CRANE, Caprice

PERSONAL:

Born in Hollywood, CA; daughter of Les Crane (a talk show host) and Tina Louise (an actor). Education: Attended New York University.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

MTV Networks, New York, NY, producer and writer. Novelist and screenwriter. Has also founded a record label, marketed her own jewelry, and worked as a waitress.

WRITINGS:

Stupid and Contagious (novel), Warner Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Forget about It (novel), Warner Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor of essay to It's a Wonderful Lie: Twenty-six Truths about Life in Your 20s, edited by Emily Franklin, Hachette Books (New York, NY), 2007.

ADAPTATIONS:

Forget about It was adapted by Elizabeth Kruger and Craig Shapiro for a film starring Scarlett Johansson, produced by New Line Cinema.

SIDELIGHTS:

Caprice Crane's first novel, Stupid and Contagious, depicts a cross-country road trip by an unlikely duo: laid-back Brady, a record producer, and a frenetic, recently fired public relations executive named Heaven. As they search for the next hot band and the founder of Starbucks (to whom they will pitch their idea for Cinnamilk), their testy relationship blossoms into romance against a backdrop of rock music and pop culture. Heaven and Brady take turns narrating each of the book's chapters, and their initial antagonism dissipates as they make their way from New York to Seattle, where Heaven wants to commemorate the tenth anniversary of singer Kurt Cobain's death. A writer for Publishers Weekly wrote that "Crane's giddy, playful prose feels fresh," and Joanne Wilkinson, a reviewer for Booklist, praised the book's "hilarious dialogue and the obscure musical references."

After graduating from New York University, Crane, the daughter of television stars Tina Louise and Les Crane, became a writer and producer for MTV, where she honed her skill for taking the pulse of pop culture. When her first attempts at writing a screenplay and a novel failed, she came up with the idea for Stupid and Contagious, which combined her love of music and oddball characters. Crane's second novel, Forget about It, concerns a young woman who fakes amnesia in order to get herself out of the mess her life has become. Little does she realize exactly how liberating her charade will turn out to be. Even before the book was published, it was optioned for a film starring Scarlett Johansson.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2006, Joanne Wilkinson, review of Stupid and Contagious, p. 26.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2006, review of Stupid and Contagious, p. 145.

Publishers Weekly, March 27, 2006, review of Stupid and Contagious, p. 56.

Variety, February 24, 2005, Dana Harris, "Kruger, Shapiro Adapt Romantic Laffer for New Line."

ONLINE

Caprice Crane Home Page,http://www.capricecrane.com (September 13, 2006).

Pop Entertainment.com, http://www.popentertainment.com/ (September 13, 2006), Ronald Sklar, "Caprice Crane Entertains Us."

Showbuzz,http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/ (June 30, 2006), Jessica Derschowitz, "Stupid and Contagious Is Stupid Fun."*