Got a treat for you kiddos today. You may have seen that charming It’s Kind of a Funny Story movie trailer they’ve been showing in front of films these day. You know. This one:
Cute.
Anyway, this film is based on a teen novel by Ned Vizzini. And Mr. Vizzini, believe it or not, once spoke on a Children’s Literary Salon panel in my library a year or so ago. Recently I spoke with him about how his book become a movie, and since there’s a chapter in my upcoming Candlewick book about author cameos in screen adaptations I asked if Mr. Vizzini had one of his own. He shared with me this story, and it’s just so darn good that I had to present it to you here today with his permission. This is pretty cool, folks. From Ned:
“When word got out that my book It’s Kind of a Funny Story was being turned into a film, people asked me, “Will you have a cameo?” This struck everybody as a good idea, but it worried me — ideally, I don’t want anyone to come to my books with a preconceived notion of what I look like. Picture this: a reader familiar with my work drags her/his friends to the opening night of It’s Kind of a Funny Story, the film based on my novel. In the middle of the film, my dumbass face appears. The reader recognizes me and grabs her/his friends: “That’s the author!” The friends (who couldn’t care less about me) think: “So this is the doofy white guy responsible for this stuff…” Now, what if these friends are Czech? Chilean? Kiwi? What if they’re 62? 17? 45? I’m a 29-year-old Italian-WASP from Brooklyn; it’s very specific. By staying hidden, I increase my chances of a reader empathizing with my characters without prejudging me. For this reason, I took a pass on the whole film cameo thing. However, when I saw a screening of It’s Kind of a Funny Story, I was pleasantly surprised to see that in place of me, one of my books has a cameo. My second book and first novel Be More Chill (2004) is featured in a scene being read by Craig Gilner, the main character, played by Keir Gilchrist. The directors, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, put this “Easter egg” in the movie without telling me — I love it. Now, in my scenario, the fictional reader grabs her/his friends: “That’s the author’s other book!” And the friends know what to buy.
I did get to participate in It’s Kind of a Funny Story in two ways besides the Be More Chill Easter egg: One of the producers of the film, Ben Browning of Wayfare Entertainment, asked me in the middle of shooting, winter 2009, if I had a T-shirt with a band name on it that I could “clear” for him. He wanted a character in one scene to be wearing a band T-shirt but he didn’t want to bother the Pixies. I was happy to oblige. I had a shirt from a band I love, Drunk Horse, a San Fra
::happy sigh::
This is the ONLY YA book I have good feelings about being put into film. Okay, maybe Harry Potter, too, but you know what I mean. Somehow, this one feels like it might actually not be an insult to the tremendous, yes-it’s-just-that-good book.
And Be More Chill!!! ::quiet squee:: I am so happy for Ned Vizzini.
Saw this movie the other night, I felt it was an honest take on some of the issues facing people with mental illness. It was also a very realistic portrayal of what it’s like inside of a psych. hospital , except for patients accessing other areas of the building.
This movie should be required viewing/reading for high school students, to help head off stigma so prevalent in our society.
Thanks Ned : )