Action!
Woo!
It takes courage
to jump into something new.
But if you're brave enough,
your new book
could become a phenomenon,
your movie could become
a franchise...
and your love
could captivate millions.
All right!
So join us
for a look at all things AFTER,
and find out what happens
when you dare to take the leap.
Let's go!
Woo!
Here
we are on the southern coast
of Portugal,
on a beautiful beach
hidden in the
heart of the Algarve.
That's the filming location
for a movie
awaited by tens of millions of
fans worldwide,
the controversial latest
installment in the AFTER saga.
- What-- What are you--
AFTER, the story of
Tessa and Hardin's love,
has captivated millions
around the world.
It's a complicated love story
between a disturbed teenage boy
--struggling with
his own demons
and a driven young woman
on the threshold of womanhood.
It's a romance that is
not afraid to embrace
its innocence,
sensuality... and emotions...
A generational love story
that has captivated millions.
On the sands of this beach,
Hero Fiennes Tiffin
draws a temporary symbol of
Hardin's everlasting love
for Tessa.
A love that has inspired
thousands of pages,
captivated
millions of readers,
and made hearts tremble
all over the world.
So come with us
beyond the romance,
beyond the phenomenon,
beyond AFTER...
In the summer of 2018--
-Sorry.
--on the set of the first film,
Josephine Langford
and Hero Fiennes Tiffin
had no idea the love story
they were about to tell
would change their lives
forever...
a love story that began as
fan fiction online,
then made its way
onto bookshelves
before arriving on screens
all over the world.
Today,
the AFTER universe encompasses
thousands of pages
published on Wattpad,
seven books translated
into over 30 languages,
five feature films,
a documentary,
and most importantly,
a fan base numbering
in the tens of millions.
- Hero! Hero! Hero!
Hero! Hero! Hero!
Here we are in the midst of
filming movies 3 and 4
in Bulgaria.
This sh**t was intended
to be secret,
but nothing can prevent fans
from showing their love
for AFTER,
and the talented actors who
portray their favourite couple.
I love you!
But why did AFTER
inspire so much enthusiasm
from its fans?
What about this intimate
romance
ignited such passion
from a generation of readers?
How did AFTER become
such a global phenomenon?
-Why is the AFTER series
so successful?
-It's wish fulfillment.
It's, whether it's bringing you
back to a time in your life or,
you know, making you feel
young again, romantic...
A good romance
can span generations.
- I think it's largely
driven by, um,
young kids, young girls,
finding their way.
They're working their way
through love in their life.
-Everybody loves love.
And I think everyone can relate
to toxic love.
-I actually was in a
relationship when I was younger
that reminds me a little bit of
Tessa and Hardin's relationship,
and I-- I don't think
I'm the only person
who's experienced that before.
-It's a sort of fantasy idea
of what life can be,
but it's not without
its difficulties.
-Romance isn't necessarily
always beautiful,
and that's what the books are.
And I think that's what people
love so much about the books.
-What's so magical about
the story that she's told,
she didn't shy away
from the problems
that other people label
as, like, toxic,
but they're problems
in relationships that
real people have
in their lives. And...
And I think so bravely
tackling that is what--
it was part of the key to--
key to its success.
-It makes sense
why it's connected--
as a movie and as the books,
you know,
it's-- it's
such a global phenomenon.
-But it's a relationship story,
and who doesn't love
a relationship story?
-Everybody can relate to this.
Even if, you know,
you're 45 or 60,
everybody had their first love.
You could
just tell that young women
who were reading this book
in millions and millions
and millions of copies
around the world,
were relating to it.
-And it's also sexy!
It's a-- it's a sexy series,
and sexiness tends to sell.
-I don't know if I've ever been
a part of something
that was quite as popular
as this-- this series,
and it's-- it's really cool.
-It all just
worked perfectly and--
I don't know
why it's so good!
-None of us can really explain
the AFTER effect or--
or why this has resonated
with so many people,
but it just has, and we're
just really lucky that it has.
It all started with Anna Todd.
In 2013, she picked
up her phone
to write the first words of
what would soon become
an entire universe:
the AFTERVERSE.
Anna has always been
a fan of romance.
-I just always read.
I liked romance most,
obviously.
And I was at a point
where I felt like
I had read all the romances,
and I just kept reading
the same books.
They were all different books,
but it just felt like
the same thing over and over.
And I just thought, oh,
I'll find something on Wattpad.
And then, on Wattpad,
I read everything,
and I was stuck again.
And I only wanted to read
fan fiction at that point.
And everything I
was reading was
all Harry Styles fan fiction.
And I got completely obsessed
with fan fiction--
decided one day just out of
boredom to write my own--
because there was nothing
that was like really keeping me.
And I started a chapter
for no reason,
just on a random Sunday.
And I didn't have any followers
or any reason to think
that people would
actually read it.
Initially,
AFTER was written as fan fiction
centered around characters
heavily inspired by
the boy band One Direction,
particularly its iconic singer
Harry Styles.
It was fiction intended
for the literary
sharing platform Wattpad,
a free website that
allows users to read
and publish original stories.
On Thursday,
April 11th, 2013,
Anna posted the first chapter
of AFTER on Wattpad.
She continued to
post constantly
for the next 15 months
until July 4th, 2014,
when Anna posted the 295th
and final chapter of AFTER.
Chapter 1.
"Tessa!!"
I wrote the first chapter,
and it just-- it felt like,
almost like addicting.
That's a very general term.
But I just felt so--
the like rush of writing.
So, I did it again
and again and again.
And then it became
popular pretty quickly online.
Popular is an understatement.
AFTER has more than a billion
reads on Wattpad.
Yes, you heard that right,
a billion!
At the headquarters of
Wattpad Studio in Toronto,
they still can't believe it.
- AFTER has been an adventure
from day one.
And the-- the people
who are running our site,
who are running the platform
of Wattpad,
came up to us and said,
"Hey-- like,
everyone on the platform today
is reading AFTER ,
and we almost crashed.
Does anyone know what AFTER is?"
And we all stopped
and started reading AFTER .
It was immediately obvious
why people loved it so much.
You know, Anna has
such a phenomenal voice,
such a phenomenal connection
with her audience.
I mean, they really see and
look up to her as a mentor and
just really can dive into
her universe
in a-- in a phenomenal way.
So, when you're
looking for stories
that are really audience
driven like we do every day,
there was no better example
than AFTER.
This isn't like
a Twilight there,
where a whole book showed up
on a shelf one day
and some people bought it
and read it and talked
about it,
maybe on forums online
or on Twitter.
This was a story that was
created on a platform,
that grew on a platform,
that was published
week after week by Anna.
And fans grew up with it.
And so, their understanding of
the-- the journey of that story,
their understanding of
the universe is so much deeper
than someone who just went
and bought a book off the shelf.
Wattpad's platform
enabled AFTER
to become one of
the most widely read
romances of the past decade.
And the entire series was
written on the author's phone.
It's just so
much faster to type
on my phone,
and the urgency.
So, if I feel something,
or if I hear a conversation,
or see someone that just
makes my imagination go off,
I'll just need to write then.
And if I waited until
my "scheduled writing time"
then the story would just die,
and it would be boring.
And I just like the urgency
of writing on my phone,
and I like the urgency
of posting on Wattpad--
and getting immediate feedback.
It's like having
thousands of editors.
Wattpad
is an interactive platform,
which means that every day,
on every page,
in every chapter,
Anna received notes
and comments directly
from her readers
so she could better
understand and respond
to what they wanted
from the story.
Ten years ago,
this unconventional approach
to writing would
not have been possible.
One of the things that
makes us unique is our--
is the platform, right?
Not just the amazing creators
and the stories on it--
and that's everything
that we produce on
Wattpad, WEBTOON Studios
does come off
either of the platforms.
But it's also understanding
why the audience loves that
and that comes through comments,
and it comes through data.
It comes through
understanding the parts that
audiences really clamoured for,
and the parts that audiences
were like
"Eh, that didn't really
interest us,"
and understanding why they love
that tertiary character
more than one of the leads
in the story.
Gradually,
more and more people
caught on to the phenomenon.
-And then publishers started
reaching out to me.
And at first, I was like,
what are you talking about?
Why would you want to publish
my Harry Styles book?
I don't understand.
And then, it got published.
Was successful.
Which, there's always
the kind of doubt:
will it be only successful
online for free,
or will people actually buy it?
And then, I sold a lot of books.
Publisher
Simon & Schuster won the deal
and the first book, AFTER,
was released
on October 21, 2014.
Over the next 14 months,
four more installments
in the series were published:
AFTER WE COLLIDED,
AFTER WE FELL,
AFTER EVER HAPPY,
and the prequel BEFORE,
as well as two spin-offs.
The books have been published
in multiple countries,
translated into
over 30 languages,
and have sold tens of millions
of copies worldwide.
Between the success
of the books
and its popularity on Wattpad,
AFTER has become
one of romance fans'
favourite stories.
