Another Successful Table Read ! I tell ya, this is addictive. Seeing all those actors taking their roles seriously yet still having fun was great. Ken Moretti suggested this during the beginnings of the pandemic. I don’t think he anticipated how this would be the new norm. For the first time, I’m able to hear my screenplay come to life. They even talked with each other regarding voices and accents prior to the reading in order to be in agreement. I didn’t want to give much direction because I was eager to hear what they came up with… I was richly rewarded!
We met twice. The first time was the meet and greet, which served as an opportunity to make sure everyone knew their roles and that they could figure out Zoom. The second time we jumped right in after about 5-10 minutes. This is important because a feature film takes at least two hours to read. Because of the epic nature of Toymaker, it took much longer to read the description of the fantasy world.
The feedback is probably my favorite part. Speed up the intro, have Claus make toys sooner, modernize the language to fit the younger audience, and more. Hands down, everyone felt this is a great Christmas legendary film. Until I stopped to write this, I’ve been busily reworking the story.
There was a split opinion regarding whether or not it should be CGI or animated. If you know someone who’d like to produce an animation film in defiance of Disney/Pixel, let me know.
Screenwriters, please try this… it’s easy and free. Using Stage 32, you have all these professionals at your fingertips. I now have a group of 12 people who know the The Legend of The Toymaker and like it… that’s huge!
One producer said this film, “Has legs.”
Another, “I enjoyed it a lot.”
Even better; “The story is different and I believe a classic.”
So, boom! I’m ready to rock this film.
Many thanks Ken Moretti, Greg Provo, Wendell Kinney, JT Talley, Jim Foster, Frank Creasy, Erick Freitas, Sherryl Despres, Amanda Jiang, Carolyn Maitland, Amanda Billips, Doug Nelson, Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Joe Arjona, and Daniel Kenney. Mwoa!
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Good for you Heidi S. All the best to you and great success too!
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Super awesome Heidi congrats!
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Congratulations Heidi!
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We had a Zoom rehearsal. Actors make us writers look good. The voices we create during writing fail in comparison to good actors.
So excited for you.
Thanks Carl! It was fun and easy to pull off.
WL, Thanks... it was awesome. :)
Tasha, you were missed... but I'm glad work is keeping you busy.
Craig, you are sooo right. Without actors, it's just words on a page (not a bad thing as I'm an author too). Hearing the fairy speak, or the little girl cry because her toy broke--just amazing!
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Great title to your script! I really like it and very thought provoking!
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Thank you for providing the details Heidi. I was there in spirit. Wrapped up one case study and starting another this week. Happy to be helping organizations and individuals with their Tuition Reimbursement Program needs for their HR Departments during these challenging times.
Thanks Carl, as with all scripts, it had various names, but this is the one that stuck. I felt like it had the necessary components of legend and toys... it needed to span thousands of years.