Failure to Adapt

Nothing could keep FTA favorite and Hugo Award Winning Author Sarah Gailey* away from their Christian Grey. Sarah pilots Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall away in their helicopter to talk E.L. James’ 2012 novel Fifty Shades Darker and the 2017 film of the same name Directed by James Foley (Glengarry Glen Ross). * Sarah Gailey is a Hugo Award Winning and Bestselling author of speculative fiction, short stories, and essays. Their nonfiction has been published by dozens of venues internationally. Their fiction has been published in over seven different languages. Their most recent novel, Just Like Home, and most recent original comic book series with BOOM! Studios, Know Your Station are available now. Order Maggie’s latest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Christina Hobbs! Lauren Billings!! The writing juggernaut known as Christina Lauren* joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall in Hawaii to discuss the 1998 Outside Magazine article Life’s Swell by Susan Orlean and its adaptation into the 2002 classic, Blue Crush. *Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced nineteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their third YA novel, Autoboyography was released in 2017 to critical acclaim, followed by Roomies, Love and Other Words, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, In a Holidaze, and The Soulmate Equation and Something Wilder. You can read Life’s Swell, by Susan Orlean, here. Order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

How do you perfect the premise of NYC street racers who are all in it together? You add Ja Rule and the world’s least charismatic white cop. Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall slide into a black Honda S2000 to talk Kenneth Li’s 1998 Vibe Article, Racer X, and the 2001 Rob Cohen film, The Fast and the Furious. You can read Racer X, by Kenneth Li, here. Order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Colin Winnette* joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to talk about the Susan Orlean article, Orchid Fever, and the 2002 Spike Jonze film Adaptation. written by Charlie & Donald Kaufman. * Colin Winnette is the author of Haints Stay and The Job of the Wasp. His new novel Users is one of the New Yorker's "Best Books of 2023" and was called "a timeless and moving story about fatherhood and one man's yearning for a more meaningful life” by the NY Times. His writing has appeared in McSweeney's, Playboy, and BOMB magazine as well as numerous others. Order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

After the 2008 financial collapse a lot of people said something had to be done about Wall Street, but some of the women at Scores were the only ones with enough guts to take action. Stand-Up Comic and Writer Natasha Muse joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to talk the Jessica Pressler article, The Hustlers at Scores, and 2019’s Hustlers Directed by Lorene Scafaria. You can read the 2015 Jessica Pressler article, The Hustlers at Scores, here. Natasha Muse is a Stand Up Comic and Writer who’s appeared on Two Dope Queens, and was named both a “Comedian to Watch” and an “Artist to Watch” by SF Weekly. Order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Is there an interview subject so humble even God can’t get them to talk about themself? Mister Rodgers is as close as it gets, and yet Tom Junod’s 1998 profile is a masterclass turned into an equally ambitious film. Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall are back to talk the Tom Junod Esquire profile, Can You Say...“Hero”?, and 2019’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Directed by Marielle Heller. You can read the 1998 Tom Junod profile of Mister Rodgers, Can You Say.. “Hero”?, here. Order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Precogs can predict crime, but did they anticipate the seminal science fiction novella would become a Steven Spielberg blockbuster? You’d need a specialist to pick apart the causality, and thankfully Meg Elison, a Philip K. Dick Award winning novelist, joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to discuss The Minority Report, a 1956 novella, and Minority Report, the 2002 film. You can find the full issue of Fantastic Universe, where The Minority Report first appeared, here. Meg Elison is a Brooklyn author and essayist. Her debut novel, "The Book of the Unnamed Midwife" won the 2014 Philip K. Dick Award. Her novelette, "The Pill" won the 2021 Locus Award. She is a Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Awards finalist. She has been an Otherwise Award honoree twice. Her YA debut, “Find Layla” was published in fall 2020 by Skyscape. It was named one of Vanity Fair's Best 15 Books of 2020. Her parasocial thriller, "Number One Fan" was published in August 2022 by Mira Books.  Order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Is it possible a movie that helped define Horror in cinema for generations is exceeded by the Novelette from whence it came? Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall step inside a phone booth besieged by corvids to investigate Dame Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 novelette The Birds and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 classic adaptation, The Birds. Order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Victoria Schwab, bestselling author of Shades of Magic series, the Villains series, and the international bestseller The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to talk about the 1973 Rolling Stone article by Cameron Crowe, “The Allman Brothers Story: How Gregg Allman Keeps Band Going After Duane’s Death” , and its adaptation into the 2001 Cameron Crowe film, Almost Famous. Order V.E. Schwab’s latest novel in the Shades of Magic series, The Fragile Threads of Power. And if you haven’t already, check out The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, now in paperback! Order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

The most famous Volleyball scene in cinema was adapted from a magazine article with NO volleyball at all?! Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall step into the Danger Zone and talk Top Guns[1], Ehud Yonay’s 1983 article published in California magazine, and the little known film it was adapted in to, Tony Scott’s 1986 action film, Top Gun. Pre-order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy [1] Yes, plural. If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

