Title: An error with the API
Last modified: November 7, 2016

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# An error with the API

 *  Resolved [samblis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/samblis/)
 * (@samblis)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/)
 * I am getting this error on my site [http://www.CinemaBuzz.com](http://www.CinemaBuzz.com)
 * There has been an error with the API:
    INVALID_DOCUMENT – Unsupported resource
   with URL=/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Screen-Shot-2016-10-19-at-11.52.54-AM.png(
   keyPath components->0->components->0->URL) INVALID_DOCUMENT – Unsupported resource
   with URL=/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Screen-Shot-2016-10-19-at-11.52.54-AM.png(
   keyPath metadata->thumbnailURL)
 * Anyone have an idea what it may be?

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

 *  Plugin Author [Bradford Campeau-Laurion](https://wordpress.org/support/users/potatomaster/)
 * (@potatomaster)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8406178)
 * Can you please download the JSON file for this post via the Apple News post list(
   there is an action for it labeled Download) and paste that here as `code`?
 * Also please provide a link to the post on your site.
 * Thanks.
 *  Thread Starter [samblis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/samblis/)
 * (@samblis)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8406795)
 * Sorry, I am a little new to this. The story on my site that I am trying to publish
   to Apple News is located at [http://www.cinemabuzz.com/baptist-staring-randal-reeder-begins-pre-production](http://www.cinemabuzz.com/baptist-staring-randal-reeder-begins-pre-production)
 * When I go to update the story and publish it to Apple News through the word press
   plugin I get that error.
 * When I go to the Apple News website I don’t see the story submitted. I am not
   sure where to find the JSON file or that action to download and copy it here.
   Could help me find it?
 *  Plugin Author [Bradford Campeau-Laurion](https://wordpress.org/support/users/potatomaster/)
 * (@potatomaster)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8406802)
 * Click on the menu item labeled “Apple News” in your WordPress dashboard. You’ll
   see all the posts you’ve published to Apple News. Find that post, mouse over 
   the row, and you’ll see an action for “Download”. That will give you the JSON
   file.
 * Open it in any text editor and copy/paste it here as `code`
 *  Thread Starter [samblis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/samblis/)
 * (@samblis)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8406856)
 * Thank you. I see that now. Actually, it looks like all my stories are there and
   they are all not published. I went to the first one and hit the publish button
   there and got this error…
 * There has been an error with the API:
    INVALID_DOCUMENT – Unsupported resource
   with URL=/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Edgeof17_rgb.jpg (keyPath components->0-
   >components->0->URL) INVALID_DOCUMENT – Unsupported resource with URL=/wp-content/
   uploads/2016/10/Edgeof17_rgb.jpg (keyPath metadata->thumbnailURL)
 * It lists the story as …
 * Everything You Will Ever Need to Know About – The Edge of Seventeen (id:4769)
 * The actual link to this story on our site is…
    [http://www.cinemabuzz.com/everything-you-would-want-to-know-about-the-edge-of-seventeen](http://www.cinemabuzz.com/everything-you-would-want-to-know-about-the-edge-of-seventeen)
 * This is the JSON text below.
 * {“version”:”1.1″,”identifier”:”post-4769″,”language”:”en”,”title”:”Everything
   You Will Ever Need to Know About – The Edge of Seventeen”,”documentStyle”:{“backgroundColor”:”#
   fafafa”},”layout”:{“columns”:7,”width”:1024,”margin”:100,”gutter”:20},”components”:[{“
   role”:”header”,”layout”:”headerPhotoLayout”,”components”:[{“role”:”photo”,”layout”:”
   headerPhotoLayout”,”URL”:”\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Edgeof17_rgb.jpg”}],”
   behavior”:{“type”:”parallax”,”factor”:0.8}},{“role”:”container”,”layout”:{“columnStart”:
   0,”columnSpan”:7,”ignoreDocumentMargin”:true},”style”:{“backgroundColor”:”#fafafa”},”
   components”:[{“role”:”title”,”text”:”Everything You Will Ever Need to Know About–
   The Edge of Seventeen”,”textStyle”:”default-title”,”layout”:”title-layout”},{“
   role”:”byline”,”text”:”by Steven Samblis | Oct 30, 2016 | 11:50 PM”,”textStyle”:”
   default-byline”,”layout”:”byline-layout”},{“role”:”body”,”text”:”**Growing up
   is the great equalizer**\n\nNo matter your family situation, walk of life, or
   specific personal experience, anyone who has ever gone through adolescence understands
   the growing pains and awkwardness that go with the territory when it comes to
   navigating the transition to adulthood. The times change, the modes of communication
   evolve, but some things\u2014like the first pangs of love or the sting of a friend\
   u2019s betrayal\u2014never change.\n\nCreating a film about growing up in our
   digital age took a writer who could poignantly capture the voice of this generation.
   From five-time Oscar\u00ae nominated and three-time Oscar\u00ae winning producer[
   James L. Brooks](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0000985\/) (Spanglish, (Broadcast
   News, Terms of Endearment) and writer\/first-time director Kelly Fremon Craig,
   THE EDGE OFSEVENTEEN is a coming-of-age comedy with a refreshingly authentic 
   voice.\n\nNadine ([Hailee Steinfeld](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm2794962\/))
   and Krista ([Haley Lu Richardson](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm4726634\/)) 
   are inseparable best friends attempting to navigate high school together\u2026
   until Nadine\u2019s older brother Darian ([Blake Jenner](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/
   name\/nm4296357\/)) and Krista begin dating. With her view of the world rocked,
   Nadine is forced to see the people in her life \u2013 including her well-meaning
   but distracted mother ([Kyra Sedgwick](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0001718\/)),
   and unlikely mentor and History teacher Mr. Bruner ([Woody Harrelson](http:\/\/
   www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0000437\/)) \u2013 with fresh eyes and new appreciation
   that people\u2014and life\u2014are more complicated than she thought.\n\nThe 
   film stars Oscar\u00ae nominees Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Pitch Perfect 2)
   and Woody Harrelson (upcoming LBJ, \u201cTrue Detective\u201d), as well as Kyra
   Sedgwick (\u201cThe Closer,\u201d \u201cProof\u201d), Haley Lu Richardson (The
   Bronze, \u201cRavenswood\u201d), and Blake Jenner (Everybody Wants Some, upcoming
   Billy Boy). The cast also features Hayden Szeto (upcoming The Unbidden, \u201cChop
   Shop\u201d) and Alexander Calvert (\u201cArrow,\u201d \u201cThe Returned\u201d).\
   n\n**THE ORIGIN OF THE PROJECT**\n\nWriter\/director Kelly Fremon Craig was inspired
   to pen [THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1878870\/) by 
   the authentic teen films of her youth, a type of film not often found in today\
   u2019s marketplace. \u201cI\u2019ve always been intrigued by periods of rapid
   emotional growth and self-examination, when situations change around us, forcing
   us to step into new roles and re-determine who we are and how we feel about ourselves.
   I started this project in an effort to try to capture this particular age and
   generation as truthfully as I could and with a respect for the complexity and
   messiness of it all. Passing from youth to adulthood is intense and terrifying
   and beautiful, and in many ways the experience of anyone, any age, shedding their
   old self and becoming new. I wanted to explore that.\u201d\n\nFremon Craig\u2019s
   spec script about a girl and her best friend in high school came to the attention
   of legendary Oscar\u00ae and Emmy\u00ae Award-winning producer James L. Brooks
   at [Gracie Films](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/company\/co0134988\/). \u201cKelly had
   a first draft and when we first talked – just as she was leaving the office –
   she turned around and she said \u2018No one will ever work harder than I do.\
   u2019 And that did it,\u2019\u201d laughs Brooks. \u201cOur time together had
   been just a surface meeting until that moment. I took it as somebody telling 
   their core truth.\u201d\n\n\u201cHonestly, I wasn\u2019t captivated by that first
   draft,\u201d admits Brooks. \u201cIt was good work. But when Kelly said that,
   then we went to work. She went away for a big chunk of time. I\u2019m a big believer
   in research. She\u2019d bring back interview tapes and we\u2019d look at it and
   it would inspire us.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe first time I read the script, I thought
   this is special,\u201d remembers longtime Brooks collaborator and Gracie Films
   producer Julie Ansell. \u201cThe characters were so full and so funny. We spent
   almost four years working on it, which is our process. This is what we like to
   do. We look for character-driven comedies and drama. We like to find a person
   with a voice, with something to say, and then help the writer fine-tune it. This
   is an amazing piece of writing\u201d\n\n\u201cThe thing that\u2019s so great 
   about Jim is he is so committed to capturing something honestly,\u201d comments
   Fremon Craig. \u201cPart of why we have such a good relationship is we both go
   nuts over getting the details right. Jim is always pursuing the truth. When we
   started this process, we took a journalistic approach. Are we saying something
   real? I really tried to figure out what was going on emotionally today, and how
   technology is affecting relationships. But interestingly, I found so much of 
   the core things were exactly the same as my own coming-of-age experience.\u201d\
   n\n\u201cKelly came back with a second draft and it was oceans away. I have never
   thought it possible that there could be that great a difference between a first
   and second draft because in that second draft, there was a voice, there was somebody
   who saw the world differently,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cWith every movie there
   is a constituency and that constituency knows whether or not you are telling 
   the truth. There were people who talked differently and yet revealed themselves
   to be familiar people as they talked differently. The dialogue was brilliant,
   the story came together and it was daring and fresh. I was flap-jawed. From that
   point, Kelly was an extremely talented woman taking the express train to her 
   destiny.\u201d\n\n\u201cKelly was amazing during the whole development process,\
   u201d agrees Ansell. \u201cShe threw herself into it. She got into the pain and
   everything she found elevated the script from a very funny, sweet script into
   something that really hit you honestly. Kelly captures the voice of these kids,
   and got the emotions that I remember feeling back in high school, when there\
   u2019s inherently so much drama and so much that you learn about yourself. You
   have to go through the pain of finding out who you are, to come out the other
   end as a stronger person.\u201d \u201cYou are paying very righteous dues when
   you do research,\u201d adds Brooks. \u201cThe third time you hear something you
   think it\u2019s generally true. But also, meeting those kids, seeing those faces
   in your head\u2026 it creates something in you that wants to serve their truth.
   It\u2019s a small thing, but it makes a difference in creating characters that
   linger.\u201d \u201cIn my opinion, she wrote literature,\u201d Brooks furthers.\
   u201cA voice is an unusual thing in Hollywood, and for somebody to come along
   with an individual voice and get their movie made is a big deal. When there\u2019s
   a distinctive voice in a script, and it doesn\u2019t happen that often, it\u2019s
   great to show up. At 3:00 in the morning on a cold set, you have to know why 
   you’re there.\u201d\n\nBrooks describes the story succinctly. \u201cAfter reading
   the first draft, there were some people who wanted to title the film Besties,
   and that first draft focused on a friendship between two girls. But now it\u2019s
   about a lot more than that. The friendship is still the catalyst for a lot of
   action, and the story is mainly about this central character Nadine, but there
   are a couple of people in this movie with secrets, which adds great tension.\
   u201d\n\nNadine and Krista are inseparable friends\u2026 until Nadine discovers
   Krista has quietly begun dating Nadine\u2019s older brother Darian. \u201cNadine\
   u2019s a girl who has always been on the outside, but she\u2019s had her one 
   anchor, her best friend Krista,\u201d Ansell describes. \u201cBut it\u2019s that
   time to start growing and moving on and Krista\u2019s started to do that. Nadine
   comes to realize that a lot of what she thought about the people in her life 
   is actually not true. She begins to see life through eyes other than her own.
   By the end of the movie, she starts to understand that people and life are more
   complicated.\u201d\n\nGracie Films\u2019 reputation for acclaimed and thoughtful
   material as well as their track record for mentoring fresh filmmakers made it
   the perfect home for Fremon Craig and her screenplay. \u201cI don\u2019t do this
   very often and when I do, the motivation is always the same\u2026 a writer with
   a real voice, and that writer will always play a continuing role with the movie.
