Before I Fall Author Lauren Oliver on the Book’s Journey from Page to Screen

When did Before I Fall’s journey from page to screen begin?
The book was optioned in 2010, if you can believe it, but I had already been cautioned and conditioned to understand that in the grand scheme of things, this meant next to nothing about its chances of getting made. This proved a very useful lesson to have absorbed, as it meant that almost everything that happened along the way came as a pleasant surprise!
So… what happened in those seven years?
Before I Fall had a long and tortuous path to screen. It was initially optioned by Fox 2000, and the energy and momentum behind the development was very auspicious. But then the executive who’d been championing the book switched jobs, as I later found out was very common; the movie then stalled, and then became inactive, as Fox 2000 decided instead to adapt a little-known book called The Fault In Our Stars by an unknown author, John Green. (Can’t blame ’em.) After that we floundered through offers that seemed increasingly at odds with our vision for the book, including a straight-to-TV offer from AMC that would have filmed the movie for the Hallmark Channel.
Finally we decided to go the indie route, and the producer selected an immensely talented director known as Ry Russo-Young, and my agent helped us get set up with Matt Kaplan at Awesomeness, another immensely talented and visionary person, and then things started to unroll from there. All in all, it took six years to put the pieces together—but once they were in place, the movie was purchased, filmed, and wrapped within six months. It’s kind of incredible.
Does indie mean you don’t make much money on the option?
I made very little on the purchase price, since the movie was executed at a low budget by a radically new company that specializes in gorgeous, high quality films at a modest price point that can actually become financially successful. But I participate in the backend in a meaningful way, and so if the movie succeeds, I would actually have a shot at making money.
To be even more transparent, I made as much from the initial option of the book by Fox 2000 as I did on the purchase price from Awesomeness. But I say that only as an indicator that it is not always the most initially lucrative path that is the most lucrative over time. Optioning a book ties it up for years with a studio that may or may not intend ever to make it, and the real place authors make money on films is on the vastly increased book sales that occur as a result of the publicity surrounding the release. (Before I Fall was back on the New York Times list for the first time in five years, for example, before the Times abruptly ended their paperback list.)

How involved were you along the way?
It was pretty fluid and I was exactly as involved as I wanted to be. I have a very good relationship with the producer, Jon Shestack, and developed a friendship with both the director and the film executives (Matt Kaplan and Max Siemers) who were shepherding it to screen, so there was a lot of texting and wine-fueled conversations and emails and discussion. It was great. At the same time, I am not a movie maker, and film requires using a different set of tools and a different style of narrative, so I trusted them to do their jobs.
What was it like being on set?
I actually found it really, really strange and more than a little uncomfortable—it felt as if someone was reading my journal aloud to a room full of strangers, both very intimate and very invasive. It was as if my brain had somehow been vivisected and all of these images animated that had previously been tucked up only in its folds.
What was your initial reaction to seeing the full movie?
I saw the movie for the first time about six months ago; I was so nervous I insisted on watching it alone, on my computer, in short sections of roughly 15 minutes each. (I took frequent breaks.) But I was blown away. I was very moved and incredibly grateful and very overwhelmed. There was a lot of crying.
The movie feels very intimately connected to the book. It is a very faithful adaptation, and the characters and the feel of it—the tonality—just feel so close to what I had initially imagined.

And you just went to the Sundance Film Festival! How was that?
Sundance was incredible, albeit very exhausting—I ended up getting flattened by a flu immediately afterward. It was a whirl of press and parties and celebrations and slow treks up narrow snow-choked Utah streets. The energy is frenetic and also very joyful; it really is a place where film geeks gather with their tribe in celebration of the medium they love. I was thrilled by the way the audiences responded to Before I Fall—it seems to have had a very strong emotional impact on many of the viewers.

How has the movie release affected your career so far?
Book sales have gone up, for sure, and I think it has certainly helped push Replica, my next project, forward in Hollywood. It will be interesting to see how much this impacts my reputation as a content creator, or whether it does; since my company, Paper Lantern Lit, is expanding into film adaptation and production this year, I certainly hope it will!
Are any of your other books in development?
Replica is in development with the same company and director that produced Before I Fall—Awesomeness and Ry Russo-Young, respectively. We have just hired a screenwriter and will be getting started on the adaptation soon.
What’s next for you?
The sequel to Replica, Ringer, is out this fall, and after that I have a whole host of surprises coming down the line, including my first foray into fantasy. But I am also emphasizing Paper Lantern Lit even more as a priority. In the past year we’ve grown into the adult space, taken on three new employees, and are about to add our first creative exec who will be based exclusively in Hollywood. All exciting stuff!