? I love seeing movies like that.

David Peck (50:07)
Yeah, so those are some of mine. Like what are your, terms of like film, I know you're a more recent reader, so it could be that some of these, but like, yeah, or your favorite of all time. maybe one of each. Like what is like a movie that is just stuck with you that is an adaptation and maybe you've read the book and maybe you haven't, and then what book would you just love to see being made into a movie?

Laura Max Rose (50:15)
I am a much more recent reader. What are the books that I want to see made into movies? Is that the question?

I'm gonna have to think about the first one, is what book adaptation have I seen that has always stuck with me? Because I know I have, I mean, the notebook, David, obviously. That's it, that's the answer. The answer is the notebook. No, I have a better answer. ⁓

David Peck (50:43)
Yeah

which has now been

adapted into a musical like Broadway, you know, it's, yeah, it's like the, yeah. Very.

Laura Max Rose (50:52)
Really? That is interesting. Huh. I

have to think about, I have a really good answer to that question. I just have to figure out what it is. I'm pretty sure, like my husband gives me so much shit for this in a loving way. My favorite movie ever is The Man in the Iron Mask. Did you ever see it?

David Peck (51:11)
You know, it's strangely, because that was like the same era as like, ⁓ since Instance Ability. OK, so this will give you an insight into the other podcasts we will someday have about like what I was allowed to watch and not watch. But that one was rated PG-13, and so I was not allowed to watch that.

Laura Max Rose (51:18)
Yup.

You

were not allowed to see it. We're gonna have to do like a whole day, but what David wasn't allowed to watch as a kid episode. That's next.

David Peck (51:30)
Yeah.

But I know that it's like one of those movies that people just absolutely loved. And I remember seeing the trailer, vividly remember seeing the trailer. ⁓

Laura Max Rose (51:37)
Do you remember that David? I,

well, you're gonna have to tell Ben. I'm like, this was a phenomenon, okay? I've seen it, it only gets better as I get older. I mean, and it's Leonardo DiCaprio, who's like my husband's favorite actor and his favorite movie is The Departed. And he's like, how can, this is insane that this is your favorite movie, but it really is. It's another movie I could watch a thousand times and just find something new every time I watch it. ⁓ I absolutely love it. And it was definitely a book adaptation. I remember buying the very thick book that,

David Peck (51:44)
It was.

You

Laura Max Rose (52:07)
one at the year that I saw it and trying to read it. I was very young, so I didn't end up reading it. ⁓ I mean, that's probably going to be up there as number one. What would I like to see turned into a movie? The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yaros. ⁓ is absolutely no, I mean, I don't know how that book cannot become a movie. Like I feel like that book will just turn itself into a movie. is the best, it was the best book I read last year. I have recommended it to so many people. is a historical.

fiction sort of mystery love story. It has present day and the past. It's visceral. has an incredible twist. It's the perfect movie. And when you're reading it, you're you feel like you're watching it as a movie. I know it's going to turn into a movie and I can't wait to see it. And everyone I've told to read this book is like, wait a second, what? That was the best thing I've ever read. So I can't wait. Yes, it's so good. It's so good. Yeah.

David Peck (52:55)
Okay, I'm gonna have to read this. ⁓ perf,

awesome. So, what book should never have been adapted? Have you watched a movie and you're like, why did they do that?

Laura Max Rose (53:07)
that's a really good question. Like, why are we turning this into a movie? I have to say, generally speaking, I am a little bit confused with the books that get turned into movies up until this point. I sometimes feel like we pick really safe books, unless we're talking about historical books or older books or classic books. I feel like we pick safe books that are like easy, but they're not like as meaningful.

David Peck (53:24)
Mm-hmm.

Laura Max Rose (53:35)
And I've often found myself feeling that way, but I can't think of like which book specifically has made me feel that way. Do you have one that like you're like, why are we turning this into a movie?

David Peck (53:35)
Yeah.

think there's ones that I've thought in hindsight where I'm like, I think because my perspective on the world has changed, like the blind side kind of, I mean, I love Sandra Bullock, but it was very much like a white savior movie. I think I loved it and cried at the time. And now I'm like, no, absolutely not.

