Author Margaret Atwood has said she has been very lucky with the TV adaptation of her book The Handmaid’s Tale, considering she had “no control” over the production.
The writer’s best-selling dystopian novel, which is set in a totalitarian state where a plunging birth rate has led to women being treated as government-owned reproductive systems, has been turned into a series starring Elisabeth Moss and Joseph Fiennes.
Speaking at the Hay Festival, Atwood revealed she had little say over the production because the TV rights to her book were acquired by the distributors of a film in 1989.
Asked if she resented the fact that she was not in control, Atwood said: “I think I would have to be awfully stupid to resent it because things could have been so much worse.
“I think I’ve been very lucky. They have done a tippety-top job.
“The acting is great, they have stuck to the central set of premises.”
Atwood said there was an earlier deal with another production company which would not have worked so well as she had plenty of criticisms about the script.
“I haven’t had those moments with this team,” she said.
The Handmaid’s Tale airs on Channel 4 in the UK.
Margaret Atwood: I have no control over Handmaid’s Tale TV series
