Telling stories through film and conversation.
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WILDsound's The Film Podcast

In each episode, the C.E.O. of WILDsound, Matthew Toffolo, chats about all things storytelling and film. Conversations with talented individual from all around the world.

Posts tagged screenwriter
July 31, 2023 - Screenwriter Ashley Gianni (NO RULES)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX6CTtOSEpY

In 1992 New Jersey, at the boom of drag culture and amidst the raging AIDS epidemic, drag queen Visa Declined and best friend Angela Caruso find themselves at a standstill in their creative endeavors while desperately trying to build a community to call their own. Their dream of one day owning their own bar where they can produce their own shows and host community events is becoming less of a reality as they approach their mid-thirties and feel societal pressure to “grow up” and “get a real job”. Nonetheless, Visa’s an optimist, Angela is stubborn, and neither of them are fulfilled by the idea of a traditional and ordinary life. But how can two struggling artists scrape together the money for a down payment? They get creative, of course!


Get to know the writer:

My film, No Rules, tells the story of Drag Queen Visa Declined, and her best friend Angela Caruso, in 1992 New Jersey, fueled by the urgency of the AIDS epidemic, as they fight for the respect and money to open their own bar so they can finally have a space to build their chosen family and live unapologetically! It is Camp – it is Theatre – it is Drag! But it’s Film, it’s accessible, it’s Welcoming! It invites the audience to engage and participate. No Rules encourages a “cult classic midnight showing” viewing experience that creates community. A little To Wong Foo and a little My Cousin Vinny, No Rules is my ode to my childhood as an Italian-Jew growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey, and my love letter to all of the Drag Queens who have helped shape my identity.My film, No Rules, tells the story of Drag Queen Visa Declined, and her best friend Angela Caruso, in 1992 New Jersey, fueled by the urgency of the AIDS epidemic, as they fight for the respect and money to open their own bar so they can finally have a space to build their chosen family and live unapologetically! It is Camp – it is Theatre – it is Drag! But it’s Film, it’s accessible, it’s Welcoming! It invites the audience to engage and participate. No Rules encourages a “cult classic midnight showing” viewing experience that creates community. A little To Wong Foo and a little My Cousin Vinny, No Rules is my ode to my childhood as an Italian-Jew growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey, and my love letter to all of the Drag Queens who have helped shape my identity.


You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at
www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

July 31, 2023 - Screenwriter Ashley Gianni (NO RULES)
Matthew Toffolo
July 29, 2023 - Screenwriter Ryan Skinner (HUNT MAN’S LAND)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhTtzLnS2a0

When A TV star finds out his best friend is dead it leads to uncovering a world of alternate realities, monsters, fantasy and more.

Get to know the screenwriter:

A TV star learns his best friend from childhood has died and heads back to his hometown for his funeral. He soon realizes that his dead friend has created an entire fantasy universe that could hold the key to his death.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

July 29, 2023 - Screenwriter Ryan Skinner (HUNT MAN’S LAND)
Matthew Toffolo
July 6, 2023 - Screenwriter Elliot Stanton (DEADLINE TO DEATH)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtsUeGVTRvE

Get to know the writer:

Here is the synopsis –

Author CJ Billings is under pressure from his publisher to finish a novel. He has an idea that a few days away in the setting of the finale will give him the inspiration he so desperately needs.

After arriving in Bude, Cornwall, a fan of his recognises him and invites him back to her cottage for a bite to eat and to sign her CJ Billings novels. Margaret is an older woman who lives alone. An unfinished painting in her house curiously provides the inspiration CJ was looking for. The harsh, depressing, stormy harbour scene gives CJ the ending for his protagonist.

CJ visits the following day again, and Margaret admits to him that her younger life was far from idyllic, and she escaped to Cornwall for reasons she keeps to herself. Margaret begins to feel tired, and CJ promises to visit again the following day before returning home to London.

When CJ knocks on Margaret’s door the following morning, he is met by a neighbour, Emily, who informs him that Margaret has died. She gives him one of his books that Margaret had marked ‘For Chris’.