   That\u2019s all we do with our little group,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cThe first
   writer we worked with was Cameron Crowe for a picture called Say Anything, and
   he ended up directing that project. With Wes Anderson on Bottle Rocket, we knew
   he was going to direct going in, and with Kelly we knew it going in. We knew 
   this would be her film to direct.\u201d As with any first-time director, there
   were concerns. \u201cKelly is an Orange County girl, just a delightful human 
   being and there was a moment when we worried whether she\u2019d be too nice for
   the job,\u201d laughs Brooks. \u201cBut she\u2019s a force of nature. I don\u2019t
   think she knew it was going to come to her like that. It\u2019s a passion project
   and something went off inside her. Two days in, we knew she was born for the 
   job, which has been great to see.\u201d\n\nCo-Producer Amy Brooks adds, \u201cOne
   of Kelly\u2019s strengths is that she\u2019s always open, always learning and
   she can\u2019t get her fill. Even when filming, Kelly never stopped the research
   process. Kelly brings rawness and laughter, and I feel so lucky that I get to
   go to work and sit next to Kelly every day. She allows you to be yourself. That’s
   what the cast feels and I know that’s what the whole crew feels.\u201d\n\nThe
   dialogue in the movie is particularly raw, especially from the main character
   Nadine. \u201cWe might be the only R-rated movie that cheered when we were told
   that we could be an R. Not because we wanted to be a shocking R, but because 
   to be an R meant letting everybody let it rip and be themselves. It wasn’t like
   we’re gunning for a certain rating, it was just about being real,\u201d says 
   Amy Brooks. \u201cIt is rated R for reality. The film had to have the cadence
   and the heart and rhythm of how people really talk to each other. That was so
   important to Kelly. If you spend two seconds with Kelly, you see she goes for
   the truth all \n\nthe time.\u201d \u201cPlus every five pages there\u2019s a 
   twist,\u201d adds Amy Brooks. \u201cWhen you started to think you’d figured out
   what this movie was about, there was a surprise. The story is familiar and comforting,
   like you want a movie to be, but full of surprises.\u201d\n\nThe film has themes
   that will resonate with all audiences. \u201cWhen times seem really down, you
   learn from it and go through it and become stronger,\u201d adds Ansell. \u201cIt\
   u2019s about how friendship can wax and wane and change. People change, a mother
   and daughter can come to understand each other a little bit more. Audiences will
   feel an affection for Nadine and what she\u2019s gone through in learning to 
   understand herself, and come out ultimately feeling like this character\u2019s
   going to be okay.\u201d Amy Brooks adds, \u201cKelly really captured the comedy
   and sadness in how a family falls apart and comes together and falls apart and
   comes together while they’re grieving. She also captured that teacher that calls
   you out, that you hold onto for the rest of your life because that teacher got
   you as you\u2026saw you and celebrated that. I hope everyone feels \u2018I got
   this movie in a personal way and it’s mine. This movie was for me.\u2019 But 
   this movie is for all of us.\u201d\n\n**ABOUT THE CASTING**\n\nProducer James
   L. Brooks, Blake Jenner, Haley Lu Richardson, Hailee Steinfeld, Director\/Writer\/
   Producer Kelly Fremon Craig, Kyra Sedgwick and Hayden Szeto seen at STX Entertainment\”
   The Edge of Seventeen\” Photo Call at Four Seasons Hotel – Almond Room on Saturday,
   Oct. 29, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg\/Invision for STX Entertainment\/
   AP Images)\n\nThe heart of the story is 17-year old Nadine who feels she doesn\
   u2019t quite fit in. \u201cThe central character of THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN is 
   somebody you\u2019ve never seen before, but the minute you see her you’re not
   going to forget her,\u201d states producer James L. Brooks.\n\nOscar\u00ae nominated
   Hailee Steinfeld is the center of an exceptionally strong cast with wide appeal.\
   u201cThis is a character-driven movie and finding Nadine was an incredible journey–
   very difficult and incredibly important,\u201d remembers producer Julie Ansell.\
   u201cWe must have seen over 1,000 girls \u2013 from knowns to unknowns. We read
   everybody and we weren\u2019t going to make the movie unless we found the right
   actress. Hailee walked in and that was that. Actually, every part was like that.
   It was very important to find the right people for every role, because the film
   is so performance-driven that without the right cast, you don\u2019t have a movie.\
   u201d\n\n\u201cCasting was enormously difficult across the board, because I wanted
   people that felt real,\u201d describes Fremon Craig. \u201cHailee is a wunderkind.
   She is staggering. I actually know that nobody else in the world could do this
   part, because the casting process was so enormous over so many months. Hailee
   walked in and she was just Nadine from top to bottom. She\u2019s so alive and
   follows every impulse. She gets this character deeply. It\u2019s electric. Directing\
   n\nher, I just wanted to get out of her way.\u201d \u201cHailee is a great young
   actress. This is the right role at the right time with the right actress. It 
   takes so much for any movie to work,\u201d muses James Brooks, \u201cespecially
   a movie that has an original voice. The minute you’re original, you\u2019re in
   space\u2026 you\u2019re not quite on firm ground.\u201d\n\nBy her junior year,
   Nadine has not yet made peace with the one-two punch of simultaneously hitting
   puberty and losing her father four years before. \u201cAs well as being funny,
   Hailee brings an intelligence to Nadine. She can bring both strength and vulnerability,
   but at the same time you get a character who is really hurting,\u201d adds Ansell.
   Steinfeld comments, \u201cNadine is so smart, witty, quick, and feels everything.
   Most times when characters are hit with a curve ball, they try to cover it up
   or mask their emotions. But Nadine wears her feelings, her heart, and her everything
   on her sleeve. There\u2019s something so refreshing about seeing someone that
   feels so much. She\u2019s so desperate for any kind of human connection, it\u2019s
   amazing to watch her seek that with anyone she possibly can.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\
   u2019m 18-years old, so I know almost everything in a teenager\u2019s life is,
   in such a reasonable way, so blown out of proportion,\u201d says Steinfeld. \
   u201cEvery little thing that happens is such a huge event. Everything that happens
   to Nadine means so much. Everything matters. Everything is so deeply felt.\u201d\
   n\n\u201cI felt so connected to the core of the story because of how many characters
   that have something so relatable going on in their lives,\u201d reveals Steinfeld.\
   u201cThe script was true to a teenager\u2019s life in the 21st century. I personally
   have experienced so many of the things that Kelly wrote for this character and
   her writing is so honest and raw. It was a weird vulnerable state going in there
   admitting to Kelly the similarities to what my friends and I have really experienced.\
   u201d\n\nSteinfeld adds, \u201cReal conversations between kids in a high school
   hallway are not always appropriate. Kelly did an incredible job capturing that,
   but not making it more than what it is. The tone of the script has a perfect 
   balance. Kelly made every single page so descriptive and so deep, yet focusing
   on the internal struggles of each character. I loved that the script goes so 
   far into the details of this girl\u2019s world, covering everything from how 
   she\u2019s feeling to what she\u2019s wearing.\u201d\n\nUp-and-coming actress
   Haley Lu Richardson was cast in the pivotal role as Nadine\u2019s inseparable
   best friend Krista who falls for Nadine\u2019s brother. \u201cKrista is a good
   person, a really sweet girl who wants the best for the people she loves and for
   herself,\u201d describes Richardson. \u201cI love her so much because she\u2019s
   maternal towards Nadine. I imagine her being raised really well, with good morals.
   She’s selfless and has always been there for Nadine. When she is confronted with
   the choice between doing something for herself and doing something for Nadine,
   it’s not easy for her to make the choice that fulfills her, but she\u2019s brave
   and she does it. Nadine and Krista met when they were very young so they are 
   super comfortable with each other and feel safe together. Now that they are in
   high school, Nadine is still figuring her stuff out and Krista is her rock.\u201d\
   n\nFremon Craig adds, \u201cFinding an actress who could go toe-to-toe with Hailee
   Steinfeld was a serious search because she is so good. Hailee can run circles
   around most everybody. But Hailee and Haley Lu really had a great chemistry and
   felt like lifelong friends instantly. Haley Lu is also dead real. You don\u2019t
   see the acting. She\u2019s so absolutely inside the moment and so present. She\
   u2019s such a smart actress and incredibly self-aware when it comes to her own
   talent.\n\nShe knows the work that she has to do to get inside the role and she
   does it. She always shows up with a great attitude and delivers and it\u2019s
   100% real. She feels like your friend and she\u2019s complicated and interesting.
   She brings so much truth to the role.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe relationship between
   Nadine and Krista is the ultimate best friend relationship,\u201d describes Steinfeld.\
   u201cIf they\u2019re not in the same room, they are likely texting or on the 
   phone or on FaceTime. They\u2019re everything to each other, especially Krista
   to Nadine. Krista is every person in Nadine\u2019s life that she\u2019s ever 
   wanted. Krista is always there for Nadine.\u201d\n\nRichardson connected with
   the onscreen friendship, \u201cThe script was very real, sweet but quirky and
   specific at the same time. I’ve held my friend’s hair before while she was vomiting.
   I know about those real moments, but it’s definitely not a stereotypical high
   school kid movie. It’s what you see in high school, the language you hear, and
   the stuff you go through during the emotional roller coaster years.\u201d\n\n\
   u201cBut the story is also not what you expect. The first time reading the script,
   I was thinking that there was going to be a moment where Krista decides not to
   pursue a relationship with Darian to placate Nadine, and she doesn’t do that,\
   u201d reveals Richardson. \u201cThat was cool because that\u2019s what would 
   likely happen in real life. There’s not always necessarily a happy ending in 
   the way \n\nyou expect. Most times you have to go through a struggle and separate
   from the comfortable to then find what is your next step.\u201d\n\n\u201cNadine
   feels her best friend is being taken away,\u201d explains Steinfeld. \u201cKrista
   is the only person that understands Nadine. She can get along with anybody, but
   Nadine\u2019s hard to read, and Krista\u2019s the only one that\u2019s ever given
   her that time and shown her affection. The moment she perceives that Krista is
   being taken away, it tears Nadine into a million pieces. Even though Krista is
   with her brother and wants so badly to make it work between all of them, Nadine
   sees it as her life coming to an end. Unfortunately, she feels her best friend
   is no longer hers.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe main goal Kelly and I had for Krista was
   not making her the villain that goes off with her best friend’s older brother
   and breaks her friend’s heart,\u201d adds Richardson. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want
   to make her this girl that all of a sudden turns into a cool girl with everything
   she wants. It was important that being with Darian is the best thing in the world
   for her, but also the hardest decision she’s ever had to make because it’s breaking
   her best friend’s heart.\u201d\n\n\u201cAgain we had a large search for both 
   of those roles,\u201d says Ansell. \u201cWe cast Blake Jenner as Darian fairly
   quickly. We thought the Krista part would be easier but it turned out to be very
   difficult. Luckily, Haley Lu came in pretty late in the process. At the beginning,
   you only see Darian through Nadine\u2019s eyes and they have a difficult relationship.
   At first, the audience won\u2019t realize he\u2019s actually the backbone of 
   the family, who sacrifices for his mother and sister. One of the biggest things
   that Nadine starts to understand is her brother isn\u2019t who she thought he
   was, is actually this really quiet hero, and she learns to appreciate him.\u201d\
   n\n\u201cThe perception of Darian can easily be that he is Mr. Popular and he\
   u2019s got it all, a perfect life. But on the inside, he’s definitely broken,\
   u201d describes Jenner. \u201cHe’s been putting himself back together since he
   was 14. Once his family lost their father he dubbed himself the caretaker. Their
   mom couldn\u2019t cope and be the mother that they needed. He\u2019s always subdued
   his own emotions for the sake of his family. He\u2019s cut off the potential 
   of his own life to be their Batman. There\u2019s more than meets the eye with
   him. There’s a lot of pain. His dad passed away at the prime time where most 
   fathers and sons talk about the birds and the bees, and what it means to be a
   man. He has had to teach himself, so there are a lot of voids in Darian.\u201d\
   n\n\u201cI come from a big family, so I’ve always been a sucker for family-oriented
   films,\u201d adds Jenner. \u201cStories revolving around a family in turmoil 
   always hit home for me. The second I read the script I was hooked because they
   are all living their own separate lives within this one world that they share.
   I was Darian growing up, except I was the youngest of four boys. But with my 
   friends, I always felt some responsibility to them because I wanted to be a big
   brother. I tried to \n\nbe there for them, so I understand what it\u2019s like
   cutting off your own ability to feel for the needs of others. This movie is a
   lot like therapy for me.\u201d\n\nDirector Kelly Fremon Craig had Jenner write
   in a journal while prepping for the role. \u201cBlake is one of the most committed,
   researched, and hardworking actors I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d comments Fremon
   Craig. \u201cHis talent is extraordinary and he blew me away. The minute he came
   in, he had me crying.\n\n\u201cHe puts so much work and nuance into it. He was
   so game to really look at his character\u2019s back-story. Darian is a complicated
   character, because you think he\u2019s one type of guy at the onset, but then
   you find out there\u2019s a lot more underneath. Blake is so ridiculously handsome,
   but also a guy who\u2019s a million miles deep. He was just the perfect person
   to play Darian.\u201d\n\n\u201cKelly\u2019s script is so youthful, timeless, 
   and definitely not sanitized,\u201d comments Jenner. \u201cIt\u2019s a story 
   about a family who lost their way a long time ago and with ebbs and flows, they
   find themselves again and reach peace. There are several different little movies
   within the movie. I love that Nadine is ballsy and not filtered. I know a lot
   of girls who are very forward with their language, so it\u2019s nice not to see
   a watered down version of a girl who has gone through a rough \n\ntime. The movie
   definitely does not shy away from the R-rated language. It sounds corny, but 
   it\u2019s just life. It\u2019s not trying hard. These characters are who they
   are. They’re losing their temper and dropping F-bombs when it\u2019s warranted.\
   n\nThey’re crying and keeping to themselves and reaching out for a loved one 
   when it\u2019s warranted. It\u2019s all real, which I like.\u201d The leading
   trio enjoyed the camaraderie on screen and off. \u201cBlake is a good guy and
   a really thoughtful, grounded, and wise actor,\u201d says Richardson. \u201cHailee
   was raised really well. She’s young but she’s got her stuff figured out. I like
   working with her. Sometimes it’s really hard to stay in an intense emotional 
   scene because we’re singing a song from a YouTube video between takes. Like the
   scene in the fast food restaurant when Krista is telling Nadine that she wants
   to be with her brother Darian. Hailee was so in it, I was so in it, living and
   breathing the characters, and improvising back and forth.\u201d\n\nSteinfeld 
   agrees, \u201cHaley Lu and I hit it off quickly, developing a natural banter 
   between us. We picked up on each other\u2019s mannerisms, so we were able to 
   bring those the little things that we each do to the screen.\u201d \u201cIn reality,
   I\u2019m very close with my family, so to play a character that feels \n\nso 
   completely isolated has been really challenging,\u201d admits Steinfeld. \u201cSpecifically,
   it\u2019s been very hard to work with Blake because I really like him. We find
   so many things in the moment. He\u2019s such a great guy, but he is very good
   at playing the brother that Nadine doesn\u2019t like very much. Their relationship
   is so layered because Nadine thinks he has everything \u2013 looks, grades, and
   friends.\n\nEvery person he walks by shows him attention and love. Nadine walks
   down the hall and people snicker\u2026 and we\u2019re related!\u201d \u201cI 
   love their relationship. It\u2019s a tug of war the entire time because they\
   u2019re speaking different languages,\u201d adds Jenner. \u201cHe’s setting aside
   his frustration, and she’s speaking freely about hers. My last audition was a
   chemistry read with Hailee, doing one of our heavy scenes, and she was just all
   there. She’s a great actress, who is willing to jump into the deep end and give
   it all she has. She\u2019s inspiring as this misunderstood character trying to
   find her way in the aftermath of tragedy. Nadine related to their father the 
   most and when she lost him, she lost her light. She’s playing the victim because
   all she’s ever really known is being lost, so Darian has had to be the responsible
   one.\u201d\n\nVeteran actors Kyra Sedgwick and Woody Harrelson portray the key
   adults in the story \u2013 Nadine\u2019s mother and teacher. \u201cKyra is so
   wonderful because she\u2019s gifted at comedy but she\u2019s also a beautiful
   dramatic actress,\u201d comments Fremon Craig. \u201cKyra can be big and she 
   can be small. She did a great job of capturing especially Mona\u2019s hidden 
   vulnerabilities, those little moments where you have compassion for her. Even
   in the moments where she\u2019s not her best self, you can always feel for her
   character and know that there\u2019s a person inside, maybe missing the mark,
   but always trying really hard.\u201d\n\n\u201cI absolutely love Mona,\u201d states
   Sedgwick. \u201cPerhaps somebody will feel she’s not likeable, but to me, she’s
   someone who\u2019s just trying to do better. She’s now alone in the world, and
   is somebody who never really had a lot of tools to cope. She finds herself grasping.
