Cecil Castellucci | |
|---|---|
 Castellucci atWonderCon 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Cecil Seaskull |
| Born | (1969-10-25)October 25, 1969 (age 56) New York City, NY, USA |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Occupation(s) | Novelist, singer, director |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2005–present (as writer) |
| Website | www |
Cecil C. Castellucci (born October 25, 1969, inNew York City), also known asCecil Seaskull, is an American-born Canadianyoung adult novelist,indie rocker, and director. She currently lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Castellucci grew up in New York City where she attended theLaguardia High School of the Performing Arts. She later studied theatre inParis at the École Florent. She attendedConcordia University inMontreal and received a B.F.A. in Film Production.[1]
In Montreal, she embarked on her music career as part of Bite, which was then the only all-female indie band in Montreal.[2] When she was kicked out of Bite, she formed Nerdy Girl with Gordon Hashimoto. When Hashimoto left, she joined with Ron Woo, Gabe Levine, and Kim Temple to continue the band. After recording their only albumTwist Her, Levine and Temple left the group, and Jessica Moss and Eric Craven took their places. She later moved to Los Angeles after Nerdy Girl broke up for good, and she recorded solo under her performing name, Cecil Seaskull.[3]
In 2001 she co-founded the experimental Alpha 60 Film Collective with Neil Matsumoto andNicholas McCarthy.[4]
Castellucci's first novel,Boy Proof, was published in 2005.[5]
Castellucci's 2013 short story "We Have Always Lived on Mars" was to be adapted intoJohn Krasinski's film,Life on Mars,[6] which is currently in development.
Castellucci is aStar Trek fan, with her favorite series beingStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. Her favourite character isDax.[7]
Castellucci's first novels were published byCandlewick Press. Her novels were also published byScholastic Press,DC Comics andRoaring Brook Press.
Boy Proof is a 2005 novel about a girl in Los Angeles named Victoria Jurgen, who insists on being called "Egg" after a character in her favorite movie, fictional science fiction filmTerminal Earth. Her mother is a washed-up actress and her father is special-effects designer. She is a card-carryinggeek and considers herself "boy proof", and proud of it. However, her outlook on life is challenged when a boy named Max Carter comes to her school and she finds herself reluctantly drawn to him. It was named to the 2006 Best Books for Young Adults list by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association (ALA) as well as to the Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list (also by YALSA).[8][9]
Castellucci's 2006 novelThe Queen of Cool centers on Libby Brin, one of the most popular girls in her school, whose life revolves around parties and boys. Deciding one day that she is bored with her glamorous lifestyle, she signs up for an internship at the local zoo, where she meets up with Tina, a dwarf with a huge personality, and a boy named Sheldon, which give her cause to question her priorities. As she spends more time with unpopular people, she realizes that they are actually good friends and that she has more fun with them than with her regular friends.
The 2007 novelBeige focuses on Katy, a French-Canadian girl forced to spend a summer with her estranged father, Beau "The Rat" Ratner, member of Los Angeles's most infamous punk band-that-never-made-it, Suck. Suck is about to come off its hiatus, and the Rat hopes he can use the band as an opportunity to bond with his daughter, a decision made difficult by her dislike of music.
The 2010 novelRose Sees Red, set in New York in the 1980s, and centers on two ballet dancers (American and Russian, respectively), whose friendship transcends cultural and political differences.
In the 2011 picture bookGrandma's Gloves, a young girl and her grandmother bond over gardening. A story about a child who loses a beloved grandparent and finds comfort in carrying on the activities they shared. It won the California Book Award Gold Medal for Juvenile category.[10]
In the 2011 novelFirst Day on Earth, a man named Mal thinks he has been abducted by aliens and starts going to an alien abduction support group where he meets Hooper, who may or may not be a traveler from another world.
The Year of the Beasts (2012), a hybrid of prose and comics, with the latter illustrated by Nate Powell. The story of two sisters spending summer together is juxtaposed with a comics story of a girl who wakes up as a Medusa.
Odd Duck (2013) illustrated by Sara Varon is about two ducks who form a friendship despite both being odd.
The young adult novelTin Star, about a girl abandoned on an alien space station, was published in February 2014.Stone in the Sky, a sequel, was published by Roaring Brook Press in 2015.
Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure, part of theStar Wars: Journey to Star Wars - The Force Awakens series, was published in September 2015.
Castellucci wrote the inauguralgraphic novel forDC Comics'sMinx imprint, which targets the YA audience. it was illustrated byJim Rugg. A longtime comic book fan (who had invitedBatman to her fourth birthday party), Cecil accepted the offer when contacted by Group Editor Shelly Bond. The story follows Jane who moves to the suburbs after a terrorist attack in her hometown of Metro City, then forms P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods). At school, she rejects the popular girls, and instead finds her "tribe" with three other girls named Jayne (aka Brain Jane), Jane (Theater Jane), and Polly Jane (Sporty Jane). A Canadian citizen,[11] Castellucci won theJoe Shuster Award in the category of "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Writer" forJanes.[12]Janes in Love, a sequel, was released in 2008. with Rugg again serving as artist. Here, P.L.A.I.N become entangled in affairs of the heart (both their own and others), and procure a spot in Metro City Museum of Modern Art Contest.
In October 2016, DC's new imprintYoung Animal debuted. One of its initial titles wasShade, The Changing Girl, written by Castellucci, in which the previously-established characterShade is a female high school student. The creative team behind this new version also includes artistMarley Zarcone.[13] After 12 issues and the "Milk Wars" tie-inShade The Changing Girl/Wonder Woman Special (written withMirka Andolfo), the series was relaunched as the six-issueShade, the Changing Woman.[14][15]
The graphic novelSoupy Leaves Home, about atrain-hopping runaway in 1932, was published by Dark Horse Comics in April 2017.[16] Between 2019 and 2020, she has written graphic novel adaptations ofDisney animated films includingSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs,The Little Mermaid, andFrozen.[17][18]
Released by No Life Records
Released by RightWide Records
3 songs, including a cover ofThe Beatles'She Said She Said, and "After Having Cried".
Released by No Life Records.
Released by No Life Records. Available on iTunes store.
Released byTeenage USA Recordings. Available on iTunes store.
Contains tracks "Ode to a Boy with a Girlfriend", "Liquor and Cigarettes", and "Whisper This to Me" (the latter two are available streaming from her MySpace page).
In 2010 Castellucci was commissioned by ECM+ in Montreal along with composerAndré Ristic to write a libretto for an opera calledLes Aventures de Madame Merveille. The live comic book opera featured art by Michael Cho, Pascal Girard, Scott K Hepburn andCameron Stewart. It premiered May 6, 2010, and was remounted in Fall 2011.
Starwoids is a 2001 documentary aboutStar Wars camped out in front ofGrauman's Chinese Theatre for six weeks in order to buy tickets forStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The group included Catellucci. She also appears in the special features on the Special Edition DVD, released in 2005.
Via Alpha 60, Castellucci made this ensemble film based on the actors' responses to a questionnaire. It premiered at the Alternative Screen series at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.
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