I Wish You All The Best Director & Stars On Adapting The Novel To Screen

Mason Deaver’s emotional novel I Wish You All The Best has made its way to the screen, and the team behind the film put all of their heart into faithfully translating the soul of their source material. The coming-of-age drama centers on Ben DeBacker, a high school senior who comes out to their parents as non-binary, but is swiftly thrown out of their home, turning to their estranged older sister, Hannah, for help.

Hannah, along with her husband Thomas and their infant, take Ben in and set them up at the high school Thomas works at in order for them to finish their education. Despite their efforts to stay an anonymous entity among their classmates, Ben begins to grow close with Nathan, a charismatic classmate for whom they develop feelings, and Ms. Lyons, the school’s art teacher who works to help Ben unlock their creativity and help them process their turbulent family situation.

Tommy Dorfman, best known for her acting work in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why and The CW’s Jane the Virgin, makes her feature directorial debut on I Wish You All The Best and has assembled a star-studded roster for it. My Life with the Walter Boys vet Corey Fogelmanis leads the ensemble as Ben, alongside Smile 2‘s Miles Gutierrez-Riley as Nathan, Mayfair Witches‘ Alexandra Daddario as Hannah, Riverdale‘s Cole Sprouse as Thomas and Girls‘ Lena Dunham as Ms. Lyons.

As the movie finally makes its way to theaters after its acclaimed South by Southwest 2024 debut, ScreenRant interviewed Tommy Dorfman, Corey Fogelmanis and Alexandra Daddario to discuss I Wish You All The Best. In looking particularly at the most important element of the novel Dorfman sought to adapt, the writer/director pointed to “the intimacy” of Deaver’s source material, describing how reading the book fully immerses readers in Ben’s story:

Tommy Dorfman: It’s written almost like a diary, at times, and that was one of the more challenging things, I think, to bring to screen is, how do we bring that internal experience that you get so vividly through Ben’s perspective in a book, and give audiences an opportunity to kind of fly on the wall with them? Be with them over this very specific, concentrated six months of their life?

Feeling “most protective” and “most precious” about exploring Ben’s emotional rollercoasters, Dorfman found that once she had determined the best way to capture their inner struggles, “everything else came in through that perspective“, with the script then falling into place. Though denoting that “there were 20 versions of this script” before they finally started filming, the majority of that time was her “corseting“, “tightening” and getting the film to “the place of specificity that I think allows for universality and the best performances“.

Corey Fogelmanis Had To Be “As Present As Possible” To Capture Ben’s Ever-Changing Emotions

ScreenRant: A question I have for you, Corey, is that so much of B’s journey in I Wish You All The Best is internal. They go on such an emotional roller coaster ride throughout this film. What was it like for you as a performer, really ensuring that you’re capturing every little nuance, whether it’s a laugh that turns into a cry, like at the party, or just a genuine sense of finding oneself?

Corey Fogelmanis: Yeah, I think for me, it was just so important that I was as present as possible. I’d never had the experience of being in every scene of a movie before. So for me, I was just really focused on making sure that I was meeting everybody where they were at, and it kept my energy up. But I think, in a lot of ways, what we were filming kind of mirrored my experience on set. So I remember the first week being very disorienting, and that was when we were shooting the stuff of Ben coming to Hannah’s house for the first time. I think I just really tried to trust where I was at, and Tommy did a really wonderful job of letting me know when it was working, and when it wasn’t working, and helping me just keep track of everything. So, it was just kind of about trusting.

ScreenRant: Alexandra talked a lot about trust, as well, when I just spoke with her, and I love that you were all able to form that trust with one another. That brings me to another question I have for you, Corey, which is that so much of B’s story revolves around letting their walls down with Nathan and with Ms. Lyons. I know that this may get you in trouble with one of them, but I would love to hear if, between Lena and Miles, there was anybody whose connection you felt really carried over from off-camera into on-camera for your scenes together?

Corey Fogelmanis: I’m gonna have to give this one to Miles, because we just had a lot more time together. We only had one day with Lena, and I wish it could have been the whole shoot, but I think when Miles came in, he found me on that first day, just kind of really grappling with having this whole world spinning around me, and he was so present, and really met me where I was at, and I really appreciated that. I think that was definitely the basis of Ben and Nathan’s relationship, was that care off camera, and it was so spontaneous and wonderful, doing everything with Miles.

Alexandra Daddario Got To Explore Her Maternal Instincts Through Her Character

ScreenRant: I want to talk about Hannah, because she is such a nicely layered character, in that she wants to be this great ally and strong sister, but also has a family that she’s trying to raise. Looking at a scene, like after the party, when B comes home late, what is it like finding the balance between all of those layers playing this character throughout the film?

Alexandra Daddario: I think it’s just like being a mother. I hadn’t had a child when we shot this yet, I have one now, and I think I was so on that track, and wanted to be a mother for so long that there was definitely that part of me. I think that’s what being a mom is about. It’s really about trying to find balance and staying calm and supporting people. Ultimately, when you have younger people in your life, they’re going to be on their own paths, and be living their own lives. How do you help guide them, while also allowing them the freedom to go and be who they’re going to be? That’s what she’s taking on, and it’s a really beautiful job.

ScreenRant: I love the way that really resonates in your and Corey’s dynamic on screen. I’d love to hear if that sort of protectiveness also carried over into off-camera, given Corey is still sort of on the rise of late, and you’ve got some great experience working on everything from blockbusters to indies like this.

Alexandra Daddario: I think Corey is an incredibly impressive actor and will do great, great things. I was inspired, because I know how hard it is to be young and to be coming up. It’s, again, a journey, it’s something you have to go through and figure out on your own. The most important thing you can have is support from people. So, I was really impressed by Tommy’s support, and how Tommy and Corey worked together. I think Corey is always going to have people who really, really care and are there to support.

ScreenRant: One thing I love is that I Wish You All The Best premiered at South by Southwest back in ’24 and has just been getting rave reviews since. It’s a little over a year since it made its premiere, but how has it been watching the reception over the course of the past year and a half for this film?

Alexandra Daddario: I think it’s wonderful. I’m just a small part of the movie, and to be able to be part of it is incredible. But I think it’s an important story to tell, and I’m very, very happy that this movie exists, and that people are going to be able to see it.

ScreenRant: Did you dive into the novel at all, by the way, for preparation when you were doing this film, or did you really just trust in Tommy?

Alexandra Daddario: I did not, actually, this is the first time [I’ve been asked], I’m embarrassed to say I did not read the novel. But no, I really leaned on Tommy as a director, and her confidence. I felt I really understood the story and understood my character, and we just had a ton of fun. The set was as peaceful as could be. It really allowed all the actors to come together and do great work. So we had a really wonderful time.

Release Date

March 8, 2024

Runtime

92 Minutes

Director

Tommy Dorfman

Writers

Mason Deaver, Tommy Dorfman