One of the things that 'Love, Simon' is doing that hasn't been done before is it's a gay teen rom-com with a mainstream wide release and the backing of a studio that previous gay rom-coms have not had. I'm really excited by that.
I've worked a lot with kids who identify as LGBTQ or gender nonconforming, and they are unquestionably some of the bravest people I've ever met.
My book, 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,' is a gay love story. It's also a story about friendship. Quite honestly, it's also probably a 320-page product placement for Oreos.
I've been fat since fourth grade and bullied for it, but I still knew I couldn't represent every kids' experience.
From a plot perspective, what I finally found for my touchstone was that I consider 'Upside' to be a loose telling of Jane Austen's 'Emma,' or 'Clueless.'
Greg Berlanti is in charge of a lot of superhero shows on television. He is a literal superhero. He is absolutely brilliant.