My Day on Set: 'The DUFF' Author Takes Us Through Seeing Her Vision Come to Life
Mae Whitman, Kody Keplinger, and Robbie Amell on the set of ‘The DUFF’
Kody Keplinger was just 17 years old when she wrote her debut novel, The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). She’ll be 23 when the movie adaptation arrives in theaters this weekend. Not surprisingly, she’s practically pinching herself, but after having spent a day on the film set, she’s probably used to that sensation by now.
“It was one of the most cool and surreal days of my life,” she told Yahoo Movies. “I’m someone who sleeps in, and I couldn’t sleep past 8. I was so excited and so nervous.”
The film stars Parenthood’s Mae Whitman as Bianca, a confident, opinionated high school student and the third of a trio of close friends. When Wesley, her hot jock neighbor (played by The Flash actor Robbie Amell) tells her she’s the DUFF of her trio, it sends her self-esteem into a tailspin. Eventually, she realizes that everyone has felt like the DUFF of their group at some point or another.
While Keplinger has been open about some of the significant changes from her book to the movie, she’s ecstatic that the over-arching message has remained the same. But that didn’t assuage her jitters when she visited the set last year. Thankfully, her fears were unfounded. Here, Keplinger shared with us some exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from her experience on the set of the teen comedy, along with some of her favorite moments. Mostly, she just shared her joy, and — we should warn you — it’s contagious.
Kody with Mae Whitman
MEET N’ GREET
“This was the first time I met everybody. At one point, I got to just sit down on some couches and talk to them, and they asked me some questions [about] why I wrote the book. It’s funny because I had always imagined Mae as Bianca, and I got to tell her that in person, which was really cool: ‘You’ve been my dream Bianca for years.’ She’s so perfect. Her whole attitude and her personality — I was just like, ‘That’s the Bianca I’ve always imagined.’”
Kody laughing with Robbie Amell
LUNCH WITH A HUNK
“Most of what I watched [be filmed] was with Robbie, who is hysterical. Every so often, he would ad-lib something in a take and it would be so funny [that] my agent and I got in trouble for laughing too loudly. He ate lunch with me. He didn’t have to. I was sitting at a table and just came over and was like, ‘Can I sit with you? Is that cool?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, of course,’ but inside, I was like, ‘Sit wherever you want!’ He was just so down to earth and so friendly, and asking about the other books I’m working on, and where I grew up. It was such a wonderfully welcoming experience.”
Kody gets her hair done on set
SWEET BEAUTIFICATION
“The woman who did my hair is one of the coolest people. We actually found out that we don’t live far from each other. She worked on Gossip Girl and I loved Gossip Girl, so I was like, ‘Tell me, is Blake Lively’s hair really that beautiful in person?’ These were the conversations I was having.”
Kody with renowned costume designer Eric Daman
WARDROBE APPROVAL
”[Daman] didn’t [pick out my outfit for the day], but he told me he liked it! When I found out he was doing the wardrobe for the movie, I might’ve died a little bit because, again, I watched Gossip Girl. I was watching Gossip Girl while I wrote the book … and I bought several headbands because of Blair Waldorf. I was wearing these Vans and they have this tie-dyed, kind of outer space looking print. He was like, ‘I love the shoes.’ I was like, ‘YES!’”
Kody makes a point
GETTING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA
“I was doing an EPK (electronic press kit) interview about the book and the process of the movie. Later, The director, Ari [Sandel] — who is awesome — was like, ‘Hey, do you want to film a cameo?’ When they told me what it was [a small, but memorable one-line moment in a montage at the end of the movie], it made me so happy. It gave me even more faith that the movie was going to stay true to the message of the book, which is always what’s mattered to me.”
Kody takes a selfie with the four main stars: Whitman, Amell, Bianca Santos, and Skyler Samuels
BONDING WITH THE STARS
“It was either right after or right before I shot my cameo, and I was just sitting in that chair with Mae and Robbie, and Skylar [Samuels] and Bianca [Santos] just came in and we were all telling funny stories about our parents and stuff. They’re all so close to my age, so it was just like chatting with people that are close to my age and just having a normal conversation. And every couple minutes I’d stop and remember, ‘Oh, these people are celebrities’ and that would be a moment. It made me so excited that they’re the ones working on this movie, and it was clear that they’re excited about it, too.”
Kody’s director’s chair
CHAIR-ISHING THE MEMORIES
“This was such a cool thing! It was one of those days where I waited and waited for it to happen and then it was over too soon. It was one of the most fun days of my life without question.”
Hat tip from Kody
The DUFF arrives in theaters on Friday, Feb. 20.
All images courtesy of Kody Keplinger
