Director Chris Columbus Talks ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ Movie And His Secret to Faithful Book Adaptations

The Thursday Murder Club director Chris Columbus knows a thing or two about adapting popular books into movies.

“You have to do a few successful adaptations, and you have to do a few unsuccessful adaptations,” Columbus explained a recent in-person interview with DECIDER.

In 2000, Columbus—who’d already directed several hit films including The Goonies, Home Alone, and Mrs. Doubtfire—landed the prestigious, high-stakes job of adapting the best-selling phenomenon, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, for the big screen. It was Columbus who put together the now-iconic cast of actors, and it was Columbus who brought Hogwarts to life. To this day, many Potter fans still laud the first two films—the ones directed by Columbus—as the most faithful, magical adaptations of the franchise.

Now, Columbus is bringing another beloved book series to the screen with The Thursday Murder Club—which began streaming on Netflix today—based on Richard Osman’s bestselling 2020 British novel about a group of amateur, aging detectives in a retirement home who solve cold cases. Once again, Columbus has assembled an all-star cast: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, and more.

Columbus’s secret to transforming books into movies? “You have to fall in love with the material,” the director said. “I fell in love with the Harry Potter books, and I fell in love with the Thursday Murder Club.”

Columbus spoke to DECIDER about fighting to keep The Thursday Murder Club movie faithful to the book, landing his star-studded cast, and his thoughts on the upcoming HBO Potter series.

DECIDER: Tell me how this project got to you. I know it was in development with Amblin before you came on board. 

CHRIS COLUMUBS: I read the book. They sent me the book first, and I just fell in love with the characters and the world. I found it to be a murder mystery unlike any other murder mysteries. I never really had a desire to do a murder mystery. But this wasn’t your typical cold procedural murder mystery. It wasn’t your over-the-top Agatha Christie murder mystery. This felt like four very real, complex characters. I also love the biting British humor, but mostly the complex emotionality of it. It was very touching to me. That was the reason I really wanted to get involved.

I read that you pushed for the script to be more faithful to the book. What changes were made to make sure that your version was as true to the book as possible?

I don’t want to spoil the movie but revealing the ending. But the end of the film—the emotional finality, of what happens at the end of the film, was not in either of the other scripts I read. There was a there was some reluctance to include this particular thing. I fought for that. There was some feeling that it was not commercial, that would turn off the audience. I felt this is the reason I’m doing the movie—because we go to this particular place. It deals thematically with everything else that this film is about, which is about death, and mortality, and living life to its fullest before the end. I just felt that that that was essential in getting this movie made.

I think I know what part of the ending you’re referring to! So many British legends in this cast. Tell me about the casting process.

It was very similar to for me to Harry Potter. Harry Potter was a situation where all of the adult roles, we got all of our first choices. We had Maggie Smih, Richard Harris, and Alan Rickman. Subsequently, that would never happen to me again. I would have go after two to three actors. Then Thursday Murder Club comes along, and I write down my first choices for each role of the four roles. And they all said yes! That was thrilling to me. It was also intimidating to walk into that first rehearsal room with Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley, and all of them and realize, “Wow, I have to up my game. I really have to be on top of my game for this to work.” It was a joyful experience because as a director, you get to watch these actors perform every day.

I know you’ve worked with Pierce Brosnan before. He is hilarious in this movie, and I love the scene where he pretends to be senile, in particular. Talk to me about directing him through that scene, how it ended up being as big as it did.

Interestingly enough, we shot various versions of that scene, and there are bigger versions of that scene. The thing about the film is we wanted to keep it as realistic, in terms of the performances, as possible. Naturalistic. That was one scene we felt we could push it. In terms of Pierce’s comedic talent—when we were shooting Mrs. Doubtfire, I would watch Pierce interact with Robin [Williams], and I saw it on screen and when we were editing the film. You have to have tremendous, innate comedic instincts to be able to keep up with Robin Williams. Pierce had those instincts, even though he’s playing a straight man. He was very funny in that role. It was something that I carried with me all those years. I wanted to work with Pierce in a more comedic role. So when this opportunity came around, I called Pierce immediately.

This movie gives meaty, fun roles to older actors that aren’t just supporting roles as parents or grandparents. It feels like a balm to Hollywood ageism. Did you get that sense as well? 

Thematically, that’s where the movie lies. The heart of the movie is that people, as they get older, start to feel unseen. My grandmother used to talk about it—she’d walk into a party and feel invisible. There’s these people, they have voices, they can still be heard, and they can still be relevant and vital. Thematically, that’s what I wanted to bring across on film—you may be 82 years old, but you can still make a difference. There’s a lot of life to be lived. That was important for me. In terms of the ageism in Hollywood, I just realized that this particular film enabled me to really work with actors that could shine in it. It goes deeper than before. I got to work with Jonathan Pryce, which was a dream come true, and Richard E Grant, and David Tennant. It was a joy.

I read that most of the film was filmed at this big estate, the Englefield House. Can you tell me a little more about finding that place and filming there?

In the book, Cooper’s Chase exists as this beautiful estate. And on the hill, overlooking Cooper’s Chase, it’s the church in the cemetery. When I read that, I realized, “OK, I’m never going to find that. I’m going to have to digitally—add the cemetery to whatever location we found.” Well, day two of location scouting, we found the Englefield House, which was basically the location in reverse. The Englefield House sits on a hill, and below it, is a church with a cemetery. It felt, somehow, spiritually meant to be. I realized that I was creating, in a weird way, a version of Hogwarts. Hogwarts was sort of this wish fulfillment place for 11-year-olds, and this becomes the antithesis of what we see, in America, as a retirement community. A lot of retirement homes are dreary, depressing places. I wanted to create this place that you would everyone would want to go to, when they reached a certain age. I wanted to create a place that if you were 40 years old, you’d want to go!

This is a series of novels. Have you thought at all about doing a sequel movie, The Thursday Murder Club 2?

It was such a joy making this film that if audiences embraced the movie and it’s successful enough, I would definitely love to do it. I don’t see it as a sequel, as much as the continuation of the story of these characters, and see where they’re going to go.

You are responsible for some of the most successful book adaptations films of all time. What are your adaptation do’s and don’ts? What is your general philosophy or approach?

I think I’ve learned it over the years. It’s interesting. You have to do a few successful adaptations, and you have to do a few unsuccessful adaptations. You learn from those movies that didn’t work, that were based on books. I realized the common thing was very simple, which is you have to be a big fan of the material. You have to fall in love with the material. I fell in love with the Harry Potter books, and I fell in love with the Thursday Murder Club, when I read the first book, and then I subsequently read the second and third. I’ve since read the fifth, which will be out in October, that I just love. I look forward to reading those books in the same way that I looked forward to reading the Potter books. As a fan, you want to bring those though that experience to the cinema in the most faithful way possible. That was my desire.

Are you at all involved in the upcoming HBO Potter series? The costumes from the first looks we’ve seen look very similar to the costumes that your team assembled on those first two movies. 

No, they didn’t call me. They wanted no advice. [Laughs.] But I wish them well. They are doing something that we didn’t have the opportunity to do. We had to cut so much out of the first, second, and third films. But they actually have the ability to transfer the entire book onto the screen. I’m anxious to see how they’re going to do that. 

Are you still in touch with J.K. Rowling, who is an EP on that series?

No, I haven’t spoken to her in years.

What do you make of the anti-trans activism that she’s been doing for the last few years? 

I don’t agree with it. I can only say that. 

Any message for trans Harry Potter fans that love the movies, still love those movies, but are now feeling a little conflicted about them?

That’s tough to say, except that you hope that the movies, the movies and the books, are separate from that. Sometimes you have to separate the artist from the material, and that’s difficult. It’s difficult for me, as a fan. It’s very difficult for me. But it’s also difficult in all sorts of arts. So many filmmakers that I’ve loved over the years, have disappointed me as human beings. So many artists have disappointed me as human beings. It’s sad. It’s a sad situation.