   In the best of \n\ncircumstances, Mona would struggle with being a mom, but especially
   when her go-to guy isn’t there. Her son Darian reacts by being an uber-responsible
   parentlike child, which is its own version of hell. Nadine does the opposite –
   I can\u2019t please my mother so I’m going to act as terrible as possible. Nadine
   feels smarter than her mother, and both teens feel like they have to take care
   of themselves, they’re lost at sea without really having a parent who\u2019s 
   fully present.\u201d \n\n\u201cIt’s pretty remarkable that Kelly was able to 
   really show the hole that is left in this family in such a lean, brilliant way.
   The father is there for such a short amount of screen time, yet you completely
   understand the loss this family has felt,\u201d explains Sedgwick. \u201cThe 
   script is very impressive, great writing with so many layers. It’s very special.
   I know how good a part this is. I’m really grateful to be able to be funny and
   be broken and fragile and sad as well\u2026 there’s not a lot of opportunities
   like that.\u201d\n\n\u201cKyra was always somebody that we had talked about for
   their mother. She\u2019s a gifted dramatic actress, and can be pissing funny,\
   u201d comments James Brooks. \u201cEarly in the movie, there’s a scene where 
   Mona has to back up out of the car, her skirt’s hiked up, and she’s trying to
   get her kid, who doesn’t want to go to school, out of the back seat,\u201d describes
   Amy Brooks. \u201cKyra is so inherently funny and great at physical comedy. She’s
   classically funny, like Lucille Ball-funny.\u201d \n\nSedgwick comments, \u201cThat
   scene is right on the edge of farce, but it’s still real, devastating and hilarious.
   You fall in love with a character when you laugh at something that they do. You
   can take her to some harder places later because the audience fell in love with
   her vulnerability at that moment of just trying to hold it all together.\n\nAll
   really great humor comes from pain, and trying to put a game face on pain is 
   funny. It’s hilarious because we relate so much. Kelly and I talked a lot about
   what it\u2019s like to be in Mona’s head and what she’s really struggling with
   and why Nadine is so triggering and difficult for her. Why it is that they really
   push each other’s buttons so intensely? Kelly recently had her first child so
   we talked a lot about how hard it is to be a mom. You want to do it perfectly
   but you just can’t, \n\nand you’re constantly reminded of that over and over 
   again.\u201d\n\nSteinfeld enjoyed creating the strained mother-daughter dynamic
   with Sedgwick. \u201cKyra\u2019s a firecracker,\u201d states Steinfeld. \u201cNadine
   has a very interesting relationship with her mom because Nadine really feels 
   like she is the parent. Nadine feels she doesn\u2019t need her approval. Even
   though she pretends she\u2019s got it under control, her mom is her mom, and 
   she needs and wants her mom in her life. There are so many layers within that
   relationship so it has been fun to \n\nbring to life.\u201d\n\n\u201cHailee is
   really just a total natural, but also has a lot of complexity and depth to her,\
   u201d comments Sedgwick. \u201cShe’s curious and a wise soul, who is super bright,
   so those super smart things that Nadine says just roll right off her tongue as
   if they’re hers. Hailee is lovely, she’s doesn’t have an entitled bone in herbody
   which is surprising and wonderful.\u201d\n\nFilmmakers needed a powerful actor
   who could make an impact on a lead character with limited screen time and were
   thrilled to cast Oscar\u00ae nominated actor Woody Harrelson as Nadine\u2019s
   History teacher. \u201cWe needed a Mr. Bruner who could stand up to Nadine,\u201d
   says Ansell. \u201cThey have a fractious relationship, but at the same time the
   scenes between Woody and Hailee are hysterically funny.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere 
   are maybe a handful of actors with the dexterity that Woody has – he is so ridiculously
   funny and then can break your heart in the next minute. He can\u2019t have a 
   dishonest moment on screen,\u201d comments Fremon Craig. \u201cMr. Bruner needed
   the deadpan and the cool. I felt so enormously lucky to get Woody, and he just
   crushed it. What I love about Woody is he comes in with so many ideas, and some
   of his ideas are the best jokes in the movie.\u201d\n\n\u201cWoody and I are 
   good friends. It was just the right thing that happened at the right time. He
   happened to be coming through Los Angeles, we met up, and the next morning he
   was able to meet Kelly. Woody really has the most crowded schedule a human being
   can have,\u201d laughs James Brooks, \u201cbut we were able to make it work.\
   u201d\n\n\u201cI was interested because my buddy Jim is producing it; and Kelly
   wrote an amazing script and when I met her I thought she was terrific. A high
   school gal in the middle of crisis is not a story I would necessarily see myself
   being involved in, but it\u2019s really wonderful writing. It\u2019s very funny,
   very smart, and also very unique, so I was psyched to jump in,\u201d comments
   Harrelson.\n\n\u201cMr. Bruner is one of these guys who is probably pretty good
   at his job, but he comes in, \n\npunches the clock, and looks forward to getting
   home to his girlfriend and his baby. In some ways, he\u2019s maybe not the model
   teacher. But he has a special relationship with Nadine in that he honestly likes
   her,\u201d adds Harrelson. \u201cNadine does not connect with anyone else in 
   the school, but for some reason she connects with my character. He\u2019s certainly
   a sounding board for her and someone who she can come to for help. He\u2019s 
   not the most sentimental guy, and \n\nyet it\u2019s obvious that he cares about
   her.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs I told Kelly, that scene where Nadine walks into his home,
   and sees the baby and the girlfriend, is so beautifully written that I cried,\
   u201d admits Harrelson. \u201cIt really touched me. In fact, that scene was another
   of the things that made me want to do the movie. The moment is a big surprise
   to Nadine because she thinks I\u2019m some lonely guy. It\u2019s cool when she
   and the audience see another world that they don\u2019t expect with Bruner.\u201d
   James Brooks reflects on their chemistry, \u201cIt just started happening, developed
   through the first day. It\u2019s nuts because a week and a half ago Woody was
   playing Lyndon Johnson and then he had to go to Europe for the opening of \n\
   nThe Hunger Games. Next he gets on a plane, travels 18 hours, the next morning
   he shows up and it just clicked in the first hour.\u201d \u201cWoody and Hailee
   are electric together,\u201d agrees Fremon Craig. \u201cI don\u2019t know if 
   you could possibly plan or manufacture their chemistry, which happened \n\nalmost
   the minute they got in the room together. They bounce off each other, and trust
   their instincts and follow what would happen in the moment. They\u2019re fiery
   and every take was different and alive in its own way, with such vitality that
   you cannot take your eyes off either of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cNadine\u2019s stuff
   with Mr. Bruner is my favorite thing about this whole movie,\u201d says Steinfeld.\
   u201cReading those scenes for the first time, I remember thinking \u2018How the
   hell does Kelly come up with this stuff? It\u2019s so amazing!\u2019 Nadine is
   reaching for any reaction out of this guy. The great part about how it\u2019s
   written is he\u2019s there for her, but is so un-phased by any outrageous thing
   she has to say. That keeps her on her toes, and keeps her thinking of any possible
   thing she can say for shock value. One of the things I love so much about Nadine
   is that she doesn\u2019t hold back. She and Mr. Bruner have this real beautiful
   connection. He\u2019s a bit of a father figure for her. I\u2019m a huge fan of
   Woody Harrelson and those moments are some of my favorites.\u201d \u201cHailee
   is an extraordinary actress. In the first scene we did together, I was really
   amazed with how adept she is at flowing with everything and trying new things,\
   u201d says Harrelson. \u201cShe\u2019s a very creative and very smart actress\
   u2026really has the goods. She knows what she\u2019s doing and it\u2019s great
   to see someone with that ability at this early stage of her career. Jim and I
   both think that she has the potential to be acting for the next 60 years. She
   really is good.\u201d\n\nMaking his major motion picture debut, Hayden Szeto 
   plays Erwin, a classmate awkwardly pining after Nadine. \u201cThe minute Hayden
   came in, we said \u2018lock it up\u2019,\u201d says James Brooks. \u201cWe didn\
   u2019t need to audition anyone else.\u201d \u201cWe actually cast Hayden before
   anybody else. Literally he was cast before we had money for the movie because
   we liked him so much,\u201d laughs Ansell. \u201cWe had thought Erwin was going
   to be the hardest one to cast. Erwin is attracted to Nadine and is very nervous,
   but he\u2019s also sweet and funny. We were worried about finding a strong young
   actor who could do all of that. Erwin really is one of the best parts of the 
   script because here\u2019s this unlikely guy, who typically never ever gets the
   girl.\u201d Ansell adds, \u201cYou want him to get the girl. You want her to 
   be with him. You really do root for him. Erwin appreciates Nadine in a way that
   no one else seems to and really gets her.\u201d\n\n\u201cHayden crushed his audition
   with his ability to improv, which is unparalleled,\u201d reveals Fremon Craig.\
   u201cHayden has a lightning fast mind. He is so funny and so quick. You\u2019re
   nailed to your seat watching them and you\u2019re just dying to see what he\u2019s
   going to do next. He\u2019s so loveable and you just adore him. Especially after
   we put him on a Ferris wheel when he\u2019s afraid of heights, and throw him 
   in a pool when he can\u2019t swim.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do root for the characters,
   because they\u2019re not plain archetypes, they\u2019re real people. That\u2019s
   the genius of Kelly. It\u2019s great writing,\u201d comments Szeto. \u201cTalking
   to your crush in high school, you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen
   and these awkward moments are so honest. Kelly has a great eye for that. So many
   of the characters remind me of people in my life. There\u2019s no good \n\nor
   bad person in this. I was the Darian of my family and my sister always had a 
   chip on her shoulder.\u201d Szeto adds, \u201cI\u2019ve also been Erwin. Every
   boy has been Erwin\u2026 that boy who is just trying to get through it, trying
   to be somebody, and trying to fit in.\n\nErwin had a real strength to him. I 
   chose not to play the defeat of being the nerd. In real life, people don\u2019t
   want to fail. People want to win, and that\u2019s the angle that I came from 
   with Erwin. He just wants to get the girl. Erwin\u2019s personality is a direct
   shield against any awkwardness because he\u2019s already very selfdeprecating.\
   n\nPart of his charm is his weak points are also his offense.\u201d \u201cI asked
   Kelly what inspired her to write the part of Erwin and she told me she went to
   a university with about 80% Asian-American students,\u201d shares Szeto. \u201cDuring
   her time there, she met some of the most charismatic, funniest, and talented 
   people who didn\u2019t take themselves too seriously and she found such charm
   in that. This story is very grounded in truth and she feels that real life is
   very diverse and interracial couples are everywhere. It\u2019s not a thing.\u201d\
   n\nHailing from a family of Chinese artists, Szeto has dual Canadian and Hong
   Kong citizenship and lives in Los Angeles. \u201cFrom my own personal experience
   auditioning for American films, and even my mom asked why I didn\u2019t go back
   to Hong Kong or China to be an actor, because she commented that, \u2018they 
   don\u2019t write any good parts for you.\u2019 The roles available are the nerd
   or the friend. But I felt that somebody has to stay here and inspire people to
   write those parts,\u201d says Szeto. \u201cTo complain doesn\u2019t get you anywhere,
   you\u2019ve just got to do the work. You\u2019re an artist.\n\nYou\u2019re not
   here to prove something, because art is not about doing something right, it\u2019s
   just about doing. My own culture is very calculated. Chinese culture is very 
   meticulous, very safe, and they value stability. I\u2019m blessed to have this
   opportunity to be a storyteller in America and to play this part. I couldn\u2019t
   ask for anything more as an Asian-American artist.\u201d \u201cI parallel with
   Erwin quite a bit. It\u2019s quite a big part and sometimes I feel like I\u2019m
   the new guy, if you compare me to the seasoned cast. Hailee is a prodigy and 
   the situation can be intimidating for me, just as Erwin\u2019s intimidated by
   Nadine. It works to my advantage. Hailee is a powerful, powerful actress, \n\
   nand sometimes I catch myself just watching her. She\u2019s overwhelmingly beautiful
   and not just on the outside, she has such a great soul. She\u2019s also a machine,
   managing her Twitter, her Instagram, and her Facebook\u2026 communicating with
   her fans in between takes. I\u2019m just trying to prepare,\u201d laughs Szeto.\
   u201cShe\u2019ll deliver in the scene and then be back on her phone. How does
   she do that?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen we shot her reaction to watching my character\
   u2019s student film, there\u2019s no actual film being played on set, yet her
   eyes were glistening and her reactions were so genuinely real,\u201d remembers
   Szeto. \u201cI got emotional watching her performance on the monitors, afraid
   I was the only one being affected. But I looked over to James and Kelly, who 
   were glued to the screen, and I\u2019ll never forget this because James whispered,\
   u2018Wow.\u2019\u201d\n\nTwo Canadian actors round out the cast: newcomer Alexander
   Calvert playing Nadine\u2019s crush Nick, and veteran Eric Keenleyside appearing
   briefly as Nadine\u2019s father Tom, whose untimely death kick starts the story.\
   u201cRight off bat the script sounded like how people actually talk in that weird
   unforgiving environment that is high school,\u201d comments Calvert. \u201cThe
   girls felt like real \n\ncharacters. I liked that Nadine really had a voice that
   sounded like how I felt at 17\u2026 a little \n\nbitter and a little upset. She’s
   really an outsider, who is forced to be alone, and has to \n\ndeal with herself.