The series is a massive
work of fiction,
spanning thousands of pages.
Yeah, well,
I wrote them all
in the beginning
as one big book,
and the only reason
that Wattpad has three
is because I went to upload
the 101 chapter,
and it didn't allow me.
And I was like,
"oh, what happened?"
Like, I thought my account
was going to be
like locked or something.
I didn't know
what was going on.
But it was just because
it was too heavy, the file,
like it was too long.
So, I had to basically
start the second one.
That's why it says AFTER 2
instead of AFTER WE COLLIDED.
And then the third one, I had
to start because of that,
but in my head,
it's all just one big saga.
But when we were publishing it,
we basically did it off of
every one has a cliffhanger--
every chapter does, but
every book has a cliffhanger.
So, we kind of sectioned it
where it made sense
to stop the novel.
Except for the third one,
which I didn't realize
was going to be like 890 pages.
And even the publisher--
we had to change my deal,
because they thought
they just bought three books,
and when they got the actual
length of the Wattpad version,
it's 250,000 more words
than the published one.
So, the Wattpad version
is like ten books!
Such a staggering page count
didn't scare away her readers.
Instead, they devoured the
love story of Tessa and Hardin.
But what was it
about this romance
that readers
couldn't get enough of?
-I'm not afraid to
take risks in writing,
and I'm not afraid of, you know,
backlash if Hardin's too mean,
or Tessa's too emotional, or
the themes that are dark,
and there's a lot of
addiction themes,
whether it's them being
addicted to each other,
or Hardin being addicted
to alcohol, um--
or Tessa, you know,
being very self-deprecating
and very, trying to be
this image of
what she's supposed to be,
and that is relatable
to people.
And the characters
are so flawed,
and I love romance,
but there are a lot of times
where I feel,
because I had, you know,
grew up in a house
full of addicts,
I've had a lot of the same
traumatic things as Hardin.
So, for me,
when I'm reading romance
and every woman is perfect
and she's-- every man loves her,
and they get in one fight,
and then they get married,
it's like,
that's not realistic.
I've been married
since I was 18,
and that is not how it works.
So, I just think it was
refreshing for people
to read things,
especially younger girls,
to read things and think
"Oh, wow,
I don't have to be perfect,
and, you know,
getting a man's attention
is not the only thing I need."
Because I also have
intelligent characters.
Hardin is a literature major
who quotes classic literature.
And usually,
if you get a bad boy,
it's like he just
only gets in fights,
and he has no depth.
So, I think
it's all of those reasons,
but I think it's just
the addicting nature
of their relationship.
Jennifer Gibgot is one of
the producers of the films.
She discovered AFTER
and fought for Anna Todd's
romantic saga to make its way
to the big screen.
For her,
AFTER was an opportunity
to tell a new
kind of love story.
The thing that I really loved
about the story is that
it's really about a very
damaged guy who's an alcoholic,
and it's about a young girl
who, they meet,
and she saves him.
Her love saves him
and makes him wanna be
a better person.
So, you know, even though
you're reading it
and obviously it's like
super sexy to read it
and you get invested in
the passion and all of that,
at its core,
it's a love story about
how love can save people.
And that's what
I really responded to.
So, I thought
it was actually important
to bring that story to life
for a young audience because
so many people struggle
with alcohol addiction,
and I think
it's an important story.
Today, AFTER fans
can watch the love story
play out in
five successful films,
but the transition
from book to film
was far from simple.
So, the story is,
I had actually been one of
the producers in the running
for Fifty Shades of Grey,
because I read those books
and I contacted the agent
very early on.
So she gave me a few studios
who were bidding on it
and Universal came in, bought it
for five million dollars,
I lost the rights
so I was very bummed out
and I went to my friend's house
and her husband
worked at Wattpad.
And I was telling them
this story and he said,
"Oh, well, if you wanted to
produce Fifty Shades of Grey ,
you need to read AFTER ."
And I said, "What's AFTER ?"
and he said, "You have to go
on Wattpad and read it."
So, I actually read it
on Wattpad,
and I reached out to him
right away
and I said,
"I need to produce this!"
-Our first stop for
the film was-- was, uh,
with Offspring Entertainment,
with Jen Gibgot.
We were introduced to Jen--
through, uh--
some colleagues in LA.
You know, she has
such a great history
with this type of content, with
being able to pull romance,
a little bit of laughs
here and there,
and really understanding that
audience that AFTER has already
in the fandom that's--
that's driven by it.
And we really hit it off
and felt, you know,
we both brought some great
things to the project,
Jen and, Offspring Entertainment
and Wattpad,
as producers-- and obviously
had a real ability
to amplify Anna's voice,
Anna's fandom,
through film adaptation.
So, once we decided
to work together,
our first stop was
Paramount Studios.
So,
I sold the movie to Paramount,
and we were in development
there
for four years.
And during that time,
Instagram had just started to
become a real thing.
Um-- This was back in 2014
and Anna had tagged me
in a couple of photos
on her Instagram
saying that I was
the producer of movie.
And so, every single day,
these young girls
from all over the world
starting writing to me
through Instagram saying,
"When are you gonna make AFTER ?
When are you gonna make AFTER ?"
And I was, you know,
busy producing other movies
and I would see their messages,
but after four years
they never went away.
They just kept writing me!
So, finally I went to Paramount
and I said, you know,
"If you guys aren't
gonna make this,
you have to give me
the rights back."
So, they agreed to do it.
They said,
"You can have them back,
but only if you make
the movie independently."
From the moment
that Paramount said
that they would give it back,
it happened very, very quickly.
We had about
three different people
wanting to invest in the movie
and pay for it.
It wasn't, you know,
an expensive movie.
We knew we could make it
for a price, so,
you know, compared to
like obviously
these big action movies
and things like that.
So, I had three people
who wanted to do it
and I ended up going with
Courtney Solomon and Mark Canton
because they were
the people that said,
we'll give you six months of
a commitment, meaning, like,
at the end of the six months
if we don't make this movie
we'll give it back to you.
And I agreed based on that.
I was like,
and I had obviously
a conversation with Anna
and Wattpad, I was like,
"Listen, out of the three people
that want to finance it,
these are the only people that
are really willing to say like,
'We either make it
or we give it back to you,
no strings attached.'"
- Beautiful.
The first time
I heard about AFTER
was when my partner,
Courtney Solomon--
knocked at my office
at our other offices
and said "Bro, we have
this draft of a script
based on these incredible books,
and we should really overnight
take a look at it
and get ready for a meeting.
It's very exciting."
-Mark and I have both done
sort of a lot of action movies.
I've done a lot of
horror movies.
So, we were sort of
in different genres and,
you know, we'd both done
certain franchise movies.
And I'd been interested in
the sort of YA space, you know,
looking at things like
Twilight and Hunger Games
and how successful they were,
and that if it's something
that's a really
popular piece of IP,
like AFTER is,
that there's a really, you know,
strong fan base
that already comes with it
that really is dying
to see the movie.
-Yeah. I remember right away
reading the script and liking it
and thinking of it
in the world of Twilight
or other titles that had
such a huge audience.
This was a love story,
you know?
So, I'd never tackled
a love story before,
so it was interesting to sort of
deal with those characters,
and that young age group,
and sort of first love
and the passion of first love--
that was, you know,
interesting to me.
And that's really what it was
more than anything.
More than the audience
preexisting
or anything like that,
was first like,
I was like,
"Oh, this is cool."
-And so, you know, we--
we raised the money
to make it independently,
and it became the highest
grossing independent film
of 2019,
we won the People's Choice,
the Teen Choice,
and that's when
I felt vindicated.
Like, I knew!
Because even when I got it
out of there,
Paramount like was like
"Okay, you can have it back.
We'll see, you know,
good luck!"
Okay.
Here we go, pictures up.
Filming for AFTER
began on July 18th, 2018.
Anna Todd even has a cameo
in the film.
By the time the movies
got made,
she had a fandom already
that was international.
You know, she had sold,
as I said,
15 million copies of her books,
and that's just not even
counting all the reads
that it got on Wattpad.
Um, but she already had,
you know,
500+ of her own followers
on just Instagram,
and then more on Twitter
and more on Facebook.
So, she-- she already
had a fandom.
So, she felt an obligation
to make her fans happy
and I was so happy to
have her involved because
I knew that, you know,
only she would know truly
what was really
important to them.
We could all speculate,
but she had been involved,
obviously, with the fans
since day one.
So, Anna witnessed her story
go from words on a page
to scenes playing out
before her eyes.
For the author, it was
a dream come true.
It's very validating
and it's very surreal.
There was this shot of them
on the bed yesterday.
And it was Tessa was covered
mostly in a sheet
and Hardin's head was on her
back and there was just this,
just looking at it,
I completely forgot that
I had anything to do with it,
and I was just like,
"This is so beautiful!
And this works."
And if I didn't--
I think the ultimate test
as like a fan girl for me
is that if I didn't create this,
I would be completely obsessed.
