Biography and Works Of Stephen Chbosky

APPENDICES

I. Biography and Works Of Stephen Chbosky

Stephen Chbosky is an American novelist, screenwriter, and director who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 25, 1970. Chbosky is the son of Lea née Meyer, a tax preparer, and Fred G. Chbosky, a steel company executive and consultant to CFOs. Chbosky has a sister, Stacy, who is married to director John Erick Dowdle. He was raised as a Catholic. As a teenager, Chbosky was moved by J.D. Salingers novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Upon graduation from Upper St. Clair High School he met Stewart Stern, the screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause, and the two became close friends. After writing The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Chbosky revealed that the character Bill, a literature teacher, was based on Stern and reflected the positive influence of Stern on his own development. In 1992, Chbosky graduated from the University of Southern Californias screenwriting program. He wrote, directed, and acted in the 1995 independent film The Four Corners of Nowhere, which got Chbosky his first agent, was accepted by the Sundance Film Festival, and became one of the first films shown on the Sundance Channel. In the late 1990s, Chbosky wrote several unproduced screenplays, including ones titled Audrey Hepburns Neck and Schoolhouse Rock. Following this initial success, Chbosky spent the 1990s writing screenplays that went unpublished. In 1994, Chbosky was working on a very different type of book than The Perks of Being a Wallflower when he wrote the line, I guess thats just one of the perks of being a wallflower. Chbosky recalled that he wrote that line. And Universitas Sumatera Utara stopped. And realized that somewhere in that [sentence] was the kid I was really trying to find. After several years of gestation, Chbosky began researching and writing The Perks of Being a Wallflower, an epistolary novel that follows the intellectual and emotional maturation of a teenager who uses the alias Charlie over the course of his first year of high school. The book is semi-autobiographical; Chbosky has said that he relate[s] to Charlie[...] But my life in high school was in many ways different. In a 2001 interview with Ann Beisch of LA Youth, Chbosky described the initial stages of the project: I was writing a very different type of book than Perks, but then I wrote the line, I guess thats just one of the perks of being a wallflower. And I stopped. I realized that somewhere in that sentence was the boy I was really trying to find. After five years of research and composition, Chbosky published the novel in 1999; the book became a bestseller. Chbosky went on to tell Beisch that he wrote the book for very personal reasons, and was happy that people had been able to relate to it in such a positive way. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was Chboskys first novel, as well as his most successful, but Chboskys talents extend beyond his role as a novelist. The book was published by MTV Books in 1999, and was an immediate popular success with teenage readers; by 2000, the novel was MTV Books best-selling title, and The New York Times noted in 2007 that it had sold more than 700,000 copies and is passed from adolescent to adolescent like a hot potato. As of May 2013, the number of copies in print reached over two million. Wallflower also stirred up controversy due to Chboskys portrayal of teen sexuality and drug use. The book has been removed from circulation in several schools and appeared on the American Library Universitas Sumatera Utara Associations 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 lists of the 10 most frequently challenged books. As of July 2013, The Perks of Being a Wallflower has spent over a year on the New York Times Bestseller list, and is published in 31 languages. In 2000, Chbosky edited Pieces, an anthology of short stories. The same year, he worked with director Jon Sherman on a film adaptation of Michael Chabons novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, though the project fell apart by August 2000. Chbosky wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film adaptation of the Broadway rock musical Rent, which received mixed reviews. In late 2005, Chbosky said that he was writing a film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Chbosky wrote the screenplay and directed the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on his novel. Production took place in mid-2011, and the film was released in fall 2012. It starred Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, and Emma Watson. Chbosky was nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for the 2013 Writers Guild Awards, and the film won the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards for Best First Feature, as well as the 2013 Peoples Choice Award for Best Dramatic Movie. In the mid-2000s, Chbosky decided, on the advice of his agent, to begin looking for work in television in addition to film. Finding he enjoyed the people [he met who were working] in television, Chbosky agreed to serve as co-creator, executive producer, and writer of the CBS serial television drama Jericho, which premiered in September 2006. The series revolves around the inhabitants of the fictional small town of Jericho, Kansas in the aftermath of several nuclear attacks. Chbosky has said the relationship between Jake Green, the main character, and his mother, reflected me and my mother in a lot of ways. The first season of Jericho received lackluster ratings, and CBS canceled the show in May 2007. A grassroots Universitas Sumatera Utara campaign to revive the series convinced CBS to renew the series for a second season, which premiered on February 12, 2008, before being canceled once more in March 2008. In 2005, Chbosky wrote the screenplay for the film version of the Broadway hit Rent, though this adaptation was met by mixed reviews from critics. In 2012, Chbosky went back into the field of film, serving as the screenwriter and director of the movie version of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In a 2012 interview after the film was released, Chbosky revealed that he had always hoped his novel would become a film, and that he was thrilled to be so heavily involved in the production. This time, his film efforts were met with great praise: the 2012 film earned 33 million worldwide as well as numerous awards. In addition to film and literature, Chbosky has worked in television; he wrote for the TV drama Jericho, which premiered in September of 2006 but was cancelled in 2008. The series follows the aftermath of a nuclear attack in a small Kansas town; at present, there are rumors that Netflix is interested in resurrecting the CBS series. Currently, Chbosky lives in Los Angeles, California, and continues to write, although little is known about the project he is working on at the moment. He is an active supporter of gay rights and continues to be employed as a film consultant. In 2014 it was announced that a live-action reboot of Disneys Beauty and the Beast was in the works with Stephen Chboskys name attached as screenwriter. Chboskys screenplay is being directed by Bill Condon with a familiar cast, such as Emma Watson as Belle whom Stephen developed a close relationship with during the production of Perks of Being a Wallflower. This adaptation is claimed to be a Universitas Sumatera Utara revision that is faithful to the original 1991 animated film Beauty and the Beast with all the original musical numbers included. In addition, Condon pitched an idea to the studio about adding some of the songs from the 1994 Broadway musical. The film has a current release date of March 17, 2017. Chbosky currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

II. Summary Of The Novel THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER