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Which 'The Fault In Our Stars' Scene Was Hardest To Write?

The movie's writers spilled details on bringing Hazel's and Gus's love story to life.

The sweetest scene in "The Fault in Our Stars" was also the hardest one to write, according to scribes Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. You know the one: It's where Hazel and Gus, on the eve of their meeting with the curmudgeonly Peter "Douchepants" van Houten, are treated to a decadent dinner at a five-star restaurant -- and where Gus is inspired to make the speech that basically liquefied all of our innards into a rose-colored soup of feels.

In an interview with Vulture, Neustadter and Weber described the challenges of writing that moment, and the sentiment -- not teen love, but something deeper -- that made it so special. Said Weber:

Despite the romantic setting, finality is on their minds, as it so often is, and so their thoughts turn to the afterlife — what happens after you die? Is there more to the story? Will any of this suffering and sadness make sense?

Big questions, big themes; not exactly your typical teenage dinner conversation. But these are not your typical teenagers. Though they live their lives refusing to let their disease define them, Hazel and Gus are also acutely aware of their need to accelerate a lifetime of experience into what little time is left. Something the rest of us never do.

But maybe should.

If there was one idea that characterized the entire adaptation, that was it.

In other words, it's no wonder this movie made us cry for seven straight days.

For more backstory on the writing of "The Fault in Our Stars," and a peek at the Hazel-Gus champagne dinner as it originally appeared in screenplay form, click here.

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