Monday, April 30th Chat Session with Greg Neri
2:15-3:10 (3:15-4:10pm EST)
**THIS SESSION CHAT HAS ENDED.**
Three moves
is all it takes
to change the outcome
of the game.
In Marcus’s world, battles are fought everyday–on the street, at home, and in school. Angered by his sister’s death and his father’s departure, and pushed to the brink by a bullying classmate, Marcus fights back with his fists.
One punch away from being kicked out of school and his home, Marcus encounters a mysterious chess master named CM who challenges him to fight his battles on the chess board. Marcus resists, until he hits rock bottom, and begins a journey, with CM’s help, to regain control of his life.
Inspired by recent chess enrichment programs in inner-city schools, Chess Rumble explores the ability of a strategic game to empower young people with the tools they need to anticipate their moves through life’s many challenges.
Chess RumbleComing in Fall of ’07.
About G. Neri
I am a storyteller, filmmaker, artist, and digital media producer. When I was in college, I made an animated film with jazz legend Chick Corea called
A Picasso on the Beach, which became a student Academy Award finalist and aired on HBO and Bravo for seven years. After that, I decided to become a filmmaker for real, and I wrote, produced, and directed my first independent feature film called A Weekend with Barbara und Ingrid. It opened in my favorite theater in Hollywood. Unfortunately, it also opened on the day of the Northridge earthquake of ’94, making its release rather short.
I’ve taught animation and storytelling to inner city teens in Los Angeles with the ground-breaking group Animaction, producing over 300 films dealing with issues like teen violence, gangs, and drugs. I also co-directed the documentary Fa’a Samoa which followed a 15-year-old Samoan gangbanger through the mean streets of Los Angeles.
From 1993-2003, I helped pioneer the internet business, as head of production in two highly successful new media companies whose clients ranged from Disney, Mercedes, and Motorola to Microsoft, Reebok, and General Motors. In this time, I was also one of the founding members of the Truth teen anti-smoking campaign.
In 1999, I started writing and illustrating for kids, but it wasn’t until I started writing for teens that things started to happen. Now, my first two teen books for Lee and Low, Yummy and Chess Rumble, will make their debuts in 2007. I’ve just finished a YA novel called Surf Mules, about two high school surfers who get summer jobs as drug runners. And now I have an agent and a long list of projects to create. I couldn’t ask for more.
I’m currently living in Tampa, Florida with my wife and daughter, where I’m focusing on writing and watching alligators.
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a good writer is a good rewriter. Someone who can stick to it and not be afraid to change the story for the better. Don’t talk about writing, just do it!
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How many novels have you written?
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What are the other two books that are coming out like?
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Chess Rumble was a story that I was asked to do by my editor but it evolved from a few real life role models and became something that surprised even me.
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How did u put ur book together at first?
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Do you want your children to write books like you?
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WHAT ARE HOPING THAT WE AS TEENAGERS GET FROM YOUR BOOKS?:lol:!:mrgreen:
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Writing makes me feel amazing when it is flowing, like I can do anything. When I’m stuck, it’s really hard but you just gotta work your way out of a funk.
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who is your favorite writer:?:
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?is there a way to win a chess game in under 20 moves,and did chess inspire you for what you do now
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what other interests do you have besides writing?
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You said you write from real events, have you ever written about freinds or family events or experiences and them get upset because you wrote about them?
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I hope my book will plant a seed in all your brains, that life is full of unexpected people and places and that life at its darkest always has a door to the light.
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what is your most favorite book that you have written
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Do your family and friends support your writing, and if so are they included in your writings?
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Outside in the world, there is so much entertainment and opportunities, how do you find the time to just sit and write a story?
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what is your favorite cajun food
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I once joined a Chess tournament when I was in 6th grade, convinced I could beat my opponant in 10 moves. I was so sure of my strategy that I didn’t see the big picture and I got beat instead. That’s a big part of Chess Rumble, seeing the big picture of life.
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I have written one novel, one graphic novel, an illustrated free verse book and am working on a couple more. I’ve sold a few illustrated books for little kids.
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Fav writers. Check out my reading list for favs:
http://gregneri.com/g.neri_readinglist.html
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I love me a big pot o Gumbo!
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did u ever include anything about ur life in your books?
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I am blessed that my family has always supported me in my creative life. Even after I quit my high paying job to write, they never asked me when I was gonna get a “real” job. Writing is hard enough, without support is is a tough battle.
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I love to play basketball, body surf, see movies , go looking for gators in the swamps nearby.
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who is your favorite writer
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what are your other interests besides writing??
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I am in my books undirectly. I do have a few projects in mind based on my own personal stories but haven’t written them yet. Some especially the one I just finished and the new one I’m doing now are in the worlds that I grew up in.
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what grphic novel did you write?
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whenever you play chess do you think of more stuff to write
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How did I put my first book together? It was easy because i took an animated film I did and just made a book version of it. My first real book Yummy, was taken from a film script I did. But the new books are much harder because I am making them from scratch.
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where are you from?
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thanks for your time my
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If you are writing, write from the heart. the best stuff is the stuff we keep bottled up and never share with anybody. Use a fake pen name if you have too but write about that stuff, the private things that everyone has in common but never talks about.
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im ready
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I am from Los Angeles. Now one of you tell me something about you all. Where are you now and what is your school/town like?
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Greg – thank you so much for chatting today. If there are any unanswered questions. you can answer them later and we can then forward them to Ms. Allan.
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there is nothing to do for kids in this city.
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I got lucky. I have great parents who liked art and book and movies. They thought it was great what I was doing even if it was painful to watch the struggle.
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we run track, and we are going to state in baton rouge to run at LSU on saturday!
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we live in louisiana. its a small town, we got hit by hurricane rita. but mrs. allans making us say goodbye becuase time is up so thank you for your time you are an awesome person!
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Thank you for all your time & patience in answering ALL of our questions :]
It’s time for us to go home now haha, thanks again!
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BYEE THANKS FOR TALKIN TO US!!!!!
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Thanx 4 ur time?
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That’s it? I was just getting started. Well, I will see what questions I didn’t get to. I let you all know when Chess Rumble is coming out (soon).
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Bye!
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mrs. allan is bringing everyone back to class;. she said thank you very much for your time! and can we e-mail you in the future?:mrgreen:
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Thanks for talking with me. It was fun. I do like Louisiana! Good luck on your track run!
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we thought that we only had 30 minutes, thats why we didnt stay longer.
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but if you want 3 of us are here and we would like to continue to talk to you.. if thats okay?
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Awesome chat session, Greg.
Ptrizia will send you the transcrripts. Anything you wish to add or didn;t get to answer you can fill in and send back to Patrizia. She’ll forward everything to Ms. Allan.
Again, thank you so much for taking the time to come out today. Best of luck with the release of Chess Rumble.
BTW, I love graphic novels;) Have to know someday how you get into that fun genre.
Sasha