Like, I would be the person
that would have like
the AFTER fan account
and the like following
everything they're doing,
and I would be
completely obsessed
like I was with Twilight .
And I think it's hard
to find that like "magic,"
and I'm just so fortunate
and lucky and grateful
to have that in something
that I created.
The magic of the AFTER films
would not have been possible
without the undeniable
chemistry
between its two main actors--
Josephine Langford
and Hero Fiennes Tiffin.
For millions of fans,
it's now impossible
to imagine anyone else
as Tessa and Hardin.
But finding the right actors
for these roles wasn't easy.
As soon as pre-production
started, the search
for Tessa and Hardin was on.
-We knew that finding
the perfect Hardin and Tessa
was going to be
so hugely important.
-Obviously, there was
a lot of pressure on casting
because there was
a lot of anticipation
from the existing audience
of, who's Hardin?
Who's Tessa?
You know, who are
these characters?
-The most important thing was
finding the right balance--
for the two roles.
We did want to stick with,
our two leads
in particular,
very close to the book.
And we went through a number
of actors and actresses,
we had a long search.
-It was like, probably two years
of just constantly searching.
Even before I knew
the movie was actually going,
I just was so...
I had no idea if we would ever
find the right person.
They
auditioned dozens of actors,
but Hero Fiennes Tiffin
immediately stuck out.
We brought in Mary Vernieu,
who's an incredible
casting director,
she's cast some of
the biggest and best movies,
and it's funny because at
our very first lunch with her,
she said, "It's going to be
Hero Fiennes Tiffin."
At the very first!
She just knew.
She had, I guess,
read him in the past.
She just felt like
he was the character.
And yet, we auditioned and
screen tested a bunch of guys.
But, from the moment
he came into the office,
we were all very excited
about him for Hardin.
Yeah. Nice. There--
Once they met with him,
it was obvious to
the filmmakers
that Hero was Hardin Scott.
Before AFTER , Hero was known
for playing Tom Riddle,
young Voldemort in
the sixth Harry Potter movie.
The English actor was hired
alongside his uncle,
Ralph Fiennes, who plays
the adult Voldemort
in the saga.
Hero was 11 years old
when he was cast in the role.
Nine years later, at age 20,
he was cast as Hardin Scott.
In the meantime,
Hero was living the life
of any aspiring young actor.
-I was doing
a bunch of auditions.
I was flipping burgers
at a place called
Miss P's Barbeque.
and I'd left school;
I'd dropped out of school
the last year of school
to try and just
pursue acting and--
and done loads of auditions.
And-- and I remember
the first one I did,
I had done like three that day,
and it was getting to a point
where I was just like
"I hope I don't confuse
the other auditions
with this one."
I just go in, do my best,
and I feel like I was so busy
and so I didn't overthink it.
I was so run down
by the end of it
and I feel like I almost
did a better audition
because I wasn't overthinking
and trying too hard
and it's funny
how that happens sometimes.
And then there was
another audition,
and then I was like,
"Right, they want me.
Let's-- let's go for it."
And then, another and another
and then, uh--
I was flown out here to LA
to chemistry read
and I was like, "All right,
this sounds,
I don't think they're flying
a lot of people out here
to chemistry read."
I didn't actually audition
with Jo in the chemistry read
which is interesting.
But I don't know
exactly the process.
I think she might have
auditioned for a different role
at the time as well.
And I got home,
and my agent from LA
happened to be in London
at the time,
so I had my English agent
and American agent.
And we were at some caf
and he was like,
"Aw, you didn't get the role."
I was like, "What?"
And the English agent
turned over and was like--
I knew he was-- I knew
he was trying to pull my leg.
And-- and then
obviously he was like,
"No, you did get the role"
and sent me on
a rollercoaster of emotions.
And yeah, I mean, that's--
that was history, that was it.
It was-- it was
a surreal process.
I remember waking up each--
each morning
and it did feel like a dream.
And yeah.
And honestly it took me
like four years
to finally go like, whew.
This is it now. This is how--
But I'm-- I'm grateful for--
for all of it
every step of the way and uh--
Yeah. It's--
I'll never forget
that whole process.
It's almost nice to go through
and tell you about it
and revise in my head exactly
how it all happened--
cuz it really was like
life-changing, so.
So, yeah.
Finding
Tessa was far more challenging.
Josephine Langford's name
came up later
in the casting process.
In fact, the film
nearly started
sh**ting with a different
Tessa.
Finding Tessa was--
was more difficult.
It was really crazy because
I would think that
there would be so many young,
you know,
blonde, beautiful actresses
because,
you know, I did want her
to be cast
the way that the character
was described.
Josephine actually read
for a different role.
She was in Australia
and she read for
the role of Molly
and we read her
over a video conference.
From the moment that
we saw her,
I was like, "That's our Tessa."
So, I called her agent
and I said,
"She needs to get on a plane
tomorrow and fly out here."
And they were like,
"Really? Really?"
And I said, "Yes, she does."
Josephine was also 20 years old
when she was cast as Tessa.
Prior to that,
the Australian actress
had started making a name
for herself on Australian TV
and in the American
horror movie
WISH UPON.
But Tessa would be
her first leading role...
a role she knew came with
considerable expectations.
Long before arriving on set,
Josephine was aware of her
character's popularity
among the book's fans.
-I felt a responsibility
to get it right,
to get the character right,
for her to be
portrayed accurately
and not as a two-dimensional
good girl caricature. Uh--
But you can't really let
pressure or expectation
get to you because I think
as an actor,
it's important to make
your own choices
and strong choices
and not choices, uh,
just because you think
it's gonna appease someone
or appease a group of people.
So, it-- I mean, it was
a responsibility but uh-- Yeah.
You just-- I think you just
can't let that get to you,
knowing there's a lot of
people-- anticipating
what you're going to do.
Hero took a different approach
to understand the essence
of his character.
Hardin is very rarely
like happy and
you know, Hardin,
when he's not with Tessa,
and that's the beauty
of the story is that
she brings out of him
his best version of himself.
And without her, he finds it
near enough impossible--
impossible to do that.
So, it's about him being
able to not just rely on her
but bring enough
to her as well.
But also yeah, find--
find a way--
find a way to make it work
because, for him,
that's life and death, that's--
that's the only thing
that matters
and that's what, you know,
there's so much passion
in the story.
Right from the start,
that passion exploded
onto the screen.
From the first call
of "action,"
the chemistry between
the two young actors
was undeniable.
Josephine Langford
and Hero Fiennes Tiffin
became Tessa and Hardin.
With Josephine and Hero,
we clearly found
that young couple
where the sparks on screen
are really dynamic, you know.
And they're both
fine young actors
and they're both--
very professional,
and that was an important part
of it too,
when you're working
with young talent.
The big reason why the films
are such a success
is because they have
such great chemistry
and because both of them
really embody the characters
that are on the page.
It was really, really important
to find the right people.
And I'm so glad because,
whatever the fans may say,
I know that they're really happy
with who we picked
for Hardin and Tessa.
-The fans that went and saw it
were just so happy
to see something that they've
been following for years,
and they were so happy with
Hero and Josephine as casting.
I personally think that
Hero and Jo's chemistry
carried the film,
and it made it impossible--
even if you've never
read the books--
it made it impossible to
look away from the screen.
Where did
their chemistry come from?
Why did sparks fly
so immediately?
It remains a mystery,
even for Hero and Josephine,
but it's pretty clear
they were made for these roles.
We actually didn't
get the opportunity to
have a chemistry read
on the first film,
so we sort of met
and it was like, this is it.
Uh--
So, I think we were just
really lucky
that when we met
and we started rehearsing,
we-- we had chemistry.
-I feel like maybe
it had something to do with--
with it was both our first time
doing lead roles,
that we were almost in it
together
and if we felt something
or we disagreed with production
or direction or anything,
we almost had to rely
on each other.
We were the only kind of
support that each other had
because we were fighting
the exact same battle
every time any conversations
came up,
so maybe it's
something to do with that.
-Chemistry on film is something
you just either have
or you don't.
And so, I think we were just
really lucky that apparently,
we had it
when we started filming.
So, there was nothing that
we had to do specifically
to like, recreate it.
It's just-- I think
it's either there or it's not.
-Listen, I say it every time;
it's good casting.
We don't know how.
If I did, then
I'd be making movies
and be like "You two!
You're perfect together!"
you know, so you never--
we never know.
You can feel that chemistry
in every frame of
the AFTER franchise,
from the moments
fans will never forget
to the moments
they never got to see,
like these
never-before-released scenes.
This is not as comfortable
as it looks.
- No?
- Can you help me out?
-Yeah. This is exactly
what I needed.
-Yeah.
-Actually, I have
a better idea.
I think
you're gonna like this.
It's too soon.
Don't go.
-Okay.
-Wait, really?
-Okay.
Their connection
was undeniable.
And action!
Josephine and Hero quickly
won over everyone on set.
As they worked with
different directors
over the course of five films,
the young actors
continually found new ways
to approach their characters
and hone their craft.
The entire cast and crew
loved working with them.
From the very first table read,
I was like,
"Oh yes, these guys like,
they know what they're doing,
but also like,
they're so cute."
They're both so different,
the two of them.
He's much more sensitive
and comes at the character
in a kind of like fresh new way
because he isn't as studied.
He just kind of like,
goes with his gut instinct.
And she is the complete
opposite of that.
She's like tough as nails and
she comes to every day of work,
like she knows all of
her lines-- she-- and--
and he knows
all of his lines too,
he just has like
a very quick memory,
while she's like very studied
and has a lot of questions
and she wants to know like,
the logic
of every single moment.
Consequently, you're constantly
thinking of the scene
through two very different
perspectives every single time,
which actually helps
to keep it balanced
because it never becomes
just Tessa's story,
or just Hardin's story.
You're able because the--
the personalities of those two
actors are so strong and--
and I think that's why they're
so good in those roles too.
Brian Pitt has been
running day-to-day production
on the series since day one.
He was on set every day with
the team for all five movies,
giving him the opportunity
to watch Hero and Jo grow up
alongside Hardin and Tessa.
What's been
really interesting to see is,
when we came into this
and I met Jo and Hero,
I remember the first day
meeting them, you know?
They're young actors,
I think they both turned 21,
and what's been
kind of interesting,
because the way
the books are set up
and the series are set up is,
we follow them through
when they first meet
all the way up until--
later in their life.
That's not something you always
get to do with a character.
So, as we are watching them
meet for the first time
and follow all the way up
through their lives,
we're also watching them
actually connecting better in,
you know, in real life.
With Jo and Hero
what was very interesting is,
in the very beginning
there was an innocence there,
and I think in movie 1,
there was that innocence.
And-- and it all played well
with the--
with the movie itself.
And then in movie 2,
what you kind of see from
even a filmmaker standpoint is,
I'm watching these--
these kids become
better actors.
And every time
we put them on camera,
they got better and better
and better.
You know? And then, moving into
movie 3 and movie 4, again,
we're-- jumping
forward into their lives,
and they're now,
they're becoming adults,
and-- and they're dealing with
more adult problems.
And when they showed up on set,
I remember,
I hadn't seen Jo or Hero
in probably nine months or so,
and I had said to Chad, our AD,
when we were doing
some rehearsals,
and Castille, our director,
I was like, "Wow,
they've really
come into their own."
Like, you know,
she's become a woman;
he's become a man.
And this-- I've watched this
happen over these last
three years and-- and
I was very proud of them.
-That's the beauty of doing,
you know,
coming-of-age stuff when
you're actually coming of age.
Because, you know,
you're acting a lot of it
but a lot of it, you don't even
notice is-- is, you know,
you can't act
growing a little bit taller
and make-- looking
a little bit older.
-Well, that was something
that was really nice about this:
getting the opportunity to play,
over the course of two years,
one girl just at very
different points of her life,
like over the span of
probably seven years.
-That aspect of-- of having
the real-life time passing,
I think was perfect.
I think the-- the scheduling
of when we shot was perfect
because we really grew
with the characters.
In July of 2018,
on the precipice of adulthood,
Hero and Josephine arrived
on the set of AFTER .
The first movie was far from
a sure thing.
No one could be certain
that fans of the book
would rush to see the romance
play out on screen.
But the filmmakers felt
that as long as they captured
the essence of the books,
audiences would respond.
It is faithful to the extent
that we take a lot of time
and care when we developed
every screenplay
to make sure
that like every big line,
the biggest moments
are in there,
but it's absolutely impossible
to take a 700-page-plus book
and fit it into
a 110-115 page screenplay.
You know, you just...
you can't take that
and make it that.
It just doesn't work.
So, we had to pick
what we felt like
were the most important
moments and scenes.
The thing that we kept
going back to
throughout the development
of all the screenplays
was that no matter what, because
there are a lot of characters,
this is the story of Hardin
and Tessa's love story.
And as long as
we stay on that path
and we stay
with the two of them,
the movies are gonna work.
Because they are the spine
of the whole series.
The films stayed true
to their lead couple
through all their
ups and downs:
on the one hand,
the kind and ambitious Tessa,
and on the other,
there's Hardin,
a troubled bad boy
who rarely makes
the right choices.
That narrative presented
some challenges for Hero.
Do you know what?
When I was doing
the first film,
I knew why Hardin
was how he was
because of his past.
And I felt so kind of like
excited
but I-- I was so--
I couldn't wait for them
to see why and see later--
later in the following movies,
they get more of an idea of his
his-- his childhood
and his upbringing,
and I really--
it's so important to inform,
you never know
where someone comes from
and what someone's story is.
And-- I was like
chewing my nails off
until the point in which
we could tell the audience,
because a lot of people
would just be like,
why is this guy
always so moody?
Like, why is he so mean
and why is he so,
you know, emotionless? And um--
it all starts to make sense
because, you know,
you can't judge a person before
you know their whole story.
And luckily, the fans gave us
enough support that we could
continue to tell
the story, sorry.
Definitely I felt
a responsibility of--
of making sure that people
understood the whole picture
and didn't just wanna be like
Hardin for no reason.
But, you know, understood that
yeah, there's a background,
there's two sides
to every story,
there's a background
to everyone and then--
I think that was-- that was
what was really fun as well
about exploring
the character too.
This emotional exploration
was matched by an equally
intense physical exploration,
as the young actors worked hard
to portray the red-hot
sexual connection
that is so foundational to
Tessa and Hardin's
relationship.
Love scenes are important
in any romance,
but they were especially
essential to the AFTER saga,
which begins with Tessa
losing her virginity to Hardin.
Filming these scenes required
an atmosphere of consent,
professionalism,
and mutual respect
in order to capture
the beautiful,
complicated dance of
two young lovers
discovering each other
for the first time.
There's no nudity.
It's just like really well shot
and it's implied
and it's-- it's--
those scenes are--
are-- it's like a dance,
you choreograph it.
You think it's like really
glamorous and-- and sexy,
but you're in there and you've
got like the cameras leaning
over your shoulder
and my hand maybe
has to like hold her hand
and then-- I'm like,
bending my arm out of the way
to somehow like--
and it's not-- it's not how it--
how it seems.
As we went on with the--
with the franchise
and got to the later movies,
it was making sure that
every time there was
a sex scene
it had a story to it,
and it had a reason
and they were not all the same.
It's not all just
like you wanna
have sex at the end of the day.
Some of them is like,
it is a way of making up,
it's a-- it's a-- you know,
some-- sometimes people are
under the influence
and they, you know,
really want to get at it,
every-- what's interesting is
all of those scenes
still inform the storyline,
and they're not just
thrown in there
for fun or for, you know,
any other purposes.
They-- they all,
like you say, are real and--
and like a really important part
of telling the story
of a relationship.
A relationship that is set
at Washington State University.
But filming for the first movie
took place far from
the state of Washington.
We had decided
to sh**t the movie in Boston.
And I was in New Orleans,
so I sent a team up to Boston
to get things up and going,
and then I flew up
a few weeks later
to meet the director and
the producers and all--
all the folks that really
had put this project together
prior to me ever coming on.
And then we spent,
I don't know,
maybe a week up in Boston,
had the whole team ready to go,
and it just wasn't working
for the project.
Camera mark.
So, we
just made that kinda decision
that we needed somewhere
that would allow us to really
bring this movie to another
level and get the scope.
And Atlanta, Georgia, worked.
Camera mark.
So, we made that quick,
you know, move which is, uh--
logistically very complicated.
It threw us all
into a bit of a tailspin
from a creative standpoint
as well as
a logistical standpoint. Uh--
But we did it, and everybody
just rallied around,
and we were off and running
in a new city, you know,
Atlanta, Georgia, which we were
sh**ting for Washington!
Hero, did you hear that?
Right where you are.
Once they got to Atlanta,
everything clicked into place,
and even the most experienced
members of the crew
began to realize
that something special
was happening on this movie.
You know,
the moment I realized
it was something bigger than
just another project
and a script on paper
wasn't necessarily
an overnight thing.
It was-- it was a--
an evolution of
once I saw this coming
together,
once the writers starting
chatting with me
and once I really
got into the--
the side with the director and
we started picking, you know,
picking the look
of the character
and casting Jo and Hero.
And once all this
started coming together,
I think a lot of us quickly
realized, "Wait, this is--
this is gonna be something
a little special,
and let's-- let's make sure
we treat it that way."
Filming for the first movie
concluded in August of 2018.
A few months later, during
Thanksgiving week,
the first teaser trailer
appeared online,
nearly breaking the internet.
The fans' reaction
was beyond anything
the team could have expected.
-What are you dreaming about?
Truth or dare?
-Are you a virgin?
-I dare you to make out
with Hardin.
-I'm done playing this game.
But isn't it really about
what lies beyond those moments?
