Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan reveals he can’t stand the film adaptations: ‘It’s my life’s work going through a meat grinder’
He wrote the wildly successful young adult fantasy series Percy Jackson & The Olympians.
Yet author Rick Riordan revealed Monday that he had never seen either other the film adaptions of his novels and wouldn’t be watching them anytime soon.
The 56-year-old novelist explained on Twitter that he wouldn’t touch the film series after they departed so significantly from his books.
Not a fan: Percy Jackson series author Rick Riordan, 56, revealed Monday that he hadn’t seen the films based on his books because he couldn’t stand their screenplays; shown in 2010
Riordan’s admission came after a fan tagged him in a tweet asking if a scene from the first film, 2010’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, had been censored on Disney+, a practice the streamer had already been caught doing.
‘I don’t know, but clearly it’s a mistake,’ replied the author. ‘They should censor the entire thing. Just two hours of blank screen.’
After a fan of the novels commended him for also disliking the films, Riordan explained that he couldn’t enjoy the movies because of how drastically they changed his original stories.
‘To you guys, it’s a couple hours entertainment,’ he wrote. ‘To me, it’s my life’s work going through a meat grinder when I pleaded with them not to do it. So yeah.
Disney censorship: Riordan’s admission came after a fan tagged him in a tweet asking if a scene from the first film had been censored on Disney+, a practice the streamer had already been caught doing; still from Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Not interested: Riordan didn’t care if it was censored because he never wanted to watch any part of the film
Hard to watch: After a fan commended him for also disliking the films, Riordan explained that he couldn’t enjoy the movies because of how drastically they changed his original stories
‘But it’s fine. All fine. We’re gonna fix it soon…’ he continued, referencing his upcoming Disney+ television series adaptation of the Percy Jackson novels.
Later, Riordan explained how he could feel so passionately about the films without having ever seen them.
‘Finally, I still have not seen the movies, and don’t plan on ever doing so. I judge them from having read the scripts, because I care most about the story,’ he tweeted. ‘I certainly have nothing against the very talented actors. Not their fault. I’m just sorry they got dragged into that mess.’
Second chance: ‘But it’s fine. All fine. We’re gonna fix it soon…’ he continued, referencing his upcoming Disney+ television series adaptation of the Percy Jackson novels; shown in 2010
Hurts too much: Riordan explained he couldn’t watch the films because he’d already read their screenplays and couldn’t stand the changes they made to his stories
Riordan announced last month that Percy Jackson would be arriving on Disney+ as a series, though few details have been released so far.
However, it looks like he’ll have much more say in the show’s artistic direction than he did with the films.
The first film, subtitled The Lightning Thief, was released in 2010 to mixed reviews, and it currently holds a 50 percent rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, it grossed $226 million against a $95 million budget, making it successful enough for a sequel.
Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (2013) scored worse reviews than the first film and a small profit, and talk of future sequels quieted until the new series was announced.
The first Percy Jackson film was successful enough for a sequel, but mixed reviews and limp box office returns doomed the series after 2013’s Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters