Stars turned my imagination into reality, says Wordsley-born author Steve Watson
An author from the Black Country today spoke of his joy at seeing Hollywood stars turn his debut novel into a movie – as he revealed filming has now finished.
Before I go to Sleep is based on the book of the same name penned by Wordsley-born author Steve Watson, which has sold more than 350,000 copies. Nicole Kidman will star in the film alongside fellow Hollywood heavyweight Colin Firth. She will play Christine Lucas, who wakes up to find she does not recognise her life, while Colin firth will play her husband Ben.
Mr Watson spent a number of days on set in London and today said watching filming was like 'seeing my imagination brought to life'. The movie is expected to be one of the biggest hits of the year when it is released in 2014.
Mr Watson said: "I went to see filming a few times – it was great, and a very moving experience, but quite surreal. Although the interiors and the settings aren't exactly as I imagined them, the spirit of the book is there.
"It was like seeing my imagination brought to life – like walking around in my own head, or at least someone else's version of it."
The rights were snapped up by producer Ridley Scott, who has drafted in Hollywood stars Kidman and Firth to play the lead roles. Kidman was chosen for the role ahead of Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet.
It is not the first time Kidman and Firth have appeared together, as they play real-life married couple Eric and Patti Lomax in The Railway Man, a film about Second World War PoW Lomax, due out later this year.
Mr Watson, aged 41, said Kidman had 'really got inside the character'.
He added: "Seeing the two stars expressing the emotions took me back to writing those scenes."
He said Kidman told him Christine was a 'great character', which made him realise how much his life has changed since he wrote the book as a hobby while working as an audiology specialist in London.