   But Nadine starts to find herself, she just makes it through. That’s what \n\
   nhigh school is actually about: making it through.\u201d\n\n\u201cI’ve been shooting
   the TV show \u2018Arrow\u2019, playing a villain named Anarchy, simultaneously
   with this movie. It’s been very fun because I get to go from torturing families
   there and come here to hang out at high school again. One day I worked on both
   sets and ended up shooting for almost 24 hours straight. Good thing I’m young-
   ish,\u201d laughs Calvert.\n\nThe entire cast juggled very busy schedules to 
   be a part of this special movie. \u201cBetween Alexander being on \u2018Arrow,\
   u2019 Blake going to \u2018Supergirl,\u2019 Hailee having a hit single and releasing
   an album, plus Woody opening Hunger Games and starting the next Planet of the
   Apes, our cast is constantly going in and out.\n\nBut when they come back to 
   set, everyone feels like they are back home. We developed our bubble here with
   this blissful shoot. The only complaint I have is I so badly want to see everybody
   at once. Unfortunately, there’s not a scene in the movie where our entire cast
   is together, so a sequel would be worth it just for that reason alone,\u201d 
   laughs Amy Brooks.\n\n\u201cKelly gave this great speech at the production meeting
   before we started filming,\u201d remembers James Brooks. \u201cShe sits down 
   for the first time, as a director, with 50 people around this big octagon table,
   and she talked about wanting the film to be truthful and as honest as possible,
   and stating that everything about the production should be about supporting the
   actor\u2019s performances. You sit there in that moment thinking \u2018I\u2019m
   glad to be here.\u2019 It was the first day the crew was getting all together
   and to have somebody say that out loud was great.\u201d Ansell adds, \u201cKelly
   seems to be born to the job. Part of what we like to do at Gracie Films is work
   with new writer-directors with a really strong vision, like Kelly. Surrounding
   her with people who are very competent and know how to support her, she\u2019s
   just thrived. She has an innate ability for directing, and she knows what she
   wants.\u201d\n\nOne of the team supporting Kelly was legendary acting coach Larry
   Moss. \u201cLarry is an amazing acting teacher who Jim knows,\u201d explains 
   Amy Brooks. \u201cKelly, Jim, Julie, and I sat in on one of his classes and we
   didn’t see an actor who didn’t cry. He’d do these tiny adjustments and their 
   performance would change. We staggered out of his class having witnessed greatness.
   Larry has now become part of our family. Kelly welcomes everyone with a \u2018What
   do you have to give?\u2019 attitude. This is a party, just bring your favorite
   food. Kelly is pretty singular in not having an ego or vanity about \u2018This
   needs to be all mine.\u2019\n\nEvery character in this movie has a number of 
   arcs, which are tough stuff to play, so Larry was a great resource for anyone
   who wanted it.\u201d \u201cWorking with Larry Moss has been a dream come true
   for me,\u201d shares Steinfeld. \u201cWhen I auditioned, Kelly and Jim asked 
   if I was cool with working with Larry. They were all on the same page. I was 
   able to build this foundation with \n\nLarry, and them come here to Vancouver
   and play with Kelly, knowing I was ready for anything she could throw at me.\
   u201d \u201cLarry opened my eyes to so many things going between the scenes and
   how to figure out what’s happened in between, which is something that you should
   subconsciously do as an actor,\u201d adds Richardson. \u201cThe first time I 
   met Kelly was a hastily arranged meeting in LA when I was weighing whether or
   not to do the project, and we took a long walk,\u201d remembers Harrelson. \u201cI
   thought \u2018wow, this is a really incredible lady.\u2019 She\u2019s \n\nvery
   strong and funny, but you can never really tell how someone will be as a director
   because it\u2019s such a huge undertaking. Some people absolutely fall apart 
   under the pressure. I was interested to see what would happen with Kelly once
   on set. Also, Jim told me that of all the directors working, only 1.8% are female,
   which is shocking. So I liked the aspect that this has a \n\nfemale director,
   and that she wrote it. When I came to Vancouver, I was really delighted because
   she\u2019s so smart on set and really knows how to talk to actors.\n\nShe articulates
   what she wants very well. She\u2019s very patient and decisive. She\u2019s getting
   the most bang for her buck and getting the most out of these scenes. And she 
   doesn\u2019t really compromise. It\u2019s not like \u2018okay, well that\u2019s
   good enough. Let\u2019s move on.\u2019 She\u2019s going to make sure she gets
   the right take.\u201d\n\n\u201cKelly has been so helpful to me in building Nadine
   as a character through so many conversations, over many months now,\u201d says
   Steinfeld. \u201cYou can see in her eyes how passionate she is and where everything
   about this character comes from.\u201d Richardson agrees, \u201cKelly is very
   collaborative. She told me right off the bat, \u2018I want you to feel free with
   this character. I don’t want you to feel boxed in, I don’t want you to feel attached
   to the words,\u2019 which are amazing. I\u2019ve developed a trust with her. 
   It’s a very simple story but the way it’s told is so \n\nspecial.\u201d\n\n\u201cEarly
   on before we started shooting, Kelly asked me to do a stream of consciousness
   exercise, writing from the character\u2019s perspective,\u201d recalls Jenner.\
   u201cI was improvising and not being filtered… getting to his state of mind –
   anger, happiness, whatever – just going with it and Kelly made no judgments. 
   She was willing to have conversations no matter how long they ran.\u201d \n\n\
   u201cKelly wasn\u2019t telling me exactly what to do, but she was sending me 
   in the right direction,\u201d adds Jenner. \u201cI totally feel we\u2019re being
   taken care of by an artist.\n\nShe lived and breathed these characters for so
   long. We\u2019re in amazing hands because she’s got blood in this. She’s owns
   it. It\u2019s inspiring to be on set having these conversations because they 
   came from her heart. Every single word of this came from her. You definitely 
   see the artist at work.\u201d\n\nPrior to the start of principal photography,
   the director led the cast through a period of intense rehearsal. Sedgwick enjoyed
   this, \u201cWe started with a really good improv with Hailee and I. Coming from
   theater, I love rehearsal and it was interesting to talk to Hailee about it because
   she’s not used to rehearsal.\u201d \n\n\u201cIt was great to also have James 
   Brooks there \u2013 I\u2019m a big fan of that guy, he\u2019s an idol. He’s truly
   a god, really he is,\u201d laughs Sedgwick. \u201cBut what scares me about James
   Brooks is that the actors in his movies often do their very best work. It\u2019s
   a little scary asking yourself the question \u2018will this be my very best work?\
   u2019 There isn’t a false moment in any of his movies. He’s an icon, and his 
   movies are unforgettable. They make a very deep and lasting impression, and they
   stand the test of time, which is so unusual.\u201d\n\nSedgwick continues, \u201cI
   asked Jim, how do you manage to get these incredible performances out of people?
   He said that it really starts by making sure that everybody in the cast and crew
   know that their paramount task is to create a safe place for the actors to do
   their best work, and that nothing’s more important than that. The shot’s not 
   as important and the lighting’s not as \n\nimportant. After being on this set,
   I believe Kelly feels the exact same way. Each day lives or dies on the performances.\
   u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s so incredible to watch Jim process everything on set.
   Just when you think maybe he\u2019s not listening, he comes up with the most 
   insane and relevant idea. He\u2019s so in tune and brilliant,\u201d comments 
   Steinfeld. \u201cI actually met him when I was younger at The Simpsons Movie 
   premiere because he knew my dad. I didn\u2019t see him again until I auditioned
   and now to be on a set with him is really surreal, to be on something that he
   is involved with is special.\u201d Richardson agrees, \u201cHe’s a big deal. 
   Just about everything that man has touched has turned to gold. He’s a genius 
   who created all of these iconic things, yet he\u2019s so friendly and sweet. 
   But then all of a sudden, he laughs and has this crude humor that you wouldn’t
   expect. My mom’s pretty jealous that I’m doing this movie right now with him 
   because Terms of Endearment is her favorite movie ever. The first time I met 
   Jim, I came down from my hotel room to go to a wardrobe fitting and I was super
   nervous. I saw him in the lobby and he invited me to ride in his car. I thought\
   u2018you don\u2019t know how cool I feel right now.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen
   I came for the table read, I was looking at the name tags around the table, and
   I noticed James L. Brooks is going to be sitting right there!\u201d laughs Szeto.\
   u201cWhen Jim walked in, I wanted to go up and shake his hand. What an honor,
   I even had a speech prepared in my head. Then he said, \u2018you\u2019re funny,
   love your audition tape.\u2019 It was like Michael Jordan saying you\u2019ve 
   got a nice jump shot.\u201d Szeto adds, \u201cJim has been a father figure to
   me throughout the whole production. I was definitely overwhelmed the first couple
   days on set, and he said something really profound. He and Kelly actually pulled
   me aside and he told me a lot of actors spend their whole lives looking for what
   he calls their mirror, who they really are. He and I felt that I\u2019d lost 
   sight of that, of who Erwin was, and he pulled up my audition tape and showed
   me, \u2018this is your mirror.\u2019 It was a really touching moment. He told
   everybody to get out and Kelly asked, \u2018what do you need?\u2019 I needed 
   space and time and they cleared the room for me. They told me to shut the door
   and take as long as I needed. I\u2019m so thankful to be working with these people
   that believe in me so much. It\u2019s incredible having somebody of that level
   being so patient with somebody so new. That talk with Jim and Kelly that day 
   really sums up my whole experience on this project \n\nbecause I learned something
   great in that room.\u201d\n\nBrooks has a stellar track record of mentoring actors
   and filmmakers. \u201cI remember years ago, Jim was flying off a lot to Dallas,
   Texas,\u201d comments his friend Harrelson. \u201cI was wondering how good must
   this script be that he\u2019s trusting a first time director and all these basically
   first time actors, and putting all this effort into it? Of course it was Bottle
   Rocket, and it was Wes Anderson directing Owen and Luke Wilson. Jim has such 
   wisdom and passion about material\u2026 it\u2019s hard to even imagine how much
   influence he has when he\u2019s mentoring someone.\u201d \n\n\u201cI hope that
   people watch this film and think \u2018I know that person, I am that person, 
   I\u2019ve been there, and I\u2019ve felt that\u2019,\u201d comments Fremon Craig.\
   u201cI hope people see themselves reflected in it. That was my own experience
   writing it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis movie fits into that genre of the classic John
   Hughes films and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but also I feel like this is breaking
   the mold,\u201d says Jenner. \u201cI haven’t read a movie that’s about coming
   into your own and finding yourself that has perfect balance between comedy and
   drama, but this makes you laugh and cry like you’re a baby.\u201d \u201cYou feel
   like you watched someone go through something, and really struggle to get there,
   but get there at the end,\u201d says Richardson. \u201cThe lesson is no matter
   how hard and intense something seems in the moment, \n\nyou’re going to get through
   it, learn from it, and end up being stronger.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen people come
   out of this movie, I really want them to know they can make it through. I wish
   more people had told me that high school will end,\u201d says Calvert. \u201cYou’ll
   get out. There is life beyond. If I could speak to anyone struggling in high 
   school, I would tell them that it ends. Life gets more interesting as you age.
