It’s taken James Schamus nearly three decades to tackle directing — and he had to charm Philip Roth in the process. That’s because he chose to adapt the author’s novel Indignation for his feature debut. But Schamus hadn’t exactly been twiddling his thumbs. Among his myriad credits are screenwriter (The Ice Storm and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon); producer (Brokeback Mountain) and industry suit (Good Machine, Focus Features), to name but a few.

What about Indignation piqued his interest? Just as this story of ethnic striving in the oppressive early 50s gave Roth a vehicle "to connect to his generation,” so too the 50-something filmmaker “could completely relate” to its main character and his quest, Schamus told me here: 

http://www.thalo.com/articles/view/1243/james_schamus_imagines_philip_roths_indignation