What are you doing?
-Please?
-I think you owe me a debt.
-Holy--
So,
what's your story then?
Be careful.
Hardin is complicated.
-He has his shirt off!
-Holy sh*t.
Oh.
-They're dancing at the party.
Before him was so simple,
and now there's just...
After.
-After. Oh my--
-Can we watch it again?
-Yes. Oh my God.
The film
was scheduled for release
on April 10th, 2019,
in the U.S.
and in the following weeks
worldwide.
Here we are at the beginning
of a global promotional tour
for Anna, Josephine, and Hero.
From Brazil to Italy,
through Portugal and Mexico,
the reaction
when the trio appears
is always the same.
Hero.
Oh.
This enthusiasm is
reflected in the numbers.
AFTER 1
has made over 70 million
at the worldwide box office.
The film
won the People's Choice Award
for Favourite Drama in 2019
and three Teen Choice Awards,
including Best Drama,
Best Dramatic Actress
for Josephine,
and Best Dramatic Actor
for Hero.
The film's early
box office success
ensured AFTER would become
a beloved franchise.
Josephine knows that
it would not have been possible
without the support
of the fans.
We did a press tour
for the first film
and we went to like
ten different countries
and we got to interact
one on one
finally with a lot of the fans
and a lot of the fan base,
and just seeing how many people
are passionate about this story
all around the world
and getting to actually
talk to them and--
and it was just so--
it's so rewarding knowing
that what you're doing,
no matter how small,
or no matter how big,
is being received positively
and--
and affecting like
a large group of people.
I think we're just really lucky
that we have such a huge
and such a passionate fan base
who are really keeping,
who are really the reason
why we're here
and why we're making a sequel.
And for some reason, there's
just so many people out there
who've connected to these books
and who've connected
to this story,
and who've connected
to the first film.
Action!
AFTER WE COLLIDED
picks up one year
after the first movie.
With more mature characters
and a more experienced cast,
the team was ready to jump back
into the AFTER universe,
with one notable addition:
Roger Kumble assuming
the director's chair.
Kumble is a specialist
in teen movies,
having directed
one of the genre's classics,
Cruel Intentions.
-Obviously,
with a lot of franchises,
you switch directors
for each movie,
which gives it kind of
a different fresh look.
-And we went with
Roger Kumble because
we all were big fans of
Cruel Intentions .
So, he had obviously done
this iconic movie,
he had done Pretty
Little Liars .
His movie was like
a slightly different tone.
It-- he leaned a little bit more
into the comedy in certain parts
and he did a-- a fantastic job.
Roger Kumble was thrilled
to take on the project,
and excited by the challenge
of expanding
Tessa and Hardin's story.
You know, entering a--
a saga like AFTER is a--
a dream come true.
You know, I'd been away
from-- features--
for a good part
of ten years now.
I've just been
working in television
because the stories
were just more compelling.
But then-- you know,
when I got the call
to have lunch with Anna Todd
and Jennifer Gibgot,
I'd heard about the books,
so I was like,
"Oh, wow, this is-- this is
a huge opportunity," you know,
and it was just great,
especially jumping in the sequel
because like the world had
already been established and--
and-- I'd never
done a sequel before.
On set,
the atmosphere feels
different from the first film.
As the actors revisit
their characters,
they seem more relaxed.
The whole team
is more experienced.
Movie 2 had its own
little set of difficulties,
although that one went
fairly smooth.
-Seriously?
But, when
we shot the first movie,
we didn't necessarily know
if we would be able to
sh**t a second one,
although we wanted to.
We didn't know what
it would really entail,
so after the first movie
we got rid of everything
to do with the movie.
That's pretty standard.
Then, all of a sudden,
we're ready to make movie 2,
we're very excited about it,
and I realized I needed
a few of the sets back.
So, we had to go back
through the movie
and basically recreate sets
from scratch.
Uh-- we had a-- you know,
originally, uh--
Hardin and Tessa's apartment
was a real location.
But in movie 2,
it was a situation where we--
they were gonna spend so much
more time in this apartment,
there was no way
we could go back
and sh**t this real apartment,
it was tiny!
It was way too small
to sh**t in.
The rest of us were jammed in
the neighbour's apartment
on top of each other
the whole time.
And so, we had to
basically go back in,
look at the-- the movie,
rebuild and redesign
everything to match,
but a little bit bigger,
and build it on a stage.
So, all of those things,
that matching aspect, uh--
and deciding that we were
gonna do it on a stage versus
in somebody's real apartment,
made it very, very difficult
to pull off.
Now, I was smarter after that.
Uh--
I had all the sets packed up,
stored away in giant
shipping containers,
'cause I knew we were
coming back at that point.
While
the sets from the first film
were recreated identically,
the style shifted under
Kumble's direction.
- No, no, stop!
- Tessa! Tessa!
AFTER WE COLLIDED
adopted a lighter,
more comedic tone.
You're such a d*ck.
Why are you even here?
I always compare AFTER
and AFTER WE COLLIDED to
like Alien and Aliens.
It's a sequel but it's
a completely different tone,
and that was important when I--
when I interviewed for the job.
I said, "I kind of
wanna take them on an emotional
rollercoaster
with this movie."
The first one--
I love the first one--
and it was more,
it was very poetic. Uh--
This is more a thrill ride.
It's a hold on to your seats.
-Tessa?
Can-- can you
put some clothes on?
Please?
Tessa?
-Put some clothes on!
AFTER WE COLLIDED
was a continued journey of
transformation
for these characters,
particularly Tessa.
-There is no
"your Tessa" anymore!
In the first film,
Tessa's a college freshman
and she's a little
inexperienced
in certain areas.
And since then, she's--
-f*ck you!
She's-- fallen in love,
she's had an intense breakup,
she has an internship
at a publishing company,
so she's immersing herself
in a world with adults.
She goes to a club
for the first time.
She's a lot more experienced,
and in certain ways
jaded and mature, and just
a different girl
when we see her in this film.
And so, we wanted that
to reflect also physically.
- Wow.
- Thank you.
Her hair's different,
her makeup's different,
her style's different.
Yeah, this is a--
this is a pretty
different version of Tessa.
-Yeah, it's great.
I'm loving--
Tessa and Hardin's love
continued to delight fans
on the big screen.
AFTER WE COLLIDED was an
overwhelming theatrical
success,
despite opening in
the midst of COVID
during the fall of 2020.
On streaming, it exceeded
all expectations,
reaching number one
on multiple platforms,
and remaining there
for several weeks.
-Wait! Just give me
five minutes, okay?
I just need to get--
The
fans' appetite for this story
was undeniable.
So, production was greenlit
on the next two films
before the second
was even released.
-Because of book 3
and book 4,
a lot of the same locations
were shared.
If-- if we could make it
in a situation
where we shot them all together,
we could save a lot of money,
which also meant that we could
then put more money
into building a--
a better movie.
I also think that because of
the time between
the two movies,
technically is only,
it's a shorter time period
between 3 and 4,
we could go into it
and sh**t it like
one long giant movie.
So, that-- that made it
just make sense, overall.
To helm the next two movies,
the production hired
Castille Landon,
a young director who had
previously worked with
and impressed
the studio behind AFTER .
The reason why we decided
to go with Castille was,
we thought it was actually
really important
to tell these stories
through a female lens.
And it was a thought-out
conversation that we all had,
and I think
she did a fantastic job.
Castille
jumped into the AFTER universe
and quickly got to work
directing two feature films.
While some might have found
that daunting,
Castille felt
it was a natural way
to approach the source
material.
-The books really
lend themselves
to being looked at
as one whole story.
It's a short timeframe, so
I didn't really look at it
as two different films
as much as I did
just one big film
that we were sh**ting--
all at the same time.
And that really helped to
keep sight of everything,
'cause I think if we-- if we
had to do it in a different way,
that would have been
a lot more challenging.
Castille
set out to capture as much of
Hardin and Tess's love story
as she could,
including unreleased scenes
like these,
featuring fan favourite
Anton Kottas as Smith.
-Do you have a name yet?
-Oh, look...
-We have been thinking about--
-About waiting until
the gender reveal party?
-Um--
-That.
That, what she said.
- Right.
-Well, they've been up there
for a while,
so I think I'm gonna go see
what they've been getting up to.
-Yeah.
Hope you like trains.
- Are you going to
too?
-No.
I'm just visiting for the night.
-I rewired it,
so it goes faster.
-Did you?
-Mm-hmm. It was really slow.
-Smith.
That's pretty impressive.
This is a very cool set.
But it's way past my bedtime
and probably yours too.
Good night, little guy.
-Night.
In addition to the
challenges of
sh**ting two movies at once,
the production, much like
the rest of the world,
was soon confronted
with an entirely
unexpected new challenge.
We were set
to sh**t in Atlanta
and then we found ourselves
in a worldwide pandemic.
Good morning, boss.
Uh--
And what do we do here?