One of the GOATs of children’s literature has their disgusting green monster licensed by Steven Spielberg and somehow after a decade of development hell we get a generation defining comedy. All Star Comic, Writer and best friend of the pod Molly Sanchez joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to talk the 1990 William Steig picture book Shrek! and the 2001 Dreamworks film Shrek. Pre-order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

What happens when an article that is technically a prequel to Eat, Pray, Love is made into an ode to midriff and low cut jeans?  Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall have a meltdown as they discuss Elizabeth Gilbert’s March 1997 GQ Article The Muse of the Coyote Ugly Saloon and its adaptation into the 2000 David McNally film, Coyote Ugly. Pre-order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

We’re kicking off Season 4 of Failure to Adapt with bestselling romance novelist and FRIEND OF THE SHOW, Sarah MacLean!!! Sarah shows some leg and secures a ride with Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall as they discuss the August 1933 short story Night Bus published in Cosmopolitan magazine, and the 1934 winner of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay: It Happened One Night. Sarah MacLean is a New York Times, Washington Post, AND USA Today bestselling romance novelist and god of the MacLeaniverse. Her sexy historical novels have been translated into over 25 languages. She also co-hosts the Fated Mates Podcast with romance critic Jen Prokop. BUY SARAH MACLEAN’S KNOCKOUT, the 3rd Book in the Hell’s Belles series Pre-order Maggie’s newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

What’s a better digestif to a season of Austen than bringing in Hugo Award Winning Author Sarah Gailey (Just Like Home, The Echo Wife, EAT THE RICH) to talk Twilight fan fiction. Sarah whisks Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall away to sunny Seattle to talk E.L. James’s 2011 novel Fifty Shades of Grey and the 2015 film of the same name Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. BUY SARAH GAILEY’S JUST LIKE HOME Buy Maggie’s newest book, Love in the Library If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on twitter: https://twitter.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Netflix’s Bridgerton, based on the Julia Quinn novels, is the most successful regency romance in years, and based on the setting of 1813 England, is begging to be compared to Jane Austen. After a season of covering slow burns it’s time for Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to put on a Vitamin String Quartet cover of thank u, next and clutch some pearls. Buy Maggie’s newest book, Love in the Library If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on twitter: https://twitter.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

After spending a season of Failure to Adapt discussing Jane Austen adaptations, it’s time to take a look at her significant influence on modern films that aren't quite adaptations. Red Scott couldn’t think of a better example of a modern movie with deep connections to Pride and Prejudice than When Harry Met Sally (1989). Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s feelings are a bit more complicated! Buy Maggie’s newest book, Love in the Library If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on twitter: https://twitter.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

When genius writer and critic Alex Brown was spotted gnashing their teeth at the release of Netflix’s Persuasion, the crew knew they had to ask them on to discuss it, and they’re so glad they agreed! Alex joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to discuss the Carrie Cracknell Directed Persuasion (2022) and the book it was kind of adapted from, Jane Austen’s Persuasion (1817). Alex Brown is a librarian, local historian, author and writer, and an Ignyte Award winning critic. Their work can be found on tor.com, Locus magazine, NPR, and Buzzfeed. Much of their writing covers Black history, librarianship, YA, and speculative fiction. Their two books of nonfiction, Hidden History of Napa Valley and Lost Restaurants of Napa Valley and Their Recipes, are on sale now. Buy Maggie’s newest book, Love in the Library If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on twitter: https://twitter.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

When there are two famous regency Emma adaptations, you have to ask yourself: Do you want Bill Nighy to be in it or one of the all time great VHS covers featuring Gwyneth Paltrow. Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to discuss the 1996 Douglas McGrath film Emma and the Anya Talyor-Joy lead, Autumn de Wilde directed, 2020 movie Emma. Buy Maggie’s newest book, Love in the Library If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on twitter: https://twitter.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

We brought in an expert to talk Jane Austen’s impetuous matchmaker Emma and her transformation into Cher, a virgin who can’t drive. Best-Selling Romance novelist Sarah MacLean joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to discuss the 1815 Jane Austen Novel Emma and the 1995 film directed by Amy Heckerling, Clueless. Sarah MacLean is a New York Times, Washington Post, AND USA Today bestselling romance novelist and god of the MacLeaniverse. Her sexy historical novels have been translated into over 25 languages. She also co-hosts the Fated Mates Podcast with romance critic Jen Prokop. Heartbreaker, the latest in the Hell’s Belles series, is available now! Buy Maggie’s newest book, Love in the Library If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on twitter: https://twitter.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

After covering enough Pride and Prejudice adaptations to fill Mr & Mrs. Bennet’s dining room table, Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall are here to decide once and for all the best and brightest of all of them. We decide the best characters, the best chemistry, and ultimately, THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE. Buy Maggie’s newest book, Love in the Library If you like us, you’ll also enjoy: Following the pod on twitter: https://twitter.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast