“My theory in the '90s was that I didn't want to take a Jane Austen book I loved and reduce it to a 90-minute movie. The Emma Thompson-Ang Lee 'Sense and Sensibility' was beautiful, but other ones, I didn't think justice was being done. It's not a slam dunk to adapt these books.”

American writer-director

Whit Stillman is an American writer-director known for his films from the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He was born John Whitney Stillman and became widely recognized for Metropolitan, released in 1990, which brought him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also made Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco, Damsels in Distress, and Love & Friendship. His work is best known for its sharp dialogue and its attention to manners, class, and social life.