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Q: There were some parts of the book that were dropped for the movie, most notably that there was probably some more focus on the character of Hanna than of Michael. Bernhard mentioned that he felt it was a decision made to allow the story to flow more seamlessly for the screen, since the character of Michael is played by two different actors. What were your thoughts in this process? Was it for the sake of the story or was there something else?

A: It's more about (director) Stephen Daldry. He's a thorough director and shot more than they eventually used. When you embark on a film with him, you can kiss goodbye to two years of your life! He will look at the events from every possible angle and constantly be asking if we're missing out on something. So we were filming for a long time, but we had to edit quickly. When you're writing about three different periods, especially during the time when Michael is writing to Hanna, which covers an immense ground, you have make decisions like that.

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