   You do not want to peak in high school.\u201d\n\n\u201cGrowing up watching movies,
   they\u2019ve always given me hope that no matter how bad problems get, you can
   solve them if you have the will to,\u201d shares Szeto. \u201cI hope this film
   draws attention to how fragile we all are and how, as human beings, our greatest
   asset is to be empathetic, which can also be our greatest downfall. Sometimes
   we overreact and it\u2019s okay to admit that.\u201d Steinfeld sums up, \u201cTHE
   EDGE OF SEVENTEEN is a story of a girl trying to find connection and contact 
   with anything and anyone. The most satisfying thing is watching her realize that
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 *  Plugin Author [Bradford Campeau-Laurion](https://wordpress.org/support/users/potatomaster/)
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 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8407595)
 * Can you please paste that JSON as `code` as I had requested?
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 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8407615)
 * `{"version":"1.1","identifier":"post-4769","language":"en","title":"Everything
   You Will Ever Need to Know About - The Edge of Seventeen","documentStyle":{"backgroundColor":"#
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   components":[{"role":"title","text":"Everything You Will Ever Need to Know About-
   The Edge of Seventeen","textStyle":"default-title","layout":"title-layout"},{"
   role":"byline","text":"by Steven Samblis | Oct 30, 2016 | 11:50 PM","textStyle":"
   default-byline","layout":"byline-layout"},{"role":"body","text":"**Growing up
   is the great equalizer**\n\nNo matter your family situation, walk of life, or
   specific personal experience, anyone who has ever gone through adolescence understands
   the growing pains and awkwardness that go with the territory when it comes to
   navigating the transition to adulthood. The times change, the modes of communication
   evolve, but some things\u2014like the first pangs of love or the sting of a friend\
   u2019s betrayal\u2014never change.\n\nCreating a film about growing up in our
   digital age took a writer who could poignantly capture the voice of this generation.
   From five-time Oscar\u00ae nominated and three-time Oscar\u00ae winning producer[
   James L. Brooks](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0000985\/) (Spanglish, (Broadcast
   News, Terms of Endearment) and writer\/first-time director Kelly Fremon Craig,
   THE EDGE OFSEVENTEEN is a coming-of-age comedy with a refreshingly authentic 
   voice.\n\nNadine ([Hailee Steinfeld](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm2794962\/))
   and Krista ([Haley Lu Richardson](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm4726634\/)) 
   are inseparable best friends attempting to navigate high school together\u2026
   until Nadine\u2019s older brother Darian ([Blake Jenner](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/
   name\/nm4296357\/)) and Krista begin dating. With her view of the world rocked,
   Nadine is forced to see the people in her life \u2013 including her well-meaning
   but distracted mother ([Kyra Sedgwick](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0001718\/)),
   and unlikely mentor and History teacher Mr. Bruner ([Woody Harrelson](http:\/\/
   www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0000437\/)) \u2013 with fresh eyes and new appreciation
   that people\u2014and life\u2014are more complicated than she thought.\n\nThe 
   film stars Oscar\u00ae nominees Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Pitch Perfect 2)
   and Woody Harrelson (upcoming LBJ, \u201cTrue Detective\u201d), as well as Kyra
   Sedgwick (\u201cThe Closer,\u201d \u201cProof\u201d), Haley Lu Richardson (The
   Bronze, \u201cRavenswood\u201d), and Blake Jenner (Everybody Wants Some, upcoming
   Billy Boy). The cast also features Hayden Szeto (upcoming The Unbidden, \u201cChop
   Shop\u201d) and Alexander Calvert (\u201cArrow,\u201d \u201cThe Returned\u201d).\
   n\n**THE ORIGIN OF THE PROJECT**\n\nWriter\/director Kelly Fremon Craig was inspired
   to pen [THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1878870\/) by 
   the authentic teen films of her youth, a type of film not often found in today\
   u2019s marketplace. \u201cI\u2019ve always been intrigued by periods of rapid
   emotional growth and self-examination, when situations change around us, forcing
   us to step into new roles and re-determine who we are and how we feel about ourselves.
   I started this project in an effort to try to capture this particular age and
   generation as truthfully as I could and with a respect for the complexity and
   messiness of it all. Passing from youth to adulthood is intense and terrifying
   and beautiful, and in many ways the experience of anyone, any age, shedding their
   old self and becoming new. I wanted to explore that.\u201d\n\nFremon Craig\u2019s
   spec script about a girl and her best friend in high school came to the attention
   of legendary Oscar\u00ae and Emmy\u00ae Award-winning producer James L. Brooks
   at [Gracie Films](http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/company\/co0134988\/). \u201cKelly had
   a first draft and when we first talked - just as she was leaving the office -
   she turned around and she said \u2018No one will ever work harder than I do.\
   u2019 And that did it,\u2019\u201d laughs Brooks. \u201cOur time together had
   been just a surface meeting until that moment. I took it as somebody telling 
   their core truth.\u201d\n\n\u201cHonestly, I wasn\u2019t captivated by that first
   draft,\u201d admits Brooks. \u201cIt was good work. But when Kelly said that,
   then we went to work. She went away for a big chunk of time. I\u2019m a big believer
   in research. She\u2019d bring back interview tapes and we\u2019d look at it and
   it would inspire us.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe first time I read the script, I thought
   this is special,\u201d remembers longtime Brooks collaborator and Gracie Films
   producer Julie Ansell. \u201cThe characters were so full and so funny. We spent
   almost four years working on it, which is our process. This is what we like to
   do. We look for character-driven comedies and drama. We like to find a person
   with a voice, with something to say, and then help the writer fine-tune it. This
   is an amazing piece of writing\u201d\n\n\u201cThe thing that\u2019s so great 
   about Jim is he is so committed to capturing something honestly,\u201d comments
   Fremon Craig. \u201cPart of why we have such a good relationship is we both go
   nuts over getting the details right. Jim is always pursuing the truth. When we
   started this process, we took a journalistic approach. Are we saying something
   real? I really tried to figure out what was going on emotionally today, and how
   technology is affecting relationships. But interestingly, I found so much of 
   the core things were exactly the same as my own coming-of-age experience.\u201d\
   n\n\u201cKelly came back with a second draft and it was oceans away. I have never
   thought it possible that there could be that great a difference between a first
   and second draft because in that second draft, there was a voice, there was somebody
   who saw the world differently,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cWith every movie there
   is a constituency and that constituency knows whether or not you are telling 
   the truth. There were people who talked differently and yet revealed themselves
   to be familiar people as they talked differently. The dialogue was brilliant,
   the story came together and it was daring and fresh. I was flap-jawed. From that
   point, Kelly was an extremely talented woman taking the express train to her 
   destiny.\u201d\n\n\u201cKelly was amazing during the whole development process,\
   u201d agrees Ansell. \u201cShe threw herself into it. She got into the pain and
   everything she found elevated the script from a very funny, sweet script into
   something that really hit you honestly. Kelly captures the voice of these kids,
   and got the emotions that I remember feeling back in high school, when there\
   u2019s inherently so much drama and so much that you learn about yourself. You
   have to go through the pain of finding out who you are, to come out the other
   end as a stronger person.\u201d \u201cYou are paying very righteous dues when
   you do research,\u201d adds Brooks. \u201cThe third time you hear something you
   think it\u2019s generally true. But also, meeting those kids, seeing those faces
   in your head\u2026 it creates something in you that wants to serve their truth.
   It\u2019s a small thing, but it makes a difference in creating characters that
   linger.\u201d \u201cIn my opinion, she wrote literature,\u201d Brooks furthers.\
   u201cA voice is an unusual thing in Hollywood, and for somebody to come along
   with an individual voice and get their movie made is a big deal. When there\u2019s
   a distinctive voice in a script, and it doesn\u2019t happen that often, it\u2019s
   great to show up. At 3:00 in the morning on a cold set, you have to know why 
   you're there.\u201d\n\nBrooks describes the story succinctly. \u201cAfter reading
   the first draft, there were some people who wanted to title the film Besties,
   and that first draft focused on a friendship between two girls. But now it\u2019s
   about a lot more than that. The friendship is still the catalyst for a lot of
   action, and the story is mainly about this central character Nadine, but there
   are a couple of people in this movie with secrets, which adds great tension.\
   u201d\n\nNadine and Krista are inseparable friends\u2026 until Nadine discovers
   Krista has quietly begun dating Nadine\u2019s older brother Darian. \u201cNadine\
   u2019s a girl who has always been on the outside, but she\u2019s had her one 
   anchor, her best friend Krista,\u201d Ansell describes. \u201cBut it\u2019s that
   time to start growing and moving on and Krista\u2019s started to do that. Nadine
   comes to realize that a lot of what she thought about the people in her life 
   is actually not true. She begins to see life through eyes other than her own.
   By the end of the movie, she starts to understand that people and life are more
   complicated.\u201d\n\nGracie Films\u2019 reputation for acclaimed and thoughtful
   material as well as their track record for mentoring fresh filmmakers made it
   the perfect home for Fremon Craig and her screenplay. \u201cI don\u2019t do this
   very often and when I do, the motivation is always the same\u2026 a writer with
   a real voice, and that writer will always play a continuing role with the movie.
   That\u2019s all we do with our little group,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cThe first
   writer we worked with was Cameron Crowe for a picture called Say Anything, and
   he ended up directing that project. With Wes Anderson on Bottle Rocket, we knew
   he was going to direct going in, and with Kelly we knew it going in. We knew 
   this would be her film to direct.\u201d As with any first-time director, there
   were concerns. \u201cKelly is an Orange County girl, just a delightful human 
   being and there was a moment when we worried whether she\u2019d be too nice for
   the job,\u201d laughs Brooks. \u201cBut she\u2019s a force of nature. I don\u2019t
   think she knew it was going to come to her like that. It\u2019s a passion project
   and something went off inside her. Two days in, we knew she was born for the 
   job, which has been great to see.\u201d\n\nCo-Producer Amy Brooks adds, \u201cOne
   of Kelly\u2019s strengths is that she\u2019s always open, always learning and
   she can\u2019t get her fill. Even when filming, Kelly never stopped the research
   process. Kelly brings rawness and laughter, and I feel so lucky that I get to
   go to work and sit next to Kelly every day. She allows you to be yourself. That's
   what the cast feels and I know that's what the whole crew feels.\u201d\n\nThe
   dialogue in the movie is particularly raw, especially from the main character
   Nadine. \u201cWe might be the only R-rated movie that cheered when we were told
   that we could be an R. Not because we wanted to be a shocking R, but because 
   to be an R meant letting everybody let it rip and be themselves. It wasn't like
   we're gunning for a certain rating, it was just about being real,\u201d says 
   Amy Brooks. \u201cIt is rated R for reality. The film had to have the cadence
   and the heart and rhythm of how people really talk to each other. That was so
   important to Kelly. If you spend two seconds with Kelly, you see she goes for
   the truth all \n\nthe time.\u201d \u201cPlus every five pages there\u2019s a 
   twist,\u201d adds Amy Brooks. \u201cWhen you started to think you'd figured out
   what this movie was about, there was a surprise. The story is familiar and comforting,
   like you want a movie to be, but full of surprises.\u201d\n\nThe film has themes
   that will resonate with all audiences. \u201cWhen times seem really down, you
   learn from it and go through it and become stronger,\u201d adds Ansell. \u201cIt\
   u2019s about how friendship can wax and wane and change. People change, a mother
   and daughter can come to understand each other a little bit more. Audiences will
   feel an affection for Nadine and what she\u2019s gone through in learning to 
   understand herself, and come out ultimately feeling like this character\u2019s
   going to be okay.\u201d Amy Brooks adds, \u201cKelly really captured the comedy
   and sadness in how a family falls apart and comes together and falls apart and
   comes together while they're grieving. She also captured that teacher that calls
   you out, that you hold onto for the rest of your life because that teacher got
   you as you\u2026saw you and celebrated that. I hope everyone feels \u2018I got
   this movie in a personal way and it's mine. This movie was for me.\u2019 But 
   this movie is for all of us.\u201d\n\n**ABOUT THE CASTING**\n\nProducer James
   L. Brooks, Blake Jenner, Haley Lu Richardson, Hailee Steinfeld, Director\/Writer\/
   Producer Kelly Fremon Craig, Kyra Sedgwick and Hayden Szeto seen at STX Entertainment\"
   The Edge of Seventeen\" Photo Call at Four Seasons Hotel - Almond Room on Saturday,
   Oct. 29, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg\/Invision for STX Entertainment\/
   AP Images)\n\nThe heart of the story is 17-year old Nadine who feels she doesn\
   u2019t quite fit in. \u201cThe central character of THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN is 
   somebody you\u2019ve never seen before, but the minute you see her you're not
   going to forget her,\u201d states producer James L. Brooks.\n\nOscar\u00ae nominated
   Hailee Steinfeld is the center of an exceptionally strong cast with wide appeal.\
   u201cThis is a character-driven movie and finding Nadine was an incredible journey-
   very difficult and incredibly important,\u201d remembers producer Julie Ansell.\
   u201cWe must have seen over 1,000 girls \u2013 from knowns to unknowns. We read
   everybody and we weren\u2019t going to make the movie unless we found the right
   actress. Hailee walked in and that was that. Actually, every part was like that.
   It was very important to find the right people for every role, because the film
   is so performance-driven that without the right cast, you don\u2019t have a movie.\
   u201d\n\n\u201cCasting was enormously difficult across the board, because I wanted
   people that felt real,\u201d describes Fremon Craig. \u201cHailee is a wunderkind.
