Walter Mosley Tells Why He Didn't Mind His Novel Being Altered For Movie

Jet, Oct 18, 1999

Books never read the same when the pages unfold on the big screen. Famed author Walter Mosley, who penned the best-selling novel Devil In A Blue Dress, recently admitted that he didn't mind that Hollywood altered his work for the sake of turning it into a movie because he was well compensated.

"I guess to me everything is about money," said Mosley, who was a part of the Authors Guild Foundation panel at the Ethical Culture Society, the New York Times reported.

Devil In A Blue Dress, which starred Denzel Washington and Jennifer Beals, was made at a cost of some $35 million, Mosley reportedly revealed.

He said that he was a bit hesitant when Hollywood wanted to tone down the romance in his book between his lead character, Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, portrayed by Washington, and the sexy and mysterious leading lady, Daphne Monet, played by Beals, when it came to filming.

Mosley, according to the newspaper, was told that the darker-skinned Washington could not kiss the lighter-skinned female lead, Beals, "for fear we're going to lose Alabama."

Mosley said that he countered the suggestion by offering, "I would think, `Maybe Denzel could think about kissing her.' He's a good actor."