Lauren Oliver talks about the movie based on her book, BEFORE I FALL, and her next exciting book, Ringer.
We got a chance to spend some time with Lauren Oliver, the best-selling author of Before I Fall, to discuss the movie adaptation of her book, Hollywood and their approach to YA literature, and what she tease us about her next book, Ringer (formerly titled Helix,) the sequel to Replica.
Before I Fall was optioned back in 2010. When did you realize the movie was actually going to be made?
I think it was probably the moment when I went to Vancouver and arrived at set and saw it in the process of being filmed. They say that you should never– They say that until you’re like, in the movie theater, you should never trust. But the funny thing is I know it was cast and they were also filming. I mean, it wasn’t til I was there that I realized what was really happening. But the a certain extent, it’s still pretty surreal because I kept then having the filming like that was over– That the movie was over once it was filmed, not like it would actually come out.
Did you have any concerns with Before I Fall after your experience with Delirium?
I did. I did have concerns! I, honestly– It’s not any fault of the people who were involved. I really loved the producer, but I was so young at the time that Delirium and Before I Fall were both optioned, and Delirium ended up being– I mean, I never even watched it all the way through. But somehow, I guess I didn’t have those concerns just because the script was so good. I feel like making movies from books is a lot like sex: You just have to pick the right people and then the rest takes care of itself.
[laughter]
No, that sounds like just the right metaphor.
I mean you have to pick the right person. Not people, plural.
What were your thoughts after seeing Before I Fall?
I’m very weird about seeing movies in general. In fact, seeing Before I Fall at the movie theater at the premiere at Sundance was the first time my husband and I have ever seen a movie together. We’ve been together almost three and a half years now. Typically, when they show the author the movie, they like to do it in a little theater in their own screening areas. I insisted on watching it on my computer in my hotel room. I took breaks every 15 minutes. But I was so moved by it. I was so worried I wouldn’t even be able to get through it but I was transported by it. I think it’s a really beautiful movie and a really faithful representation of the book literally and structurally and character-wise, but more importantly almost, tonally and thematically.
And the actors–
Phenomenal. They’re phenomenal.
In general, what are your thoughts on Hollywood’s treatment of YA adaptations currently?
It’s hard to say. It’s hard to make any generalizations. Typically, I think there can be– Or traditionally, I think there’s a way teen movies have kind of looked and felt a little bit silly, a little bit Disney Channel by nature and less detail was given to the aesthetic and kind of the beauty and seriousness of it, which is kind of ironic given that adolescents are some of the most self-serious people you can think of. And because there’s so many important themes that people tackle during adolescence that are increasingly resonant and relevant to people of all ages. I definitely think there’s been somewhat of a move away from that. In this movie, what’s been really gratifying is that, even in reviews, people are noticing it looks very distinctly elevated and unlike that kind of style. It will be really interesting to see what happens. Because people don’t say, for example, like “Oh, all adult movies are one way.” You know? Teen movies comprise and comprehend these enormous subcategories.
I’m just looking forward to a time when there’s so much diversity in “teen” that “teen” itself stops becoming such a block meant to suggest only one thing. It’s like when people say “How do you capture a teenage voice?” Teenage voices are obviously very distinct and manifold. A teenage who’s a southern Baptist in Louisiana is not gonna speak the same as the daughter of a hedge fund billionaire in New York. To think of them as this monolithic group, I think, is a form of reductionism and also a kind of contempt.
Do you have any word about Helix?
It’s actually now called Ringer and it’s coming out this fall! I’m working on the copyediting now, or at least I’m supposed to be. And actually, I really like it. I’m very pleased.
Will you be using the same type of format?
Yes.
What are the challenges of doing that?
Basically, it’s a nightmare. [laughs] I don’t really know how to describe it. You have to think about– almost in these incredible dimensions– about where each piece of information is occurring based on all three different ways you could read the story. Because I mean, all suspense is just when and how you parcel out that information, but typically, there’s only one way in which those beats are occurring. But since Ringer can be read multiple ways, you have to then sit and think about what it will do for the story. So it’s really, really time consuming and a nightmare, yeah. I said originally when I went back to revise it that I felt like I had a pile of newt bones that I was trying to make into a Christmas tree. So even if a put them in the right order, it still wouldn’t make the same thing. I did it, tore it apart, and re-did it, but I’m very pleased with the end result.
Can you give us any teasers about it?
Well, I will just say that in another twist that I made for myself, there’s a way in which Lyra and Gemma kind of end up switching places so that Gemma is the one that is contained and Lyra finds herself on this road trip to kind of find her past and resolve the issues that come from her past. So they kind of flip-flop from where they were in Replica. Just an added little layer!
Any significance in regards to the title change?
Well, mostly because I like alliteration. But Ringer– you know, being a deadringer for somebody. It’s definitely a little bit darker than Replica was, more interesting, and also a little more violent, but hopefully about the same themes. I think it reflects– I think I was able to put things in that more reflect some of the moral questions raised about how we use other people all across the world for our comforts, for our pleasures, for our medicines, etcetera. So that’s important to me.
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