This movie is based on a beloved book by John Green. Has he seen the film and how does he feel about it?
Godfrey: He saw it very early on and was involved in the production, and loved it, thank god. But I think he knew all along from the screenplay to the casting that we were putting together a team that loved the book as deeply as its fans and that we were going to pay honor to it in whatever way we could.
The film is based on a book of short stories by James Franco. Can you tell us about how the project developed?
Coppola: James and I met up randomly – I had seen him at a deli and then later that night I ran into him again.
How did you get involved with this film?
This project actually just came to me—Katie [Couric] got in touch with me out of the blue with an email that simply said, “would you be interested in doing an Inconvenient Truth on food?”
Can you each talk about your first impression of the painting that inspired this film?
Mbatha-Raw: I first saw a postcard reproduction of it that I bought in a gift shop.
Let’s talk about the story. What inspired this script?
I’ve always liked movies about streetwalkers. I mean, there’s been so many of them, from every culture.