What Changed From Page To The Screen?

Sometimes characters and scenes find their way to the cutting room floor, just like Lopez said — but some of the movie's omissions are really, really tough losses. First up is June Claremont-Diaz, sister to that lovelorn First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zahkar Perez). As Alex affectionally calls her, "Junebug" is named for June Carter Cash and is not only Alex's fiercest ally and best friend, but a brilliant writer who often helps out her mother, President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman) with campaign speeches and fundraising. Alex isn't the only one missing a family member; his boyfriend Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) mentions his late father and it seems like his mother, Catherine, is still alive. She doesn't appear in the movie, though, whereas in the book she goes to bat for her son against the monarchy when his relationship with Alex is publicized without their consent.

Rafael Luna, another huge omission, is, within the book's narrative, the first openly gay Senator who serves as a mentor to Alex and is also a part of Alex's public outing (but more on that in a bit). Some smaller cuts include Ellen Claremont's second husband, Leo; in the book, she's divorced from Alex and June's father Oscar Diaz, but in the film, the two are still married and Oscar is played by Clifton Collins Jr. Finally, Alex's high-school buddy Liam, with whom he briefly hooked up while exploring his sexuality, is nowhere to be found in the finished film.