If we don't sh**t,
and we don't find a way
to safely sh**t during this,
the fandom is gonna go
an extra year,
year and a half
without a follow-up movie.
And we knew that wasn't
gonna happen!
That was not gonna go over well.
So, we had made the decision
to move the entire production
to another country where
it was safer to sh**t,
and we could be
a little more controlled.
On set in Bulgaria,
the production of both films
strictly followed
the COVID protocol
put in place by
the Directors Guild of America
and Screen Actors Guild.
Thank you.
Masks
were required at all times.
Cast and crew underwent
constant testing,
and production departments
were separated and isolated
from other crew members.
For the safety of
the people involved,
it was essential that everyone
was aware of the rules
and followed them
to the letter.
But living through
such difficult circumstances
in isolation
was not an easy task.
And then,
this will blend better.
sh**ting during the pandemic
has been insane.
There were a ton of precautions
that were taken.
We were all basically
put into quarantine.
We quarantined
when we got here.
We are tested multiple times
per week-- every other day.
And then on set, there's
so many things
that are taken into account.
Everybody has to wear masks
all the time--
there's no exceptions to that.
A whole team of people
that comes through
and sanitizes
every single prop.
Then there's like
UV sanitization
at night in the sets
and with the wardrobe.
It was uncertain times,
but I don't think that
any more precautions
could have been taken.
Thankfully, the adventure of
making AFTER 3 and 4
had a happy ending.
We were originally gonna
sh**t in Atlanta, then
it became Bulgaria.
And like the first day of
filming, I think a week out,
we lost our location.
And then all through it,
we've lost like
different day players and cast.
We've kind of
had to shuffle things,
which then pushed
our sh**ting date later,
and so then we're dealing with
snow and bad weather.
So, it's been like,
kind of a comedy of errors.
But I think
we've really managed to--
to push through it
and make really great movies
that I'm super proud of,
regardless of
all of those obstacles.
It was
so important to us
to put these products out,
and our fans were
so excited about them
that it kind of
fuelled all of us.
Every night
when we were working,
in the middle of the night,
in Bulgaria,
in the snow, in masks, uh--
long hours,
pretty much isolating ourselves
from the rest of the world
cuz we lived in little pods
and we weren't allowed to talk
to people or be around anybody,
just to make sure everybody
was as safe as we could be.
It was very, uh-- trying
on your soul, to some extent.
And we did that
for five months, uh--
away from our families.
And I don't think many of us
would have done that
for any other film.
In AFTER WE FELL
and AFTER EVER HAPPY,
the love between
Tessa and Hardin
remains just as intense,
passionate, and complex.
But as strong as their bond is,
growing up
will put it to the test.
Now that Tessa and Hardin
are in the real world--
as in the adult world--
their relationship
hasn't evolved.
It's still the same
relationship
with the same obstacles
and challenges
and sort of insecurities, uh--
because they're all
really internal and emotional,
I think the landscape's
just really different.
And they're dealing with, uh--
with different things now,
like long distance and
what you do in that situation.
As you can
see in this unreleased footage,
the real world
brings real problems for Tessa.
-Uh-- Can you
put your number in?
-You know, smarties.
You know,
you could have had them
just transfer everything over.
-Fresh start.
-Right.
-Thanks.
-Two-one-two?
New York?
So, you're not kidding about
moving to the city with me?
-Yeah, I'm talking with
an admissions counsellor
at NYU next week. But...
yeah, it looks like I'll be
able to start in the fall.
-And then you just transfer
to Advanced Publishing's
New York office, right?
-I-- I'm not sure
I can work for him,
just knowing
he's Hardin's father.
-Right.
-Wake up.
Landon, wake up.
Wake up.
-What?
Wake up!
I need you to
unlock your phone.
-No.
-Unlock your f*cking phone.
-No, no, no, no.
-Can you unlock your phone,
please?
I need Tessa's number.
-You don't have it
for a reason.
-Unlock your f*cking phone!
Please.
-Wasn't so difficult, was it?
Sweet dreams.
Can you at least
get the light? Can you--
These
two movies take us deeper
into the two lovers' lives,
exploring their emotions
and exposing their secrets--
some tragic,
others happier,
but all necessary for
Tessa and Hardin to evolve.
This evolution is particularly
dramatic for Hardin,
who finally confronts
his alcohol addiction
and the reasons behind
his self-destructive behaviour.
Telling an honest story
of addiction
is a responsibility Hero has
always taken very seriously.
I know people who have been
through the same thing.
It's always
a lot more authentic
when you can draw
from someone you--
someone you know,
or experiences of people
you know. And um--
I was informed enough
about the behaviour of--
of people who are addicted,
and addiction in general to--
to kind of inform me
well enough in that sense.
But-- it's tricky,
not so much just the audition,
but like childhood trauma was
one that I wanted to make sure
I got right as well
because I feel like that--
that has a huge impact as well,
and obviously, the addiction's
more of a knock-on
effect of that.
Filming took place
over five months in Bulgaria,
in the dead of winter,
right in the middle
of the COVID crisis.
Production thought
that it could make these movies
as a surprise for the fans.
Production was wrong.
One of the downsides
to having such
an amazing fandom,
they-- they are detectives.
They find us everywhere we go
when we're sh**ting.
I'll give you a quick example.
We're in Bulgaria.
We didn't tell anyone
why we were going to Bulgaria.
We have full media blackouts
with social.
We don't talk about the movie
on social.
We don't talk about
where we are.
And that's primarily
just so we can have
a little bit of surprise
to everybody.
So, a lot of the fandom
knows all of the players
that have been around.
So, Taylor Conrad,
who's my assistant,
now is associate producer
on the newer films,
she took a photo randomly
in her hotel room of her outfit,
posted it on Instagram,
and within hours,
the fans recognized the pattern
on the hotel curtain,
cross-referenced it
with every hotel in Bulgaria,
found out where we were,
and I had a crowd of people
out front of the hotel.
- Hi, guys.
- Hi.
-I wish I could give you guys
hugs, but uh--
I'm not allowed; COVID.
But thank you
for wearing your masks.
I thought I'd come outside
and say hi.
You guys have been here all day?
- Yes!
- Hey, folks.
All right.
My name is Chance.
And what are your names?
- It's nice to meet you.
Fans of the series
even have their own name:
Afternators.
After conducting
their own investigation,
they gathered en masse
outside the cast and crew's
hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria,
waiting for a chance
to see their beloved stars.
For Hero and Josephine,
who burst into the spotlight
in their early 20s,
the popularity of the series
could sometimes feel
overwhelming.
Lockdown came at a good time
for me to kind of
just sit down,
take a bit of time
to reassess and--
I feel like I've come out
like raring to go,
feeling really comfortable
with it.
But I feel like it's also easy
to say at this point but I--
I never set out for like--
for like fame or trying--
trying to be this big.
You know, I just kind of
wanted to make cool movies
and see what happened.
And-- and uh-- it definitely--
"overwhelming"
is the perfect word.
It was-- it was like
a huge change in lifestyle.
You know?
It's not-- not something that
I anticipated or was used to,
but, you know, quickly--
quickly had to learn on the way.
And, as I said, now--
now I feel great
but-- but, yeah.
A hundred percent, it was
an over-- overwhelming process,
but um, you know, an--
an amazing one, nonetheless.
Over time, Hero has learned
to accept his celebrity
and appreciate the attention
of the Afternators.
He loves seeing them connect
with each other on fan forums.
- Hardin!
Hardin! Hardin! Hardin!
-You notice
that a lot of them
make friends with each other,
which is an amazing thing to--
to be able to-- to,
I guess have been
a part of, um,
because making friends through
something you love is a--
is a magical thing
and is-- it really does
bring people together.
On September 30th, 2021,
Nicky Boyer is getting ready
as she waits for her
friend Theresa
to arrive for an exciting
evening at the theater.
-I think I'm ready.
AFTER WE FELL,
a day these fans
have been eagerly awaiting.
-Let's go.
Hi!
You ready?
- Yes, I am.
- Yeah. Okay.
Nicky and Teresa head out
to meet their friend Hannah
at the multiplex
in Riverside, California,
to watch the movie together.
They're not the only fans who
have organized viewing parties.
Yeah, they're all
seeing it.
And then my friend Nicole,
she has a couple
of our other friends,
Tori and Brittany, are in Texas
seeing it with her
and our friend Stephanie
and yeah.
So, it's cool, like, everybody
is seeing it everywhere.
It's just wild because
I feel like last year,
we couldn't do this.
- Right.
Like, we couldn't go to
the theatres;
we couldn't do
all of those things.
So, it's just so freaking cool.
It feels like we've been
waiting forever.
-It really does.
- Oh. Hi, how are you?
- Hi.
- Hero, are you there?
- Hello? Hero?
-Jo? Jo?
Is that you?
I'm ready.
We've waited over a year.
A year.
A year.
- I'm so excited.
Yeah. I'm so excited.
At 7 p.m., the three friends
settle into their seats.
