Paper Towns Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber

When I originally met screenwriter Michael Weber, he was doing publicity for a small-budget 2013 film entitled The Spectacular Now that he co-scripted with his writing partner, Scott Neustadter. That film, which had been languishing in development for years, went on to receive critical acclaim and helped shoot its two stars— Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley— into superstardom.

Weber and Neustadter earned raves for that successful adaption of Tim Tharp’s novel. Although they had been a screenwriting team for over a decade and had penned the wonderful 2009 hit (500) Days of Summer,...