Pretty Much Every John Green Book You Love is Going to be Turned Into a Movie
Cara Delevingne in ‘Paper Towns’ (Twentieth Century Fox)
When the tragic teen romance The Fault In Our Stars conquered the box office last June, John Green instantly became Hollywood’s favorite new author. As popular as he is with teenagers and moviegoers alike, the YA novelist has only written five books (six, if you count his contribution to the short story collection Let It Snow). Paper Towns, based on his 2008 bestseller, opens in theaters today. As for the rest of his books, some of them are being rushed into production — and others are taking their sweet time coming to cinemas. Of course, now that the author has a producing deal with Fox 2000, fans can hope to see a few more John Green projects coming down the pipeline. Meanwhile, here’s the current cinematic status of Green’s unadapted books.
Let It Snow - As of right now, Let It Snow is the next John Green movie slated to hit theaters — but some fans would argue that it doesn’t count, since it’s not pure, undiluted John Green. The holiday film, which chronicles three teenage romances that unfold on Christmas Eve, is based on a collection of three interwoven short stories by YA authors Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. The film is being produced by Universal with a screenplay by Kay Cannon (who penned the Pitch Perfect movies). The one-third-John-Green adaptation is set to open on the festive date of December 9, 2016.
Looking for Alaska - Green’s 2005 debut novel, about a teenage boy who falls for a charismatic-but-troubled girl at an Alabama prep school, is well on its way to the big screen. The movie languished in development hell for a decade, but was fast tracked by Paramount following the success of The Fault in Our Stars. The screenwriters of that 2014 hit are on board for this one, and Rebecca Thomas (Electrick Children) is set to direct. No casting has been announced yet — though Green recently said he’d be happy to put Taylor Swift in every role.
An Abundance of Katherines - Right now, there’s no movie news regarding Green’s 2006 novel, about a former child prodigy who has dated 19 girls named Katherine. However, the book has drawn interest from multiple production companies over the years, including Temple Hill (which tried to option Katherines before ultimately producing The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns). In a blog post from last year, Green said a film adaptation was in development, but “a long way off.” However, now that he’s got that first-look deal, Green could very well choose to launch this one into production.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - Co-written with David Levithan, this love story about two teenage boys named Will Grayson has yet to be optioned. “To quote a real live movie producer who really said this about Will Grayson, Will Grayson, ‘The only thing Hollywood hates more than smart teenagers is smart, gay teenagers,’” Green wrote on his website last year. “I hope Hollywood will prove this movie producer wrong someday.”
Images: Penguin Group USA
