The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012 Film) Stephen Chbosky

Development

Chbosky incorporated both fictional ideas and personal experiences into the novel.[10] After five years with these elements in mind,[10] he had the idea of writing the novel during a difficult period in his life.[11] He was experiencing an unpleasant breakup of his own,[11] which led him to ask, "Why do good people let themselves get treated so badly?"[12] The author tried to answer the question with the sentence "we accept the love we think we deserve". This quote references the struggle of finding self love, encompassing one's life and hope for the future, and not just romantic love.[13]

The story began when Chbosky was in school, evolving from another book on which he was working.[10] In that book he wrote the sentence, "I guess that's just one of the perks of being a wallflower", which led him to realize "that somewhere in that ... was the kid I was really trying to find."[10] Chbosky began writing the novel in the summer of 1996 while he was in college,[14] and within ten weeks he completed the story.[10] He rewrote it into two more drafts, concluding the published version in the summer of 1998.[14]

Charlie was loosely based on Chbosky himself. Like the novel itself, Chbosky included much of his own memories from the time he lived in Pittsburgh into the film.[15] The other characters were manifestations of people Chbosky had known throughout his life;[16] Chbosky focused on people's struggles and what they are passionate about, attempting to pin down the very nature of each of the characters.[17] The characters of Sam and Patrick were an "amalgamate and celebration" of several people Chbosky has met; Sam was based on girls who confided in him, and Patrick was "all the kids I knew who were gay and finding their way to their own identity."[15]

Shortly after the novel's release, Chbosky began to write a screenplay for it.[18] Chbosky recalled a meeting with his agent saying, "My agent said we would average a call a week, whether it was from producers optioning it or a writer or director wanting to adapt. Even a German film company, I don't know the name of the company, but they wanted to buy it and turn it into a German film, which I would love to have seen, in an alternate universe kind of way. Yeah, there were many offers, but I couldn't let it go. I don't know how to sell something this personal. And especially what the book meant to the fans—I couldn't let it go to anyone else. I owed the fans a movie that was worthy of their love for the book."[18] When he finally did sit down and started on penning the screenplay, he found it more difficult than the book. The novel took him just four months to write, while the script took him a year.[19]

Chbosky would not sell the rights to the film unless a studio also let him adapt and direct the film. John Malkovich's production company—Mr. Mudd Productions—purchased the rights to the film and let Chbosky himself write the script and direct the film.

After discovering, from her agent, that no one in Hollywood wanted to fund the movie due to its subject matter, Emma Watson flew out to Los Angeles to pitch the film and met with multiple studio executives from all the major film studios such as Paramount, Warner Bros., Disney, etc. In January 2011 after Watson met with and pitched the film to Erik Feig, he gave the greenlight, which led to Summit acquiring the distribution rights.[20][21][22] The following month, Summit sought a buyer for the project at the European Film Market held simultaneously with the Berlin International Film Festival.[23]

Casting

In May 2010, Logan Lerman and Emma Watson were reportedly in talks for the project[24] and confirmed the following year.[25] In April 2011, Mae Whitman signed on as Mary Elizabeth and Nina Dobrev was cast as Candace. Paul Rudd was cast as Mr. Anderson later that month.[26] On May 9, 2011, Kate Walsh announced that she was cast in the film as Charlie's mother and had begun filming.[27] On May 19, 2011, it was announced that Ezra Miller had joined the film.[28]

Filming

The film was shot in the Cincinnati & Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area from May 9 to June 29, 2011.[29] Initial filming began in Pittsburgh's South Hills, including South Park, Upper St. Clair, and Peters Township High School.[30][31]

The Rocky Horror Picture Show scenes were filmed at The Hollywood Theater in Dormont[32] after Chbosky learned that the theater was re-opening; he had seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show there when he was younger.[33]

The film also has scenes within Pittsburgh city limits inside the Fort Pitt Tunnel, Fort Pitt Bridge on Interstate 376 and on Mount Washington.[34]