this makes me think of a convo with a friend the other night about seeking validation that harm occurred from the one(s) who harmed you (in this case i was talking about my relationship with my parents, mostly my mother.)
“seeking validation that harm occurred from the one(s) who harmed you.”
A: It’s a major motion picture based on the book SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA. The film is directed by Greg Berlanti, and is produced by Temple Hill Entertainment, New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc., and Fox2000. It will release in the USA on March 16th, 2018.
Q: What is SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA?
A: It’s a young adult novel written by Becky Albertalli (me!), published in the US in 2015 by HarperCollins, and available in over 20 languages. It’s about a gay teen boy named Simon Spier, and his experiences navigating high school, coming out, and falling in love with his anonymous email penpal.
Q: What actors star in LOVE, SIMON?
A: Nick Robinson (Simon Spier), Keiynan Lonsdale (Bram Greenfeld), Alexandra Shipp (Abby Suso), Logan Miller (Martin Addison), Katherine Langford (Leah Burke), Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Nick Eisner), Jennifer Garner (Emily Spier/Simon’s mom), Josh Duhamel (Jack Spier/Simon’s dad), Talitha Bateman (Nora Spier), Natasha Rothwell (Ms. Albright), Tony Hale (Mr. Worth), Miles Heizer (Cal Price), Mackenzie Lintz (Taylor Metternich), Drew Starkey (Garrett Laughlin), Bryson Pitts (10-year-old Simon), and more!
Q: When will the film release in the USA?
A: March 16, 2018
Q: How do I know if/when the film will release in my country?
A: I don’t have information about international releases, but it might be helpful to keep an eye on this page of IMDB.
Q: The summary on IMDB describes the film as: “A young gay teen takes a novel approach to coming out to his classmates.” Does this description (which seems different from the book) accurately reflect the film?
A: This description on IMDB does not accurately reflect the content of the film. The plot of the film is the same as the plot of the book.
Q: Is LOVE, SIMON a faithful adaptation of SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA?
A: It really is. I had the opportunity to see an early version of the film, and it blew me away. It’s not a scene-by-scene adaptation of the book (nor would we want it to be), but it’s very similar, and it perfectly captures the heart of Simon’s story. I’m completely in love with this adaptation, and I know my readers will be thrilled with it.
Q: Will the movie include <insert specific scene or line from the book>?
A: When watching the film, try to let go of the expectation that this will be a scene-by-scene adaptation. Movies and novels are very different forms of media, so you may find that specific details are changed in the adaptation. Angie Thomas (THE HATE U GIVE) brilliantly refers to her movie adaptation as the fraternal twin of her book, and I think that’s the perfect way to look at it. Big picture: I consider LOVE, SIMON to be a very faithful adaptation of my book.
Q: Why did you change the title?
A: The title, like most aspects of the film, is chosen by the studio and production team, not the author. The studio spent months researching the best possible title for this film, and they landed on LOVE, SIMON for many reasons. It captures the heart of the story, it’s easy to say and remember, it has mainstream appeal, and early test audiences responded really well to it. Basically, the studio is REALLY excited about this film, and they want to give it the best chance they can to reach a broad audience. Personally, I’m thrilled with this new title. My book title will remain the same, but this one suits the movie so well.
TL;DR: I didn’t pick it (the studio did), but I’m happy with it!
Q: What are some of the differences between the book and the film that I should prepare for?
A: Alice (Simon’s older sister) isn’t present in the film; Simon wears glasses only in the flashbacks; Bieber is a little pupper instead of a Golden Retriever; a few characters who are white in the book are played by POC actors (this is a really wonderful improvement, IMO); there are a handful of original characters (and you’ll LOVE them).
Q: When should I expect the trailer/movie poster/soundtrack/movie stills to release?
A: I don’t have that information, nor would I be allowed to leak it if I did. Sorry!
Q: Will there be a movie tie-in edition of SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA?
A: Yup! It releases January 30th, 2018, and you can preorder it here.
Q: How am I going to make the time pass until March, 2018?
