Thanks to his involvement, Looking for Alaska is 100 percent John Green approved
By Meg Dowell
The author of Looking for Alaska made sure the Hulu adaption of his book stayed true to the original story — and fans couldn’t be happier.
It’s not very often that an author gets to be closely involved with a film or television adaption of their work. In many cases, once the rights to a story are sold, it’s up to the producers, directors, screenwriters, and actors (and all others involved) to bring a book to life onscreen.
John Green has been lucky enough to be present on set during the filming of more than one novel-to-screen adaption of his books — first with The Fault in Our Stars, and later with Paper Towns. He’s not responsible for the casting in these projects, as he makes clear in his Twitter bio. But he has been known to offer insight and advice when warranted.
According to Charlie Plummer and Kristine Froseth — the actors who play Miles and Alaska in Hulu’s Looking for Alaska limited series adaption — Green is actually the reason fans of the 2005 novel are quickly falling in love with the show.
Plummer said visiting Green’s alma mater — off which the boarding school from the book and show were based — and talking with the author before filming helped the actors get to know their characters long before they stepped into their shoes.
“He shared so much of himself and his life with us,” Plummer said during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It became so clear how important this story is to him and was for his career, but also just in his life.”
Froseth said Green gave them permission to take Miles and Alaska into their own hands — guiding them when they needed it, but also giving them the freedom to make them their own. “He really blessed us by telling us, ‘These are your characters now,’ and it was really powerful,” she added.
Denny Love, who was having a hard time getting into the Colonel’s head, said it only took one conversation with Green to turn things around: “Once I got confirmation from John, once we spoke and he let me know that I was how he envisioned the Colonel to be, that was everything.”
If it weren’t for John Green, well, this story never would have existed at all. But because of his involvement in the creative process and his conversations with the actors, this series just might turn out to be the most faithful book-to-Hulu adaption we’ve seen yet.
Check back soon for our official reviews of the series.
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