In 2005, author Scott Westerfeld wrote Uglythe first book Best Seller Series It's about a dystopian world where everyone is considered “ugly” until they undergo plastic surgery at age 16. It was inspired by a friend who moved to Los Angeles and was told by her new dentist that she needed a “five-year plan” to fix her teeth.
“We all joked that he would have to get cosmetic surgery,” Westerfeld told Decider in a recent interview. “I thought, 'What would it be like to live in a society where everyone has a five-year plan for their teeth, their face and their body?'
About 20 years later, Ugly The Netflix film, starring Joey King, is out today. It was directed by McG (Netflix's Rim of the World and Babysitter), written by Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, and Whit Anderson Ugly The film has been stuck in development hell for years since 20th Century Fox bought the rights in 2006. But the film's executive producer, self-described “Big fanThe “truth” of the book has finally come to pass, but as Westerfeld points out, the novel's themes are still relevant today, just in a slightly different context.
“Twenty years later, Ugly “It's not about cosmetic surgery anymore,” the 61-year-old author told Decider, “it's about the online world and social media, and about face tweaks and filters and surgically altering our lives to make it look like we're movie stars, doing amazing things all the time and going on amazing trips.”
Westerfeld spoke to Decider about the themes of his novel, In the Light 2024, his role as executive producer on the film, and his hopes for the movie. Prettys Movies, etc.
Congratulations on completing this film, it's been in development since 2006. How does it feel to have it at the end of such a long journey?
We're super excited. We've had the writers' strike, the actors' strike, the pandemic! All sorts of force majeure events have happened on this movie. But the team is really excited. Netflix has always been excited. There's always been fans who have been really vocal about wanting the movie to be made. It's great that all of these things have come together to finally get something on the screen.
You're an executive producer on the film. Tell us about your involvement in adapting it and what was the process like working with McG and the writers?
I read the script a few times and was actually able to have a say in it, I suggested scenes that I thought were necessary for the movie, and they made it into the movie, which made me very happy.
Please tell me which scene it is!
The Peris subplot. Peris is a little different in the movie than he is in the book. To round out his journey, I wanted to add one more scene where he decides to become Special. It's pretty short, but it wraps up that subplot. That subplot wasn't in the book, so I was like, “Let's tweak it a little bit.”
I really enjoyed being able to go to the set. I really enjoyed being part of a small community there. Everyone's out in nature, away from their homes and families, waking up at 7am every morning to create something. As a novelist, I work alone. I'm not used to that kind of collaboration. So it was really inspiring to be in that community. It's a whole different kind of art form.
What inspired you to tell this story in 2005, and has the situation in 2024 changed how you feel about it?
This story was originally inspired by a friend who moved from New York to Los Angeles. Basically, this guy went to the dentist, and the dentist sat him down and said, “I think you need a five-year plan for your teeth.” His teeth were New York style, a lot like mine, not very shiny, not very straight. This dentist said, “You're living in Los Angeles now, you're going to have to brush your teeth more!” We all joked that he was going to have to get cosmetic surgery. I thought, “What would it be like to live in a society where everyone has a five-year plan for their teeth, their face, their body?”
20 years later, Ugly In fact, cosmetic surgery is no longer about it at all. It's about the digital world, the online world, social media. It's about face tweaks and filters and how to change our lives with surgery so that we're like movie stars, doing amazing things all the time and going on amazing trips, as opposed to normal people living their sometimes interesting, sometimes boring, sometimes sad lives.
When the book was published in 2005, plastic surgery was a hotly debated issue, and you were often asked about it. Now it feels like plastic surgery isn't an issue. As you say, everyone can easily edit their photos online, but at the same time, it feels like we've given up on fighting it.
[Laughs.] So you're free to have whatever surgery you want. But I think free choice is really the most important part. We don't owe the world any particular beauty. Men don't owe the world their masculinity. Women don't owe the world their femininity. Non-binary people don't owe the world their androgyny. We get to decide what we look like. We get to decide what control we have over our bodies.
