What’s the surefire way to guarantee you’ll be happy with the movie adaptation of your best-selling book? Keep the rights and sign on yourself as screenwriter, director and one of the executive producers.
“I always wanted to make the movie,” says Stephen Chbosky, 42, author of the beloved novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “But over the years, with the fan response to the book, that lifelong dream became an obligation.”
Chbosky struck gold in 1999 with his spin on the coming-of-age archetype. The story, in the form of letters written by high school freshman Charlie, delves into the psyche and relationships of teenagers, making it a sort of “Catcher in the Rye” for a new generation. Published by MTV Books, “Perks” has sold more than a million copies, and along the way repeatedly earned a place on the American Library Association’s list of “10 Most Frequently Challenged Books” for its frank portrayals of teenage sex and sexuality, and substance use.
In part because Chbosky drew upon his own life for Charlie’s journey, the author couldn’t fathom passing over the reins for a big-screen adaptation.
“You don’t sell your babies for money,” he says. “Back when I was 29, and I had no money, and they offer you the six-figure deal to write the screenplay and [sell] the book rights; yes, it was tempting. But in that moment, I remember thinking, that if they offered me $10 million, I would have said no. That’s when I knew someday I would do it myself.”
So Chbosky kept the rights. Today, 13 years after the novel’s release, his film is finally out.
“For me, it took this long [because] I just needed the distance. It’s so personal to me,” says Chbosky. “I needed that time to not be so precious about it. I had to do a real adaptation and not just try to film the book.”
If an author at the helm of a motion picture sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, consider that Chbosky studied screenwriting in college and went on to write the screenplay for the film adaptation of “Rent,” as well as write and executive-produce the TV show “Jericho.”
Chbosky knows he might be opening himself up for control-freak criticism, but laughs off any worries.
“I feel that I was able to do justice to the book in a way that I don’t think any other filmmaker could have done.”
But should one man have all that power?
“People could think all their ideas are great, and they’re not, and it’s really dangerous,” admits Chbosky. “With all the hats I was wearing, I knew I needed a strong team that was going to tell me the truth.
“I had an open policy with everybody, including our PAs and stuff. ‘If you guys think this is bad or you think I’m doing the wrong thing, please tell me,’ ” he told his team.
Wearing the entire hat rack must have worked for Chbosky, as he’s now working on a new novel he hopes to eventually turn into a film.
“Making ‘Perks’ just completely woke me up to how much I love writing books and how much I love making movies,” he says. “I thought, ‘What better way to live the rest of my life than to do both?’ ”