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November 30, 2006
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06-26-2006
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Incredible! The Be More Chill movie script has been revised and is going out to studios now. I hope to have an announcement soon about the sale of the film; remember, this is the book as envisioned by Steve Pink, writer of High Fidelity and director of the forthcoming film Accepted, and backed by the Weitz Brothers, producers of American Pie! Yes, I know we're not on IMDB yet, but God willing (or somebody willing; I don't know how far God gets in Hollywood) we will be soon.
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05-23-2006
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Steve Pink, Be More Chill screenwriter, has sent me a completed draft of the script! This is huge! Next steps: getting it sold. Support Steve by seeing his movie Accepted, premiering August 11, 2006. It stars Justin Long, better known these days as the younger guy in the iLife ads. (Strangely enough, the older guy is my high school English teacher's wife, writer John Hodgman.) The better Accepted does, the easier it'll be to sell Be More Chill. But we're pretty confident about it.
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05-03-2006
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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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02-05-2006
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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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09-01-2005
In Holland, Be More Chill has released by The House of Books as "De chill Pil."
No Amsterdam book tour is planned, but I'm headed over there for a wedding in 2006.
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April 21, 2005
[click cover for Amazon]
I wrote a short story for this anthology, which focuses on quick tales that appeal to guys and has contributors from Gary Paulsen to Steven King. It was put together by a gentleman named Jon Scieszka, a leading light in the YA literary community and a resident of Park Slope Brooklyn.
My contribution centers around a fire escape that I climbed, in 2nd grade, with my friends, using an extension cord. |
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May 25, 2004
[click cover for Amazon]
I was proud to contribute to the anthology Sixteen, edited by Megan McCafferty ( Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings). The book is a collection of stories, each about turning sixteen; mine features a 16-year-old loser from the Wild Wild Girls Gone Wild West named Rutford who spends his birthday in a whorehouse. Yay!
"Though marketed as an adult title, this collection includes stories by authors generally considered to be writing for YAs, such as Sonya Sones and Jacqueline Woodson, as well as a smattering of adult authors like Steve Almond. The pieces are mostly set squarely in the 16-year-old brain, rather than taking the point of view of an adult looking back fondly on adolescence. Some of the authors, like Sarah Dessen, write somewhat more explicitly here than in their YA titles. Others use the format readers have grown used to–for example, Sones's free verse works as well in the short-story format as in novels. Ned Vizzini's tale is set in an Old West brothel and revisits the theme of parents who just don't understand...."
–Jamie Watson, School Library Journal
"I just wanted to let you know, that I haven't read your other books(I'm sorry, I plan to though!) but I did read your short story in Sixteen, 'Rutford Becomes a Man' and I LOVED it! I read it twice already, and every time I find myself laughing. I love Rutford's perception and his comments. It is a completely unique setting, and honestly I hate reading about the 'Wild West' usually, but this time I was amused. Rutford is a dynamic character and was so easy to visualize in my brain, the story stuck with me for some time and I've been telling all my friends about it."
-- Sara (CA), 7/14/04  |
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02-01-2006
I contributed the essay "The Driver" to this collection on jealousy.
Booklist:
"Imagine! Six short stories, four essays, one quiz, and one poem--an entire book focused on jealous--and it works! Jealousy of the rich and privileged; jealousy of a boyfriend's new car; jealousy of another's talent, beauty, boyfriend, or goodness: emotions we have all encountered are verbalized in this well-chosen collection."
VOYA:
"A delicious collection."
Kirkus Reviews:
"The pieces are well-written and entertaining, and the collection is cohesively crafted."
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© Ned Vizzini 2000-2006
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| send in your own |
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Kacie
of -- Choose One --
says: Be More Chill was FANTASTIC. I picked it up from my library on Friday after school and finished reading it Saturday before breakfast. I thought it was a very accurate account of high school, i mean minus the squip. My favorite part was just picturing Keanu Reeves' voice in my head giving me advice because I can only ever picture him in "Bill and Ted's Most Excellent Adventure" where he sounds like a complete baffoon.
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Ola
of IL
says: I just finished Be More Chill and I swear it's one of the best books I ever. I'm totally gonna recommend it to all my friends. My favorite part of is when Jenna is talking about the sexual exploits of this Elizabeth girl for like, the trillionth time, and Jeremy tells her to shut up because they all know "Elizabeth" is like Jenna's Spider-Slut alterego or something. That really made me laugh out loud. It was about TIME Jeremy told that bitch off.
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Rachel
of FL
says: My grandma bought me this book for my birthday and I thought it was absolutely fantastic. I saved it till school started (8-14-06) and i read it all week the first week of school. Instead of paying attention in class i read ur book instead. Sad I know but it was so good i couldn't put it down. Your book has my friends grasping for it but I don't know what i would do if i lost it. This book was great! oh yeah, favorite part. hmm thats a toughie. It would have to be the part wherehe goes to the party and takes ecstacy and the spuip speaks spanish to him. that is absolutely hilarious. anyway great novels IKOAFS was great to. we read that one in my class last year for an asignment and that was my favorite assignment all year! ~*~Rachel
Rachel's myspace
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Jack
of CA
says: my favorite part of BE MORE CHILL is when he stops in the middle of the play and tells Christine about his affection towards her. I was so pissed cuz it was so stupid for him to listen to the squip and think that Christine would some how fall in love with him.
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Brandon
of CA
says: i have two favorite parts in the book but heres one of them. When jeremy first gets the squip and the squip is teaching him about proper posture. and then jeremy says to the squip "i feel gay" and the squip says "the gayer it feels the better".
Brandon's myspace
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Jonathan
of AR
says: I just finished reading your latest one, that was hilarious, favorite part: near the end where Craig was making out with Noelle and he says " it really does feel like a cheek" between that and some of the beginning: wonderful . And Be More Chill, gotta love the parties and when he first gets the pill, and let me see, Teen Angst? Naaah... I loved the prom part, the parts of it when you talk about your family and stuff.
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Alexis
of VA
says: I was in the Barnes and Noble in Richmond, Virginia the day you came to sign books. However, I was there about four hours too early. There was a massive display of your work and I picked this book up and bought it. It looked like an interesting, funny book of things that had actually happened to you. I did want to read it in four hours and come back and ask you all kinds of questions, but that didn't work out too well. I love the book so far. I'm only about a third of the way done but it has made me laugh out loud more than a few times. I'm going to look forward to finishing it but at the same time, not. This book has me reading it every free time I have and I love your writing style. So this is a thank you and a praise all in one. Come back to the Richmond area soon if you can. Keep on truckin' too.
Alexis's blog Alexis's myspace
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Rowell
of RI
says: My favorite part of Be More Chill, is when Mr. Reyes speaks in his falsetto voice "Maaaaaa!", when I try to imagine it, I can't help laughing. This is my favorite book. No Doubt. Im going to try Jimmy Heere's squip moves on some of the ladies.. :) "Maaaa!"
Rowell's myspace
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Violet
of NY
says: my favorite part of the book was... oh, let's see... THE WHOLE THING, aka my LIFE! I live in Park Slope, took the Stuy Test, attend Pure Energy Martial Arts (Tessa Gordon's still there), and have done numerous other things that you describe in Teen Angst?Naah...
Never have i identified more with a boook than with this one. I read books for escape, but it's like escaping right back into... you guessed it, My Life!
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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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