   She is staggering. I actually know that nobody else in the world could do this
   part, because the casting process was so enormous over so many months. Hailee
   walked in and she was just Nadine from top to bottom. She\u2019s so alive and
   follows every impulse. She gets this character deeply. It\u2019s electric. Directing\
   n\nher, I just wanted to get out of her way.\u201d \u201cHailee is a great young
   actress. This is the right role at the right time with the right actress. It 
   takes so much for any movie to work,\u201d muses James Brooks, \u201cespecially
   a movie that has an original voice. The minute you're original, you\u2019re in
   space\u2026 you\u2019re not quite on firm ground.\u201d\n\nBy her junior year,
   Nadine has not yet made peace with the one-two punch of simultaneously hitting
   puberty and losing her father four years before. \u201cAs well as being funny,
   Hailee brings an intelligence to Nadine. She can bring both strength and vulnerability,
   but at the same time you get a character who is really hurting,\u201d adds Ansell.
   Steinfeld comments, \u201cNadine is so smart, witty, quick, and feels everything.
   Most times when characters are hit with a curve ball, they try to cover it up
   or mask their emotions. But Nadine wears her feelings, her heart, and her everything
   on her sleeve. There\u2019s something so refreshing about seeing someone that
   feels so much. She\u2019s so desperate for any kind of human connection, it\u2019s
   amazing to watch her seek that with anyone she possibly can.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\
   u2019m 18-years old, so I know almost everything in a teenager\u2019s life is,
   in such a reasonable way, so blown out of proportion,\u201d says Steinfeld. \
   u201cEvery little thing that happens is such a huge event. Everything that happens
   to Nadine means so much. Everything matters. Everything is so deeply felt.\u201d\
   n\n\u201cI felt so connected to the core of the story because of how many characters
   that have something so relatable going on in their lives,\u201d reveals Steinfeld.\
   u201cThe script was true to a teenager\u2019s life in the 21st century. I personally
   have experienced so many of the things that Kelly wrote for this character and
   her writing is so honest and raw. It was a weird vulnerable state going in there
   admitting to Kelly the similarities to what my friends and I have really experienced.\
   u201d\n\nSteinfeld adds, \u201cReal conversations between kids in a high school
   hallway are not always appropriate. Kelly did an incredible job capturing that,
   but not making it more than what it is. The tone of the script has a perfect 
   balance. Kelly made every single page so descriptive and so deep, yet focusing
   on the internal struggles of each character. I loved that the script goes so 
   far into the details of this girl\u2019s world, covering everything from how 
   she\u2019s feeling to what she\u2019s wearing.\u201d\n\nUp-and-coming actress
   Haley Lu Richardson was cast in the pivotal role as Nadine\u2019s inseparable
   best friend Krista who falls for Nadine\u2019s brother. \u201cKrista is a good
   person, a really sweet girl who wants the best for the people she loves and for
   herself,\u201d describes Richardson. \u201cI love her so much because she\u2019s
   maternal towards Nadine. I imagine her being raised really well, with good morals.
   She's selfless and has always been there for Nadine. When she is confronted with
   the choice between doing something for herself and doing something for Nadine,
   it's not easy for her to make the choice that fulfills her, but she\u2019s brave
   and she does it. Nadine and Krista met when they were very young so they are 
   super comfortable with each other and feel safe together. Now that they are in
   high school, Nadine is still figuring her stuff out and Krista is her rock.\u201d\
   n\nFremon Craig adds, \u201cFinding an actress who could go toe-to-toe with Hailee
   Steinfeld was a serious search because she is so good. Hailee can run circles
   around most everybody. But Hailee and Haley Lu really had a great chemistry and
   felt like lifelong friends instantly. Haley Lu is also dead real. You don\u2019t
   see the acting. She\u2019s so absolutely inside the moment and so present. She\
   u2019s such a smart actress and incredibly self-aware when it comes to her own
   talent.\n\nShe knows the work that she has to do to get inside the role and she
   does it. She always shows up with a great attitude and delivers and it\u2019s
   100% real. She feels like your friend and she\u2019s complicated and interesting.
   She brings so much truth to the role.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe relationship between
   Nadine and Krista is the ultimate best friend relationship,\u201d describes Steinfeld.\
   u201cIf they\u2019re not in the same room, they are likely texting or on the 
   phone or on FaceTime. They\u2019re everything to each other, especially Krista
   to Nadine. Krista is every person in Nadine\u2019s life that she\u2019s ever 
   wanted. Krista is always there for Nadine.\u201d\n\nRichardson connected with
   the onscreen friendship, \u201cThe script was very real, sweet but quirky and
   specific at the same time. I've held my friend's hair before while she was vomiting.
   I know about those real moments, but it's definitely not a stereotypical high
   school kid movie. It's what you see in high school, the language you hear, and
   the stuff you go through during the emotional roller coaster years.\u201d\n\n\
   u201cBut the story is also not what you expect. The first time reading the script,
   I was thinking that there was going to be a moment where Krista decides not to
   pursue a relationship with Darian to placate Nadine, and she doesn't do that,\
   u201d reveals Richardson. \u201cThat was cool because that\u2019s what would 
   likely happen in real life. There's not always necessarily a happy ending in 
   the way \n\nyou expect. Most times you have to go through a struggle and separate
   from the comfortable to then find what is your next step.\u201d\n\n\u201cNadine
   feels her best friend is being taken away,\u201d explains Steinfeld. \u201cKrista
   is the only person that understands Nadine. She can get along with anybody, but
   Nadine\u2019s hard to read, and Krista\u2019s the only one that\u2019s ever given
   her that time and shown her affection. The moment she perceives that Krista is
   being taken away, it tears Nadine into a million pieces. Even though Krista is
   with her brother and wants so badly to make it work between all of them, Nadine
   sees it as her life coming to an end. Unfortunately, she feels her best friend
   is no longer hers.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe main goal Kelly and I had for Krista was
   not making her the villain that goes off with her best friend's older brother
   and breaks her friend's heart,\u201d adds Richardson. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want
   to make her this girl that all of a sudden turns into a cool girl with everything
   she wants. It was important that being with Darian is the best thing in the world
   for her, but also the hardest decision she's ever had to make because it's breaking
   her best friend's heart.\u201d\n\n\u201cAgain we had a large search for both 
   of those roles,\u201d says Ansell. \u201cWe cast Blake Jenner as Darian fairly
   quickly. We thought the Krista part would be easier but it turned out to be very
   difficult. Luckily, Haley Lu came in pretty late in the process. At the beginning,
   you only see Darian through Nadine\u2019s eyes and they have a difficult relationship.
   At first, the audience won\u2019t realize he\u2019s actually the backbone of 
   the family, who sacrifices for his mother and sister. One of the biggest things
   that Nadine starts to understand is her brother isn\u2019t who she thought he
   was, is actually this really quiet hero, and she learns to appreciate him.\u201d\
   n\n\u201cThe perception of Darian can easily be that he is Mr. Popular and he\
   u2019s got it all, a perfect life. But on the inside, he's definitely broken,\
   u201d describes Jenner. \u201cHe's been putting himself back together since he
   was 14. Once his family lost their father he dubbed himself the caretaker. Their
   mom couldn\u2019t cope and be the mother that they needed. He\u2019s always subdued
   his own emotions for the sake of his family. He\u2019s cut off the potential 
   of his own life to be their Batman. There\u2019s more than meets the eye with
   him. There's a lot of pain. His dad passed away at the prime time where most 
   fathers and sons talk about the birds and the bees, and what it means to be a
   man. He has had to teach himself, so there are a lot of voids in Darian.\u201d\
   n\n\u201cI come from a big family, so I've always been a sucker for family-oriented
   films,\u201d adds Jenner. \u201cStories revolving around a family in turmoil 
   always hit home for me. The second I read the script I was hooked because they
   are all living their own separate lives within this one world that they share.
   I was Darian growing up, except I was the youngest of four boys. But with my 
   friends, I always felt some responsibility to them because I wanted to be a big
   brother. I tried to \n\nbe there for them, so I understand what it\u2019s like
   cutting off your own ability to feel for the needs of others. This movie is a
   lot like therapy for me.\u201d\n\nDirector Kelly Fremon Craig had Jenner write
   in a journal while prepping for the role. \u201cBlake is one of the most committed,
   researched, and hardworking actors I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d comments Fremon
   Craig. \u201cHis talent is extraordinary and he blew me away. The minute he came
   in, he had me crying.\n\n\u201cHe puts so much work and nuance into it. He was
   so game to really look at his character\u2019s back-story. Darian is a complicated
   character, because you think he\u2019s one type of guy at the onset, but then
   you find out there\u2019s a lot more underneath. Blake is so ridiculously handsome,
   but also a guy who\u2019s a million miles deep. He was just the perfect person
   to play Darian.\u201d\n\n\u201cKelly\u2019s script is so youthful, timeless, 
   and definitely not sanitized,\u201d comments Jenner. \u201cIt\u2019s a story 
   about a family who lost their way a long time ago and with ebbs and flows, they
   find themselves again and reach peace. There are several different little movies
   within the movie. I love that Nadine is ballsy and not filtered. I know a lot
   of girls who are very forward with their language, so it\u2019s nice not to see
   a watered down version of a girl who has gone through a rough \n\ntime. The movie
   definitely does not shy away from the R-rated language. It sounds corny, but 
   it\u2019s just life. It\u2019s not trying hard. These characters are who they
   are. They're losing their temper and dropping F-bombs when it\u2019s warranted.\
   n\nThey're crying and keeping to themselves and reaching out for a loved one 
   when it\u2019s warranted. It\u2019s all real, which I like.\u201d The leading
   trio enjoyed the camaraderie on screen and off. \u201cBlake is a good guy and
   a really thoughtful, grounded, and wise actor,\u201d says Richardson. \u201cHailee
   was raised really well. She's young but she's got her stuff figured out. I like
   working with her. Sometimes it's really hard to stay in an intense emotional 
   scene because we're singing a song from a YouTube video between takes. Like the
   scene in the fast food restaurant when Krista is telling Nadine that she wants
   to be with her brother Darian. Hailee was so in it, I was so in it, living and
   breathing the characters, and improvising back and forth.\u201d\n\nSteinfeld 
   agrees, \u201cHaley Lu and I hit it off quickly, developing a natural banter 
   between us. We picked up on each other\u2019s mannerisms, so we were able to 
   bring those the little things that we each do to the screen.\u201d \u201cIn reality,
   I\u2019m very close with my family, so to play a character that feels \n\nso 
   completely isolated has been really challenging,\u201d admits Steinfeld. \u201cSpecifically,
   it\u2019s been very hard to work with Blake because I really like him. We find
   so many things in the moment. He\u2019s such a great guy, but he is very good
   at playing the brother that Nadine doesn\u2019t like very much. Their relationship
   is so layered because Nadine thinks he has everything \u2013 looks, grades, and
   friends.\n\nEvery person he walks by shows him attention and love. Nadine walks
   down the hall and people snicker\u2026 and we\u2019re related!\u201d \u201cI 
   love their relationship. It\u2019s a tug of war the entire time because they\
   u2019re speaking different languages,\u201d adds Jenner. \u201cHe's setting aside
   his frustration, and she's speaking freely about hers. My last audition was a
   chemistry read with Hailee, doing one of our heavy scenes, and she was just all
   there. She's a great actress, who is willing to jump into the deep end and give
   it all she has. She\u2019s inspiring as this misunderstood character trying to
   find her way in the aftermath of tragedy. Nadine related to their father the 
   most and when she lost him, she lost her light. She's playing the victim because
   all she's ever really known is being lost, so Darian has had to be the responsible
   one.\u201d\n\nVeteran actors Kyra Sedgwick and Woody Harrelson portray the key
   adults in the story \u2013 Nadine\u2019s mother and teacher. \u201cKyra is so
   wonderful because she\u2019s gifted at comedy but she\u2019s also a beautiful
   dramatic actress,\u201d comments Fremon Craig. \u201cKyra can be big and she 
   can be small. She did a great job of capturing especially Mona\u2019s hidden 
   vulnerabilities, those little moments where you have compassion for her. Even
   in the moments where she\u2019s not her best self, you can always feel for her
   character and know that there\u2019s a person inside, maybe missing the mark,
   but always trying really hard.\u201d\n\n\u201cI absolutely love Mona,\u201d states
   Sedgwick. \u201cPerhaps somebody will feel she's not likeable, but to me, she's
   someone who\u2019s just trying to do better. She's now alone in the world, and
   is somebody who never really had a lot of tools to cope. She finds herself grasping.
   In the best of \n\ncircumstances, Mona would struggle with being a mom, but especially
   when her go-to guy isn't there. Her son Darian reacts by being an uber-responsible
   parentlike child, which is its own version of hell. Nadine does the opposite -
   I can\u2019t please my mother so I'm going to act as terrible as possible. Nadine
   feels smarter than her mother, and both teens feel like they have to take care
   of themselves, they're lost at sea without really having a parent who\u2019s 
   fully present.\u201d \n\n\u201cIt's pretty remarkable that Kelly was able to 
   really show the hole that is left in this family in such a lean, brilliant way.
   The father is there for such a short amount of screen time, yet you completely
   understand the loss this family has felt,\u201d explains Sedgwick. \u201cThe 
   script is very impressive, great writing with so many layers. It's very special.
