In new film “Everything, Everything,” even the simplest thing can kill you.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures presented a special vip screening of the film on Sunday at Metrograph. From the film: Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, Anika Noni Rose, Ana de la Reguera, director Stella Meghie and author Nicola Yoon were all in attendance. Additional guests included Mamoudou Athie, Viktoriya Avramchuk, Lily Chee, Giullian Yao Gioiello, Tim Hamilton, Aurora James, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Pat & Dawn Kiernan, Teresa Moore, Geordon Nicol and Georgina Pazcoguin.
Author Nicola Yoon and Director Stella Meghie worked hand in hand to create a tragic, yet heart warming expression of teenage love.
We sat down with the author of Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon, Director Stella Meghie and cast member Ana de La Reguera. Check out what they had to say below:
How does it feel to have your creation come to life?
Nicola Yoon: The fist time I saw it, my husband and I were in a screening room. And we held hands, squeezed the blood out of each other’s hands, and cried our eyes out. And you’re nervous that it’s going to be good. It was amazing. And it still is amazing.
Is there any correlation between your own life experiences and the book?
Nicola Yoon: I started writing the book when my daughter was 4 months old. So I was a very nervous new mom. And that’s where the whole premise of the book came from, out of my nerves and my need to protect her. I wrote it for her.
Did you read the novel prior to auditioning for the role?
Ana de La Reguera: I had no idea about the novel, until I got the script. First, I got the audition. I didn’t want to read the script at the beginning, because I didn’t want to get too excited, because I really liked the scenes. But then, when I knew I was going to meet the director, I read the script and loved it. Sometimes when you don’t get it, it’s hard and it breaks your heart, but directly after I read the book
How were you able to prepare for your role in Everything, Everything?
Ana De La Reguera: It’s easy when you have such different characters. The tone is different and the characters are different. It also makes half of the work for you. That’s been great and that’s what I’m looking for.
Being that this is your first major film, do you have any advice for those pursuing similar careers?
Stella Meghie: Make your first movie. Don’t wait for permission. Figure out how to go to camera and tell your story, because if you don’t show people what you can do you can’t reach the next step. Don’t wait for someone to give you the opportunity, fight for it and do it yourself.
With Everything, Everything there is such a complexity to the story. How do you make it so that you can exhibit that complexity on the screen?
Stella Meghie: There were a lot of different stories to juggle. And a lot of different emotions to juggle, that sometimes changed on the drop of a dime. And I just tried to keep the tone consistent. I tried to have this dark fairytale vibe to it, so that it all seemed to go together in a very magical way. That was my hope. I felt like that’s how the book felt.
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