Richard Osman has shared that he attempted to influence the creative decisions made by the producers who adapted his debut novel, “Thursday Murder Club,” into a film.

He addressed this topic while appearing on ITV’s “This Morning” on Thursday, where the television presenter, now an author, discussed “Impossible Fortune,” the fifth and most recent entry in his best-selling book series.

Richard also responded to fans who have criticized the film adaptation—which is available on Netflix—claiming it didn’t live up to the book.

Defending the adaptation, Richard told ITV hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley that he wrote the book ‘from my heart,’ but had to entrust creative control to ‘talented individuals.’

Some viewers have described changes made in the adaptation, directed by Chris Columbus and produced by Steven Spielberg, as ‘unacceptable,’ particularly alterations to elements like the murderer’s motive. The dissimilarities between the novels and the film have led to claims that the filmmakers did not capture the book’s ‘core essence.’

Richard told the programme’s presenters that he had made alternative suggestions during filming, but that these had fallen on deaf ears.

Nonetheless, he added: ‘I’ve written my version of the book, available in all bookshops and it will be around for decades, that’s my rendition, the one that holds my true intentions.’

‘I’m not gonna be the person that sits down and does the adaptation for a film because I’ve done it already, so you have to give it to the brilliant people and they’ve got to do a two-hour version of this thing.

‘If you wrote down everything that was in the book, it would just be Joyce wittering on for four and a half hours and everyone would switch off, so you have to let other people do their version of it.

‘They have to make choices that you wouldn’t necessarily make yourself, and that’s the fun thing.’

Discussing the suggestions he made to producers, Richard hinted they had been ignored.

He revealed that he had made comments about the characters, prompting a shocked Cat Deeley to ask if he’d made the suggestions to Hollywood heavyweight Spielberg himself.

Richard confirmed that he had, he then lightheartedly added ‘ask me if he listened’ – implying that his suggestions had gone unheeded.

But he did defend the lauded producer, noting: ‘They know what they’re doing. He made ET, I didn’t make ET.’

The latest instalment in the series, Impossible Fortune, which was published on Thursday, has received glowing reviews from fans.

When Richard shared details from the new book in his email newsletter, he appeared to make a subtle dig at the divisive adaptation.

Writing about the release in his email announcement, Richard said the ‘gang is officially BACK’.

He wrote: ‘In the books business, the day your book is published is called “pub day”.’

He then joked: ‘As opposed to the television business where every day was “pub day”.’

Richard continued: ‘Can’t wait for you to get reading and see what mischief Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are up to this time. Other friends are also back.’

He then made a comment which appeared to be a quip about the film adaptation, in which Polish handyman Bogdan confessed his crime even though there is no solid evidence against him.

However, in the subsequent murder mystery books, he becomes close with the crime-solving retirees and eventually starts dating police officer PC Donna De Freitas (Naomi Ackie). 

So in sealing his fate as a convicted killer, the filmmakers seem to have effectively shuts down the possibility that he will be a part of any future cinematic works.

In his email about the new book, while discussing the characters, Richard mentioned Bogdan, joking that he ‘must have somehow got out of prison’.

However, criticism of the adaptation has not stopped excitement from fans of the novel franchise.

And critics have praised the latest instalment, saying it heralds a ‘new dawn’ for the franchise – giving the group a new adventure to tackle when ‘a villain wants access to an uncrackable code and will stop at nothing to get it’, featuring high-tech bitcoin mysterious and a very eventful wedding.

‘When Richard Osman published his inaugural Thursday Murder Club novel in the autumn of 2020, it proved the perfect pick-me-up for a nation mired in the pandemic blues,’ Jake Kerr wrote for the Telegraph, awarding the latest novel in the series four stars.

‘Five years and millions of book sales on, the latest instalment – the fifth in the series – has an equally vital function: to cheer up those of us who have just sat through the clodhopping Netflix adaptation of the first book.

‘Although the film boasts a blue-chip quartet of geriatric thespians as Osman’s crime-busting pensioners Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, it doesn’t have half the charm and liveliness of the novels – nor the emotional impact.

‘On the page, the superannuated sleuths defy the elements of caricature to possess a vibrancy that makes you invested in their triumphs and tribulations, large or small.’

Meanwhile, for the i, Moira Redmond was full of compliments for the new book, saying it proves how sharp the original source material is.

‘The new Thursday Murder Club film is very watchable and has great actors, but is very much a certain kind of British film, and as so often in adaptations, the edges are smoothed and some of the jokes and subtleties are missing, other points hammered home plonkingly,’ she penned. ‘It makes you realise how nuanced and clever Osman is in his writing.’

‘The fifth novel in Osman’s bestselling Thursday Murder Club series sees crime-solving pensioners Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron engaging with secret codes, drug dealers, impecunious aristocrats and cryptocurrency, with assistance from former cocaine queenpin Connie, friendly cop Donna, Bogdan the handyman and Ron’s clever nine-year-old grandson,’ Laura Wilson wrote for The Guardian.

‘Although still grieving for her husband, Elizabeth steps up when Nick, the best man at Joyce’s daughter’s wedding, confides that somebody is trying to kill him.

‘Nick and his business partner Holly own a high-security storage facility and once accepted a payment in bitcoin, the value of which has risen to £350m. They want to cash out, but the money is protected by two codes, and as Nick and Holly have one each, neither can access it alone.

‘When Nick disappears, the quartet gets on the case. The central mystery is a satisfactory head-scratcher, but the true pleasure is a gently humorous read, peopled with characters who feel like old friends.’

Meanwhile, opting for another four out of five rating, Radio Times‘ Helen Daly penned: ‘As ever, Osman uses the cosy crime frame to explore themes often overlooked in the genre: loneliness, loss and diminishing independence.

‘Here, Ron’s journey of letting go of his old self and embracing a new one is especially affecting and the novel would be even stronger if readers were able to linger on these themes just a little longer.

‘The mystery itself is more high-tech than usual, with missing bitcoin sparking a chase that draws in ruthless players. The wealth-obsessed leave chaos and death in their wake, and the investigation has real bite.

‘As mysteries go in The Thursday Murder Club series, it’s a fairly exciting one with an element of the cat and mouse chase.’