In addition to being brilliant actors, Elle and Justice are both incredible humans, and I’m honored to count them as friends. How much interaction did you have with Elle Fanning and Justice Smith? Do you have any interesting/funny/memorable stories from interacting with the cast or being on set? Just seeing all those people-from craft services to lighting grips to camera operators, wardrobe, makeup, hair, line producer, extras, security, director, actors-it was hard to fathom that they were all there because of a book I wrote about a boy I loved and lost so many years ago. And I was lucky enough to get to be on set for some of the filming, which was a dream come true. In addition, I was involved with the casting and other decisions along the way. Because the book is so personal, the filmmakers felt that I was the one who should write the script, and I was honored to get to do so (with Liz Hannah). I’ve been very involved in the process since the beginning. How involved have you been in the adaptation process? What was it like being on the set of the film? He did something no one else did-he seemed to channel Finch. But the minute we saw Justice’s audition, we all knew unanimously-he was Finch. We saw almost every big male star under the age of 25 in Hollywood, and they were all so good. I’d originally pictured Nicholas Hoult as Finch, but by the time we were actually casting the movie, he was too grown up. I always cast the stories I’m writing as I’m writing them because it helps me envision the characters, especially when that character is personal to me, which was the case with Violet. I actually wrote the book picturing Elle Fanning as Violet. Were Elle Fanning and Justice Smith the only actors that you could envision for the roles of Violet and Theodore? Were there other candidates for the parts?

Casting can be a difficult choice in any adaptation. I had known that studios and production companies were looking at it and that there was interest, but when Mazur Kaplan optioned it, I think I ran around the house and danced for about an hour. It was the spring of 2014, nine months before All the Bright Places was published. For more on what’s next for Jennifer and All the Bright Places, see the highlights from our conversation below: When did you first find out that ATBP was becoming a movie? Where were you, and how did you react? From the adaption process to seeing her personal, heart-felt novel come to life, Jennifer and I discussed All the Bright Places and all the effort and love that went into one of the most successful teen films to hit Netflix. The movie adaptation of Jennifer Niven’s bestselling novel All the Bright Places was released on February 28th, featuring heart-wrenching performances from Elle Fanning ( Super 8, Maleficent) and Justice Smith ( Paper Towns, Everyday).

All the bright places by jennifer niven