Sarah Dessen On A Mandy Moore Reunion & ‘Alongside For The Experience’ – Hollywood Life

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Sarah Dessen’s best-selling ebook Alongside for the Experience is now a Netflix hit. The writer’s beloved characters come to life over a decade after the ebook was revealed. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Sarah about Alongside for the Experience’s street to the large display.

“The ebook has already had a lifetime of its personal. It’s good that it’s not a brand new launch. It’s a ebook that I promoted and walked round and talked about for a very long time. To have the ability to see it tackle this new life is simply very cool,” Sarah advised HollywoodLife. ” I really feel like Sofia [Alvarez] has taken all of the strongest components of it and amplified them, which is one thing I couldn’t do. I might by no means adapt my very own stuff. I really feel like I’d simply be horrible… I’m simply thrilled. I actually am and I like that that is the primary one and that it’s popping out presently when it’s actually going to resonate with this concept of creating up for misplaced time and second probabilities and issues that we’ve missed that possibly aren’t gone ceaselessly.”

Alongside for the Experience is the primary of three deliberate Netflix movie diversifications of Sarah’s novels. The writer revealed why Alongside for the Experience is the proper film to kick off the Dessen dynasty on Netflix.

“I believe popping out of the pandemic, we’re all making adjustments,” Sarah famous. “I really feel like lots of people have pivoted, and we’ve realized that you simply don’t need to put a number of stuff off. Auden is a lady who’s at all times enthusiastic about the longer term, and that’s the way in which that I used to be too, particularly once I was writing that ebook. I believe I modified rather a lot over the pandemic, and I’ve additionally modified rather a lot as my daughter has grown as a result of it’s compelled me to develop and develop into a distinct particular person. I was so centered at all times on what I wanted to do subsequent. It was at all times go, go, go, go, go, go. Now I’ve been compelled to be nonetheless for a short while, and I discover that I prefer it. However I get that starvation and that perfectionism. I’m at all times going to have the ability to relate to that, and I believe that’s one thing everyone can relate to.”

The Netflix movie is the primary time in practically 20 years that one in all Sarah’s books has been tailored for the display. The final book-to-film adaptation was How To Deal, which mixed That Summer season and Somebody Like You. The movie will flip 20 in 2023.

“It was such an exquisite expertise. I used to be youthful, and I obtained to go as much as the set. I obtained to satisfy Mandy Moore when she was on the rise. I obtained to satisfy Allison Janney, and it was actually good. I used to be positively a bit of bit extra at a distance because it was two books put into one by a screenwriter. With this [Along for the Ride], I used to be capable of actually speak to Sofia rather a lot about her imaginative and prescient and every little thing, however it was such expertise for a younger author, and the way wonderful that I’m attending to do it once more. That it even occurred as soon as is unbelievable, and now that I’m attending to do it once more and be so happy with it.”

Sarah identified that with out the This Is Us star How To Deal “wouldn’t have gotten made.” She hopes that Mandy might even star in one of many upcoming movie diversifications, bringing her and Mandy full circle.

“I’m at all times rooting for Mandy. I’ve this fantasy that she’s going to be in one in all these different motion pictures. I’d love for her to go from taking part in the daughter to taking part in the mom,” Sarah advised HollywoodLife. Alongside for the Experience is now streaming on Netflix.