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I Already Got Paid

2024-04-16 · review / recommendation · John · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing · mode: Personal essay · tags: self promotion, timely hook

John explains that he was paid up front for the Turtles All the Way Down film, a kind of deal he prefers because a share of the profit would push him to praise even a bad adaptation, so his praise of the film (its portrayal of OCD, its help in feeling less alone) is unbought; it comes out May 2 on Max.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — I already got paid: two kinds of movie deals for authors and why John prefers being paid up front

  • ★★★ John asks viewers to keep in mind in the coming weeks that he already got paid for the Turtles All the Way Down film, so financially he does not care whether they see it. — 00:00:00 · Turtles All the Way Down
  • ★ John guesses that a big audience for the film might sell a few more books, but not many, and the book already has a great life. (hedged) — 00:00:00 · Turtles All the Way Down
  • ★★ John explains there are broadly two kinds of movie deals for authors: paid everything up front, or compensation based on the movie's success. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John says a share of the profit from The Fault in Our Stars movie would have made him a lot of money, as it was one of the most profitable movies of all time. — 00:00:29 · The Fault in Our Stars (film)
  • ★★★ John's problem with profit-share deals: if the movie is bad, even one furthering stereotypes he wrote against, he is still incentivized to like it or pretend to. — 00:00:29
  • ★★★ Not trusting himself near such riches, John prefers being paid up front: then he can promote a film heavily if he likes it, or say nothing or criticize it if not. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John says a big life goal is not to feel overly obligated to large corporations, admittedly unachievable given his dependence on content feeds and drug companies, but he keeps control where he can. — 00:00:58

00:01:46 — John's verdict on the Turtles All the Way Down film: its portrayal of OCD, important for people who struggle with mental health

  • ★★★ John calls the Turtles All the Way Down movie brilliant, with extraordinary performances, the best portrayal of OCD as he experiences it he has seen in a movie, and funny and human. — 00:01:46 · Turtles All the Way Down
  • ★★ John thinks the film is important especially for people who struggle with mental health or love someone who does, which is why he will promote it heavily. — 00:01:46 · mental disorder
  • ★★ Despite many adaptations of his work, mostly of high quality, John has become more and more reluctant to engage with Hollywood. — 00:01:46

00:02:15 — John's growing reluctance to work with Hollywood: a canceled adaptation and other frustrations

  • ★★ John finds Hollywood a cutthroat business where movies get canceled for tax breaks and other ridiculous reasons. — 00:02:15
  • ★★ John says an adaptation of his work was canceled just before filming because an executive told him an actor's eyes were too far apart. — 00:02:15
  • ★ John says he has cool things to do anyway: he gets to write books and professionally hate tuberculosis. (playful) — 00:02:15 · tuberculosis

00:02:45 — Sometimes a film works: art helps us feel less alone, and the Turtles film does that

  • ★★ John says that once in a while hundreds of people come together to make something wonderful, and that happened with the Turtles All the Way Down movie. — 00:02:45 · Turtles All the Way Down
  • ★★★ John says one point of art is to help us feel less alone, especially in abstract parts of us hard to understand or share, and the Turtles film does that. — 00:02:45
  • ★★ John wishes he could show the film to his younger self to tell him he is not alone in what he feels. — 00:02:45

00:03:14 — Trailer and May 2 release on Max, nerdfighter shout-outs in the film, John's own line in it, sign-off

  • ★★★ John says the film's trailer is live, linked in the description, and the film comes out May 2nd on Max. — 00:03:14 · doobly-doo
  • ★★ John calls it the nerdfighter-iest film made from his books, with shout-outs to Nerdfighteria; all its microscope footage comes from Journey to the Microcosmos' James Weiss. — 00:03:14 · Nerdfighteria, Journey to the Microcosmos
  • ★★ John is in the film with a line, joking that he has progressed significantly as an actor since being cut out of The Fault in Our Stars film. (playful) — 00:03:14 · The Fault in Our Stars (film)
  • ★ John says Sarah described his part as the worst performance in the film, but only because the others are so good. (playful) — 00:03:43 · Sarah Urist Green

In the description and comments

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: film adaptation · Turtles All the Way Down (film)

Also: People: Sarah Urist Green

Works: The Fault in Our Stars (film) · Turtles All the Way Down

Organizations: Max

Terms: doobly-doo

Concepts: loneliness · mental disorder · obsessive-compulsive disorder · royalty payment · tuberculosis

Places: Hollywood

Only in the description or credits: Craig Benzine · Everything Is Tuberculosis · James (person, mentioned from 2019) · Journey to the Microcosmos

Also centred on film adaptation: Is the Paper Towns Movie Like the Book? Thoughts on Adaptations · The Book Was Better? · The Truth of How Books Become Movies

Also centred on Turtles All the Way Down (film): On the Movies · An Amazing Day · Hello! Meet Daisy! · A Casting Announcement · Hello! Meet Aza! · Director Hannah Marks Is Nervous To Meet You

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