   I know how good a part this is. I'm really grateful to be able to be funny and
   be broken and fragile and sad as well\u2026 there's not a lot of opportunities
   like that.\u201d\n\n\u201cKyra was always somebody that we had talked about for
   their mother. She\u2019s a gifted dramatic actress, and can be pissing funny,\
   u201d comments James Brooks. \u201cEarly in the movie, there's a scene where 
   Mona has to back up out of the car, her skirt's hiked up, and she's trying to
   get her kid, who doesn't want to go to school, out of the back seat,\u201d describes
   Amy Brooks. \u201cKyra is so inherently funny and great at physical comedy. She's
   classically funny, like Lucille Ball-funny.\u201d \n\nSedgwick comments, \u201cThat
   scene is right on the edge of farce, but it's still real, devastating and hilarious.
   You fall in love with a character when you laugh at something that they do. You
   can take her to some harder places later because the audience fell in love with
   her vulnerability at that moment of just trying to hold it all together.\n\nAll
   really great humor comes from pain, and trying to put a game face on pain is 
   funny. It's hilarious because we relate so much. Kelly and I talked a lot about
   what it\u2019s like to be in Mona's head and what she's really struggling with
   and why Nadine is so triggering and difficult for her. Why it is that they really
   push each other's buttons so intensely? Kelly recently had her first child so
   we talked a lot about how hard it is to be a mom. You want to do it perfectly
   but you just can't, \n\nand you're constantly reminded of that over and over 
   again.\u201d\n\nSteinfeld enjoyed creating the strained mother-daughter dynamic
   with Sedgwick. \u201cKyra\u2019s a firecracker,\u201d states Steinfeld. \u201cNadine
   has a very interesting relationship with her mom because Nadine really feels 
   like she is the parent. Nadine feels she doesn\u2019t need her approval. Even
   though she pretends she\u2019s got it under control, her mom is her mom, and 
   she needs and wants her mom in her life. There are so many layers within that
   relationship so it has been fun to \n\nbring to life.\u201d\n\n\u201cHailee is
   really just a total natural, but also has a lot of complexity and depth to her,\
   u201d comments Sedgwick. \u201cShe's curious and a wise soul, who is super bright,
   so those super smart things that Nadine says just roll right off her tongue as
   if they're hers. Hailee is lovely, she's doesn't have an entitled bone in herbody
   which is surprising and wonderful.\u201d\n\nFilmmakers needed a powerful actor
   who could make an impact on a lead character with limited screen time and were
   thrilled to cast Oscar\u00ae nominated actor Woody Harrelson as Nadine\u2019s
   History teacher. \u201cWe needed a Mr. Bruner who could stand up to Nadine,\u201d
   says Ansell. \u201cThey have a fractious relationship, but at the same time the
   scenes between Woody and Hailee are hysterically funny.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere 
   are maybe a handful of actors with the dexterity that Woody has - he is so ridiculously
   funny and then can break your heart in the next minute. He can\u2019t have a 
   dishonest moment on screen,\u201d comments Fremon Craig. \u201cMr. Bruner needed
   the deadpan and the cool. I felt so enormously lucky to get Woody, and he just
   crushed it. What I love about Woody is he comes in with so many ideas, and some
   of his ideas are the best jokes in the movie.\u201d\n\n\u201cWoody and I are 
   good friends. It was just the right thing that happened at the right time. He
   happened to be coming through Los Angeles, we met up, and the next morning he
   was able to meet Kelly. Woody really has the most crowded schedule a human being
   can have,\u201d laughs James Brooks, \u201cbut we were able to make it work.\
   u201d\n\n\u201cI was interested because my buddy Jim is producing it; and Kelly
   wrote an amazing script and when I met her I thought she was terrific. A high
   school gal in the middle of crisis is not a story I would necessarily see myself
   being involved in, but it\u2019s really wonderful writing. It\u2019s very funny,
   very smart, and also very unique, so I was psyched to jump in,\u201d comments
   Harrelson.\n\n\u201cMr. Bruner is one of these guys who is probably pretty good
   at his job, but he comes in, \n\npunches the clock, and looks forward to getting
   home to his girlfriend and his baby. In some ways, he\u2019s maybe not the model
   teacher. But he has a special relationship with Nadine in that he honestly likes
   her,\u201d adds Harrelson. \u201cNadine does not connect with anyone else in 
   the school, but for some reason she connects with my character. He\u2019s certainly
   a sounding board for her and someone who she can come to for help. He\u2019s 
   not the most sentimental guy, and \n\nyet it\u2019s obvious that he cares about
   her.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs I told Kelly, that scene where Nadine walks into his home,
   and sees the baby and the girlfriend, is so beautifully written that I cried,\
   u201d admits Harrelson. \u201cIt really touched me. In fact, that scene was another
   of the things that made me want to do the movie. The moment is a big surprise
   to Nadine because she thinks I\u2019m some lonely guy. It\u2019s cool when she
   and the audience see another world that they don\u2019t expect with Bruner.\u201d
   James Brooks reflects on their chemistry, \u201cIt just started happening, developed
   through the first day. It\u2019s nuts because a week and a half ago Woody was
   playing Lyndon Johnson and then he had to go to Europe for the opening of \n\
   nThe Hunger Games. Next he gets on a plane, travels 18 hours, the next morning
   he shows up and it just clicked in the first hour.\u201d \u201cWoody and Hailee
   are electric together,\u201d agrees Fremon Craig. \u201cI don\u2019t know if 
   you could possibly plan or manufacture their chemistry, which happened \n\nalmost
   the minute they got in the room together. They bounce off each other, and trust
   their instincts and follow what would happen in the moment. They\u2019re fiery
   and every take was different and alive in its own way, with such vitality that
   you cannot take your eyes off either of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cNadine\u2019s stuff
   with Mr. Bruner is my favorite thing about this whole movie,\u201d says Steinfeld.\
   u201cReading those scenes for the first time, I remember thinking \u2018How the
   hell does Kelly come up with this stuff? It\u2019s so amazing!\u2019 Nadine is
   reaching for any reaction out of this guy. The great part about how it\u2019s
   written is he\u2019s there for her, but is so un-phased by any outrageous thing
   she has to say. That keeps her on her toes, and keeps her thinking of any possible
   thing she can say for shock value. One of the things I love so much about Nadine
   is that she doesn\u2019t hold back. She and Mr. Bruner have this real beautiful
   connection. He\u2019s a bit of a father figure for her. I\u2019m a huge fan of
   Woody Harrelson and those moments are some of my favorites.\u201d \u201cHailee
   is an extraordinary actress. In the first scene we did together, I was really
   amazed with how adept she is at flowing with everything and trying new things,\
   u201d says Harrelson. \u201cShe\u2019s a very creative and very smart actress\
   u2026really has the goods. She knows what she\u2019s doing and it\u2019s great
   to see someone with that ability at this early stage of her career. Jim and I
   both think that she has the potential to be acting for the next 60 years. She
   really is good.\u201d\n\nMaking his major motion picture debut, Hayden Szeto 
   plays Erwin, a classmate awkwardly pining after Nadine. \u201cThe minute Hayden
   came in, we said \u2018lock it up\u2019,\u201d says James Brooks. \u201cWe didn\
   u2019t need to audition anyone else.\u201d \u201cWe actually cast Hayden before
   anybody else. Literally he was cast before we had money for the movie because
   we liked him so much,\u201d laughs Ansell. \u201cWe had thought Erwin was going
   to be the hardest one to cast. Erwin is attracted to Nadine and is very nervous,
   but he\u2019s also sweet and funny. We were worried about finding a strong young
   actor who could do all of that. Erwin really is one of the best parts of the 
   script because here\u2019s this unlikely guy, who typically never ever gets the
   girl.\u201d Ansell adds, \u201cYou want him to get the girl. You want her to 
   be with him. You really do root for him. Erwin appreciates Nadine in a way that
   no one else seems to and really gets her.\u201d\n\n\u201cHayden crushed his audition
   with his ability to improv, which is unparalleled,\u201d reveals Fremon Craig.\
   u201cHayden has a lightning fast mind. He is so funny and so quick. You\u2019re
   nailed to your seat watching them and you\u2019re just dying to see what he\u2019s
   going to do next. He\u2019s so loveable and you just adore him. Especially after
   we put him on a Ferris wheel when he\u2019s afraid of heights, and throw him 
   in a pool when he can\u2019t swim.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do root for the characters,
   because they\u2019re not plain archetypes, they\u2019re real people. That\u2019s
   the genius of Kelly. It\u2019s great writing,\u201d comments Szeto. \u201cTalking
   to your crush in high school, you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen
   and these awkward moments are so honest. Kelly has a great eye for that. So many
   of the characters remind me of people in my life. There\u2019s no good \n\nor
   bad person in this. I was the Darian of my family and my sister always had a 
   chip on her shoulder.\u201d Szeto adds, \u201cI\u2019ve also been Erwin. Every
   boy has been Erwin\u2026 that boy who is just trying to get through it, trying
   to be somebody, and trying to fit in.\n\nErwin had a real strength to him. I 
   chose not to play the defeat of being the nerd. In real life, people don\u2019t
   want to fail. People want to win, and that\u2019s the angle that I came from 
   with Erwin. He just wants to get the girl. Erwin\u2019s personality is a direct
   shield against any awkwardness because he\u2019s already very selfdeprecating.\
   n\nPart of his charm is his weak points are also his offense.\u201d \u201cI asked
   Kelly what inspired her to write the part of Erwin and she told me she went to
   a university with about 80% Asian-American students,\u201d shares Szeto. \u201cDuring
   her time there, she met some of the most charismatic, funniest, and talented 
   people who didn\u2019t take themselves too seriously and she found such charm
   in that. This story is very grounded in truth and she feels that real life is
   very diverse and interracial couples are everywhere. It\u2019s not a thing.\u201d\
   n\nHailing from a family of Chinese artists, Szeto has dual Canadian and Hong
   Kong citizenship and lives in Los Angeles. \u201cFrom my own personal experience
   auditioning for American films, and even my mom asked why I didn\u2019t go back
   to Hong Kong or China to be an actor, because she commented that, \u2018they 
   don\u2019t write any good parts for you.\u2019 The roles available are the nerd
   or the friend. But I felt that somebody has to stay here and inspire people to
   write those parts,\u201d says Szeto. \u201cTo complain doesn\u2019t get you anywhere,
   you\u2019ve just got to do the work. You\u2019re an artist.\n\nYou\u2019re not
   here to prove something, because art is not about doing something right, it\u2019s
   just about doing. My own culture is very calculated. Chinese culture is very 
   meticulous, very safe, and they value stability. I\u2019m blessed to have this
   opportunity to be a storyteller in America and to play this part. I couldn\u2019t
   ask for anything more as an Asian-American artist.\u201d \u201cI parallel with
   Erwin quite a bit. It\u2019s quite a big part and sometimes I feel like I\u2019m
   the new guy, if you compare me to the seasoned cast. Hailee is a prodigy and 
   the situation can be intimidating for me, just as Erwin\u2019s intimidated by
   Nadine. It works to my advantage. Hailee is a powerful, powerful actress, \n\
   nand sometimes I catch myself just watching her. She\u2019s overwhelmingly beautiful
   and not just on the outside, she has such a great soul. She\u2019s also a machine,
   managing her Twitter, her Instagram, and her Facebook\u2026 communicating with
   her fans in between takes. I\u2019m just trying to prepare,\u201d laughs Szeto.\
   u201cShe\u2019ll deliver in the scene and then be back on her phone. How does
   she do that?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen we shot her reaction to watching my character\
   u2019s student film, there\u2019s no actual film being played on set, yet her
   eyes were glistening and her reactions were so genuinely real,\u201d remembers
   Szeto. \u201cI got emotional watching her performance on the monitors, afraid
   I was the only one being affected. But I looked over to James and Kelly, who 
   were glued to the screen, and I\u2019ll never forget this because James whispered,\
   u2018Wow.\u2019\u201d\n\nTwo Canadian actors round out the cast: newcomer Alexander
   Calvert playing Nadine\u2019s crush Nick, and veteran Eric Keenleyside appearing
   briefly as Nadine\u2019s father Tom, whose untimely death kick starts the story.\
   u201cRight off bat the script sounded like how people actually talk in that weird
   unforgiving environment that is high school,\u201d comments Calvert. \u201cThe
   girls felt like real \n\ncharacters. I liked that Nadine really had a voice that
   sounded like how I felt at 17\u2026 a little \n\nbitter and a little upset. She's
   really an outsider, who is forced to be alone, and has to \n\ndeal with herself.
   But Nadine starts to find herself, she just makes it through. That's what \n\
   nhigh school is actually about: making it through.\u201d\n\n\u201cI've been shooting
   the TV show \u2018Arrow\u2019, playing a villain named Anarchy, simultaneously
   with this movie. It's been very fun because I get to go from torturing families
   there and come here to hang out at high school again. One day I worked on both
   sets and ended up shooting for almost 24 hours straight. Good thing I'm young-
   ish,\u201d laughs Calvert.\n\nThe entire cast juggled very busy schedules to 
   be a part of this special movie. \u201cBetween Alexander being on \u2018Arrow,\
   u2019 Blake going to \u2018Supergirl,\u2019 Hailee having a hit single and releasing
   an album, plus Woody opening Hunger Games and starting the next Planet of the
   Apes, our cast is constantly going in and out.\n\nBut when they come back to 
   set, everyone feels like they are back home. We developed our bubble here with
   this blissful shoot. The only complaint I have is I so badly want to see everybody
   at once. Unfortunately, there's not a scene in the movie where our entire cast
   is together, so a sequel would be worth it just for that reason alone,\u201d 
   laughs Amy Brooks.\n\n\u201cKelly gave this great speech at the production meeting
   before we started filming,\u201d remembers James Brooks. \u201cShe sits down 
   for the first time, as a director, with 50 people around this big octagon table,
   and she talked about wanting the film to be truthful and as honest as possible,
   and stating that everything about the production should be about supporting the
   actor\u2019s performances. You sit there in that moment thinking \u2018I\u2019m
   glad to be here.\u2019 It was the first day the crew was getting all together
   and to have somebody say that out loud was great.\u201d Ansell adds, \u201cKelly
   seems to be born to the job. Part of what we like to do at Gracie Films is work
   with new writer-directors with a really strong vision, like Kelly. Surrounding
   her with people who are very competent and know how to support her, she\u2019s
   just thrived. She has an innate ability for directing, and she knows what she
   wants.\u201d\n\nOne of the team supporting Kelly was legendary acting coach Larry
   Moss. \u201cLarry is an amazing acting teacher who Jim knows,\u201d explains 
   Amy Brooks. \u201cKelly, Jim, Julie, and I sat in on one of his classes and we
   didn't see an actor who didn't cry. He'd do these tiny adjustments and their 
   performance would change. We staggered out of his class having witnessed greatness.
