Tag: production notes

Finding the right actors for any film is a delicate process, but filling the shoes of characters beloved by a generation presents unique challenges. Chbosky meticulously put together an extraordinary cast for his directing debut, including a gifted trio of young actors playing the central characters of Charlie, Sam and Patrick: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.

The Perks: Charlie and Company Read More

Emma Watson plays Sam in her first major role since she completed the Harry Potter films that made her a star at the tender age of 11. “To me, Sam is the perfect girl,” says Chbosky. “Emma is absolutely luminous in the role. She took it very seriously. It took about five minutes for me to realize that she was the perfect person for the character and the movie. She grew up in the middle of a hurricane, and she did it with such grace and such class, but there is this loneliness about her. I knew when I met her that this was a part of her that was just dying to come out. She just needed permission.”

The Perks: Emma Watson’s First Major Role Since Harry Potter Films Read More

Chbosky always felt that the friendship between the teenagers in the movie would have to bleed into real life for it to be believable on screen. “I told everyone that it was really important that they have the summer of their lives,” he says. “If they did that, my job would be easy. And they did. All the camaraderie led to for them staying up all night and playing music and becoming great friends, which translated to the movie. And that extended to all the kids in the cast. Mae Whitman and Emma became instant girlfriends.”

The Perks: Finding All the Kids in the Cast Read More

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was shot primarily in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, including Peters Township, Bethel Park, Dormont and Upper St. Clair, the same area in which, not coincidentally, Stephen Chbosky grew up.

The Perks: The Circus Comes to Pittsburgh Read More