Laura Max Rose (53:53)
Uh-huh.

Yeah, yeah.

Can you imagine that movie coming out today? Like, it's so funny because it wasn't

that long ago, but it would just be like so glaring. The Help was an incredible, probably. mean, like, I know it's so, it's one of my favorite movies. I, I'm not like ashamed to say that because I've talked to so many people about this and I just, I just think it was an incredible movie. I mean, I'm not like.

David Peck (54:11)
Yeah.

I, that

is one that I read the book and I watched it and I think I understood that it, it was problematic and still enjoyed it. So.

Laura Max Rose (54:30)
Well, yeah, I mean,

I think a lot of people feel that way. I think it's a complicated thing. And I also, how do I say this? just gonna say, I grew up with a lot, my mom, I always had a nanny. And like when I was little, I had one for a very long time and I had a very close relationship with that nanny. And like, then we moved away and I never saw her again. And like the whole thing of Constantine like sort of disappearing.

David Peck (54:48)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (54:58)
I

cried for like three days after I saw that. I mean, I couldn't stop crying. It was insane. My best friend in college saw it with me and we sat on a bench outside and I just laid in her lap and cried. I could not stop crying. And I read the book. It was just like, I felt it in my soul. ⁓ I also, my grandma was like basically from there. I mean, she was in Houston, but different than Jackson, definitely different than Jackson, but like.

David Peck (55:10)
Aww.

Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (55:24)
Historically speaking, there are a lot of things about that that are very accurate. And I think it was like the Mad Men thing for me, just like reliving this and like my mom used to have, my grandma used to have people over for like mahjong and deviled eggs and whatever that thing is called that tastes really disgusting and broja. Like there was something about that, but like I was like, oh, it was kind of endearing. So yeah, I mean, and I also read the book and thought it was fantastic. So that's, that's a controversial one, but yeah, any other ones that you are like, wait, why do we turn this into a movie besides the blind side?

David Peck (55:25)
similar.

You

I mean, I think also when I actually saw the movie of the Da Vinci Code, I was like, I actually thought it was gonna be a better movie than it was.

Laura Max Rose (56:01)
Right, yeah. I never read

the book, but I don't remember the movie. I mean, the movie did not stick with me.

David Peck (56:07)
It did not, and I was surprised that they got sequels. I was like, wait, really? We're doing that? Really? That's what we're spending money on. Yeah. I was also going through a phase where I wasn't a big Tom Hanks fan, not because he's a bad actor or a bad person at all. There was just something grating. But now I can appreciate him. think he seems like a lovely person. He wasn't my favorite at the time. So yeah. So what are you reading now?

Laura Max Rose (56:11)
like.

Like, what is this?

Yeah, interesting.

He wasn't your favorite at the time, yeah.

David Peck (56:34)
and that maybe might get turned into something someday.

Laura Max Rose (56:34)
you

Oh,

well, I'm so excited about what I just read because I'm interviewing the author tomorrow. just finished my I'm so freaking excited, David. I just finished this book called Promise Me Sunshine. It is like in the bookstagram world. Everyone is just obsessed with this book. It's in everybody's like top 10 for 2025. Every if you read the reviews, everyone's like this is the best book I've ever read. I'm so obsessed. I could not put this book down. I was completely engrossed. It was

David Peck (56:43)
I saw this on your Instagram, yes.

Laura Max Rose (57:05)
gorgeous, beautiful story about grief and love and it was visceral and honestly perfectly written like the way the talented Mr. Ripley was the perfect movie. This was the perfect book and I reached out to the author and she's coming on my show. So I'm so, so excited to talk to her. I just finished that book and it was so good. David, I usually like will literally close one book and open another. Like I don't even pause. I'm on my Kindle. I'm like, bye, hello. ⁓ I don't want to sit there in between for very long. ⁓ I haven't read another book.

David Peck (57:33)
Yeah.

