Movies - Daniel Clowes

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	Movies - Daniel Clowes

Daniel Gillespie Clowes (born April 14, 1961 in Chicago) is an author, screenwriter, and cartoonist of alternative comic books, including Eightball and Lloyd Llewelyn. He is best known by mainstream audiences for the movie Ghost World, which he adapted from some of his stories.

Biography

In 1979, he finished high school and attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. After gaining his BFA, he unsuccessfully attempted to find work in New York as an illustrator. From 1985 to 1989 he contributed both art and stories to Cracked magazine, working extensively on a feature called "The Uggly Family." In 1985 Clowes wrote his first Lloyd Llewellyn story, which he sent to Fantagraphics' Gary Groth and which soon appeared in issue 13 of the Hernandez Brothers' comic Love and Rockets. Clowes's Lloyd Llewellyn comic ran for six issues, and in 1988 the last Lloyd Llewellyn title, The All-New Lloyd Llewellyn Special, appeared. Then in 1989 Fantagraphics published the first issue of Eightball, which, as of 2005, is at issue 23. All of his subsequent books originally appeared as serials in Eightball. He lives in Oakland, California.

Eightball

The first extended piece serialized in Eightball is "Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron." Appearing in issues 1-10, this story features a complex, surrealistic storyline. The first dozen or so issues of Eightball typically contain a number of short comedic stories, but later issues have tended to focus on longer narratives. Ghost World was released as a collection in 1997 after being serialized in Eightball (11-18). It was adapted by Clowes and director Terry Zwigoff into a full-length feature film in 2001; both were nominated for an Academy Award for the screenplay. Issues 19-21 serialize "David Boring" and have been released as a graphic novel by Pantheon.

Clowes continues to issue Eightball sporadically, with the most recent issues ("Ice Haven" #22 and "The Death-Ray" #23 ) each conceived as an artistically ambitious and self-contained work, featuring oversized, all-color formats. Ice Haven was released in June of 2005 by Pantheon in a revised and reformatted hardcover edition.

Awards

His work in comics has won him a good deal of recognition, including a nomination for the Comics' Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer in 1999. He was also nominated for the Harvey Special Award for Humor in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997.

In 2005, He was also nominated for Best Letterer, Best Cartoonist, Best Continuing / Limited Series (Eightball), and Best Colorist and won Best Writer and Best Single Issue or Story (Eightball #23) for the Harvey Awards.

Movie Career

Clowes's career as a comic artist has recently blended into being a script writer, writing movies that are loosely based on his comic works. Both of his movies have been directed by Terry Zwigoff.

Ghost World (2000)

Set in a non-descript American town, Ghost World follows the misadventures of two high school friends, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson). The friends delight themselves in mocking others and causing trouble. Rebecca wants to get an apartment and move in with Enid, but Enid is habitually distracted and cannot hold onto a job. The two play a prank on a geeky, old record collector (Steve Buscemi) who quickly becomes Enid's friend. The movie follows Enid maturing into an adult as her and Rebecca's relationship deterioriates.

The movie was nominated for a host of awards most notably Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 Academy Awards.

Art School Confidential (2006)

To be released in April, 2006, the movie is based very loosely on a comic story in Dan Clowes' Eightball. Art School Confidential follows Jerome (Max Minghella), an art student who dreams of becoming the greatest artist in the world. Arriving as a freshman at a prestigious East Coast art school filled with every artsy "type" there is, Jerome quickly discovers his affected style and arrogance won't get him very far. When he sees that a clueless jock is attracting the glory rightfully due him, he hatches an all-or-nothing plan to hit it big in the art world and win the heart of the most beautiful girl in the school.

Master of Space and Time (2007)

Clowes is also set to pen the screenplay to Master of Space and Time, the film adaptation of Rudy Rucker's novel of the same name. Michel Gondry is set to direct.

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