Thanks to the masterful execution of Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive, James Sallis, the American author responsible for the original novel on which the film was based, now delivers his sequel...
Philip French compared it to the novels of Raymond Chandler and the paintings of David Hockney, while countless reviewers likened Gosling to a young Steve McQueen. Thanks to the masterful execution of Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive, James Sallis, the American author responsible for the original novel on which the film was based, now delivers his sequel.
Conceived in the wake of the film’s success, Driven marks a rare case of mutual respect between an author and a Hollywood production company. AnOther spoke to Sallis to find out more about the book’s origins and of Sallis’ reciprocation with film...
Driven is inextricably linked to the film industry on which it is based. Can you explain the unusual circumstances in which it was written?
I finished Drive and assumed that was the end. Months later the production company asked my literary agent, “Has Jim considered doing a sequel?” My first reaction was, “No, absolutely not,” but after I had hung-up, walked back to my computer and sat down I typed the word “Driven” and what was essentially the first page of the new book. I suppose you could say I was entranced. We know how Drive ends: he has taken care of everything, the world has gone back to right and then we know from the very last lines that he goes down, and is killed in a bar, down and dirty, at 3am. As I was walking back to my computer after speaking to my agent I thought: what happened in that interim? Did all of that happen right away, or did it happen years later?
"I certainly wouldn’t have written the sequel if they hadn’t made a film and if it hadn’t been a really, really fine film."
So it is a sequel whose ending had already been written? How did this, and the fact that Hollywood had commissioned, or at least initiated the process, affect your writing of the second installment?
Well firstly, I didn’t know exactly how it was going to end but I knew he was going to accept his violence, that he was going to go through that process. With regard to the film company, I just wrote as I did any other novel. I certainly wouldn’t have written it if they hadn’t made a film and if it hadn’t been a really, really fine film. That reignited my interest in the characters, because it’s the characters that have always captivated me.
You couldn’t fault the film?
No. It was just wonderful, and not just for its style but in the adaptation of the narrative. That in-folding of film into my novel and the whole playful thing with the mask. They did some really brilliant things.
Were there any performances that you were particularly impressed by?
Every one of them. My own personal favourite was Albert Brooks. When I heard that Albert had been cast I just thought, that is absolutely the smartest casting move I have heard in my life, and boy was I right.
Did the casting alter your view of the characters?
I don’t think so, but then I’d say that if I did or not. Honestly, I don’t think so but I tried to watch the film naively and innocently. I didn’t read the script. I didn’t see it until the LA premiere. I felt as though I was watching the film and it could have been anyone else’s book. There are many amazing scenes. When Carey’s backing away from the elevator, for instance, and you seen on her face what she is now realising without anything being said. Then you see Ryan and what he’s realising. What I saw in Ryan’s face then – the acceptance of what he had just done and would continue to do – I’m sure that informed my writing of Driven.
The Jameson Whiskey & Words event series will continue throughout summer to showcase the works of cult authors at events hosted across London. Driven by James Sallis is published by No Exit Press and was released in April. It is available from all major bookshops and online book retailers.
Text by Nathalie Olah
