Authors Loving Adaptations of Their Books

John Grisham enjoyed the film, remarking: "I thought [Tom Cruise] did a good job. He played the innocent young associate very well.".

After its release, author John Grisham quoted: "To me it's the best adaptation of any of [my books]... I love the movie. It's so well done."

John Grisham said it was a "smart, suspenseful" movie, and was disappointed it made so little money.

Denise Lehane quoted: "My reaction to the screenplay was...really over the moon. I can't really describe the thrill. The first time I saw the scene, it was block and a half away from where I've been living where I got the idea for the book. The big you're worried about is, you're always going to hear a jarring difference between the voices in your head when you read the book, and thee actors voice as they say your lines. And I was walking along watching this, and it all sounded dead on. It sounded like the voices in my head while I was writing it."

Kathryn Lasky enjoyed it saying the plot is close to the first three books. She said they made some changes she could of thought of when writing the series.

Based on the short story "The Body", author Stephen King stated that this is the first successful translation to film of any of his works. He even said this is better than his short story that it's based on.

Based on Elmore Leonard's "Rum Punch", Tarantino and Avery were nervous on how Leonard would react after the changes they made. The author surprisingly loved the screenplay, considering it not only the best of the twenty-six screen adaptations of his novels and short stories, but also stating that it was possibly the best screenplay he had ever read.

Based on the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", Philip K. Dick became concerned that no one had informed him about the film's production, which added to his distrust of Hollywood. After Dick criticized an early version of Hampton Fancher's script in an article written for the Los Angeles Select TV Guide, the studio sent Dick the David Peoples rewrite. Although Dick died shortly before the film's release, he was pleased with the rewritten script, and with a twenty minute special effects test reel that was screened for him when he was invited to the studio. Despite his well known skepticism of Hollywood in principle, Dick enthused to Ridley Scott that the world created for the film looked exactly as he had imagined it. He said: "I saw a segment of Douglas Trumbull's special effects for Blade Runner on the KNBC-TV news. I recognized it immediately. It was my own interior world. They caught it perfectly." He also approved of the film's script, saying: "After I finished reading the screenplay, I got the novel out and looked through it. The two reinforce each other, so that someone who started with the novel would enjoy the movie and someone who started with the movie would enjoy the novel."

Based on "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", Aron Ralston said it's "so factually accurate it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama."

Wanted co-creator Mark Millar saw previsualized footage for the film and said the footage had raised his expectations for the film adaptation. Millar described the first half of the film as being close to the graphic novel, and also said that the film's ending was similar, though it was relocated elsewhere from the setting in the graphic novel. The superhero costumes in the series were also removed, with the exception of the leather attire worn by Wesley Gibson and Fox. Coincidentally, this had been Millar's intent when writing the graphic novel, although he and artist J. G. Jones had forgotten to. "I wanted them to have those powers and then just wear those costumes for the initiation, but just for one panel. And then I forgot," he said. Millar also stated he would have liked to keep the supervillain mythos that dictates the original comic in the film. Millar was favorable to most changes in the storyline, including the story arc of the Fates issuing death orders in line with the series' original theme of predestination.

Despite numerous changes in the adaptation, author P.D. James loved the final result.

J. G. Ballard gave positive feedback, and was especially impressed with Christian Bale's performance.

Author Ray Bradbury has said in later interviews that, despite its flaws, he was pleased with the film. He was particularly fond of the film's climax, where the Book People walk through a snowy countryside reciting the poetry and prose they've memorized, set to Herrmann's melodious score. He found it especially poignant and moving.

Despite the changes in the screenplay, Joseph Heller approved of the film, according to a commentary by Nichols and Steven Soderbergh included on a DVD release. According to Nichols, Heller was particularly impressed with a few scenes and bits of dialogue Henry created for the film, and said he wished he could have included them in the novel.

David Mitchell wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal called "Translating 'Cloud Atlas' Into the Language of Film" in which he describes the work of the adapters as being like translating a work into another language. He stated that he was pleased with the final product as a successful translation from one medium into another.

Based on Harlen Coben's best-selling novel, co-writer and director Guillaume Canet wrote to Coben and sent him his first film. "I explained that he'd already made a lot of money selling his book to a studio and if he wanted to see his book on the screen he should trust me. Ten days later, I received an email from him saying he was interested."

Canet's ending is very different from Coben's: how did Coben feel about the changes? "He loved it. I was worried about his reaction, but he said it was better than the book."

Becky Albertalli, the author of the book "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda," watched an early cut and praised the film, stating: "It's funny and relevant and timeless and charming and honest and painful and so romantic. It says exactly what I wanted the book to say."