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May 10, 2006
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5/3/06
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The Be More Chill movie script is 90% completed! Auteur Steve Pink, whose directorial debut, Accepted, bows in theaters this August, is putting the finishing touches on the thing and it's looking extra-special fantastic. See Accepted this summer (Lewis Black, Ann Cusack) to support Steve and start prepping--a Be More Chill movie could be coming as soon as 2007.
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2/5/06
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Be on the lookout for Steve Pink's movie Accepted, in theaters soon. Steve is the screenwriting and directing force behind the Be More Chill movie, which is currently in development. We are close to finishing the screenplay and will be finished by April. We are experimenting with one major change to the book. Steve felt constrained by the age of the characters--it turns out that a lot of the book is R-rated and getting a studio to place it in high school is pretty difficult (the nipple ring scene, etc.). To put the humor where we want to be, we are making Jeremy in his early 20s instead of in high school. Don't kill me, it works. Same story, only now the squip is a little more serious--it persuades Jeremy to max out his credit cards, doublecross his coworkers and have lots of sex. The results are sparkling and I can't wait to get them on a screen for you! Steve and I are contributing scenes to the final product now.
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August 1, 2002
[click cover for book party pics]
"Ned Vizzini is a young genius! And if he was old, he would be an old genius. Teen Angst? Naaah... is zany, tender, and hysterically funny."
-- Jonathan Ames
"[O]ne of the few truly genuinely funny and unpretentious books I have read in many years."
-- Esme Raji Codell, author of Educating Esme and Sahara Special
"The chapter on taking your girlfriend to prom is effin' GREAT. Worth the price of the book alone."
-- Marty Beckerman, author of Death to All Cheerleaders and Generation S.L.U.T.
Published by Random House.
This sort of came out of nowhere. Teen Angst? Naaah... had been released in its trade format by Free Spirit two years before, and I had busted my ass getting the word out about it on radio interviews and at schools. Then Judy, the president of Free Spirit, told me that Random House wanted to buy the book and put out their own version. I said great. I went into the RH offices, which had a coffee machine on which you could select light/medium/strong for one of eight flavors (including amaretto) and get frothy white-chocolate hot chocolate.
My new editor, Marissa Walsh (who went on to publish the Not that I'm Jealous or Anything anthology and is now pursuing her own writing), did a great job making some changes to the text (mostly dates, which I wanted to get out of the book so it would age a little better) and we released it with a big party at Siberia Bar in Mahattan. You can see the party pictures if you want--I think many of them capture my friends at the peak of their attractive youth.
Later on at the party Tracey, the Siberia owner, brought me into the bathroom and tried to get me to write a book for him for $15,000. Fun times. He claimed to have some serious dirt on Hillary Clinton.  |
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July 5, 2004
[click cover for hi-res image]
The UK version of Be More Chill was published by HarperCollins UK. It came with its own Flash movie, which was cool. (Unfortunately all that remains is this screenshot.)
I traveled throughout England 6/28/04-7/3/04 to promote the book and got to see the Firth of Forth, one of my favorite bridges when I was a boy, among other sights. Here are the pictures on flickr:
England Trip Summer 2004
Do you have the UK edition of the book? Email me. |
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June 1, 2004
In Germany, Be More Chill was published Bertelsmann Jugenbuch Verlag (or "Random House" to you).
The German version of Be More Chill is called "Cool: Und was ist mit Liebe"? (According to my brother, that means "Cool: And what's with Love"?)
The copies has a vellum jacket with all the text; when removed, the jacket reveals the wraparound faces of, uh, a very Germanic Jeremy and Christine:
Also, the translator of the German edition had some hilarious questions about words I used:
Hi, Ned Vizzini,
you wrote a great book! I translate it into German and there are some questions I would like you to answer as fast as possible as they gave me a terrible short deadline…
Here we go:
p.25 Who is Rick James?