On his return home, a shell-shocked CJ finds a letter within the pages of the book. It is a confession by Margaret, albeit that is not her real name. She moved from London to escape justice after murdering a baby in her care when she was a nanny. The confessional story bears an uncanny resemblance to the conclusion of CJ’s book. The conundrum he has is a moral one. Does he submit his manuscript knowing that a real-life murderer inspired the inspiration for ending, or does he delete the whole computer file, preserving his morality but possibly ruining his career? The story ends with CJ’s finger hovering over the ‘delete’ button.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

July 6, 2023 - Screenwriter Elliot Stanton (DEADLINE TO DEATH)
Matthew Toffolo
June 13, 2023 - Screenwriter Simone Brazzini (MY NAME IS BLUE)

Watch the best scene screenplay reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=730wDV6OBk0

After an obsessive teenager sneaks into the trailer of their lifelong idol, a recently canceled actor, the two embark on a cross country journey of forced dreams and the impossibility of escaping the past.


Get to know the writer:

My Name is Blue is a coming of age story following the journey that Blue, an obsessive non-binary teen, takes as they run away to follow Jack, a recently cancelled actor, across the country. It’s about trying to escape your past, facing your traumas, and letting go of dreams that hold you back.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

June 13, 2023 - Screenwriter Simone Brazzini (MY NAME IS BLUE)
Matthew Toffolo
June 3, 2023 - Screenwriter Suzy Stein, Fernando Perez (HOW NOT TO WRITE A ROMANCE NOVEL)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBx4Pzw5KvM

The world’s greatest romance novelist has given up on love due to long-standing grief, but will his blossoming relationship with a younger man lead to a new chapter or the same tragic ending.

Get to know the writers:

Our screenplay is hilarious and emotionally charged. It combines the classic romantic comedy elements with more serious themes related to AIDS and grief. And certainly more diverse stories from more diverse voices are needed.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

June 3, 2023 - Screenwriter Suzy Stein, Fernando Perez (HOW NOT TO WRITE A ROMANCE NOVEL)
Matthew Toffolo
June 1, 2023 - Screenwriter Matthew Domingos (THE UNINVITED)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL7az_cO2hg

When two American soldiers go on a mission to an abandoned house in the Iraqi desert, what they find there makes them question reality itself.

Get to know the writer:

My screenplay is essentially about human conflict. I wanted to express how uniquely strange and traumatic the experience of being in a warzone is for all those involved. It is an environment of extremes and one that, in my opinion at least, can only be expressed visually.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

June 1, 2023 - Screenwriter Matthew Domingos (THE UNINVITED)
May 28, 2023 - Screenwriter Aaron James Sutch (SERIOUS LAUGHS)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYF0RrNcRfg

A struggling stand up comedian must literally and figuratively kill when a zealous heckler takes a comedy club hostage; threatening the lives of fans, comedians, and comedy itself.

Get to know the screenwriter:

My screenplay on the surface level is about a hostage situation in a comedy club. But on a thematic level, it’s really about all forms of comedy being held hostage and people not knowing which jokes cross which lines, if there are any lines. This is debated in every scene in the screenplay.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

May 28, 2023 - Screenwriter Aaron James Sutch (SERIOUS LAUGHS)
Matthew Toffolo
May 22, 2023 - Screenwriter Jim Falletta (REVOLVING DOORS)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWEgSvNfDz0

Two down-on-their luck wannabe musicians moonlighting as karaoke “stars” at a bar that caters to senior citizens must overcome a host of obstacles on their road to music stardom, including their overbearing landlord, a divorced parent who moves in unexpectedly, and most importantly, their own propensity for failure.

Get to know the screenwriter:

Revolving Doors is about two down-on-their luck wannabe musicians moonlighting as karaoke “stars” at a bar that caters to senior citizens who must overcome a host of obstacles on their road to music stardom, including their overbearing landlord, a divorced parent who moves in unexpectedly, and most importantly, their own propensity for failure.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

May 22, 2023 - Screenwriter Jim Falletta (REVOLVING DOORS)
Matthew Toffolo
May 15, 2023 - Screenwriter Jeffrey van Davis (THE EVIL THAT MEN DO)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS6mHBwRaf8

When a police detective, hunting a serial killer, gets too close, the killer murders his wife and two children, sending him into a downward spiral of alcohol, suicide, and a near-death experience where God tells him to become a priest. Years later the serial killer reappears – in his confessional.

