Where did Tom Stoppard write the Anna Karenina script?

Tom Stoppard co-wrote the screenplay for Anna Karenina with a director in the director's in-laws' garage in Encinitas, California.

What was the main theme for the Anna Karenina adaptation by Tom Stoppard?

The adaptation's central theme, as defined by Tom Stoppard, was 'love as a form of madness'.

How did Tom Stoppard approach writing the Anna Karenina screenplay?

Tom Stoppard wrote the entire screenplay by hand in blue ink on a foolscap pad, with few corrections, before it was typed.

Home / Arts and Entertainment / Director's Garage & Stoppard: A Film's Birth

Director's Garage & Stoppard: A Film's Birth

4 Dec, 2025

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Summary

Tom Stoppard adapted Anna Karenina in a garage, fueled by cigarettes and sweets.
The screenwriter traveled to California to collaborate on the script.
Stoppard wrote the entire screenplay by hand on a foolscap pad.

Director's Garage & Stoppard: A Film's Birth

A director shares intimate details of collaborating with playwright Tom Stoppard on an adaptation of Anna Karenina. The creative process unfolded in the unconventional setting of a garage in Encinitas, California, during 2010. Stoppard, a keen smoker and lover of sweets, developed the script, focusing on love as a form of madness. This personal theme became the thesis for the entire adaptation.

Stoppard's method involved writing the screenplay by hand on a foolscap pad, with minimal revisions. He was notably adaptable, comfortable in both grand settings like lunch with Mick Jagger and the more modest environment of the garage. Despite budget constraints later altering the film's direction, Stoppard remained supportive of the evolving artistic vision.