Historian David McCullough belongs to an unusual group - authors who like the film adaptation of their work.

"I think people are surprised when they hear I really like it," McCullough told the Daily News of HBO's seven-part miniseries based on his book "John Adams." "You're not supposed to like it, as if I've violated some clause in my contract."

The miniseries was executive-produced by Tom Hanks and stars Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as his wife, Abigail. The first two parts are presented by HBO Sunday at 8 p.m.

"I've had Hollywood filmmakers tell me they loved a book and wanted to do it, and there was not much of conversation," McCullough said. "Tom Hanks had not only read it, he had his own copy with him, with parts underlined. He had studied the book. I realized this was a very solid human being, he would do it right."

Hank is no stranger to historical films. He produced the groundbreaking HBO miniseries "From Earth to the Moon," based on the space program, and he teamed with Steven Spielberg to produce HBO's equally praised "Band of Brothers."

Because it's a film, some liberties have been taken to condense the story into seven hours. 

"It's a different medium from a book, to say the least, it has to be different," McCullough said. "It has different requirements. It can't be 39 hours long. Certain things have to be left out."

For instance, in the beginning of McCullough's book, Adams is called on to defend British soldiers for firing into a rowdy crowd. In reality, two trials were held; in the film, it's one.

"It's not a lesson, it's not a course in American history; it's a movie, it's a dramatization," he said.    -  From the Daily News

 HBO Link on Series

Book on Amazon