It Was A Book First

This week, Alison Sivitz, also known as Bald Ann Dowd, joins Sophie and Rudi to discuss “Other Mommy,” a new Jessica Chastain horror movie based on Josh Malerman’s 2024 novel “Incidents Around the House.” The film, which debuted at No. 1 at the box office over the weekend, follows a seven-year-old girl named Bella who is haunted by a supernatural entity that looks like her mother.
After introducing their guest and briefly discussing the real Ann Dowd and “The Testaments” (01:36), everyone shares their general thoughts on the film, which they found disappointing compared to the movie’s trailer that ran before “The Odyssey.” (02:35)
Sophie then gives some background on the book and its author before (05:57) Rudi shares some details on the film, which stars the Academy Award-winning Chastain in a dual role as Bella’s mom and the titular Other Mommy, along with Jay Duplass (“Sterling Point”) as Bella’s “Daddo” and Arabella Olivia Clark as Bella. Dichen Lachman (“Severance”), Arian Moayed (“Succession”) and Karen Allen (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”) round out the cast. A collaboration between Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, “Other Mommy” was directed by Rob Savage (“Host”) and adapted by screenwriter Nathan Elston (“Succession”). (07:32)
This time, Rudi read the book and Sophie did not, so as they walk through the plot, he points out the differences, of which there are many, including collapsing several characters, cutting monologues and softening some of the book’s darker points (09:59). Throughout the discussion, Sophie, Rudi and Ali highlight the ridiculousness of “Other Mommy” (both the movie and the entity), why they found the movie funnier than it is scary and how it completely botches the book’s superior ending. They also spend some time theorizing how it could have been better (38:00) and why, unlike many adaptations they’ve covered on the podcast, this one isn’t quite bound by the same devoted, built-in audience expectations of other books. (42:00)
Rudi then reveals his Rudi’s Choice pick for which he liked better: reading “Incidents Around the House” or watching “Other Mommy.” (44:54)
Finally, Ali shares her pick for a book she’d like to see get adapted for the screen: Lena Dunham’s recent memoir “Famesick.” (51:07)
Next week, we’re discussing “East of Eden,” Netflix’s limited series adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic 1952 novel. The series, created by Zoe Kazan, features an ensemble cast that includes Florence Pugh, Christopher Abott, Mike Faist, Hoon Lee and Ciarán Hinds.
It Was A Book First is the podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Subscribe now to get new episodes delivered weekly on Wednesdays.
Follow us on Instagram: @itwasabookfirstpod
TikTok: @itwasabookfirst
YouTube: @itwasabookfirstpodcast
Email: itwasabookfirst@gmail.com
Hosts and producers: Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg
Guest: Alison Sivitz
Editing: Rudi Greenberg
Social media: Sophie Vershbow
Music: Cliff Blum and John Connelly; music production: Kevin Pons
Logo: Trisha Louise Prieto
Website: Kevin Pfab

This week, Sophie and Rudi discuss “Verity,” a new film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s twisty psychological thriller that stars Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett.
The Amazon MGM movie, which opened at No. 1 at the box office this past weekend, stars Hathaway (“The Odyssey”) as Verity Crawford, the writer of a famous thriller book series, whose husband (Josh Hartnett, “Oppenheimer”) enlists a younger writer, Lowen Ashleigh (Johnson, “Fifty Shades of Grey”), to help Verity finish the popular series after a car accident leaves her unable to write.
Before they get to the book and film, Sophie recommends reading journalist Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book "London Falling” (00:01:38) and Rudi shares what it was like to spend a week seeing three pop star arena shows — Charli XCX, Phoebe Bridgers and Olivia Rodrigo — all of whom have music in page-to-screen adaptations this year (00:03:41).
They begin their “Verity” chat by sharing their overall feelings on the film (00:09:50) and dig into the Colleen Hoover phenomenon and her growing cinematic universe (00:13:25). Then they discuss director Michael Showalter, who previously collaborated with Hathaway on the adaptation of “The Idea of You,” writer Nick Antosca (“Cape Fear”) and the film’s development (00:17:18) before diving in-depth into “Verity’s” twisty plot (00:19:43).
Throughout their conversation, Sophie explains why this is a mostly faithful adaptation of the 2018 novel that still managed to leave out a few key details (and invent some unnecessary ones). They both share what they found frustrating about the film, what made them laugh, and whether or not “Verity” is as campy as it thinks it is.
They debate the merits of Johnson as an actor (00:24:33) and fawn over the real-life house where much of the movie is set (00:29:19) before getting into the manuscript that sets the twists in motion (00:33:02) and the letter (00:52:16) that has ignited debate among fans (are you Team Manuscript or Team Letter?) and Hoover herself (00:54:16). Rudi shares his theory on a more interesting idea for an alternate ending (00:58:08), they briefly compare “Verity” to “The Housemaid” adaptation from 2025 (01:04:41) and discuss how Hathaway’s performance compares to the other four movies she starred in this year.
Finally, Sophie shares her pick for what she enjoyed more: Reading Hoover’s writing or watching the film (01:09:50).
Next week, we’re discussing the horror movie “Other Mommy,” which adapts Josh Malerman’s 2024 novel “Incidents Around the House.” The film, which stars Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, and Arabella Olivia Clark, opens in theaters this weekend.
It Was A Book First is the podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Subscribe now to get new episodes delivered weekly on Wednesdays.
Follow us on Instagram: @itwasabookfirstpod
TikTok: @itwasabookfirst
YouTube: @itwasabookfirstpodcast
Email: itwasabookfirst@gmail.com
Hosts and producers: Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg
Editing: Rudi Greenberg
Social media: Sophie Vershbow
Music: Cliff Blum and John Connelly; music production: Kevin Pons
Logo: Trisha Louise Prieto
Website: Kevin Pfab