AFTER WE FELL
is about to begin.
It was seriously
the best one.
The best one.
The best one.
- Absolutely.
- Without a doubt.
-I would watch it again
right now.
-Yeah.
-It's that good.
-In fact,
if they're playing it again,
we'll probably go back.
For sure.
-We might just
go back in there right now.
-It was seriously so good.
-Actually, it was so--
it was the best one for sure.
-Uh-- It was seriously
worth the wait.
One thousand percent
worth the wait.
-Yeah. It was-- it was great.
-Yeah. I cried three times.
Yeah.
-Yeah. I actually only
cried once; I'm impressed.
I only did once.
-I cried three times.
There are fans like
Nicky and her friends
all over the world.
Fly with us to Dallas, Texas,
to meet Nicole Thomas,
a mother of four in her 40s,
who surprised herself
when she became totally
obsessed with AFTER.
She stumbled upon the romance
by chance,
when a few friends
dragged her to the movie.
So,
we walked in the theatre,
and I was dead tired.
And so, the girls just wanted
to watch the movie.
I was gonna sleep.
And so-- just take a long nap
because I had worked a lot
that week.
And then, instead of that--
I saw that first little bit
of them walking into the lake,
and then Tessa going to
go to the college
and stuff like that.
When Hardin--
walked in--
when he was laying on the bed,
from then on, like until today,
until infinity,
I just became
completely obsessed.
Nicole
explains her obsession started
because she identified
so deeply
with the lead characters.
-My husband, I met him
in high school,
and we've, like that's,
your heart like,
opens so much
and all of your kind of--
you relate to it so much.
And for the way
Hardin and Tessa,
their struggles
in their relationship
are so real and so things
that you've been through
and for it to be,
you've got it on screen,
and you're seeing the movie,
like it's one thing
in your head
and it's completely
different on screen.
For me, like, it means a lot
that they could make it,
I think, and it gives you
a little bit of hope for that.
It's super relatable, and it
gives you kind of that escape.
It's an escape
that she takes very seriously.
Since becoming a fan,
Nicole has amassed
an impressive collection of
AFTER memorabilia.
-I have a couple of things.
I have just cups and mugs.
My Hardin mug.
Hero's favourite drink
is iced caramel macchiato
with extra caramel drizzle,
and it looks gorgeous
in this cup.
I do have more in my room.
I have posters.
This is an actual French poster
that they sent--
that Voltage sent.
And it's just gorgeous.
This is my favourite.
This is my favourite one.
This is from my friend Kathy.
She ended up sending me this
for Christmas.
So, this was sent to me
from one of my girlfriends,
Jessie.
I have so much more.
I have a Harden drawer--
just Harden t-shirts.
My Ramones shirt.
This is iconic.
He wears this in the scene
for the--
when they have
a little disagreement
over Pride and Prejudice .
He's wearing this shirt.
-That was exciting.
-No, it was annoying.
-I enjoyed it.
-These are just my candles
one of my girlfriends
made for me.
This one's Hardin Scott.
It says, "Smells like
haunted past, truth or dare,
stars collide, and whatever
our souls are made of,
hers and mine are the same."
As one of the most active
Afternators on social media,
many of Nicole's collectibles
were given to her
by other fans.
For her, the book has opened
the door to a community.
-Just being part
of the fandom,
like all of the people
that you get to meet
because of these awesome
movies and books,
it just opens yourself to this
whole other dynamic of people
who are just like you,
and some of them
are not like you at all,
and so you learn
from them too, so.
Nicole nurtures her friendships
with other fans,
setting up viewing parties to
connect with Afternators
abroad.
Here she is watching
AFTER WE COLLIDED
with friends over Zoom.
-I'm on Wattpad.
We gotta go back
to the beginning for now...
For these fans,
sharing their passion
leads to an even greater
appreciation.
-Excuse me, sir, can you
hold that elevator, please?
Asswipe!
-I love this part with Jo.
-Yes. Call me Asswipe?
She looks so gorgeous.
Oh, sh*t.
-He's like, oh, I like seeing
the hands on the mirror.
- Aw...
Yes, yes.
-The hands on the mirror that--
I cried at this part
in the movies.
I did too.
Hey...
Hardin...
Dad?
-Dad?
Oh, my god.
And then that's it.
And then that's where
they're going to pick up,
is having Richard...
Richard is forced--
Richard!
- Richard,
Richard, Richard.
You guys, it's like
it's better every time.
- I know.
- I know.
I know.
-I've watched this movie
probably
three to four times a week.
Yeah. Me, too.
Me, too.
-I love you guys.
- I love you. I love you, too.
- I love you.
-We're just kind of
there for each other
in a way that your family
are your own friends.
Because, I mean,
I have my friends too,
but they're there
in a different way
than your family or friends.
And so, it's the fandom.
The fandom is amazing.
And it's, yeah,
it's incredible.
It's changed my life a lot,
given me a little bit of,
you know, more people
to bring in, I guess.
- Josephine!
Josephine! Josephine! Josephine!
AFTER fans have created
a unique online community
that is as passionate
as it is supportive.
Josephine and Hero
are incredibly grateful
to these fans, who
they know are
the bedrock of AFTER's success.
These
films are really for the fans.
And uh-- they're a thank-you to
the people
who've supported us and--
and been around
and just followed these movies.
And-- and--
Not just the films,
but for people who are
fans of the books too.
So, I think I would
just wanna say to people
who've been with us
for this long, thank you.
-Just thank you from
the bottom of my heart for--
for helping us, you know,
create a story that has
changed so many lives
and ultimately changed mine.
And um-- I will be
eternally grateful for--
for the platform and opportunity
that they've given me.
The filmmakers shared
this gratitude,
and they knew that
after four movies,
thousands of pages, and
countless new friendships,
the fans deserved
a satisfying end
to this epic romance.
Okay. Standing by!
So, here
we are on a beach in Portugal,
far from Atlanta or Bulgaria,
on the set of AFTER EVERYTHING,
the final chapter of
Tessa and Hardin's story.
Hero, you're going to
enter frame.
Brian Pitt
and the film's other producers,
including David Shojai
and Taylor Conrod,
are working hard on set
to make sure
there are no loose ends.
Getting this story right
is their highest priority.
After the first movie,
they decided to make a second,
and a third, and a fourth.
But it was always gonna
end on movie 4.
But it also seemed like
we left some--
some unanswered questions.
To answer these questions,
they conceived of
AFTER EVERYTHING,
a film that explores
a difficult
episode of Hardin's past
in order for him to heal,
and for fans to get an
even more meaningful conclusion
of Tessa and Hardin's
love story.
They began sh**ting
the fifth film
during the summer of 2022.
It was, I think,
an easy decision in that
we get more, you know,
we get more of these
characters,
more of this story.
And then, it also--
gives us more insight
as far as what-- again,
what Hardin has to go through
to really move forward
in his relationship with Tessa.
So, we have to go
kind of into his past
in order to move forward.
And so,
we follow Hardin's search
for redemption to
the beaches of Portugal.
When asked
to return for the fifth film,
Hero wanted to make sure
he was staying true
to his character.
The only reason there was
a slight hesitation was because
I think we'd-- we'd planned to
wrap the film
--to wrap
the whole story.
So, we-- we were with
the understanding that--
that we were done.
So, for me, I felt like,
are we going to ruin it
by-- by doing too much?
You know, when you draw
a picture and it's perfect,
and then you just want to
add one more, and one more,
and you step back
and you've ruined it?
You've done too much!
But I realized
with what the script was,
I read it the first time
and I was instantly drawn to it
and felt we really
needed to explore
this side of him and this story
and I thought it was--
it was--
it was necessary, I think.
I think the fans will understand
that it makes a lot of sense
to add this kind of last missing
puddle-- puzzle piece.
Nothing matters in this world
if Tessa's not here.
The story
of AFTER EVERYTHING picks up
where AFTER EVER HAPPY
leaves off.
Tessa and Hardin
have broken up,
and, without her,
Hardin is lost.
In order to heal,
he must leave behind
what he has known,
confront his past,
and find his way back
to himself.
The work is hard, but
he knows he has to do it.
-There's a constant
battle within him
to be the best version
of himself and to improve.
And I think he's become
very co-dependent
because of how important
Tessa is to him
and how much
she means to him.
He's become quite
co-dependent on her
being the reason
for his healing.
And I think
he is slowly trying
to come to terms with the fact
that he may need to do this
on his own, ultimately,
and you're right,
it's a very interesting,
different dynamic to explore
more of his own inner self
because it's such
an important thing,
as we know in life, you can't
come into a relationship
with 50 percent and the
other person is 50 percent,
you both need to come at
100 percent, and you know...
So yeah, it's very interesting
to-- to play that,
and it's actually really nice
to-- to explore that
within the character for me.
Hardin's journey of redemption
takes him far from home
and deep into his past.
-Oh. F--
Um--
He starts by making amends
with a young woman
named Natalie.
