Salinger explains Why there cannot be a movie
J.D. Salinger's explanation of why he does not want "The Catcher in the Rye" to be made into a Hollywood film (1957).
To the left is a letter from J.D. Salinger to a movie producer giving his reasons for not awarding the rights to make a movie of the novel.
J.D. Salinger did not think Holden Caufield was a character capable of being represented by an actor on film. To portray Holden for filming purposes would be, for lack of a better word, phony; and we all know how Holden feels about phoniness.
Salinger notes "the weight of the book is in the narrators voice." Essentially saying, without the presence of Holden's inner thoughts and narration, the book's central themes and nuances will be lost in translation.
J.D. Salinger did not think Holden Caufield was a character capable of being represented by an actor on film. To portray Holden for filming purposes would be, for lack of a better word, phony; and we all know how Holden feels about phoniness.
Salinger notes "the weight of the book is in the narrators voice." Essentially saying, without the presence of Holden's inner thoughts and narration, the book's central themes and nuances will be lost in translation.