About the screenplay

[DMt.]

Ummmmm...

[PeteMork]

Ummmmm...

Plus the backstory, plus the Hakan story (to clear up the "Oskar as the new Hakan" controversy). It could end just as Oskar and Eli meet for the first time. [Gee, I'm actually beginning to like the idea!]

[drakkar]

Thank you for sharing with us the process of making the film, John!
And - I am very happy you kept it as one film.

I can't resist making two requests:
- I would love to have Johan Söderqvist making the film score to "Human Harbour".
- The English speaking people miss a translation of "Pappersväggar". Could you if you get the chance, let the right people know, helping to get it translated? For example in Brighton?

[Struan]

Oooh, John's back!! And he's still reading us!
Two parts were considered? That's a neat piece of trivia, and an intriguing idea. Of course with twice the running time there would've been more room for things to go wrong, or the atmosphere to dilute, but then again if done right... imagine the emotional impact of the ending after spending twice the time with these characters. Maybe it would've been too much!

I can't resist making two requests:
- I would love to have Johan Söderqvist making the film score to "Human Harbour".
- The English speaking people miss a translation of "Pappersväggar". Could you if you get the chance, let the right people know, helping to get it translated? For example in Brighton?

Well he won't answer direct questions, for very sensible reasons. Of course, devious fans as we are, we can always create new threads with provocative titles to try to lure him out of the woodworks again

[drakkar]

Well he won't answer direct questions, for very sensible reasons. Of course, devious fans as we are, we can always create new threads with provocative titles to try to lure him out of the woodworks again

Oh, they were requests, not questions
And I don't expect any answer, neither do I believe John dislike me for requesting.
Besides, I'm getting used to it - Johan Söderqvist wouldn't answer me that question either.

[Struan]

Oh, totally, I was joking - I just love that he jumped in to set things straight, and even gave us extra unknown factoids. That led me to think of how we could evilly take further advantage of his generosity

[THXboy]

Thanks for stopping in once again and clearing that speculation up, John. I found it very interesting that the film was almost a two-parter before Tomas stepped in. It would have been a much different experience on the level of the large-scale Bergman and Sjöman "series" films. I'm not sure if I can imagine the film (in its current state) as a two-part series, so it makes your statement that much more interesting....how different would the film be paced, for instance? What scenes would become fleshed out a bit more due to the longer running time? I guess the answers are best left to our imaginations.

Please, don't be a stranger around these parts! We all appreciate your insight and perspective on our discussions. Thanks for visiting, and most of all, for being a part of our community.

[danielma]

Thanks John, very cool of you to do this again. Must admit that theory in the other thread was kind of ludicrous

I must say, seeing a two part film would have been a hell of a geekish experience to behold Although I still maintain i'm very happy with the film that is out there now and think its a faithful adaption and wonderful companion to the core story, its a great companion to the book. And hopefully come October we will have another great companion piece for it in Matt Reeves film...which i'm personally very excited to see.

So once again very cool and thank you for taking the time to post here

[moonvibe34]

WOW! once again graced by greatness. i never doubted about the screenplay John. though the novel and the film are two separate entities the essence remains the same. only the creator could accomplish that. thanks for stopping by.

[N.R. Gasan]

Hi again. John Ajvide Lindqvist here.
Yes, I know what I said about not posting anymore, but I can´t help myself."

You know a fan site is successful when the busy author himself can't keep from checking it out. LOL

I remember that we had a lot of trouble and different suggestions on how to make it clear that the acid in the jar actually was acid, until someone came up with the solution of letting some of it spill on Håkans jacket, for example."

Thanks for clearing that up, by the way. I had read the book by the time I saw the movie, so I already knew there was acid in the jar. When it got spilled, I simply saw it as another example of Hakan's incompetence. After reading your post, however, I realize now that someone who hadn't read the book wouldn't necessarily realize that the liquid was acid (until, of course, the scene at the hospital window); the spilling of the acid was, indeed, a perfect way to convey what it was to the audience. By waiting until the last minute for the audience to realize Hakan's intention, it preserved the shock value of the act. Very kewl. :)