From the Screenwriter:

Good vs. Evil Not in the more orthodox religious view of Christianity, but in a Manichaean vision Norman Mailer discussed in my film, “Norman Mailer: The Sanction to Write.” The Manichaeans saw God and the Devil as brothers caught up in a battle til the end of time – a battle of good vs. evil. There exist an important third element at play and that is mankind, human beings. How we act (for good or for evil) will determine if God or the Devil wins. So as humans we bear an awesome responsibility, a terrifying duty, in determining the outcome of this cosmic battle.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

May 15, 2023 - Screenwriter Jeffrey van Davis (THE EVIL THAT MEN DO)
Matthew Toffolo
May 13, 2023 - Screenwriter Richard Redlo (GOOFY FOOT)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/goofy-foot-screenplay

Eliot Glassman, 15, openly gay and precocious, becomes emancipated from his suburban parents and friends, following incidents of physical abuse. Freed from his troubled suburban origins, he navigates (often on a skateboard) the dangers and delights of his new urban surroundings. Through it all, Eliot remains a positive life-force -– the ultimate wise ass, the enemy of poseurs, the ironic (often unreliable) narrator of his own amazing story.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Geoff Mays
Eliot: Sean Ballantyne
Alison: Hannah Ehman
Ms. Benton: Elizabeth Rose Morriss

Get to know the screenwriter:

Along with my three other completed (and refined) pilots, it should be produced to tell the truth about LGBTQ lives, without the offensive stereotypes that usually appear on network tv. It also is an attempt to show the myriad of pitfalls faced by teenagers, whether LGBTQ or straight, in a society that uses fear and misrepresentation to label people (e.g., urban skateboarders).

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

May 13, 2023 - Screenwriter Richard Redlo (GOOFY FOOT)
Matthew Toffolo
May 7, 2023 - Screenwriter Andrea Lawson (The Road to Sorrowful)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjWe3zqFzqk

In the afterlife, a murdered man meets a grieving mother who died during the Great Depression and has been ferrying souls through purgatory ever since for the chance to rescue her daughter’s soul from damnation.


Get to know the screenwriter:

I think my 1-hour pilot script would make a fantastic television show. Sure, it’s about death, but it’s also about choices, addiction, co-dependency, guilt, loss, forgiveness, and personal responsibility, all wrapped up in a fun, dark, dangerous world where the characters really are down to their very last chance.


You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

May 7, 2023 - Screenwriter Andrea Lawson (The Road to Sorrowful)
Matthew Toffolo
May 6, 2023 - Screenwriter Janna Jones (SHELTER)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPdZKEVV2s

A smart, but indecisive movie theater owner is about to lose her husband, movie theater and her family’s legacy, but when two forces of nature sweep into her life–a violent tropical storm and a gorgeous and compassionate man–she finally jumps into action to get what she wants.

https://www.facebook.com/janna.jones
https://instagram.com/drjannajones

Get to know the screenwriter:

Shelter is original, funny and sweet. It is truly a love letter to cinema, and it is full of funny, quirky and three dimensional characters who live on a cool, funky island off the coast of Florida. In some ways, it also flips the script of the romantic comedy–because at the end of Shelter, we see the woman chasing after the man; in this case, by way of skateboard and golf cart!


You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

May 6, 2023 - Screenwriter Janna Jones (SHELTER)
Matthew Toffolo
April 9, 2023 - Screenwriter/Novelist Sara Collins (THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANNIE LANGTON)

The Confessions of Frannie Langton, 1 hour TV Series

Directed by Andrea Harkin

Written by Sara Collins

A beautiful and haunting tale about one woman's fight to tell her story, The Confessions of Frannie Langton leads you through laudanum-laced dressing rooms and dark-as-night back alleys, into the enthralling heart of Georgian London.


You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

April 9, 2023 - Screenwriter/Novelist Sara Collins (THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANNIE LANGTON)
Matthew Toffolo
March 8, 2023 - Screenwriter Jennifer C. Clark (ALL THE COOL KIDS)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wxOOpBCqPs

A closeted teen football star, Harley Harris, discovers his friends and fellow townsfolk are being replaced by demonic shapeshifters, and he is next! Together with, out and proud friend, Tessa, Harley must break the demon’s curse before his identity and life are lost forever.

https://facebook.com/Jcfilmscribe
https://instagram.com/filmscribe

Get to know the screenwriter:

It’s a story with a few themes that teens are going through today, and always have.

On the surface, it’s about a teenage boy coming to terms with his sexuality and the pressures he faces in doing so. These pressures are manifested as a demon forcing him to fit the Mold society would expect him to.

These pressures are not just reserved for teenagers, however being a teenager and discovering who you are can be is relatable for everyone who has gone through it. Plus, you add social media into the mix of hormones and self-discovery and these demons are just icing on the cake.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

March 8, 2023 - Screenwriter Jennifer C Clark (ALL THE COOL KIDS)
Matthew Toffolo
March 4, 2023 - Screenwriter Patrick Norman (THE HIGHWAYMAN)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFl77xk6Qzg

A deep and all-consuming romance set in eighteenth-century England between a highwayman and a landlord’s daughter tests their love, loyalty, and willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Logline: He met her on life’s darkest road, and her soul became his moon.