- I'll come back.
- Yeah, you do that.
-f*cking look. All right.
All right, I'll bet you this.
Done.
-But I'll need proof.
Cut!
In the past, Natalie
fell victim
to the same kind of bet
that started everything
with Tessa.
Except this time, a video of
her affair with Hardin
was posted online.
The impact on Natalie's life
was so significant
that she had no choice
but to leave her home.
The last thing
you expect in life
is your family to
turn against you
and everyone's opinion
to change on you
based on one thing
you did that, you know,
should be a private thing,
you should be able to do it.
And it shouldn't be a big deal
but this one tiny thing
that she's done--
this one mistake--
has turned everything
upside down in her life.
So, she has to come here
to start again,
and I think
that's what she's done.
Hardin goes to find Natalie
in Portugal
but quickly makes an enemy
of her friend Sebastian:
a rebel with almost
as much attitude as Hardin,
and even more tattoos.
-I'm this, uh-- let's say
bad boy but good boy,
that's very protective
towards Natalie.
And when-- Hardin comes back
in the equation,
I really get very
upset about it
because I know what Hardin did.
Even if she--
kind of forgive him,
I-- I'm not forgiving him.
So, I'm very mad about it.
-You like to f*ck
with girls, right?
How about I f*ck with you?
Both of you, stop!
Get up, you little sh*t!
And cut!
- Did I get you?
- Yeah, bro.
- I'm so sorry.
- It's okay. No, it's okay.
Making movies,
living the dream, guys.
Sorry. I apologise.
He's such a great guy.
So, the funny thing is that we--
we would like, you know,
do our moves, play the scene,
and at the end of the scene
when it was cut, I was always
like, "Are you okay, bro?"
And he's like, "Are you okay?"
Like-- it was a lot of love.
But during the scene,
a lot of fighting, you know.
It actually looked good.
Dealing
with the consequences
of your actions
can certainly be painful--
- Are you okay?
- Yeah. Yeah.
--but Hero sees that pain
as important.
I think
it's a big part of growing up,
isn't it?
Taking responsibility and--
and not shying away from--
from issues and things
that you may have caused
and not being a coward
towards--
I mean, it takes--
it takes--
it takes a lot to admit that
you're wrong and that you've--
you've, you know,
made a mistake. And...
And sometimes it's not as easy
as saying you're sorry.
Sometimes people
don't wanna hear sorry.
Sometimes you need--
people just wanna see
that you've become better.
That's the best apology
that you can give, is--
is for them to see that you--
that you, you know,
that you really-- you really
are sorry to yourself
and you wanna change
and you don't wanna
be like that anymore.
That's almost the most
meaningful apology you can give.
You were going...
The AFTER
series has never been afraid
to grapple with serious themes,
and AFTER EVERYTHING
is no different,
this time addressing a very
real problem for today's youth:
online bullying.
As always, the film's
approach to this issue
was not taken lightly.
I just hope
he's gonna get it...
-Online bullying, addiction,
are real issues
that people deal with.
And when you make
a movie that is
as influential as AFTER is on
the next generation coming up,
I think it's very important
to talk about those issues
because those are things
that maybe they know someone
or that they're dealing with
themselves.
And to have somebody you relate
to dealing with that on screen
and seeing how they handle it,
and then also in this movie
showing him
come out of that
in a positive way
and seeing things
turn around in his life
I think is extremely important.
Because not everyone has a
good role model in their life
or someone to show them
that it's possible to
get out of their
current situation.
So, we take our job
very seriously
when it comes to that,
knowing the responsibility
of influencing people
through cinema.
But
as serious as its themes are,
AFTER EVERYTHING is also
a lot of fun.
Its sun-kissed seaside location
provides an interesting
counterpoint
to the first four films.
We were picking a location;
we wanted somewhere that would
open the film up.
So, the last few films,
especially sh**ting in Bulgaria
for-- for Seattle and--
and doubling it for the US,
we kept the scope very small,
a lot of interiors.
The exteriors
weren't quite as big. Uh--
So, what we wanted to do
is really open this up
and go for more of
a vacation style vibe
and really allow the characters
to get out into,
you know, the world,
and this beautiful environment.
And we looked at
a few countries,
and somebody had a friend
in Portugal.
So, I started looking at
some photos and was like,
"Oh my God, this place
is amazing. This is perfect."
-It's interesting. I think
it's really nice to show them
in a completely
different environment,
to show Hardin
in a different environment.
And what was actually
quite interesting
is showing the transition
between what he wears
because we're so used to seeing
him in head-to-toe black,
lots of layers, skinny jeans.
But out here, obviously,
the costume actually plays
a big part in how--
in how that changes.
So, it's actually
really nice to--
to bring him to a completely
different part of the world
and-- and kind of see how he--
he responds to
that environment.
And I mean, yeah.
I-- I couldn't ask for
a better place to be "working."
I mean, yesterday
we had a scene on the beach
where I'm just working opposite
some lovely talented actors
and just having
a lovely conversation.
They called for lunch,
I swam in the sea,
and after lunch, we're just
doing some walking scenes.
And I honestly said
to everyone,
"This is and probably will be
the best working day
of my life forever."
Honestly,
yesterday was, yeah--
I'm so lucky to be able
to do this job.
But-- I do think back to
the days in minus temperatures,
getting in and out of a hot tub
in Bulgaria and--
and some other less pleasant
filming scenarios.
So, maybe I've earned this,
maybe not.
But no-- I'm so--
I'm so grateful.
I'm so lucky.
Portugal is beautiful.
I'm so-- I'm so happy
that they've allowed us
to come here
and sh**t the movie.
You know, I read your book.
So, what happened with Tessa?
Now that
Tessa and Hardin's story
has concluded on
the big screen,
is AFTER really over?
As true fans know,
nothing in this world is
ever simple and decided.
-This is a real universe.
We can expand it. We will.
-We are working on
some other versions.
There is the-- series BEFORE.
There's the Landon series.
So, we have a few things
in the mix.
We have the next generation
in the mix,
and that's where we--
we go on the journey with
Tessa and Hardin's kids.
So, there-- there's a lot of
little things in the mix
and we're just waiting for the
right moment, and right time,
and the right cast, and
all the things to come together.
-We feel...
it has a long way to go.
- It's all right.
It's not too bad.
And so, the AFTERVERSE
may continue to expand,
though the faces in front of
the camera will probably
change.
Then again...
-Never say never.
Last time I said
it was the last one
and we came to do another.
But really, I think eventually
I have to step back
and let someone else come
and take the story
or a spin-off or something.
But I'll always be around.
You know, AFTER will
always remain in a--
in a really special place
in my heart.
So, I think
it will be the last one.
But-- it's always gonna be
a part of my life.
And action!
AFTER has not only
has changed Hero's life,
it has changed
the lives of everyone
who has been part
of this adventure,
including the millions of
Afternators around the world.
For all of us-- writers,
directors, producers,
actors, and fans--
there was life before
the AFTER saga, and then,
there was everything AFTER...
-Pretty much,
every few months,
I still have a moment of
"This is my life?"
The first movie, I feel like
the publications of the books
and the first movie
just went so fast
that I never really had
the chance to soak it in.
But I had no idea
what I was getting into.
In the best way.
- It's a big part of my life.
It's a very, very
big part of my life.
It is, yeah.
One day, you read something
and then, next thing you know,
it's taking over. But it's--
it's sad in a way
that it's-- it's close
to coming to an end.
But we'll see! I don't know.
-I think from the first day
on set of AFTER until now,
I've learned so much
just in terms of filmmaking
and the behind-the-scenes
process of movies.
So, I'm just really grateful
to have had that experience.
-The most beautiful thing for me
about playing this character
and making these movies
is when I meet people
who say that AFTER
has changed their life
and sometimes, they say
it's saved their life.
And I honestly feel like setting
out to do a romance story,
even though it has
these darker aspects,
I never expected people to
take such strong motivation
and advice and encouragement
to try and, like Hardin does,
be the best version of
themselves.
And the amount of fans I've met
whose lives have changed
and they tell me their lives
have changed because of AFTER,
I would have never expected it
and it's the most
beautiful thing.
And I'm-- I'm just--
I'm so proud and honoured
and grateful to be able to--
to ultimately help people.
When you're making a movie,
you think people are just
gonna watch this,
and they'll be entertained,
and they'll talk about it.
But no, people have
lifelong friendships,
people really heal holes
within themselves, and honestly,
I'm-- I'm so grateful
for the opportunity
to be able to do that
and-- and help people.
I never thought when I said,
"Yeah, I'll do this audition"
that I'd be helping so many
people in this, you know--
It's the most beautiful thing
about my job, hands down.
There are
moments in our lives
that seem to define us...
moments we keep going back to.
My life before him
was so simple and decided.
And now after him...
there's just...
AFTER.
Come on. Get up.
We're gonna be late.
-Cause I--
-You haven't had your spinach,
have you?
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Beyond After (2024)
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