I love Laverne Cox as Dr. Cable because of the parallels between transgender gender reassignment surgery and beautiful surgeries in this world. Was that something you were thinking about at all when you were writing the book, and how do you feel it added to the story's overall message of self-acceptance?
It's the nature of the world that makes science fiction stories so much more interesting. [a novels] The book has some interesting conflicts and big themes, but the world keeps coming up with new versions of those themes and new ways of interpreting the book. So it's really fascinating, and it's really great to have Laverne in it. She's a huge advocate for the book. She wanted to be in this movie. I'm not speaking for her, but she and I had a long conversation about people's expectations of her and how she felt like she had to have feminization surgery and things like that, and how she's glad she didn't have to.
The funny thing is, it's very similar to what I was writing about 20 years ago. A few years after the book was published, an 18-year-old wrote me and said, “Thank you for saving my nose.” She had a big, proud Roman nose, and her plan was to get it thinner, smaller, and less crooked when she turned 18. Uglyshe decided to keep her nose. I thought, “Wow. This is the power of words.”
Was there ever a version of Dr. Cable in the film where he ended up being a bit creepier and seemed a bit more special?
I think the creepiest thing about this version of her is her voice. That's in the book a lot, and she changes her voice too, to make it kind of scary, like all the Specials do to some degree. I didn't want to make Pretty totally scary. I didn't want to nail it as, this is obviously a bad thing, surgery is obviously bad. People do all kinds of surgeries to make themselves feel better about themselves and make it easier for other people to deal with. I always felt like the message of the book wasn't yes or no, it was freedom of choice.
How do you respond to people who say Joey King is “too beautiful” to be the lead in this movie? I've seen a few such comments online.
Of course. It's the internet. I've seen that comment in all its forms, in both directions. I don't think it's particularly relevant. As the author of the book, let me say this: There is evidence in the text that Tully is actually quite beautiful and just thinks she's ugly. David says, “You're incredibly beautiful.” So, weirdly, it's not about that. It's about the expectations of the world she grew up in. Of course, that's probably the same for a lot of movie stars who are incredibly beautiful. They wake up every day and look at themselves and say, “Oh, I look awful today.” Like we all do.
I wanted to ask you about your cameo in the movie, which was a lot of fun. Whose idea was it? Tell us about what happened that day on set.
Five days before I was supposed to go on set, the producer called me and said, “I thought it would be fun to have you in the movie!” I sent my measurements, and I showed up on set, and they had a costume that fit me perfectly. I was in the costume, and my face was dirty, because the people in Smoke live outside and are a little dirty. I went to where the background actors were being coached to get into that world. There was a second assistant director there, and he was like, “Okay, this is what the book is about.” I was going undercover and I was going to watch the process unfold. And when he got to the end, he recognized me and said, “Oh my God! I was just explaining the plot of the book to the author.”
What did you think about Shay's voiceover calling you “older” Smokey in that scene? I didn't think he was older. that old!
[Laughs.] Well, to begin with, I have a wheelbarrow full of books. Actually, I'm technically the Boss. Not only is the Boss super mean in the book, but he's also the oldest person Tully has ever seen who hasn't had surgery. She's like, “Oh my god, this is what happens when you get older and don't have surgery!” It's not like looking at a 20-year-old or a 23-year-old. I mean, in the book, I'm A) the most terrifying looking person and B) I get killed! That doesn't happen in the movie, at least not on screen.
The movie ends on quite a cliffhanger. Have you heard that the second book in the series is being adapted into a movie? PrettysWould Netflix want to do that? Would McG want to do that? Would you want to do that?
Well, I'd love to do it. I'm sure McG would love to do it too. And when you talk to Netflix and the powers that be, it all comes down to how many people will watch it and how many times. So, I'll leave that to the viewer to decide.
Last question: What can you tell us about the upcoming anime series? Leviathan?
It's amazingly well-made. I saw the first episode. It's beautiful. You can't believe the care and attention to detail. When the trailers start coming out, you'll be amazed at how well-made it is. And it's so faithful to the original illustrations that Keith Thompson did for the book.