This week, NPR pop culture correspondent Linda Holmes joins Sophie and Rudi to discuss “The Love Hypothesis,” Prime Video’s new streaming adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s 2021 novel of the same name.
The fake dating romantic comedy stars Lili Reinhart ("Riverdale") as PhD student Olive Smith and Tom Bateman as professor Dr. Adam Carlsen. Rachel Marsh and Jaboukie Young-White also star in the film, which was directed by Claire Scanlon (“Set It Up”) and adapted by screenwriter Sarah Rothschild.
Before they discuss the book and film, they talk about rom-com adaptations and tropes with Linda, who co-hosts “Pop Culture Happy Hour” and has written three novels, including the rom-com “Back After This.” (00:02:39)
Then, Sophie explores the origins of “The Love Hypothesis,” a BookTok hit that began in a galaxy far, far away as “Head Over Feet,” “Star Wars” fan fiction that shipped Rey (who was portrayed by Bateman’s wife, Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). (00:07:30)
After discussing more rom-com tropes and setting up the story’s fake dating premise (00:10:00), Rudi details the film version and they give some general thoughts on the movie. (00:15:06)
Throughout their discussion, Sophie shares the many differences from the book (00:22:45), what’s missing from the Adam character (00:26:40) and how the filmmakers approached adapting the book’s infamous Chapter 16 (00:38:00). Linda shares what she thought worked and didn’t work about the film in the context of other rom-coms; while Rudi and Sophie talk about their issues with the film’s tonal whiplash and the lack of chemistry between the two leads.
They briefly discuss Amazon and Prime Video’s strategy of leaning into romance adaptations like “Off Campus” (and non-adapations like “Sterling Point”) (01:10:12) before they debate whether these stories work better as series instead of films (01:12:12)
Linda then talks about how she’d like to see her own books get adapted, specifically her 2019 novel “Evvie Drake Starts Over,” which has been optioned for a potential adaptation. (01:16:56)
Before wrapping up, Sophie reveals her Sophie’s Choice pick for which she liked better: Reading Hazelwood’s book or watching the Prime Video movie. (01:22:40)
Finally, Linda offers her pick for a book she’d like to see get adapted for the screen: the 2004 Jennifer Crusie romance novel “Bet Me.” (01:23:56)
Next week, we’re sticking to the romance genre but adding a psychological thriller element for “Verity,” Amazon MGM’s theatrical film adaptation of the 2018 Colleen Hoover book starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett.
It Was A Book First is the podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Subscribe now to get new episodes delivered weekly on Wednesdays.
Follow us on Instagram: @itwasabookfirstpod
TikTok: @itwasabookfirst
YouTube: @itwasabookfirstpodcast
Email: itwasabookfirst@gmail.com
Hosts and producers: Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg
Guest: Linda Holmes
Editing: Rudi Greenberg
Social media: Sophie Vershbow
Music: Cliff Blum and John Connelly; music production: Kevin Pons
Logo: Trisha Louise Prieto
Website: Kevin Pfab

