Hello, Netflix Book Club.
Welcome to another episode of,
"But Have You Read the Book?"
Today we are talking Along for the Ride.
Joining me today are stars Emma Pasarow and Belmont Cameli,
and bestselling author,
Sarah Dessen,
and the film’s writer and director,
Sofia Alvarez.
But to start...
How did you two know you had to audition
to be a part of this story?
When I first read the screenplay,
I immediately felt really connected to Eli.
I drew a lot of parallels between his life and my own
and I very quickly felt like I could bring a lot of myself
to the role, which is not something that I had anticipated
or done in the past,
but it just felt like the right approach for him.
I remember so clearly reading the script
for the first time because I was so amazed
at how she was so many things at once.
She's incredibly smart.
She’s independent, she's strong.
I think she grew up around a lot of chaos.
And so, she found a lot of solace
in her books and kind of being like the stable,
strong, holding-it-together force in her family.
And while she doesn't have many experiences with friends,
she would love connection with friends.
Would love to fall in love, but she puts up a front.
Can we talk about Auden's friendship with Maggie,
Leah, and Esther?
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
What do you think she learned, Auden, from them?
Well, I think, I mean,
this is just the most transformative summer
and a lot of it came from Eli,
but I think a lot of it came from the female friendships.
Also, I would even include Heidi in that.
Auden unfortunately does judge them at the start,
but because they're so patient with her,
eventually she realizes that they're wonderful people.
I think before, she's really good at academia
so she sticks to that and doesn't even try
with the other things, but she’s sort of like, “Wait a second.
The messiness is interesting.
I can make out with Maggie's boyfriend.
That can be really an awkward thing,
but we not only can like get past it,
but we can become best friends.”
Oh, I love the friendships.
And also just like-
I love the dance break.
-Oh yeah, me too. - Oh, it's fabulous, yeah.
No, it's like, and I can like really relate
to the sort of like
not wanting to engage with that 'cause that's so scary.
I understand.
I mean I'm younger than you guys, so like I'm closer to it.
- But I remember. - Yes, exactly.
What was that?
Dance break. Happens every night at 6:00.
You can join in next time if you want?
I'm good.
It's just learning that you're not all one thing,
whatever that thing is.
And that's what I got out of both the characters.
They've both been through something.
Eli has been through some really tough stuff and it's a lot
for a young person to handle, you know?
To Belmont I wanna ask you
what were the most challenging parts
about playing or portraying Eli's emotional complexity?
When we meet Eli, he's in mourning
and that mourning manifests not only in his insomnia,
but also in like a kind of denial of self.
And I think his inner turmoil is portrayed best
through his relationship with BMX
because he's sworn off competing
as like an act of loyalty to his late friend,
but he still can't help but get on that bike every night
and go out to the boardwalk.
So, through his relationship with Auden,
she allows him to kind of maybe,
without him even knowing, reinvigorate his old self
and bring those dark parts of his life back to light.
I'm curious.
Why do you think Eli and Auden are drawn to each other?
The simplest answer is that they're both insomniacs,
- so I mean, logistically we're just - Yeah.
- awake at the same time. - The timing.
You never told me your name.
I didn't?
No.
Oh,
I’m Eli.
Through all the time they spend together,
they kind of hold a mirror up to each other.
And they challenge each other, and, I think that allows both of them to grow.
We referred to Auden and Eli as “antenna people.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And “antenna people” are someone that you can just see
from across the room
for the first time and feel like a connection to them.
And you know, the romance only developed
after they begun to spend quality time together.
But, I think at first they're kind
of feeling each other out.
I think that Auden has straight up feelings for Eli,
- pretty, pretty quickly. - Quickly.
But the very first thing that Eli says to Auden
is commenting on the book she's reading.
"Colette," huh?
Loner.
Not always.
Even though that's a thing that ultimately doesn't matter.
It doesn't really matter necessarily
that the person you have a crush on
likes the same books as you did.
But I think that that sort of made her ears perk up
in a new way.
Like, “Oh, this person reads the same books as I do.”
Reads, yeah.
And, so that alone, like opened the door a little bit.
And then of course, it was just enough
so that she could go to the pie shop.
Pie shop is when, yeah.
And then the rest is history.
Yeah, I mean the pie shop was a game changer.
- Oh yes. - Yes.
When do you think that they, well, you think she was
in from jump.
When do you think they, the characters fell in love then?