A: Here are some ideas!
-Read my other published book, THE UPSIDE OF UNREQUITED. It’s set in the same universe as SIMON, and it stars Abby Suso’s cousin from Maryland. A few Simon characters make cameos!
-Preorder my next book, LEAH ON THE OFFBEAT. It’s a sequel from Leah’s point-of-view, and it follows Leah, Simon, and the gang as they grapple with senior year, messy crushes, and impending goodbyes. It releases on April 24, 2018.
-Keep an eye on my social media accounts – I post updates when I can! I’m @beckyalbertalli on Twitter and Instagram.
-Preorder the SHORES SIMON VS/UPSIDE fanzine! This zine was created by and for Simon and Upside readers, and it features 56 pages of original fanfiction and fanart. The cost of the zine goes toward production costs, and all profits will be donated to GLSEN and The Hispanic Federation. Check out their Tumblr page here for some amazing sneak previews, and follow the organizers (Dee and Mariana) on Twitter!
-Head over to Ao3 for some absolutely incredible SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA fanfiction.
-Follow the Simon and Upside characters on Twitter (bonus: several characters from THE HATE U GIVE and THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END have accounts, too)! These are unofficial, reader-created accounts, but they’re scarily spot on. An awesome reader/writer, Catherine Tinker, created this list to help you find them: https://twitter.com/catherinetinker/lists/fictional-chaos-fun
It’s very telling about the kind of roles Christian Kane is cast in that I thought this was a legit subtitle for a minute and couldn’t tell if it was Leverage or The Librarians (outside chance it was Angel, honestly).
*pokes you*
Make it fic for me, Sam. If not now, then next time you’re doing a Midnight Theatre. I’m putting my order in now because I am NEVER awake when you ask for prompts. Pretty please?
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“After discovering embroidery from her Grandmother and then being fascinated by the French knot, ipnot has spent years perfecting her hand-embroidery art and today creates “paintings” using just needles and yarn.”
Working with a collection of 500 different colors and shades of yarn, ipnot creates everything from bowls of soup and sushi rolls to fruits and vegetables to chocolates bonbons and more. Each tiny creations is remarkably realistic.
Our favorite piece is this embroidered miniature matcha, which actually looks frothy and ready to drink:
I will never tire of remembering things I love about Leverage but my fave are these:
Parker and Sophie’s dynamic : It honestly floored me how there was never a stereotypical or negative dynamic between these two. They were always supportive of each other, tried to understand each other, and honestly were a healthy friendship. Finding that without it being made into something outlier or strange is rare sometimes in shows, at least with this consistency.
Alec Hardison and his importance to the team : Even though it was Nate who formed the team, it was Hardison who brought them together with a proper place to be, not just once. He is cool but also emotional when needs come, allowed to be nervous, allowed to have hobbies and be so much more than a ‘typical’ geek, especially a black man playing a tech whiz, could be stereotyped as. Alec is the one who buys a pub and brews his own beer, gets excited over lasers in cooking, complains about things people would do in certain situations like insane stakeouts. He isn’t a crusader, isn’t representative of any mission, and isn’t an ideal. A human character and a great one at it.
Sophie Devereaux and identity issues: Right from the start we are told that Sophie has identity twists. She is not who she shows in terms of her official name or identity. But this doesn’t mean that she doesn’t show her character to her group. She is open about her fears and love but is allowed her secrets. When Nate asks for her name she says he has to earn it, which is such a wonderful moment because it shows the balance in their dynamics. Her name matters to her and her group respects it. Even when he proposes, Nate doesn’t use her real name because that is a secret but he is proposing to her and that is all that matters to both of them. It showed people and secrets and the importance of respecting those.
Parker and romance + intimacy : Again, this is shown right from the first episode. While Eliot and Nate are baffled by her in the beginning, and even Sophie is, the show never once makes us think that Parker is ‘abnormal’ for having intimacy or emotional issues. Instead it shows the others learning to communicate with her and building their own ways to connect with her while her growing to understand their communicative styles too. Especially when Hardison and Parker show prospects of dating, Hardison is shown to learn her thought process and he is happy to learn but it’s not seen as something absurd. Parker learns about Hardison’s likes too and they share their likes by being interested and genuinely liking in each other’s company. Parker is an orphan who has been through abusive foster homes and never once does the group call her out badly on it or make her feel uncomfortable for it.
