Monday, July 18, 2011

Movie Talk

Last weekend, I drove down to L.A., braving what had been termed Carmageddon. A 10-mile stretch of the busiest highway in the U.S. was being temporarily closed. There were signs up and down California warning drivers to stay away from L.A. (I suppose Carmageddon is much less offensive than Stay Away From L.A.) Because so many people were afraid of the potential traffic nightmare, it turns out there wasn't one. So my drive was rather pleasent.

But even if I knew the traffic would be horrendous, I would've made the trip. I was going out to breakfast with Jennifer O'Kieffe, the screenwriter for Thirteen Reasons Why.


The first time I met Jen, she was interviewing for this screenwriting job. A bunch of us were sitting around a large table in a fancy L.A. office. Selena Gomez was seated to my left, and Jen was on my right, telling us her ideas for adapting the book.

And now she's in the middle of writing that adaptation. Our breakfast was basically a low-key opportunity for us to chat and get to know each other better. We talked about our families, movies, books, and our shared excitement for this particular project.

After breakfast, since we were so close to the park that inspired some scenes in Thirteen Reasons Why, I took Jen to Eisenhower Memorial Park. (No, I wasn't very creative in renaming that park in my book.)


There, we talked a bit about some specific scenes in the screenplay. Mostly, it was me saying things like, "That's genius," and, "I am seriously getting goosebumps now." It's odd to think that my book gave Jen goosebumps when she first read it, and now that she's in charge of Hannah and Clay, her ideas are giving me goosebumps.

Of course, that's why we wanted her!

And when the movie comes out, I thought of something that'd be fun to see at the very beginning. Have you noticed that some studios tweak their logos for certain movies? I love it when they do that!

So here's my idea...


Cool, right?

31 comments:

Bonnie said...

That is a cool logo! I am going to look for it when I see the movie!

Sandy said...

Keep bringing on the movie news we love it ^_^. Great to hear that you love the screenplay too!

Katie-Rebekah said...

I really cannot wait to see 13RW: the Movie!!

LO said...

OMG, i cannot wait to watch thirteen reasons why, its one of my favorite books, i hope you do a sequal aswell! that would be amazingly cool too:)

keep up the awsome work!
Laura

Martha Ramirez said...

VERY awesome. I CANNOT wait!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats!

lori said...

Very creative logo - and I love how you changed your blog background. :)
Super excited to about the movie and to read your new book!

AmandaHewer said...

WOW! I looove the logo. :D

Unknown said...

Oooh, I like it!

Sam Marie said...

That would be sooo cool if that was the logo!
Can't wait for the movie! :)

Anonymous said...

Let us know about casting calls please???!

jodi kendall said...

love the logo tweaking, they should definitely do that! thanks for keeping us posted on all the movie/screenwriting news, so fun to follow along on the journey. :)

jrh said...

I'm excited that a book i read is actually becoming a movie! But then i realized, i don't know if i want to see some of things that happened to her... but then i think that's the point, i don't know. I'm still excited. (:

Aubrey Anne said...

Just wanted to tell you I finished 13 Reasons a few hours ago... it has changed my life, as I'm sure it will change many others. I wish it could be required reading in high schools everywhere. Thank you for writing it.

acharm said...

Really? A movie?! I cannot wait, but I'll have to finish the book first. Speaking of the book, I absolutely am falling in love with it! You'll have to be the best man at our wedding.
Just kidding! But, I really am loving the book. I love the idea of the entire thing, and I'm just wondering "How do you come up with something that good?" So how did you? I'd love to know!

Wild About Words said...

Very cool, Jay!

supergpzc_03 said...

THE COOLEST LOGO EVER !!!

Teodora said...

I absolutely cannot wait for the movie! And is it true that Logan Lerman might be Clay? And when is the movie going to come out? The suspense is killing me!

Anonymous said...

OMG. Can't wait! (: Looking forward to it. Absolute!

Rebecca Burnett said...

Romeo and Juliet, without a doubt, my favorite! I teach 9th grade English and we read Romeo and Juliet every year! The kids love it when I show clips with Leonardo Di Caprio and Clare Dane.

Anonymous said...

thank u so much for believing in selena gomez for the role of Hannah.this means a lot for her and her fans,i mean she has gone through so much this year like getting death threats.but she still smiling no matter what. i have no doubt in her acting talent and you. you both can make this movie 'smash hit'.

thank you so much,jay asher.

sorry for my english

Anonymous said...

sooooo cool....please post some information about casting calls and please come to north carolina for filming, it would be amazing to be an extra in this movie, because i want to be an actress some day. i read the book and it was awesome!!!

Lisbeth said...

Finished the book in 8 hours. It's amazing, and I'd love to hear about the casting calls.
For some reason, I have this huge fascination with Skye's character.

Anonymous said...

please do an open casting call for this film!
preferably washington DC

Anonymous said...

This was my favorite, I really can't wait to see the movie! Of course I would love to be in it, who wouldn't? Please let us know!

Anonymous said...

I just finished reading the book it's amazing. Has production started on the movie? I'm really stoked to see it.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait for the Thirteen Reasons why movie!!! Keep posting movie news!! :D

Anonymous said...

I think Blake Jenner from The Glee Project should play Clay! That is who I pictured in my head. That would be so cool!

Jessica said...

Hi, I'm not sure if you'll get this? But this book stole my heart, and I was wondering if you were doing casting calls for this movie? I mean if you haven't already... I'm not too sure how you're doing it. Although if you are having auditions, I was disappointed that you already choose Selena Gomez as Hannah. No offense to Selena! I just absolutely would love to have that part but, would be amazed to have any appearance in the movie at all. But I just wanted to say THANKYOU for making this book, and may your best years still be to come!

Anonymous said...

Im soooo... exited for the movie but for another actor you should use Tyler Hoechlin

Anonymous said...

Please do an Open Casting Call for this movie! please please please <3

Anonymous said...

really hoping for a movie of "what light" !!!