ned vizzini Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The creative team behind the indie smash hit Half Nelson (the one where Ryan Gosling plays a crack-addicted history teacher) have decided to go back to school ... again; this time, according to Variety, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden will adapt Marisha Pessl's novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics, with Fleck attached to direct and Boden on to exec produce. Pic marks the third project the duo have taken on since first making a splash with Nelson last year; prior to their work on Calamity Physics, Fleck and Boden will co-direct Sugar (based on a script penned by Fleck) in which a Dominican baseball prospect attempts to fight his way to the majors through the U.S. minor league system. Apart from that, they will also adapt and direct another high school-esque dramedy; Ned Vizzini's It's Kind of a Funny Story for Paramount.

Calamity Physics tells of a high school senior who, after spending each of her first three years in a different town with her highly eccentric on-the-go father, finally looks forward to settling down for a full senior year in a North Carolina high school. Eventually she befriends a group of fellow students (and geniuses) referred to as the Bluebloods, and from there it appears a teacher is killed and, before we know it, we're right smack in the middle of a murder-mystery. So much for that normal senior year, huh? Miramax Films and producer Scott Rudin will shovel this one out. Not sure which project they'll take on after Sugar, but having loved Half Nelson, I can't wait to see what these two have in store for us down the line.

At only 26, writer Ned Vizzini has written three books, two of which are now being adapted for the big screen. His comedic voice, which tends to lean towards coming of age tales, has built him a strong cult following. I had the chance to meet Ned awhile back, right before his second book (Be More Chill) came out. At that time, Vizzini was desperately trying to solicit fans (through his website) to plant stickers promoting the book anywhere and everywhere. Down to earth and, well, chill, Vizzini was a one-man marketing army. Barely above the legal drinking age, he paid his rent by traveling from school to school, speaking to kids and reading from his books. Soon after, Miramax acquired the rights to Be More Chill and tapped the Weitz brothers to direct. However, that project seems to have fallen off the map, but not before Vizzini's third book (It's Kind of a Funny Story) found a home.

It was announced the other day that Paramount Pictures has teamed up with MTV Films and acquired Funny Story, with Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson) attached to direct. Described as a teenage One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, story centers around a clinically depressed 15-year-old who checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward in search of help. Regardless of whether or not this story makes it to the screen, I'm sure Vizzini has a bunch more lined up.