LEGENDARY Scottish author Alasdair Gray’s close friend of almost 40 years has revealed which story would potentially work best for the next film adaptation after the huge success of Poor Things.
Having first met at a party almost four decades ago, May Hooper became Gray’s confidant and friend, and she spoke to The Sunday National ahead of the release of her new book reflecting on all the years she knew him.
Gray’s 1992 novel Poor Things found new levels of fame last year when it was picked up by Hollywood and adapted for the big screen.
Following the meteoric success of the film, which picked up four Oscars and was regarded as one of the best films of the year, Hooper has revealed which work she thinks might make the next big hit in Hollywood.
Gray’s 1981 novel Lanark is highly regarded as one of the author’s best works, but Hooper concedes that it might not quite be possible to do it justice by turning it into a film.
However, she believes 1982, Janine, a sexually explicit novel narrated by the character of Jock McLeish, might be the best contender to try next.
“The screenwriter would have to soften that, I think,” she said.
“It’s quite sexual so it’s the kind of thing I suppose people go to see. But [Gray’s] prose is so fantastic, it’s so well written.
“I don’t know how it could be adapted, but then I thought that about Poor Things and the film was good.”
The full interview with Hooper will be available in this week's Sunday National, where she opens up about her chance meeting with the iconic Scottish author which became a long-lasting friendship.