47 dur
64 phillies
70 pimpin’
85 seeing eye dogs
87 poonanti
107 hairy necessaries
118 GLAAD
126 palsy, palsy-ish
214 For a guy, there’s something dangling in front of your face or something sticking out your ass.
It would be most helpful, if you could interpret or circumscribe these expressions, so I can see if I am on the right track or not.
Do you have the German edition of the book? Email me. |
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June 27, 2005
In Italy, Be More Chill has been published by Mondadori, Italy's largest publishing group, with the title "Datti Una Mossa".
I've been getting very cool letters from Italy like the one below. Thanks so much to everyone who has gotten the book in Italy; I really apprecaite the mail.
Hi Ned!First of all,I want to tell you that I'm Italian,so please forgive me if my English isn't perfect.I bought your "Be more chill" (in Italian,obviously)just yesterday and I have already read it.Last night.Well,it's great,congratulations,even though the end it's a bit...oh,you know what I'm talking about! :-) !
Ok,the reason why I'm writing is that I'm 19 years old and I really,really love writing books.Both novels and short stories.I've been writing since I was 7 and I won 2...can I say "competitions"?I'd really like to become a writer,because it's the only things that makes me free and makes me fly,if you know what I mean:I think so.
Do you have the Italian edition of the book? Email me. |
© Ned Vizzini 2000-2006
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| send in your own |
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Kathleen
of United Kingdom
says: I didnt have a favorite part of this book, it was all amazing, i know that I am going to read this book over and over.
Kathleen's website
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Matthew
of New Zealand
says: My favourite aspect of both Be More Chill and Teen Angst? Naaah is that the parents (particularly the dads) are portrayed as decent people who are even funny and understanding, rather than as the hysterical losers/ screw up parents that are so ubiquitous in books aimed at young adults.
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Janine
of CA
says: I would say my favourite part would be the whole Aunt Linda
conversation. I mean, I can totally relate. My family acts the same
way. And its the plot revealer... where he's just really honest (...and kinda harsh) about how he sees himself. It's the point where the book
really takes a surrealist turn.
That's my two cents... and more.
Janine's blog Janine's myspace
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Brian
of NC
says: My favorite part of Teen Angst? Naaah... had to be the chapter about Nintendo. I, too, was raised by Nintendo. I have also had the video gaming dreams, the infinitesimally numb ass, and the thumb blisters. Mario was my babysitter until the age of thirteen or so, and look at how I turned out!!! And they say crack is dangerous...anyone know the number to Nintendo rehab?
Brian's myspace Brian's website
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Robin
of CA
says: i liked the part when he was about to get laid but he messes up with the nipple ring and ruins it.
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Ryn
of CA
says: God, it's hard to pick just one. In Teen Angst: Probably the part about playing Magic all night. In Be More Chill: The whole forking book. It's just hysterical. :)
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gabe
of CA
says: My favorite part of your book was probably when you discussed your 'career' as a musician, or the number of strange but cool bands you participated in. I too, play the bass guitar, and none of my bands have ever been particularly... good? In any case, I wanted to tell you that the part in your book where you go to play music with the Goth dude inspired me. I appreciate your great book, it made me happy. But most of all, it allowed me to laugh at myself, and at my generation. For that, I thank you.
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Colette
of IL
says: My favotire part in Be more Chill is when he hears the Squip laugh for the first time! And he's like, 'that's probably what schizos hear all the time..' I was showing that hilarious part to everyone!
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Annie
of CO
says: Okay, the part I love the most [Teen Angst? Naaah...] is the chapter on Magic. I can relate!
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Kerri Joe
of SC
says: [G]eez...in be more chill, the part where Jeremy almost scores with Chloe, but her boyfriend chases him around at the party and he is scared shitless, because he doesnt have the Squip or anything. So he can't turn Squip on because he is on drugs and all...that cracked me up.
Kerri Joe's myspace
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Have you read the forbiiiiiden chapter of Be More Chill? Here's the link, and once you've read it, here's the discussion.
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