Nate’s alcoholism : The very first shot of the show is Nate getting a drink while a guy comes to offer him a job and manipulates him emotionally using his son’s death. Talk about a brilliant opening setting, because this is his entire history set within the first 5 minutes. Nate is an alcoholic and has deep trauma from his son’s death along with a lot of impulsive guilt inspired reactions. He is the leader of this group of cons. He is called out every single time he screws up but not mockingly about his past but more in frustration about his lack of taking help. There is an entire episode where a con is planned in a rehab centre and it backfires because Nate is shown to have a breakdown when he is withheld from alcohol. His issues are highlighted and he doesn’t get into a serious romantic relationship without understanding that he should work on them. Alcohol is not glorified here and being an alcoholic is not shown as mysterious or hot. He goes to frickin jail because he fails to get things under control and the show doesn’t shy out from that.
Eliot and Cooking: How many times do you find this trope where a Manly Man™ guy loves cooking but still doesn’t get shown to be compromised from his role as a Hitter? Eliot is a guy who hits but he does not have anger issues. He does not seek violence. He does not like guns. He loves cooking and is serious about it. He is the guy who had issues with being a team in the first episode and he is also the guy who would do anything to protect his team. He’s the nurturer of this team who feeds them and is loyal to the core. His cooking has a past too and that rocks because he learnt it from someone he was supposed to target. It is his calming mechanism. This is a Hitter who would make a beautiful dish because he likes it and still beat someone if they hurt others. It’s not one or the other, it’s both.
Maggie, Tara, and every woman who played a supporting cast: Maggie is the ex-wife of Nate who is NEVER shown to be jealous or weird around Sophie. She doesn’t get back together with Nate or regret things but she also deeply cares for him. She is successful, has her own principles, and also helps this group con for revenge when she wanted to. Tara is a Grifter who is brought in when Sophie takes a break. She is thought to be a replacement and everybody hates her at first because they miss Sophie but they grow to respect and like her for WHO SHE IS and not for how she fills Sophie’s role. It’s not a replacement, as they realize. It’s a change and she brings her own dynamic with it. There are so many more like Ana who helped Parker when she had a broken leg, every single female client they had, Peggy who became Parker’s first friend outside the group and was starkly different. This show never made every woman the same because *gasp* they are not.
From hurt the bad to help the good: Usually this concept remains of hurting bad people and Leverage does do that. But the team grows and their motto shifts too. They grow from hurting bad people to helping the good and both go hand in hand for them. It’s not just about removing the problem but also about finding the solution for them.
It’s Personal: The group has one of the best team dynamics I have ever seen and it’s not just because they work well together. It’s also because they work with and for each other too. Each person has had personal cases on the show and even when the team thinks twice on certain things, they respect that personal aspect. The show portrayed the idea of ‘I might not think the same way you do or make the same choices but I understand why you make them and I respect you’ with beautiful ideas. Be it Parker with Luka and the orphans in Russia or Eliot and the horse job; the team gives each other the benefit of doubt and trust when needed.
Platonic relationships: I cannot tell you how much I love the platonic relationships of this show. Be it the parents-wards bond of Nate+Sophie and the others or the Eliot-Hardison-Parker dynamic which I know many people see as Ot3 (highly possible); every platonic bond is valuable and no single character is graced higher.
Plot: Last but not the least, the plot. It came a full circle. The show finished its plots and had continuity of arcs. They started because Nate pushed them to find compensation for the past and the show ended with Nate pushing them to find their resource for the future. Every single character came a full circle by the end and we see growth in them.
I honestly wish we had more episodes of this show but I am really happy that we got what we did. To Leverage – the show that told that good is not who you are but what you do and choose.
knitting in the dark 