I think that a really significant moment
in their relationship is the food fight.
Oh yeah.
Food fight!
That moment where Eli initially doesn't want
to attend Hot Dog Party,
he's not even gonna go.
And then he takes a risk and does go
and then in turn, Auden takes the risk herself.
And when she smears the potato salad on Eli's face
it's actually a very like nice gesture.
- She's really saying like, - Yeah.
“Allow me to reintroduce you to yourself.
And when I pour the beans on your head,
- it's like a thank you.” - Yeah.
What's really special about Auden and Eli
is they form a secret language
of care for one another
and it's not always verbal.
It's kind of just, I think, showing up.
- Yes. - Part of it.
And so, when Eli shows up, I think that alone
is something that Auden internalizes as like care and love.
And then in turn
she wants to make Eli feel cared for and taken care of.
And so, she smears the potato salad
and they don't need to talk about it.
They don't need to explain why,
but they just get it and they get each other.
And I think that's
what's so special about this relationship.
We are going to play a quick little game
to get to know Emma and Belmont a bit better.
We're going to create your perfect all-nighter.
Okay, your first stop.
Are you ready?
- Yes. - Yes.
- Ooh. - All time favorite snack food.
I already know.
Sorry, one second.
That's the longest snack food.
You have great penmanship.
Okay.
- It's specific. - Ready?
Go, let me see.
“Trader Joe's peanut butter filled pretzels.”
Oh, I could eat the whole bag.
“Leftovers” from Belmont.
I gotta go with team leftovers.
Yeah, man.
They're solid.
But that's so vague.
No, it's just whatever you had for dinner.
It's so completing.
- Just eat it again. - Fine.
You have a second meal.
It's that exciting ride home
when you're like, “Oh, I still have pizza.”
- Yes, right. - Okay.
Okay, here we go.
Oh.
- Late night coffee.
I know how you're taking it.
Yeah.
Ready?
Let me see.
What is it?
Espresso?
Well, mine's plain.
- Plain. - Plain coffee.
Just straight up plain coffee.
Plain.
Second stop.
Go.
Got it.
And?
Oh good, we picked something else.
Oh, “race bikes,” “lighthouse.”
I think I'm team lighthouse on that one.
Yes.
Third stop.
Let's awaken the inner child,
Mini golf or bowling?
This is good.
We're always picking different ones.
I chose mini golf.
I chose bowling.
I am a fan of both.
I feel like I'm a team mini golf though on this.
If you're going to do mini golf at night,
at least you're aware that it's nighttime.
You go into a bowling alley,
it's nighttime 24 hours a day in a bowl.
Yeah, picture this.
You're in a bowling alley.
I'm picturing.
Very late at night.
Nobody's there.
You can use every lane.
All the lanes run across from each lane.
You only need one lane.
I know, but it's kind of the idea.
I feel like you have your run of the place.
- Fair enough. - Really late at night.
How does the pin, fair enough.
There you go.
I feel like I've gotten to know you both
a little bit better since playing the game.
Good.
I don't think we said anything the same.
That's typical of us.
That's the chemistry.
Joining me now is Sarah Dessen, the book's author,
and Sofia Alvarez, the screenwriter and director.
And Sofia, this film is your directorial debut.
Yes.
- Major. - It is.
Let's cheers to that, ladies.
- Women directing film. - Very exciting.
- Way to go. - Cheers.
Okay, first we have to just talk a little bit
about what an accomplished writer that you are.
With so many bestsellers,
what do you especially love
about this book, Along For the Ride?
Well, this was the first book I wrote as a mom.
Before, it was my ninth book.
So, the first eight were,
I was writing from a daughter's point of view
and I wrote busy mother-daughter stories,
but when you become the mother yourself
the narrative definitely shifted for me.
So what do you then want people
to take away from the novel?
Well, I think it's very much a story
about mothers and daughters,
but it's also a story about finding yourself.
And I think with Auden, she is one of those people
that thinks she has everything pretty much figured out.
She's done everything by the book her whole life
and then she ends up in this new situation
and everything pivots and changes.
I think it's great.
Like I just, for myself personally, like this idea
of like the quest or bucket list at 90,
finding the things you wanna see
you made a list and seizing them,
like that was kind of cool.
And I think there are
so many iconic adolescent experiences
and they're sort of the tropes of young adult,
and this is sort of a story
about a girl who didn't get to do a lot of those things
and is sort of cramming them all into one summer.
