Michael Cera Signs Up for 'Youth in Revolt!'
Filed under: Comedy, Casting, Fandom, The Weinstein Co., Newsstand
Holy bleeping crap! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Cera (Superbad, Arrested Development) has signed on to star in the adaptation of Youth in Revolt, which just happens to be one of my favorite books of all time. Michael bleeping Cera! I've literally been losing my mind over this movie for the past year because the book is so massive -- and so much happens -- that I had no idea how in the world they would adapt it for the big screen. God Bless screenwriter Gustin Nash, because this one must have been a bitch to get right. There's currently no director lined up (IMDb has Nash listed, but that's not correct -- and I know of one guy who's taken a meeting about it, but I'm not allowed to say). But before I go on, let me just say (to those that have never read it): You have to go out and buy this book. Youth in Revolt, by C.D Payne. And then when you're finished, you can purchase the follow-up book, Revolting Youth. There's also a couple of others, but start with those two. I swear to you, this thing will have you in stitches by page 20, and when you're done you'll be itching to share the experience with someone else.
The book, which is separated into three books (although they all come together) follows a very unlucky teenager named Nick Twisp, who I assume will be played by Cera. Twisp also has a best friend named "Lefty" (I won't spoil why that's his nickname), and Cera would be good for either role -- HR doesn't specify the part, only that Cera will star. But basically, we follow Nick through what he writes in his own personal journals, and join him in his neverending quest to win the love of one "Sheeni" Saunders. And let's just say this kid will stop at nothing to get this girl to dig him. Now HR only goes over the plot description from the first book, so I'm not sure if The Weinstein Co. plan to make this a trilogy or smash all three (or four) books into one movie. The latter would literally be impossible without losing a slew of classic material, so we'll have to see where they go with it. Also, Cera is a tad old to play Twisp (who I believe was something like 14 or 15 in the book), so I imagine they'll either age him down a tad or just make Nick that much older (Cera is 19).
Personally, I think Cera is absolutely perfect for the role. Nick Twisp has a bit of cocky arrogance to him (something I haven't seen from Cera yet), but he's also incredibly clumsy and moronic -- and somewhat of an intellectual (well, at least he tries to be). He comes up with the most outrageous ideas and convinces himself, as well as those around him, that it's the way to go. Crap, I can talk about this book all day long -- but what about you? Have you read Youth in Revolt? Can you picture Michael Cera as Nick Twisp?









Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-14-2007 @ 9:23PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Crap book. Too bad he's making it.
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8-14-2007 @ 10:18PM
Tommy said...
LOVE the book. its prolly one of my favorites.
michael cera is nick twisp?
i dunno...i cant picture it, but we'll see.
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8-15-2007 @ 7:25AM
Christopher Campbell said...
I also loved the book and feel the same way as you, Erik, about there being too much stuff for a movie. I remember MTV was supposed to do a series out of it awhile back. I guess it never happened.
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8-15-2007 @ 9:32AM
Erik Davis said...
Chris, yeah MTV was supposed to do something -- I think they shot a pilot that never got picked up. But it's way too raunchy and controversial for MTV. This was a project I was hoping would land in the hands of Apatow (to produce), because he would do it justice. It needs an R rating, and I hope Weinsten/Dimension go that route. Book 3 is the hardest to adapt -- I don't even know how they're gonna go about it.
And Cera is a bit of a stretch for Twisp, but who else is out there right now? Zak Efron? No. I think Cera does possess some Twsip-ish qualities, and it will be fun to see him show range as an actor. Although he's a better fit for Lefty.
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8-15-2007 @ 10:46AM
Sam G. said...
Erik, if we get to drop F-bombs in the comments, then certainly you're allowed to drop them in your articles. And your enthusiasm for Youth In Revolt is going to make me find this book at Barnes and Noble on Saturday. :-)
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8-15-2007 @ 11:02AM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Sam, watch out as the book is really, really insipid. The author tries to pull off a John Irving kinda thing with his stories but really it's more Farelley brothers on paper. The main character starts strong - an interesting loser - but by the last 1/3rd of the book he's pretending to be a girl it's beyond obvious the author lost all control of his story. The last 150 pages is akin to watching someone spiral out of control and create a huge mess.
Really, really bad book. Read Matt Ruff's Sewer, Gas and Electric if you want the absurd and intelligent but also don't want the story to turn into something out of a 3's Company episode.
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8-15-2007 @ 11:54AM
Francois said...
Tick: any of a superfamily (Ixodoidea) of bloodsucking acarid arachnids that are larger than the related mites, attach themselves to warm-blooded vertebrates to feed, and include important vectors of infectious diseases
Yeah that seems about right.. thanks a pantsful!
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