IN mid-1980s Britain, posters for "Betty Blue" were an almost compulsory feature on student bedrooms walls, the film's pout-perfect star Beatrice Dalle the epitome of Gallic cool.

The 1986 French title, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix and starring Dalle and Jean-Hugues Anglade as passionate lovers Betty and Zorg, was also a hit in its homeland, with more than 3.5 million admissions.

Industry recognition followed on both sides of the Atlantic, with "Betty Blue" nominated for a BAFTA and Oscar.

Yet for Philippe Djian, upon whose 1985 novel "37°2 le Matin" - also the French title of the movie - "Betty Blue" is based, the film holds little interest.

Djian, recently in Shanghai for the 2013 Festival Croisements, said he had no part in the screenplay, didn't enjoy the movie and refused to share in its success.

Instead, he moved to the United States with his family for two years after the film was released.

Speaking at a downtown library, Djian said he finds comparisons between the book and movie "repellent."

"A lot of people like to compare the book with the movie, but I find it odd and repellent," the 63-year-old writer told Shanghai Daily.

"Literature is the creation of symbols and words, while a movie is about images. It's like mixing water with oil, they won't fuse together even in the same container."

In the book, through the two characters, Djian sought to depict the two sides of one person - the masculine and feminine.

The female side must strive with every sinew to have a voice in the world, while the male side is just the opposite, said Djian.

"Drawing a comparison with Chinese philosophy, the relationship between the two sides is like the concept of yin and yang," Djian explained. "You have to find the balance between them."

But for Djian, in the movie, Dalle is "too enchanting" to depict the yang masculine side.

In addition to "Betty Blue," other works by Djian adapted or set for adaptation to the big screen include "Unforgivable" (2009) and his latest work "Oh…" (2012).

The Paris-born writer of Armenian descent is honest about the appeal of this.

"For me, a film adaptation means a check. In France, life is pretty hard if you're only writing. In a sense, the income of film adaptation makes me free so I don't have do other things to make a living," he said.

For Djian, language is what matters. He was not inspired by "beautiful writings from the 19th century," nor by plot, but the vividness and rhythm of language.

Sometimes, the rhythm of the dialogue sounds like music, said Djian.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that the writer is no fan of translated works.

"Translation is a matter of catastrophe," Djian said. He questions the English version of "Betty Blue," since the publisher wanted the sentences shorter and more "rock'n'roll."

Djian also says stories are not important to him, quoting French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Celine who said that if you want to read stories, just buy the newspapers. There are enough stories there.

Style always comes first for Djian.

"When I am writing, I don't start looking for inspiration. I get some sentences and put them together to see if it is good. Then I continue to write."

Djian says Shakespeare exhaustively covered storylines in his work, so subsequent writers should seek to narrate these in a different way.

"In a movie, we see almost the same drama - two people who love or hate each other; the only thing that changes is the angle of the camera. Language is the angle," he said.

Djian makes a comparison with Japanese film director and script writer Yasujiro Ozu. "The lens of Ozu is always looking up from the floor. When the angle changes, so does the world."

Nevertheless, in France only a handful of writers interested in language, says Djian.

"The boundary of the real great literature and so-called 'railway station fiction' is subtle. The tiny distance may not be in the plot but the language," he said.

Djian gives the example of Marguerite Duras. "In Duras' works, the plots aren't extraordinary - young women falls for this and that. But her language system embodies the value of masterpieces."

Style is a tool, to understand the world, to communicate with others and to entrance them, explained Djian.

Writing is like fine-tuning a radio, Djian believes.

"You have to keep adjusting the frequency till it's right. Then, even though you're right, after several months, it changes again. Sound, language, style - it's a constant, adaptive process," he said.

But according to Djian, 95 percent of French writers don't have their own style, instead following historians and sociologists in seeking to convey concepts or ideas.

"A lack of communication causes violence in the society. I want to write modern, concise language to help with this," he said.

Djian has written more than 20 novels and says that his career path has been "plain sailing."

At the beginning, in the late 1970s, he sent some short stories to a publishing house in Paris, which immediately asked him to come to Paris to get them published.

"My answer was, 'no.' I don't want to shake your hand so that I can get my book published," recalled Djian. "The publisher doubted if Philippe Djian was a real person at first."

An interest in daily life and a focus on realism in Djian's works is partly down to the influence of American writers including Raymond Carver, Jack Kerouac and Henry Miller.

Many American writers have another job, which distinguishes them from most French writers, according to Djian, citing that Carver worked at a gas station and Miller was a mailman.

"These writers were not only writers for me but guides in my life. In my twenties, they taught me philosophy and travel in their books and rendered a way to see the world," he said.

Djian also embraces Chinese classics and philosophy, like Lao Zi's "Tao Te Ching" and Sun Tzu's "The Art of the War."

He says he was introduced to these texts through the writings of leading Beat Generation figures such as Allen Ginsberg.

"They were like spiritual leaders who let us know the art of life. And Chinese philosophy was what they talked about," he said.

Asked whether he was comfortable with being called "the last writer of Beat Generation" by the Italian press, Djian said he was happier with the "French son of the Beat Generation" description of him at the 2013 Croisemnents Festival.

For as those authors are still vitally important, he would rather to be called an heir, rather than the last in a line, Djian explained.