ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

6 months, 2 weeks ago - Lynwood Shiva Sawyer

[Note to Moderator: Should have clicked on General Film Chat, but I might have actually clicked on more than one category.]
“It all starts with the story,” is a myth promulgated by the screenplay-industrial complex.
In actual fact, most movies start with the money.
In my case, two films actually started with requests in Shooting People Bulletins.
In a 2016 Shooting People email, I saw a request by director Marianna Dean (with whom I still work!) for short scripts. I submitted an Anglicized adaptation of a play I'd seen at LA's White Fire Theatre. IN THE PARK was two-hander featuring a Yummy Mummy and a Dosser, each skewering the other about their false fronts. Marianna filmed the script as IN THE PARK, which subsequently won Best Comedy-Dramedy Short in the 2017 LA Independent Film Festival.
Last year I saw another Shooting People Bulletin, this time a request from Julio Molina, Lecturer at University of Winchester, who wanted short scripts for his students. I submitted four, and they chose the darkest one, THE COUNTRY GENTLEWOMAN a TV show parody inspired by a true incident, about the best wine to quaff while watching your unfaithful partner go up in smoke .
The finished film is a hilarious (and seamless!) mashup of a Nigella Lawson cooking show, a cheesy infomercial and most strikingly, a wry Jane Austen drama. The short was shot at Chawton House (owned by Jane Austen’s brother and where she did much writing) as well as being performed in full Georgian costume (!).
Take note, all your directors and producers, Shooting People is a happy hunting ground for scripts, especially shorts. You writers, keep those submissions coming.
A big Shout Out! to Cath and Jess for their passion and dedication in providing such a wonderful forum for independent filmmakers for more than a quarter of a century.