   Larry has now become part of our family. Kelly welcomes everyone with a \u2018What
   do you have to give?\u2019 attitude. This is a party, just bring your favorite
   food. Kelly is pretty singular in not having an ego or vanity about \u2018This
   needs to be all mine.\u2019\n\nEvery character in this movie has a number of 
   arcs, which are tough stuff to play, so Larry was a great resource for anyone
   who wanted it.\u201d \u201cWorking with Larry Moss has been a dream come true
   for me,\u201d shares Steinfeld. \u201cWhen I auditioned, Kelly and Jim asked 
   if I was cool with working with Larry. They were all on the same page. I was 
   able to build this foundation with \n\nLarry, and them come here to Vancouver
   and play with Kelly, knowing I was ready for anything she could throw at me.\
   u201d \u201cLarry opened my eyes to so many things going between the scenes and
   how to figure out what's happened in between, which is something that you should
   subconsciously do as an actor,\u201d adds Richardson. \u201cThe first time I 
   met Kelly was a hastily arranged meeting in LA when I was weighing whether or
   not to do the project, and we took a long walk,\u201d remembers Harrelson. \u201cI
   thought \u2018wow, this is a really incredible lady.\u2019 She\u2019s \n\nvery
   strong and funny, but you can never really tell how someone will be as a director
   because it\u2019s such a huge undertaking. Some people absolutely fall apart 
   under the pressure. I was interested to see what would happen with Kelly once
   on set. Also, Jim told me that of all the directors working, only 1.8% are female,
   which is shocking. So I liked the aspect that this has a \n\nfemale director,
   and that she wrote it. When I came to Vancouver, I was really delighted because
   she\u2019s so smart on set and really knows how to talk to actors.\n\nShe articulates
   what she wants very well. She\u2019s very patient and decisive. She\u2019s getting
   the most bang for her buck and getting the most out of these scenes. And she 
   doesn\u2019t really compromise. It\u2019s not like \u2018okay, well that\u2019s
   good enough. Let\u2019s move on.\u2019 She\u2019s going to make sure she gets
   the right take.\u201d\n\n\u201cKelly has been so helpful to me in building Nadine
   as a character through so many conversations, over many months now,\u201d says
   Steinfeld. \u201cYou can see in her eyes how passionate she is and where everything
   about this character comes from.\u201d Richardson agrees, \u201cKelly is very
   collaborative. She told me right off the bat, \u2018I want you to feel free with
   this character. I don't want you to feel boxed in, I don't want you to feel attached
   to the words,\u2019 which are amazing. I\u2019ve developed a trust with her. 
   It's a very simple story but the way it's told is so \n\nspecial.\u201d\n\n\u201cEarly
   on before we started shooting, Kelly asked me to do a stream of consciousness
   exercise, writing from the character\u2019s perspective,\u201d recalls Jenner.\
   u201cI was improvising and not being filtered... getting to his state of mind-
   anger, happiness, whatever - just going with it and Kelly made no judgments. 
   She was willing to have conversations no matter how long they ran.\u201d \n\n\
   u201cKelly wasn\u2019t telling me exactly what to do, but she was sending me 
   in the right direction,\u201d adds Jenner. \u201cI totally feel we\u2019re being
   taken care of by an artist.\n\nShe lived and breathed these characters for so
   long. We\u2019re in amazing hands because she's got blood in this. She's owns
   it. It\u2019s inspiring to be on set having these conversations because they 
   came from her heart. Every single word of this came from her. You definitely 
   see the artist at work.\u201d\n\nPrior to the start of principal photography,
   the director led the cast through a period of intense rehearsal. Sedgwick enjoyed
   this, \u201cWe started with a really good improv with Hailee and I. Coming from
   theater, I love rehearsal and it was interesting to talk to Hailee about it because
   she's not used to rehearsal.\u201d \n\n\u201cIt was great to also have James 
   Brooks there \u2013 I\u2019m a big fan of that guy, he\u2019s an idol. He's truly
   a god, really he is,\u201d laughs Sedgwick. \u201cBut what scares me about James
   Brooks is that the actors in his movies often do their very best work. It\u2019s
   a little scary asking yourself the question \u2018will this be my very best work?\
   u2019 There isn't a false moment in any of his movies. He's an icon, and his 
   movies are unforgettable. They make a very deep and lasting impression, and they
   stand the test of time, which is so unusual.\u201d\n\nSedgwick continues, \u201cI
   asked Jim, how do you manage to get these incredible performances out of people?
   He said that it really starts by making sure that everybody in the cast and crew
   know that their paramount task is to create a safe place for the actors to do
   their best work, and that nothing's more important than that. The shot's not 
   as important and the lighting's not as \n\nimportant. After being on this set,
   I believe Kelly feels the exact same way. Each day lives or dies on the performances.\
   u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s so incredible to watch Jim process everything on set.
   Just when you think maybe he\u2019s not listening, he comes up with the most 
   insane and relevant idea. He\u2019s so in tune and brilliant,\u201d comments 
   Steinfeld. \u201cI actually met him when I was younger at The Simpsons Movie 
   premiere because he knew my dad. I didn\u2019t see him again until I auditioned
   and now to be on a set with him is really surreal, to be on something that he
   is involved with is special.\u201d Richardson agrees, \u201cHe's a big deal. 
   Just about everything that man has touched has turned to gold. He's a genius 
   who created all of these iconic things, yet he\u2019s so friendly and sweet. 
   But then all of a sudden, he laughs and has this crude humor that you wouldn't
   expect. My mom's pretty jealous that I'm doing this movie right now with him 
   because Terms of Endearment is her favorite movie ever. The first time I met 
   Jim, I came down from my hotel room to go to a wardrobe fitting and I was super
   nervous. I saw him in the lobby and he invited me to ride in his car. I thought\
   u2018you don\u2019t know how cool I feel right now.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen
   I came for the table read, I was looking at the name tags around the table, and
   I noticed James L. Brooks is going to be sitting right there!\u201d laughs Szeto.\
   u201cWhen Jim walked in, I wanted to go up and shake his hand. What an honor,
   I even had a speech prepared in my head. Then he said, \u2018you\u2019re funny,
   love your audition tape.\u2019 It was like Michael Jordan saying you\u2019ve 
   got a nice jump shot.\u201d Szeto adds, \u201cJim has been a father figure to
   me throughout the whole production. I was definitely overwhelmed the first couple
   days on set, and he said something really profound. He and Kelly actually pulled
   me aside and he told me a lot of actors spend their whole lives looking for what
   he calls their mirror, who they really are. He and I felt that I\u2019d lost 
   sight of that, of who Erwin was, and he pulled up my audition tape and showed
   me, \u2018this is your mirror.\u2019 It was a really touching moment. He told
   everybody to get out and Kelly asked, \u2018what do you need?\u2019 I needed 
   space and time and they cleared the room for me. They told me to shut the door
   and take as long as I needed. I\u2019m so thankful to be working with these people
   that believe in me so much. It\u2019s incredible having somebody of that level
   being so patient with somebody so new. That talk with Jim and Kelly that day 
   really sums up my whole experience on this project \n\nbecause I learned something
   great in that room.\u201d\n\nBrooks has a stellar track record of mentoring actors
   and filmmakers. \u201cI remember years ago, Jim was flying off a lot to Dallas,
   Texas,\u201d comments his friend Harrelson. \u201cI was wondering how good must
   this script be that he\u2019s trusting a first time director and all these basically
   first time actors, and putting all this effort into it? Of course it was Bottle
   Rocket, and it was Wes Anderson directing Owen and Luke Wilson. Jim has such 
   wisdom and passion about material\u2026 it\u2019s hard to even imagine how much
   influence he has when he\u2019s mentoring someone.\u201d \n\n\u201cI hope that
   people watch this film and think \u2018I know that person, I am that person, 
   I\u2019ve been there, and I\u2019ve felt that\u2019,\u201d comments Fremon Craig.\
   u201cI hope people see themselves reflected in it. That was my own experience
   writing it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis movie fits into that genre of the classic John
   Hughes films and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but also I feel like this is breaking
   the mold,\u201d says Jenner. \u201cI haven't read a movie that's about coming
   into your own and finding yourself that has perfect balance between comedy and
   drama, but this makes you laugh and cry like you're a baby.\u201d \u201cYou feel
   like you watched someone go through something, and really struggle to get there,
   but get there at the end,\u201d says Richardson. \u201cThe lesson is no matter
   how hard and intense something seems in the moment, \n\nyou're going to get through
   it, learn from it, and end up being stronger.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen people come
   out of this movie, I really want them to know they can make it through. I wish
   more people had told me that high school will end,\u201d says Calvert. \u201cYou'll
   get out. There is life beyond. If I could speak to anyone struggling in high 
   school, I would tell them that it ends. Life gets more interesting as you age.
   You do not want to peak in high school.\u201d\n\n\u201cGrowing up watching movies,
   they\u2019ve always given me hope that no matter how bad problems get, you can
   solve them if you have the will to,\u201d shares Szeto. \u201cI hope this film
   draws attention to how fragile we all are and how, as human beings, our greatest
   asset is to be empathetic, which can also be our greatest downfall. Sometimes
   we overreact and it\u2019s okay to admit that.\u201d Steinfeld sums up, \u201cTHE
   EDGE OF SEVENTEEN is a story of a girl trying to find connection and contact 
   with anything and anyone. The most satisfying thing is watching her realize that
   it\u2019s been there all along.\u201d","format":"markdown","textStyle":"dropcapBodyStyle","
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   0}},"byline-layout":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"margin":{"top":10,"bottom":
   10}}},"metadata":{"excerpt":"Growing up is the great equalizer No matter your
   family situation, walk of life, or specific personal experience, anyone who has
   ever gone through adolescence understands the growing pains and awkwardness that
   go with the territory when it comes to navigating the transition to adulthood.
   The times change, the modes of communication evolve, but some...","thumbnailURL":"\/
   wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Edgeof17_rgb.jpg","dateCreated":"2016-10-30T23:
   50:41+00:00","dateModified":"2016-11-02T20:28:52+00:00","datePublished":"2016-
   10-30T23:50:41+00:00","canonicalURL":"http:\/\/www.cinemabuzz.com\/everything-
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 *  Plugin Author [Bradford Campeau-Laurion](https://wordpress.org/support/users/potatomaster/)
 * (@potatomaster)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8407653)
 * Can you check your Apple News plugin settings and confirm the setting you’re 
   using for “Use Remote Images?”
 *  Thread Starter [samblis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/samblis/)
 * (@samblis)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8407668)
 * Yes it is.
 *  Plugin Author [Bradford Campeau-Laurion](https://wordpress.org/support/users/potatomaster/)
 * (@potatomaster)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8410970)
 * Unfortunately it looks like something is removing the domain from your image 
   URLs. This isn’t something that the plugin does and is highly unusual.
 * For instance, one of your image URLs is coming through as:
 * `/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Edgeof17_rgb.jpg`
 * Whereas it should be:
 * `http://yourdomain-or-yourcdndomain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Edgeof17_rgb.
   jpg`
 * Either a plugin, your theme or something on your web host is removing the domain
   before it reaches the plugin. Unfortunately we can’t help troubleshoot this any
   further since it’s beyond the scope of the plugin but I can recommend some steps
   to try:
    1. Disable all plugins and see if that fixes it. If it does, reenable them one 
       by one until you isolate the offender
    2. If that doesn’t work, disable your theme and switch to something generic like
       Twenty Sixteen to see if that resolves it
    3. If neither work, contact your web host
    4. Try bundled image (i.e. set Use Remote Images to No) but this may fail for certain
       articles if they have lots of images. Many web hosts time out using this setting
       which is why we prefer remote images.
 * Thanks.
    -  This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by [Bradford Campeau-Laurion](https://wordpress.org/support/users/potatomaster/).
 *  Thread Starter [samblis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/samblis/)
 * (@samblis)
 * [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8411318)
 * Changing Use Remote did not work. Thank you so much for taking the time to helping
   me fix this. I’m trying to figure out what plug in is changing the URLs. I will
   remove plugins and will let you know if I find the one that is causing the issue.

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

The topic ‘An error with the API’ is closed to new replies.

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## Tags

 * [API error](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/api-error/)

 * 10 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [samblis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/samblis/)
 * Last activity: [9 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/an-error-with-the-api/#post-8411318)
 * Status: resolved