Cecil Castellucci

Cecil Castellucci, also known as Cecil Seaskull (born October 25, 1969 in New York City), is a young adult novelist, indie rocker, and director. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California

She grew up in New York City where she attended the Laguardia High School of the Performing Arts. She later studied theatre in Paris at the École Florent. She attended Concordia University in Montreal and received a B.F.A. in Film Production. [ [http://www.misscecil.com/ Cecil Seaskull - The jots of a nerdy girl] ] .

In Montreal, she embarked on her music career as part of Bite, which was, at the time, the only all-female indie band in Montreal. [ [http://www.montrealmirror.com/2005/102005/watn19.html Article in the Montreal Mirror] ] When she was kicked out of Bite, she formed Nerdy Girl with Gordon Hashimoto. When Hashimoto left, she joined with Rod Woo, Gabe Levine, and Kim Temple to continue the band. After recording their only album "Twist 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. [ [http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=16411053&menu=bio MSN artist profile] ]

In 2001, she co-founded the experimental *Alpha 60 Film Collective with Neil Matsumoto and Nick McCarthy.

Her first novel, "Boy Proof" was published in 2005.

Novels

All of Cecil's novels are published by Candlewick Press.

Boy Proof (2005)

"Boy Proof" is about a girl in Los Angeles named Victoria Jurgen, who insists on being called "Egg" after a character in her favorite movie, a (fictional) post-apocalyptic, science fiction film called "Terminal Earth". Her mother is a washed-up actress and her father is special-effects designer. She is a card-carrying geek 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).

The Queen of Cool (2006)

Libby Brin is one of the most popular girls in her school, and her life is all about parties and boys. Then one day she realizes that she is bored with her glamorous lifestyle and signs up for an internship at the local zoo. There she meets up with Tina, a dwarf with a huge personality, and a boy named Sheldon. Soon, she begins to question her definition of "cool". As she hangs out with the people that she thought were uncool, she realizes that they are actually good friends and that she has more fun with them instead of her regular friends.

Beige (2007)

Katy is a French-Canadian girl who is forced to spend a summer with her estranged father. Beau "The Rat" Ratner of L.A.'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. There is one problem: Katy does not like music. Because of this, the daughter of her father's bandmate, Lake, nicknames her "Beige".

Future Novels

Cecil is currently working on a picture book called "Grandma's Gloves", and a 3-book chapter book series for young readers called "Odd Duck". She also has started her fourth YA novel, "Rose Sees Red", set in the 1980s. [ [http://www.bookslut.com/features/2007_06_011210.php Article from bookslut.com.] ]

Comics

The P.L.A.I.N. Janes (2007)

Cecil wrote the inaugural graphic novel for DC Comics's Minx imprint, which targets the YA audience. A long time comic book fan (she invited Batman to her fourth birthday party), Cecil jumped at the opportunity when contacted by Group Editor Shelly Bond.

The story follows a girl named Jane who moves to suburbia after a terrorist attack in her hometown of Metro City. Once there, 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). They band together to form P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) and commit "art attacks" to try and brighten up the atmosphere of fear that follows the terrorist attack.

A Canadian citizen [ [http://castellucci.livejournal.com/461482.html The Divine Miss Pixie Woods (aka Cecil Castellucci) - today this and that = star wars! trains! shuster! rabbits! squirrels! yuri gargarin!] ] , Cecil won the Joe Shuster Award in the category of "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Writer" for "Janes". [ [http://joeshusterawards.com/story.asp?storyID=124 The 2008 Joe Shuster Award Results] ]

A sequel is in the works, called "Janes in Love", with a release date of September 2008. A third volume, "Janes Go Summer", was announced at Comic-Con International 2008.

Music

Nerdy Girl

Nerdy Girl 10" EP (1994)

Released by No Life Records

# Do You Like Me?
# Glad To Know
# Roof of Wilson
# Hate Me
# Nerdy Girl
# Song 7

New Jersey 7" single (1995)

Released by RightWide Records

3 songs, including a cover of The Beatles' She Said She Said, and "After Having Cried".

Dime Store Hussy 7" single (1996)

Released by No Life Records.

# Scream
# 18 Foot Yacht
# Perhaps

Twist Her (1997)

Released by No Life Records. Available on iTunes.

# Casa Nova
# Hate Me
# Georgiana
# Iceman (Murder on the Rue Morgue)
# Anne Elliot
# Cast Off
# Single Bed
# Weed
# Do You Like Me
# Wicked
# 3 Wishes
# Judy
# Aranova

Cecil Seaskull

Whoever (1998)

Released by Teenage USA Recordings. Available on iTunes.

# True Love
# 2E
# La Song (feat. Rufus Wainwright)
# Toutes ces filles
# Beautiful Everything
# Fairfax & Melrose
# Cheap
# The Bruise
# Dim
# Ridiculous
# What's Wrong?
# Sweet Girl

For Lovers and Rats (unreleased)

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)

Other Songs

*"My Chores" for Canadian Music Week 1997, on the compilation album "Northern Exposure". It is also available streaming on her MySpace page
*"Take Me" on indie compilation album "Try for Summer, Plan for Fall", released in 1999.
*Also available on her MySpace page is a live cover version of The Muppets' "Movin' Right Along"

Films

tarwoids (2001)(self)

"Starwoids" is a documentary about the Star Wars fans who camped out in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater for six weeks in order to buy tickets for . Cecil was one of these fans. She also appears in the special features on the Special Edition DVD, released in 2005.

Happy Is Not Hard to Be (2005)(director/writer/actress)

According to the film's IMDb page, "Happy Is Not Hard to Be" follows the lives of a diverse group of family and friends in Los Angeles, whose paths intersect at a time of personal turmoil and uncertainty. Reflecting the discontented melting pot of Los Angeles itself, this modern family struggles to find harmony when new and old faces enter their lives." [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0481535/ Happy is Not Hard to Be] on IMDB.com.]

Through Alpha 60, Cecil 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.

Other Works

*Cecil contributed an essay entitled "My Fairy Godfathers" to the anthology "Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys". The anthology celebrates the friendship between straight women and gay men. "My Fairy Godfathers" recounts her friendships with three gay men who help her get over failed relationships.
*In the anthology "First Kiss (Then Tell): A Collection of True Lip-Locked Moments" she has an essay called "Bad Reputation" about a relationship she had in junior high.
*She also has a video podcast called "I Heart YA" on YouTube.

References

External links

* [http://www.misscecil.com Official site]
* [http://castellucci.livejournal.com LiveJournal]
* [http://www.myspace.com/cecilseaskull MySpace page]
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=misscecil&p=r I Heart YA]
* [http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha60films/index.html Alpha 60 Film Collective]
* [http://www.pinkraygun.com/2007/08/27/interview-cecil-castellucci/ Interview With Cecil Castellucci at pinkraygun.com]