“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” is the best selling young adult novel that has been transformed into an innovative coming-of-age high school dramedy and a visually stunning piece of kinetic filmmaking thanks to director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and writer Jesse Andrews who is featured on this week’s episode of The Road to Cinema Podcast. The story follows Greg, played by Thomas Mann, a high school senior who avoids close friendship at any cost as he keeps a comfortable distance from entering fully into any specific social group at his Pittsburgh high school. However, he does maintain a comradery with Earl, played by RJ Cyler, a childhood buddy who he occupies his extracurricular hours with by making countless movie parodies. As Greg contemplates college and his impending graduation, he is persuaded by his parents, played by Connie Britton and the hilariously poignant Nick Offerman, to strike-up a friendship with a girl diagnosed with cancer who may finally eradicate Greg’s protective shell in unexpected ways. Writer Jesse Andrews creates a surprising story about platonic teenage friendship without breaking into the melodramatic conventions of romantic peril. We watch Greg and Rachel, played by Olivia Cooke, develop a deeper understanding of their plights even if her stakes of survival might be higher than Greg’s at the moment.
Watch the trailer for “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” opening in theatres on June 12th!
In our conversation, writer Jesse Andrews shares his original inspiration for writing the novel “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.” Andrews also shares some vital lessons he learned from adapting the novel and writing his very first screenplay. And we also delve deeper into his writing process and learn how he collaborated with both director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (“American Horror Story”, “Glee”) and producer/filmmaker Dan Fogelman (“Danny Collins”, “Crazy Stupid Love.”)
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