Laura Max Rose (57:35)
It's been like a week because I just don't, I'm not ready to say goodbye. This one was so good. I actually tried to start two other books and I couldn't get into them because this one was so good. So if you haven't read Promise Me Sunshine yet by Kara Barstone, it was phenomenal. And you can hear from her on my podcast soon. I'm so excited.

David Peck (57:51)
I can't,

I'm gonna read it because you recommended it and I'm gonna listen to your podcast. And I'll link it down in the show notes too so that people can do that. Well, thank you so much for joining me. This is always so much fun. So we're gonna have to, yeah, it's likewise. It's really a blast. And I feel like we just talk about so many things forever. We will, I mean, if you want, we will someday do a podcast on all the things I didn't watch because I wasn't allowed to watch. then some of them.

Laura Max Rose (57:55)
Yay! I'm so excited! Awesome!

I love talking to you.

I would love to do that

because I'm so, have the same kind of lit. What's funny about my childhood, David, is it was almost the exact opposite. I was an only child. I watched everything with my parents. And when I got into fourth grade and everyone was like, hey, have you seen Recess? Do you watch Nick at Night? I was like, what's that? So I was like totally left out of the cartoon universe for Melrose Place. Yeah.

David Peck (58:33)
Yeah.

I wasn't allowed to watch any of that. no, I didn't watch Melrose. I mean,

I knew what it was, but like, didn't, I didn't watch anything. I basically, yeah, I'll ask, I'm gonna ask you, I'm gonna ask Lisa about. ⁓

Laura Max Rose (58:43)
you can ask Lisa. Yep, I watched it. I was fascinated. What is this? Why are

they fighting? Yep, Ally McBeal. I loved Ally McBeal. I think about my kid, like she watches iCarly, which I watch iCarly over her shoulder and I'm like, ⁓ I don't know if I like this. It's like a Nickelodeon show. It's silly, it's cute and happy and fun. I'm still like, what is this?

David Peck (59:00)
Yeah.

Yeah.

I watched, you know, people

say they didn't watch age appropriate things. I didn't watch things that were age appropriate because I was watching like every movie from 1930 to 1950, because that's what I was allowed to watch, which were sometimes way more like provocative and like, you know, adult than, you know, like just watching the kids stuff.

Laura Max Rose (59:15)
I... I... Wow.

Yeah.

Yeah. And I think also it's shaped so much of your personality and also your sense of style, most likely. I think your dresses are impacted by that in the best way.

David Peck (59:31)
I mean...

everything that I do is impacted by watching all of those old Hollywood films. And that could be a whole like episode in and of itself about classic ⁓ Hollywood adaptations. And because so much, you know, had to be left out of books because of the studio system, but then the code that, you know, that people had to follow about what was allowed to be included and not included. so a lot of the subtext is of books is or even the text.

of books became subtext. And so I think that's a really interesting conversation to be had another time.

Laura Max Rose (1:00:02)
Yeah

Well, there's

a lot more conversations for us to have David. I can't wait for all of them.

David Peck (1:00:11)
Perfect. Thank you so much.

Laura Max Rose (1:00:13)
Thank you so much for having me. I'll talk to you soon.

BookTok is changing how studios greenlight films, but not every book deserves an adaptation.

Listen to David & Laura Max Rose debate casting decisions, controversial choices, and which stories should stay on the page.

Key takeaways

BookTok has become a major force in Hollywood greenlight decisions, influencing which books get adapted and how.
Casting beloved literary characters is a high-stakes decision that can make or break an adaptation for devoted fans.
Not every book translates well to film—considerations like genre, pacing, and visual complexity matter significantly.
The It Ends With Us adaptation was commercially successful but sparked genuine debate about character choices and age-appropriateness.
The industry is seeing a surge of fantasy and romance adaptations, partly driven by BookTok's viral influence on reader communities.

Guests Appearing in this Episode

Laura Max Rose

Laura Max Rose is a noted book critic, BookTok expert, and Colleen Hoover superfan who brings nuanced perspective to adaptation debates. Follow her for insightful takes on literary-to-film translations and book industry trends.