Today, we bring you an exciting author interview with Krystal Sutherland! She captured our hearts in her debut novel Our Chemical Hearts, and it was exciting to hear that it was being made into a movie adaptation. The film, titled Chemical Hearts, came out on August 21st on Amazon Prime, starring Lili Reinhart (Riverdale) and Austin Abrams (Walking Dead, Euphoria). Read on to learn more about Krystal’s experience in seeing her words brought to life on screen as the film was made and shared for all the world to see.
Hi Krystal! Thanks for joining us in this author interview. Congratulations on the release of the book-to-movie adaptation for Our Chemical Hearts! Can you describe in 3 words how it feels to have your book come to life on screen for all the world to see?
Surreal, thrilling and nerve-racking!
Did you have a lot of creative input into the direction of the film? What’s the process like for the author of an adaptation?
I made a decision early on in the process – after I first spoke to Richard Tanne and Lili Reinhart, actually – to take a step back and put my trust in their creative vision. There was strong synthesis between the three of us about what the book was and how the movie should tell the story. They both felt so strongly, so passionately, about the project, it was easy for me to hand it over to them and say, “Take good care of this.” Art and artists need space to breathe and grow, and I think me being there through every step of the process, reading over everyone’s shoulders, wouldn’t have been particularly useful. That being said, I did read the screenplay before shooting began and also spent time on the set.
What was it like seeing your words come to life on screen?
I finished writing the book more than four years ago and when I was done with the story, I was done with the story – I haven’t dwelt on it, I haven’t spent time with those characters since. So watching the movie for the first time was like rediscovering this story that I used to know so well but that I’d forgotten the intricacies of. It was surreal and wonderful – and kind of unsettling, like ninety minutes of déjà vu!
Most book-to-movie adaptations aren’t identical to the book; so were you happy with the changes made? What did you think of how it was essentially “adapted”?
I actually think it’s a pretty close adaptation of the book. It captures the spine, the soul, of the story quite well. I told Richard right after I watched it for the first time that he was an alchemist, because he distilled the ideas of the book down to their most potent form.
What do you hope fans of the book AND people who haven’t read the book gain from the film?
Lili and Austin are perfectly cast. They blew me away. Their chemistry on screen is palpable. The hot and cold nature of their relationship is so exhausting, it really feels like reliving your first break up. By the end, you want them both to be happy – but you know and understand that that doesn’t mean they belong together. I think that’s such a unique feeling to experience at the end of a “romantic” movie or book – peace in the understanding that great loves sometimes end, and that is okay.
Do you have a favourite scene from the movie we should look out for? And why?
The fish scenes, obviously! They’re on the front cover of the book and the filmmakers spent a significant amount of time and effort and money on getting the set right. They built a pool in a warehouse and filled it with koi fish and had a guy in a SCUBA suit to wrangle the fish to get them where they needed to be. It was wild but worth it – the result is beautiful.
Since Our Chemical Hearts was your debut, do you anticipate more of your novels being adapted in films? Do you think you’d enjoy the process again?
My second book, A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares, has been optioned for TV! I’m working with the production company, Yellow Bird (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), and hope to be involved in the writers’ room.
A little birdy told us about your upcoming novel in 2021! Can you tell us a bit about it and what else we can expect from you in the future?
Yes! My next book is called House of Hollow and it is the eerie, unsettling, folk horror book of my heart. It’s set in London and is about three sisters – Iris, Vivi and Grey – who are strange and beautiful and dangerous. Then, when Grey goes missing, Iris and Vivi are forced to revisit something terrible that happened to them as children – something that made their hair turn white and eyes turn black. They aren’t the only ones looking for her though. As they brush against the supernatural, the sisters realize that the story they’ve been told about their past is unraveling – and they are not exactly what they seem to be.