Get to know the screenwriter:

It’s an adventure, romance set in 18th century England about a lonely highwayman who happens upon a beautiful woman along the coast of Wales. After a couple close encounters, they connect and realize that they are one, and develop an unbreakable, intense soul connection. It’s a story about undying love and that special bond that rises to a twin flame or soulmate level. It’s a story about finally uniting with the one you were meant to be with, losing them, and realizing that you can’t live without them.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

March 4, 2023 - Screenwriter Patrick Norman (THE HIGHWAYMAN)
Matthew Toffolo
December 16, 2022 - Screenwriter Ernest Pysher (TERROR AND VIRTUE)

A young, ambitious idealist returns home from war to find his king and country on the brink of ruin - and ripe for positive reform - until a bankrupt alcoholic becomes the unlikely leader of the movement instead and all hell breaks loose. The incredible true story of the French Revolution.

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/terror-and-virtue-script

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Kyana Teresa
ROCHAMBEAU/Judge: Steve Rizzo
George Washington: Sean Ballantyne
LaFayette/Mirabeau: Andy Camp

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

December 16, 2022 - Screenwriter Ernest Pysher (TERROR AND VIRTUE)
Matthew Toffolo
October 30, 2022 - Screenwriter Pamela PerryGoulardt (THE RINGMISTRESS)

A funambulist battles gem smugglers, pirates, her estranged mother, and the Russian mob, to win the Golden Clown at the Monte Carlo Circus Festival.


Conversation with Pamela PerryGoulardt on the writing of this screenplay, followed by the best scene reading of The Ringmistress.

WILDsound also made a Screenplay Movie of Pamela’s screenplay Underwater Hazard. Watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tApw61u0kfU

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

October 30, 2022 - Screenwriter Pamela PerryGoulardt (THE RINGMISTRESS)
Matthew Toffolo
October 21, 2022 - Screenwriter Addie Dobson (The Legend of the Mermaid Tree)

‘The Legend of the Mermaid Tree’ is a romance period piece bridging the past to the present on St. Simons Island. Joshua, a goal driven analyst, finally gets the opportunity for a promotion, but has to return to the island after hearing of his grandfather’s untimely death. As he packs his grandfather’s belongings, he comes across a journal and a map that details a love story with a mysterious woman, Colleen. After seeking help from a local waitress, Joshua will have to reevaluate his desire in life. A goal or a home.


Interview with writer, plus best scene screenplay reading - audio version.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

October 21, 2022 - Screenwriter Addie Dobson (The Legend of the Mermaid Tree)
Matthew Toffolo
August 14, 2022 - Screenwriter David Sorbello (JIMMY 13)

“A human interest story of inclusion, acceptance and tenacity.” JIMMY 13 is the winning feature screenplay from the SPORTS & RECREATION Film Festival. Interview with screenwrier David Sorbello in the writing of the script about the legendary James Onacki

https://obits.syracuse.com/us/obituaries/syracuse/name/james-onacki-obituary?id=34966967

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

August 14, 2022 - Screenwriter David Sorbello (JIMMY 13)
Matthew Toffolo
August 13, 2022 - Screenwriter Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough (HELOISE + ABELARD)

HELOISE + ABELARD is the winning feature screenplay from the Romance & Relationship Film Festival. Conversation with screenwriter Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, followed by the audio version best scene reading of the script.

Based on a true story. Heloise d’ Argenteuil (15, a brilliant young scholar) has a forbidden love affair with her tutor, the popular Professor Peter Abelard (35). Their love is against the searing backdrop of political and religious turmoil and costs the lovers everything they have. Today their love story has changed feminist theories, French literature, and the myth of the love story for all time.


Project Links

Writer Biography - Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, Ph.D., Screenwriter and Producer

Gayla, a screenwriter and producer, has written several award-winning feature and short film screenplays. She tackles societal issues, based on her experiences as an entrepreneur and public policy consultant, and her international travels to more than 60 countries. Through her scripts and films, she exploits the power of TV and film to influence public thinking on social issues. Her writing builds on her vast life experiences, enabling her to create powerful and credible characters in challenging situations.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

August 13, 2022 - Screenwriter Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough (HELOISE + ABELARD)
Matthew Toffolo