Jodi Picoult Is Still Reeling From ‘Terrible Experience’ Making ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ Film

Previously, the author said director Nick Cassavetes “pretty much threw me off the set” when she raised concerns over the movie’s radically changed ending.

Author Jodi Picoult says she hasn’t gotten over the “really terrible experience” of turning her 2004 novel, “My Sister’s Keeper,” into a less-than-acclaimed movie.

Speaking to People last week, Picoult shared how the 2009 film adaptation of “My Sister’s Keeper” inspired a storyline in “By Any Other Name,” her latest novel.

Released Monday, “By Any Other Name,” tells the story of playwright Melina Green, who has written a theatrical piece based on the life of Emilia Bassano, a 16th-century poet who some historians have claimed was the real author of William Shakespeare’s plays.

Melina soon finds her professional trajectory mirroring that of Bassano’s when a theater festival plans to stage a production of her play under the assumption that it was written by her roommate, who is a Black man.

“It kind of goes back to when I had a really terrible experience turning ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ into a film,” Picoult told People of Melina’s journey. “It took me a long time to kind of wrap my head around the fact that they didn’t ruin my book. My book is still there. And anyone who reads my book is still getting the story that I intended.”