Gayle Forman and RJ Cutler at If I Stay discussion and signing at the Barnes & Noble in Glendale, CA.
On Friday, August 8th, I had the privilege of attending Gayle Forman and RJ Cutler's If I Stay signing in Glendale, CA! Before the signing there was a discussion about the movie. Gayle Forman took the time to ask RJ Cutler a few questions. I was able to jot down most of the questions and answers so read on to learn more about the making of If I Stay!
Why did you want to direct this movie?
Cutler said that just like us, he read the book. And when he read it, he wanted to direct it. He called it a "great, deep, profound, mythic story."
Did you pause because it was YA?
Cutler's answer: "I'm basically a teenage girl...No, I did not pause. The fact that it's a young adult novel is awesome. The making of the movie was not impacted at all because of the category the book was in."
Cutler on his relationship with Chloe...
Cutler met Chloe through Skype. After skyping for a while, they met for lunch and talked about their love for the book (If I Stay). Because their feelings towards the book were so similar, Cutler stated "I think I spent an hour talking to myself." He also went on to say that Chloe was great for Mia's role because she was so alike to her. Mia was a 17 year old girl who loved her family and started working on her passion at a young age. Chloe is also a 17 year old girl who absolutely loves her family and has dedicated herself to her passion (acting) since she was a kid.
Gayle Forman and Cutler on finding Adam...
Cutler: "We needed someone who could play music, sing, be charming, cool, act, act with Chloe Moretz...And then Jamie walked in. It was magical. It was fantastic." He then went on to say that Chloe and Jamie shared an instant great chemistry.
Gayle to Cutler: "When you did find Adam it was like you extracted the character from my brain and animated him."
Cutler on Adam's band...
Cutler shared a cool fact that Adam's band were actually not actors. The team had gone to Vancouver and held auditions for local bands in the area. The most unique audition Cutler saw was when a guitarist and bassist walked in, but didn't have a drummer. Cutler went on to find out from the boys that their drummer had gotten into a car accident and was in a coma for a while, and was currently recovering. Cutler found it fascinating that the drummer's story shared an eery similarity to Mia's from the book that he casted them immediately.
Forman and Cutler on the music in the film...
"The music was real." - Cutler
"The way Mia plays the cello in the film tells a whole other story so pay attention to the cello music." -Forman
Cutler on Liana Liberato as Kim...
"You should see the audition that Liana liberato made in the audition for Kim.
Liana just crushed me in that audition.
She did not only understand Kim's character but also Mia."
