Before Beautiful Boy Hits Theaters, Prepare Yourself With the Real Story

Since the moment the trailer was released, it's been clear that Beautiful Boy is designed to make us sob our eyes out. The upcoming film stars Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet as father and son, David and Nic Sheff. The casting alone is enough to make us want to see the film, but the fact that Beautiful Boy is based on a true story makes its subject matter all the more poignant. This isn't just a film about a father and son's complicated relationship; it's a movie about addiction and the toll it takes on both addicts and their families. The real-life David and Nic published memoirs about their experience with Nic's meth addiction, and the film draws inspiration from both. In this way, Beautiful Boy can give equal weight to Nic's struggle and his father's journey to find a way to help his son.

The true story of these two men is heartbreaking and hopeful, which can only mean that the movie will be powerful as well.

The Story
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The Story

In 2005, David wrote an essay for The New York Times chronicling his son Nic's addiction. The powerful essay tells the story of a bright young man whose parents divorced when he was just 4. David and his first wife shared custody of their son, and by all accounts it seemed that Nic flourished. He was a top student throughout his younger years, he played sports, and he wrote for the school paper. David even notes that Nic showed early confidence beyond his years when kids tried to tease him at school for wearing tights. However, by the time Nic was 12, David discovered marijuana in his son's bag.

By the time he was 14, Nic had received a one-day suspension for buying marijuana on his high school campus. He continued to excel at school, but his road to addiction escalated with the introduction of meth. From that point on, David, his wife, and his ex-wife all worked to get Nic into treatment even as he continued to use, disappear, and sometimes steal from his younger siblings. Through it all, David never gave up on his son or stopped coming when he called. By 2005, Nic was sober, after a number of relapses, and his father's story "My Addicted Son" appeared in the Times.

The Memoirs
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The Memoirs

In 2007, Nic released his New York Times bestselling memoir, Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines. The book tells his story from the first time he used straight through his journey to get clean. His father released his own memoir about his experience parenting Nic in 2008. David's book is entitled Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction, and it ultimately gave the film its title.

Now
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Now

These days, both David and Nic work to promote drug rehabilitation and have devoted much of their writing to the science of addiction. Additionally, Nic works as a writer on 13 Reasons Why, and he previously served as a producer on The Killing. Beautiful Boy is set to premiere in theaters on Oct. 12.