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“The Island” Author Chooses Greece Over Hollywood

Author Victoria Hislop

Victoria Hislop is a best selling author and also writes for newspapers like The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail. What is really interesting about this British author – besides her books that have sold millions of copies – is her decision to turn down a movie-deal in Hollywood, but accept an offer from a Greek TV station to turn her book “The Island” into a tv-series.

“The Island” was published by Headline Review and held the number 1 slot in the paperback charts for eight consecutive weeks, selling over a million copies in the UK. The book has also been published in over twenty languages and has also been a number 1 bestseller in Greece. The new TV series based on the book will premiere on Oct 11th on the Greek TV channel Mega.

Hislop talked to Greek Reporter, about why she turned down a Hollywood movie-deal, her life in Greece and “The Island”.

Why did you not accept the offers from Hollywood for your book to be turned into a movie?

I turned down a Hollywood producer who approached me because I was not convinced that he would treat the subject matter of leprosy sensitively – and that he would not portray the leprosy patients as human beings – and when I made it clear that I would like to remain involved in the project, he was clearly not happy…. so that was the end of the story for me! But if another Hollywood producer came my way, I would certainly consider it, but with the same provisos.

Do you think Hollywood harms books most of the time?

I would say it often does – but I accept that when we read a book we have our own completely unique picture of the world it describes and often the director’s interpretation is simply different from our own. And one huge factor to bear in mind with a 100 minute film is that a huge amount of a 400 page book has to be cut out completely or condensed – so it often appears that a book has been savagely cut to turn it into a film – and if you love the original work, then it seems a pity! This is why good short stories often make brilliant films – the author’s vision is still there in its entirety on the big screen.

Do you like the quality of Greek television?

Not always – though it’s not fair for me to judge it as I don’t watch a huge amount – and can’t understand everything that people say! But on the whole it looks very different from British television (apart from the game shows and X-factor type programmes which are exactly the same). One thing that I love on Greek television is the breakfast time news/current affairs programmes when the politicians and journalists argue with each other – everyone on the British media is much more polite than that and discussions are always very carefully “chaired” – so I really enjoy those fierce debates that go on every morning on Greek tv – they may not necessarily achieve anything, but that level of argument is so quintessentially Greek.

Who is directing and starring in the Greek series?

Thodoris Papadoulakis is the director, Katerina Lexou is Eleni, Stelios Mainas is Giorgis, Thodoris Katzafados is Kontomaris, Thassos Nousias is Papadimitriou, Nikos Orfanos is Doctor Lapakis, Alexandros Logothetis is Doctor Kyritsis, Emilios Xilakis is Manoli Foundoulakis – those are just a few names – there are lots more – but they are all brilliant – and perfect for their roles!

Do you visit Greece often?

Yes… very often. Sometimes it feels as though the more appropriate question would be “Do you visit the UK often?” I am in Greece so much.

What is your book(The Island) about?

It is about a small island a few hundred yards from the coast of Crete that was a leper colony between 1903 and 1957 and tells the story of how the patients lived and survived – and their relationship with the people who lived in the village opposite. It focuses on the life of one particular family whose lives are shattered by leprosy.

If I had to choose one word to say what it was about it would be…. “stigma”

What is based on reality what isn’t?

Most of it is totally fictional – the only true “reality” is the place itself, Spinalonga. It was the island itself that gave me all my information – the atmosphere and the ruined buildings, the old bakery, the old laundry – all these things gave me my clues as to how people lived.

How much time did you spend on Spinalonga?

Hours and hours and hours – I can’t really tell you how much time.

What is the most moving moment you can recall?

Noticing some fragments of curtain material at one of the windows, and realizing that they had been hung by someone who had needed to face the fact that their life there was not going to be temporary – but permanent. And there was the little piece of material still there, decades later.

Please feel free to add anything you want.

I could add so much! But would just like to say that I hugely appreciate the way in which my book has been embraced by the Greek people – and to thank them for being so warm and welcoming to me – it has been a unique experience and I feel hugely privileged to have made so many good friends in Greece.

(Photo credit: Sebastian Willnow/AFP/Getty Images)

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