More of this Feature ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS: • Michelle Pfeiffer ('Ingrid') • Alison Lohman ('Astrid') • Cole Hauser ('Ray') • Patrick Fugit ('Paul') • Director Peter Kosminsky • Producer John Wells ADDITIONAL "White Oleander" INFORMATION: • Photos from the Premiere of "White Oleander" • "White Oleander" News, Trailer, and Websites • "White Oleander" Production Photos

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JANET FIRTH (Author, "White Oleander")

What do you think of the finished film?
I think it's such an exciting movie. I'm a movie lover and I want to see something that stands on its own and breathes from its own lungs and walks around - not a faithful, dogged rendition of something else. It's got a life and an authenticity of its own. It's a work of art somebody created from my work of art.

Did they capture your spirit?
They absolutely captured the spirit of the book.

Is there anything from the book that you would have liked to see them include, but that they couldn't based on time constraints or logistics?
There was so much that they couldn't fit in. I thought it was a miracle that they could get a screenplay that worked out of the 400-page novel. They had choices to make all the way along the line but I knew they would have to so I didn't get my hopes up that everything was going to be included.

When you're writing, do you picture a specific actress playing a character?
No, I hear it more than see the characters; I hear their voices. When I heard that Michelle Pfeiffer was going to be Ingrid, I was excited just because I like her as an actress. When I heard her read the part, I was so excited because it was my character exactly the way I heard it. Now I don't even remember what I was thinking. The actress has superceded what I was thinking.

Are you happy with the way Astrid is portrayed on screen?
I thought Alison [Lohman] was so amazing. In the book you are Astrid, you know exactly what she's thinking at all time. In the movie Alison has to show us what she's thinking and feeling. That's a hard role. She really has to come across.

Did the screenwriter ask for your input on the script?
I was allowed to read the script. They did ask me what I thought. Being a writer, I read with a pencil in my hand - I can't help it. I did share my comments with them. What turned out is that everything I was concerned about did turn out great.

They used your suggestions?
Either mine or other people might have given the same comments. I'm sure pleased with how it turned out.