before a scene was shot, asking her opinions on lines. “There were few egos in the room.” She was kept in the loop about casting, and Sharrock would often ring her 6 a.m. “I felt consulted with and referred back to at all times,” she said. She says has a great relationship with Me Before You’s director Thea Sharrock. “There was a lot of horror stories about writers and Hollywood going around at the time.” This production was a collaboration, a “happy ship.” She alludes to these cases in a hushed tone. Moyes says Me Before You was not like a 50 Shades or a Mary Poppins. Travers, the length Walt Disney went to woo her, and in the end, how it still may not have been enough for her.

Banks chronicled the particularities of P.L. James clashed with 50 Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson, who she thought wasn’t staying true to the heart (or erm, loins) of her X-rated novel. There are famous examples of when it doesn’t work. But there’s a second question that most people don’t think about: is this going to live up to the author’s expectations? There’s a common saying that the book is always better than the movie, that there’s no way it can live up to readers’ expectations. “I think she is just as valid a character as he is.”

The one that I felt really strongly about is that Louisa should not be saved by Will anymore than he should be saved by her,” she said. Did that part of her feel any guilt about cutting the assault? I bring up her earlier comment, that she wants her books to be feminist.

Me before you series