Phoebe Gloecker penned The Dairy of a Teenage Girl, a moving novel that’s been adapted for a film starring Alexander Skarsgard, Bel Powley and Kristen Wiig.

Phoebe Gloeckner On ‘Diary of a Teenage Girl’

“They translated it very well. Marielle Heller translated it very well,” Gloeckner told uInterview, referring to the film’s stars and its writer-director. While Gloeckner admits that she’s personally happy with how the film turned out, she admits to having a touch of anxiety about how her loyal book fans will feel about the adaptation.

“Any adaptation of a book to a film is gonna end up with differences, so I’m very anxious to have people who’ve actually read my book before seeing the film, to hear what their responses will be,” said the author. “But I’m very happy with it.”

Gloeckner is particularly happy with leading lady Powley, who takes on the part of a teenage girl in the midst of her sexual awakening – which involves an ill-advised affair with her mother’s boyfriend, played by Skarsgard. One of Powley’s skills that impressed Gloeckner the most was her ability to cry on cue.

“Most remarkably, she cries very easily and naturally,” Gloeckner said. “Tears will just come floating out of her face, and that’s kind of necessary for a role like this because Minnie does cry; she’s a teenager.”

Check Out uInterview’s Exclusive Interview With Alexander Skarsgard & Bel Powley HERE

Crying abilities aside, Gloeckner cops to having some initial reservations about Powley’s casting, as the British actress would be playing an American teen. But her fears were soon allayed when she got the chance to talk to Powley, and learned that she could relate to what Minnie is going through in The Diary of a Teenage Girl.

“The minute she read the script she knew she had to play the part and I think you can really feel that through the whole thing,” said Gloeckner, adding, “She is relating to that role in a way that actors don’t always. It feels very personal to her. I think it’s a very strong performance.”

Gloeckner has been on the receiving end of a considerable amount of criticism for the scandalous nature of her book, and consequently, the Diary of a Teenage Girl movie. The novelist doesn’t shy away from delving into darker and more complex aspects of teenage life. In truth, Gloeckner seeks out the uncomfortable realities, believing it makes for more genuine work.

“In my mind, kids go through a lot of s–t. They have wonderful lives. They have horrible lives. They’re abused. They’re raped. They’re little millionaires. I mean, a whole range of experience,” Gloeckner explained to uInterview. “But for me, if I’m writing about a child or teenager, I am driven to illustrate in words or pictures exactly what that child is experiencing. I’m not going to shy away from showing something because it’s inappropriate. If the kid can see it, if the kid can experience it, why the hell not show it?”

The Diary of a Teenage Girl hit theaters in limited release earlier this month.

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Q: What did you think of the film adaptation of your book? -

They translated it very well. Marielle Heller translated it very well. Any adaptation of a book to a film is gonna end up with differences, so I’m very anxious to have people who’ve actually read my book before seeing the film, to hear what their responses will be. It’s always awkward reading a book after seeing a film because you replace the characters in the book with the things you’ve seen on the screen. But I’m very happy with it. I mean, there’s a lot of differences obviously.

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Q: What did you think of Bel Powley’s portrayal of the main character Minnie? -

Most remarkably, she cries very easily and naturally. Tears will just come boating out of her face, and that’s kind of necessary for a role like this because Minnie does cry, she’s a teenager. But she, you know, I didn’t know how she would be. She kind of looks like she could look like this character, but she’s British. She’s not American, so there are differences, but I had a little talk with her sometime during the shoot because I was on the set a lot and she told me that she had had experiences which were similar in some ways, and that she related to that character. The minute she read the script she knew she had to play the part and I think you can really feel that through the whole thing. She is relating to that role in a way that actors don’t always. It feels very personal to her. I think it’s a very strong performance.

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Q: Why have your books received such a strong reaction? -

In my mind, kids go through a lot of s--t. They have wonderful lives. They have horrible lives. They’re abused. They’re raped. They’re little millionaires. I mean, a whole range of experience. But for me, if I’m writing about a child or teenager, I am driven to illustrate in words or pictures exactly what that child is experiencing. I’m not going to shy away from showing something because it’s inappropriate. If the kid can see it, if the kid can experience it, why the hell not show it? And I don’t have any particular feelings about doing that. I want to make things genuine and so when people respond, well it’s weird because my books have both words and pictures, people can respond to pictures very quickly and out of context. So, I think a book that does have pictures will immediately raise flags if people are just like skimming through it, and so I think my books have had problems because of that. But it’s people who haven't read the book.

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