What drew you to this book and to stories
about young women in particular coming of age?
I read the novel and coming
from this very intellectual family
that expected a certain amount
of the children from that family.
And so, I really related to that part of her character
and sort of trying to live up to her parents' expectation
of her and live up to her parents' expectation
of the way a smart woman should walk through the world
versus this idea of like, “But I also just wanna have fun,”
and what that looks like.
Even though you're no stranger to adaptation,
you wrote, obviously the screenplay To All the Boys.
How was adapting Along for the Ride different
from that experience?
Well, I would say the biggest difference
between adapting Along for the Ride
and adapting To All the Boys
is knowing I was going to direct Along for the Ride.
In terms of the world building
and the specificity of location
and the specificity of soundtrack
and the way I would describe characters
to give myself a little key into them later on set,
because I knew I was never gonna have to give it away.
Mm-hmm.
Whereas when you're the screenwriter,
at a certain point, whether you wanna hold onto it
as tightly as you can, you have to give it away
'cause that's just the way that it works.
Had you wanted to direct before?
So, I had directed plays before
and I always knew coming up
that I wanted to write and direct.
But when I was young and at a certain point,
I said, I should pick a lane
and try to just establish myself in one area.
Always knowing that after working as a writer
I could go back to directing.
So it was a goal I had for years,
but it wasn't until the success of
To All the Boys that I really felt I had the agency
to say, “This is what I want
and will you please give me this opportunity?
I'm ready.”
And the confidence to say that and to ask for it.
Yes.
When it comes to filming and visual language of the film,
what was your biggest challenge
in adapting the book into real life on screen?
Yeah, I mean, once we knew that we were gonna be filming
in Carolina Beach, it was sort of smooth sailing
in terms of the town coming to life.
And I know Emma and Bel brought up Clementine's
and something that was so funny about Clementine's
was it has to be this magical, really special place.
And in prep, we saw a lot of stores that might have
been closer to the beach, but you couldn't really tell.
And there were these little shoe boxes
and they didn't have a lot of light
and we were like, “I'm sure we could make it beautiful.
I'm sure we could have done something,”
and I just kept walking by this real estate office
that had like windows on all sides.
And I was just like, I remember I thought
during our first two or three location scouting sessions,
like, “You know, I just wish Clementine's could be there.”
I just wish Clementine's could be there.
And then I had this light bulb where I was like,
“I'm the director.
I can just ask if Clementine's can be there.”
And so, finally I was like
“I think it just has to be Nest Realty.”
Yeah.
And then they were like, “Okay.”
Can you talk a little bit about taking a turn
for a second, finding the perfect Auden and Eli?
Well, I remember when Emma auditioned,
I just remembered her right away
and she just felt like Auden.
She didn't feel like “movie-Auden,”
She felt like real Auden.
And from the very beginning casting conversations
I had said to everyone, “I would really prefer
an unknown actress to play this role.”
Unknown.
“Because I don't want people
to think, ‘I'm watching this actress I know from X, Y, and Z,’
playing the character of Auden.”
I wanted them to feel like Auden
and Eli too had like come alive from the book.
Like they'd just stepped out
of the book onto their movie screen.
And I think both Bel and Emma did that completely.
And what did it feel like seeing the two?
Seeing those characters that you'd written,
been with, embodied on screen?
It was crazy.
I mean, I'm from North Carolina,
they were filming in Carolina Beach, North Carolina.
So, I drove down there and my first day on set
was the big prom scene on the beach.
And so I literally walked into my book.
I walked up and everybody was in costume
and all these things were happening.
I was just standing there and Emma saw me
and she poked Bel and she's like, "Look who it is!"
We had never met.
And they both waved at me.
And I was like, “Oh my gosh...”
Did you never, you ever imagined them as real people?
No, because to me they are real people.
I mean, I think when you spend this much time
on the page with characters they have to be real to you.
But I agree that I feel like Emma is Auden.
Like at this point nobody else could have done it, you know?
And she just it's so perfect.
And I just really am excited
for the fans to see these stories come to the screen.
I'm excited.
Do you hate it?
I so don't hate it.
Thank you so much for joining us.
It’s a beautiful book that you have.
Beautiful film and story that you brought to light.
Along for the Ride is now streaming on Netflix.
Be sure to watch this beautiful and delightful film.
- Great. - This was wonderful.
Wonderful.
- Thank you, thank you. - Thank you.