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Walking the Red Carpet: Thoughts from Los Angeles

2014-04-15 · letter vlog · John · 3:07 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing (also: Sports) · mode: Personal update · tags: recurring series, on location, guest or collab

John's Los Angeles diary, from the LA Times Festival of Books to the MTV Movie Awards red carpet: he does not want to be a real celebrity but supports the TFIOS film, and asks Nerdfighteria to keep doing what it is good at.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Photo shoot where John is asked to pretend to vlog; waking in Los Angeles; a scary glass elevator

  • ★ John says he is at a photo shoot where he is asked to pretend to vlog, so he actually vlogs. — 00:00:01

00:00:17 — LA Times Festival of Books at USC: Rainbow Rowell, Julie Strauss-Gabel with Maya Van Wagenen, backstage nerves and gratitude

  • ★★ John met Rainbow Rowell, then went to USC for the LA Times book festival, where his editor Julie Strauss-Gabel talked with 15-year-old Maya Van Wagenen, author of the memoir Popular. — 00:00:17 · Julie Strauss-Gabel, Los Angeles
  • ★★★ Before going on stage for book events, John reminds himself of his many readings attended by zero to three people and gives thanks for Brotherhood 2.0, Nerdfighteria and Hank. — 00:00:38 · Brotherhood 2.0, Nerdfighteria, Hank Green

00:00:56 — Signing for hours, fans and their TFIOS items; Veronica Roth; falling asleep in the cab

  • ★★ John signed books for several hours, meeting fans with 'okay, okay' shirts, TFIOS phone cases and nails, a dog named Alaska, and a couple who met through Nerdfighteria and married. — 00:00:56 · The Fault in Our Stars, Nerdfighteria
  • ★ John met his friend Veronica Roth, then fell asleep in the cab while trying to film himself fake-sleeping. (playful) — 00:01:12

00:01:22 — Watching Liverpool v Manchester City at 5:15 a.m.: Liverpool win

  • ★★ John got up at 5:15 to watch Liverpool play Manchester City, which Liverpool won, celebrating from Los Angeles in his Liverpool jacket. — 00:01:22 · Los Angeles

00:01:38 — T Cooper, Ansel Elgort, Sarah, champagne, getting ready for the MTV Movie Awards with Nat Wolff

  • ★★ John saw T Cooper, author of Changers, met Ansel Elgort and Sarah at a hotel, then went to the MTV Movie Awards with Nat Wolff and walked the red carpet. — 00:01:38 · Sarah Urist Green

00:01:59 — On the red carpet: not wanting celebrity, overwhelmed, Grumpy Cat, Nerdfighteria should keep doing what it is good at

  • ★★★ John says he loves Nerdfighteria and talking about what he cares about but does not want to be a real celebrity, which is why they always turned down TV; he went because he is proud of the TFIOS film. — 00:01:59 · celebrity, Nerdfighteria, The Fault in Our Stars (film)
  • ★★ John says the red carpet, shared with Jonah Hill and Grumpy Cat, was overwhelming: the screaming and cameras left him and Nat unable to 'even'. — 00:02:14 · can't even
  • ★★ Asked how he handles the attention and whether the community will change, John wanted to shout that he was freaking out, and decided Grumpy Cat, staying cat-like and grumpy, has it figured out. (playful) — 00:02:24 · celebrity
  • ★★★ John tells Nerdfighteria the film's attention will be weird and hopefully awesome, but they should focus on continuing to do what they are good at. (hedged) — 00:02:44 · Nerdfighteria

00:02:52 — From an airport: the Nerdfighter Book Club relaunches with Behind the Beautiful Forevers

  • ★★★ From an airport, John announces the relaunch of the Nerdfighter Book Club with Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers, a nuanced look at poverty in one Indian community. — 00:02:56

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Behind the Beautiful Forevers · celebrity · Liverpool FC · Los Angeles · Los Angeles Times Festival of Books · MTV Movie & TV Awards · Nerdfighter Book Club

Also: People: Ansel Elgort · Jonah Hill · Julie Strauss-Gabel · Maya Van Wagenen · Nat Wolff · Rainbow Rowell · Sarah Urist Green · T Cooper · Veronica Roth

Projects: Brotherhood 2.0

Works: Eleanor & Park · Popular · The Fault in Our Stars · The Fault in Our Stars (film)

Organizations: Manchester City F.C. · University of Southern California

Places: India

Characters: Augustus Waters

Memes: can't even

animal: Grumpy Cat

Only in the description or credits: Changers · Katherine Boo · Thoughts from Places

Also centred on Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Influence, Airports, and the Nerdfighter Book Club · Our Old Friend Complexity: Behind the Beautiful Forevers · Exciting Announcements and Mosquito-Borne Illnesses · Ambiguous Victories and Real Progress: Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Also centred on Liverpool FC: The Best Worst Thing · AFC Wimbledon v. Liverpool: Thoughts from the Greatest Game on Earth · A Weird and Beautiful Story · On Sharing the Walk · What to Love and How · i like it

Also centred on MTV Movie & TV Awards: A Long Good Day

Also centred on Nerdfighter Book Club: Brotherhood 2.0: January 8, 2007 · Week 2 Condensed Highlight Reel · March 22nd: Book Club and Business Cards · September 6th: The Book Club Returns · Flinching in the Shower · The Physics of Book Clubs and Vidcon

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