This week, Sophie and Rudi look ahead to the book-to-screen adaptations they’re most anticipating watching this fall. From horror stories to new takes on Jane Austen, they picked 11 adaptations they can't wait to cover on the podcast before rapid-firing through some other adaptations they’re intrigued to see make the leap to the screen later this year.
(00:02:38) “East of Eden,” Oct. 1, Netflix, based on the John Steinbeck novel
(00:07:18) “Verity,” Oct. 2, theaters, based on the Colleen Hoover book
(00:12:21) “Carrie,” Oct. 7, Prime Video, based on the Stephen King book
(00:17:36) “Other Mommy,” Oct. 8, theaters, based on Josh Malerman’s “Incidents Around the House”
(00:20:12) “Sense & Sensibility,” Oct. 16, theaters; “Pride & Prejudice,” Dec. 2, Netflix; both based, respectively, on Jane Austen novels
(00:27:08) “Klara and the Sun,” Oct. 23, theaters, based on the Kazuo Ishiguro novel
(00:31:15) “Victorian Psycho,” Nov. 13, theaters, based on the Virginia Feito novel
(00:34:23) “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” Nov. 20, theaters, based on the Suzanne Collins book
(00:39:45) “Dig,” Nov 23, Peacock, based on “Excavations” by Kate Myers
(00:42:22) “Dune: Part Three,” Dec. 18, theaters, based on “Dune Messiah” by Frank Herbert
Other fall adaptations:
(00:47:02) “Primetime,” Sept. 25, theaters; “You Can See Everything,” Oct. 16, theaters
(00:50:51) “The Social Reckoning,” Oct. 9, theaters
(00:52:56) “The Cat In the Hat,” Nov. 6, theaters; “Wildwood,” Oct. 23, theaters
(00:55:08) “Whalefall,” Oct. 16, theaters
(00:57:26) “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,” Nov. 23, IMAX theaters, Dec. 23, Netflix
(00:59:36) “Guarding Stars,” Nov. 18, Netflix; “In a Holidaze,” Dec. 2, Netflix
(01:00:58) “Wicker,” Oct. 23, theaters
(01:02:10) “The Good Daughter,” Nov. 12, Peacock
(01:03:27) “Harry Potter,” Dec. 25, HBO
Next week, we’re discussing “The Love Hypothesis,” a new streaming rom-com for Prime Video starring Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman that’s based on Ali Hazelwood’s book of the same name, which was originally published as "Star Wars" fan fiction.
It Was A Book First is the podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Subscribe now to get new episodes delivered weekly on Wednesdays.
Follow us on Instagram: @itwasabookfirstpod
TikTok: @itwasabookfirst
YouTube: @itwasabookfirstpodcast
Email: itwasabookfirst@gmail.com
Hosts and producers: Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg
Editing: Rudi Greenberg
Social media: Sophie Vershbow
Music: Cliff Blum and John Connelly; music production: Kevin Pons
Logo: Trisha Louise Prieto
Website: Kevin Pfab

This week, Sophie and Rudi discuss "Practical Magic 2,” the sequel to the witchy 1998 book-to-screen adaptation “Practical Magic,” starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The new film is an adaptation of writer Alice Hoffman’s “The Book of Magic,” the fourth and final book in her “Practical Magic” series.
Bullock and Kidman reprise their roles as the cursed Owens sisters, as do Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, who play their aunts. The new sequel was directed by Susanne Bier and finds actors Joey King, Maisie Williams and Lee Pace joining the ensemble cast. This film catches us up with the Owens family of witches as they try to break a centuries-old curse.
Before talking about curses and spells, Sophie recaps her trip to Italy and the book she read that she can’t stop thinking about, which we’ll be covering on the podcast this fall (00:01:51). Then she discusses a new profile she wrote on novelist Emily St. John Mandel for Elle, which you can read here (00:04:20).
Rudi shares a few recent movie recommendations: one new (Joe Swanberg’s “The Sun Never Sets”) and one old (1960’s “Shoot the Piano Player”). (00:07:58) He briefly gushes over seeing Robyn in concert (00:11:01) before they chat about the Emmy Awards and how adaptations fared (not good) (00:13:50), as well as his thoughts on Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay” (00:18:40).
Then they get into "Practical Magic” and “Practical Magic 2,” starting with their history with the original film (00:21:18), the background behind Hoffman’s books and Sophie’s personal connection to the author (00:24:38). Then Rudi shares some details on the making of the first film (00:28:31) and they discuss why it has endured as a cozy fall cult classic (00:35:00).
Sophie reveals some major differences between “The Book of Magic” and “Practical Magic 2” (00:40:00) before they walk through the shaggy plot (00:46:30) and share their thoughts on the new film which they both found to be boring, baffling and bad to look at.
Finally, Sophie shares her Sophie’s Choice pick for which she liked better: reading “The Book of Magic” or watching “Practical Magic 2.” (01:10:30)
Next week, we’re looking ahead to the rest of the year with a special episode previewing the adaptations we’re most anticipating reading, watching and covering on the podcast this fall.
It Was A Book First is the podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Subscribe now to get new episodes delivered weekly on Wednesdays.
Follow us on Instagram: @itwasabookfirstpod
TikTok: @itwasabookfirst
YouTube: @itwasabookfirstpodcast
Email: itwasabookfirst@gmail.com
Hosts and producers: Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg
Editing: Rudi Greenberg
Social media: Sophie Vershbow
Music: Cliff Blum and John Connelly; music production: Kevin Pons
Logo: Trisha Louise Prieto
Website: Kevin Pfab