Ariel Bradford
Staff Writer
Twelve Alamo Drafthouse Movie Theaters around the country hosted an advanced screening of The Fault in Our Stars on Thursday, May 22nd. Nerdfighters lined up hours ahead of time to secure their seats and share their pre-movie jitters with the Nerdfighteria gathered in the theaters.
Guests were suggested to arrive two hours early because too many advance tickets were given out. According to Alamo, “when the screening is announced and people rush to reserve a pass, they often do so without checking their schedule or the schedule of the friend they registered as their guest… This means that the “full” screening is now sitting with half of the theater empty on the night of the screening, so this is the reason that we must overbook.” Their strategy worked as concession workers were announcing the sold-out show over the rumble of the crowd. It was finally 6:30, and the group of exceptionally well-read young adults made their way to screen two. After being awkwardly searched and metal-detected for cell phones and other recording devices, fans were allowed into the theater.
After the movie, a livestream was played in the theater from the Alamo in Austin, TX. Hosted on POPSUGAR Girls’ Guide’s Youtube, John Green and director Josh Boone were asked questions from Brandy Fons and Sarah Pitre, co-founders of Forever Fest. At the top of his game, John Green was humble and proud of himself at the same time.
Josh Boone, the director of the film, spoke fondly of the teens in the movie who met in the Literal Heart of Jesus, as they were actual cancer survivors. “We went to Pittsburg and one of the children’s hospitals there opened their doors to us and gave us access to a lot of the kids who were living with cancer…Meeting them was really gratifying because it made John’s book so real for me because all the kids we met were just like Hazel and Gus. They were so smart, and so funny, and cynical, and dark, and great. Like, they were just so much more than you expected, so that’s kind of like the book. It was a lot more than I expected.”
John continued talking about those kids, saying that he still texts some of them as they were on the set for about a quarter of the filming. “One of, I think, the problems of the way we imagine sick teenagers of teenagers living with disabilities, was you think of them as a sort of fundamentally other. And, you know, because you look at someone who is wearing a cannula and think, like, ‘oh, sick!’ and that’s the first thing that you think about, then that sort of defines them to you. But they are having rich, full, complicated, emotional lives. They have as much love, and anger, and excitement, and joy, and all of the desires that any other person has. And, you know, when we had those kids on set, it was really special for me because it was just really nice to have them there as a constant reminder of the completeness and fullness of a sick person’s life, even if they’re at the very end of their life and they’re very young. It’s not fair, but it’s still a rich life and a good life.”
John also talked about his cameo appearance, the awkwardness of the romantic scenes, and how his own experiences were put into the story. The joyous celebration of the movie took a turn when an audience member (whose mother has stage four cancer) asked about how John handled his emotions when writing his book. Without mentioning Esther’s name, John talked about how he, “cried every day for many months. I mean, I was grieving the loss of a good friend and I was angry, and I was sad, and I was trying to get my head around why the world is so deeply and seemingly inherently unfair, why it’s random, why it’s arbitrary. And, you know, your mom doesn’t deserve to be sick and you don’t deserve to be going through this and it’s not fair. And it’s very very difficult to reconcile yourself to things in life that aren’t fair. I wrote the book because I wanted to find a way and a meaning for my friend’s life who died young and died in a matter that was completely, in my opinion, completely unjust. And I did cry a lot but it was good. You know, it was good. It was good to be with her again. It was good to let myself go through that.”
The Q&A session ended on a high note, after discussing the upcoming Paper Towns adaptation and the valuable relationships that the cast and crew made during filming. John also highlighted the benefits of his home life, which keep him “normal” throughout his celebrated famous life. After asking for “five more minutes,” the interview continued about the specific filming of the movie and how it was adapted so well.
After TWO shoutouts to Kalamazoo, MI, my theater was filled with screams and pride-swollen hearts (after they had been broken into a million pieces). I want to personally thank John Green, Josh Boone, Alamo Theaters, Forever Fest, and James Sanford of the Kalamazoo Alamo Theater who all allowed me to have this opportunity. Yes, the movie hurt, but you don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world…but you do have some say in what hurts you. TFIOS… I like my choices.
Keep Up With PopWrapped On The Web!
Author
