When we first read John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars”, we knew immediately that the novel desperately needed to be turned into a movie. In 2012, it was announced that the book was indeed going to be turned into a film. We couldn’t have been happier!
The film stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff, with Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, and Willem Dafoe in supporting roles. Shailene Woodley plays Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old cancer patient who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she subsequently meets and falls in love with Augustus Waters, portrayed by Ansel Elgort. The movie was released on 6th June in the US and it will come to our shores soon, too!
But before you watch the film when it’s released in our cinemas, here are some things you need to know about John Green and the film:
1. Author John Green was initially opposed to making “The Fault in Our Stars”. He was certain that it’d be butchered (in the overly emo sense). When his film agent asked to send the novel out to studios and producers, he said not to bother. We bet he’s not regretting his decision to send it after all now because the film has received critical acclaim from critics and retained the #1 spot at the domestic and worldwide box-office during its opening weekend. It also currently has a gross of over $127 million against its budget of $12 million, making it a financial success.
2. John Green was supposed to have a cameo appearance in “The Fault in Our Stars”, as the father of a girl who approaches Hazel at the mall and asks about her oxygen tube. It was deleted. During a Q&A with fans after a New York screening, John Green says that the film’s director, Josh Boone, told him that his acting was “perfectly adequate” and “totally useable”. He says he was relieved when he learned the scene was cut” “Great decision. I agree completely.”
3. John Green is such a huge soccer fan that he has a separate Twitter feed on which he exclusively tweets about sports..to his (get this) 53,000 followers! His soccer fanatic-ness is also part of the reason that he chose to work with producer Wyck Godfrey, who approached him about adapting “The Fault in Our Stars”. See, Wyck Godfrey is also a passionate soccer fan and apparently, the both of them talked about Liverpool before they closed the deal. Epic?
4. Word has it that Shailene Woodley practically begged to be in the movie because the crew weren’t sure if she was right for the film e.g. she was too athletic, too healthy-looking, and too pretty. She wrote an incredibly long letter to John Green asking to be casted. However, when she finally landed the role of Hazel Grace Lancaster, director Josh Boone said, “Over 250 girls read for the part, but it wasn’t until Shailene stepped in front of the camera that I truly saw Hazel for the first time.” Oh, Shailene also donated her hair to a cause after cutting it for the role.
5. The title, “The Fault in Our Stars” comes straight from Shakespeare. In fact, in the book, a character quotes the Bard’s line which the title borrow from: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. That we are underlings.” We’re guessing, it’s very much in reference to the characters’ tragic “impending doom” situation in the story? Are we right or are we right?
Enough fun facts to entice you to watch the film? Because “The Fault in Our Stars” will be released in cinemas nationwide on 17th July!
For more information, visit their official website.
