Home / Arts and Entertainment / Filmmaker Shares Insights on Adapting Elusive Author Elena Ferrante's Novels
Filmmaker Shares Insights on Adapting Elusive Author Elena Ferrante's Novels
2 Nov
Summary
- Filmmaker Saverio Costanzo adapted Ferrante's Neapolitan novels for HBO series
- Ferrante was open to changes, seeing the "tension between a man and a woman" as key
- Costanzo couldn't adapt Ferrante's other novel, The Lost Daughter, due to its complexity
In November 2025, Italian filmmaker Saverio Costanzo provided a behind-the-scenes look at his collaboration with the enigmatic author Elena Ferrante to adapt her Neapolitan novels into the hit HBO series "My Brilliant Friend." Costanzo, who co-wrote and directed all four seasons of the show, first approached Ferrante about adapting her novel "The Lost Daughter," but was unable to create a successful script due to the book's complex structure.
However, Ferrante was receptive to Costanzo's efforts, granting him the rights to work on the script for free for six months. When that adaptation proved unsuccessful, Ferrante's publisher then asked Costanzo if he would try adapting the Neapolitan novels instead. Costanzo found a way into that story and began a fruitful collaboration with Ferrante, with the two co-writing every episode alongside other writers.
