Interview with Screenwriter Phillip Hollins (BLACKBALLED)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Phillip Hollins: ‘Blackballed,’ centers on an awkward relationship between a black FBI agent and the newly elected white supremacist leader whose daughter, by some twist of fate, gets a heart transplant from the FBI agent’s son, causing them to flee together from hate group leaders who wish them harm.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Psychological thriller/drama

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

“Blackballed” tackles social issues in an entertaining way, yet is far from anything on TV today. You can say, made in the mold of “Breaking Bad” & “No Country for Old Men” but on steroids.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Intense and Explosive

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

Untouchables, Hacksaw Ridge & Mad Max: Fury Road

6. How long have you been…

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Interview with Screenwriter Whitney Stewart (STEAL THE LIGHT)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Whitney Stewart: My screenplay, Steal the Light, is about the resilience of humans through war and disaster, and about family bonds that endure. The story takes place in post-Katrina New Orleans and in World War Two era Europe. A young journalist loses her home and career after Hurricane Katrina, then abandons everything to fulfill her German grandmother’s dying wish to find her brother who went missing on the Russian Front of WWII. The search tests the journalist’s courage and tenacity, but she survives to bring truth home.

Steal the Light was inspired by my own experiences of helicopter-evacuating after Hurricane Katrina, and later discovering a box of war letters that prompted me to search for my husband’s German uncle who went missing on the Russian Front of World War Two.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Drama, historical.

3. Why should…

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Interview with Screenwriter Jeremy Kruse (MASTER OF NONE)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Jeremy Kruse: My script, Master of None – Social Media, is about social media and how it can be toxic.

2. How does this script fit into the context of the MASTER OF NONE TV
show?

The script further explores Dev’s experience with racism.

3. How would you describe this script in two words?

Quit Sharing!

4. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

And Now For Something Completely Different – Monty Python

5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

At least one day.

6. How many stories have you written?

Dozens and dozens.

7. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the
most times in your life?)

Mr. Tambourine Man – Bob Dylan

8. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

The biggest obstacle was figuring out how…

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Interview with Filmmaker Shantel Hansen (HER TURF)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

HER TURF played to rave reviews at the February 2020 Documentary Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Shantel Hansen: This started back in 2014 when I conceived of the idea of filming women in male dominated sports. Here in the United States, this wasn’t a topic talked about or filmed that often until recently there are more conversations over all about women in male dominated spaces in sports, professionally, and workplace. When I discovered women in football officiating, I knew that there had to be stories to uncover, document, and share. What I didn’t know was how I was going to do it. As a first time director and producer, it took over four years to make this documentary come alive. There have been a lot of ups and downs. A lot of highs and low moments. Looking back, I can’t express how grateful…

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Interview with Filmmaker Sarah Baptist (STARTING LINEUP)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

STARTING LINEUP played to rave reviews at the February 2020 Documentary Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Sarah Baptist: I went to the overflow area of Jurassic Park for Game 1 of the Raptors playoff. I instantly became friends with the two men behind me in line. There was something really unique about the community. Strangers were friends. The next time I went back, I brought a camera and I tried to capture it.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

It took two months.

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Basketball community!

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The lineup was right beside a highway. The audio really needed to be

5. What were your initial reactions when watching…

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Interview with Filmmaker Brenden Dannaher (A QUICK LOVE STORY)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

A QUICK LOVE STORY was the winner of BEST PERFORMANCES at the February 2020 ROMANCE Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Brenden Dannaher: Another short film that I was lined up to direct fell through. So I decided to produce my own short film myself. I had four different ideas in mind. This idea got the best reaction and also happened to be the cheapest to make.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

Approximately 10 months from the initial idea to completion of the film. Six months of that was just letting the ideas gel.

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Romantic silliness.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Finding the right actors. It took us a while, but it…

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Interview with Composer Michael Roth (THE WEB OPERA)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

THE WEB OPERA played to rave reviews at the February 2020 Music & Dance Festival in Los Angeles.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Michael Roth: Two things, really. First, aesthetic and somewhat practical: whenever I’ve met a writer over the past 10 years or so who’s wanted to collaborate on an opera or music theatre piece — anything like that, even if the idea is a good one — I’ve always felt obliged to state what’s almost obvious: it’s hard, once you get going, to know if it will ever really exist as a fully produced thing. It’s a lot of work and takes a lot of money, and you don’t know where you might be heading and if you will ever have it onstage fully realised and — sometimes just as important — get more than one performance.That’s not a reason to not do something…

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Interview with Filmmaker John J.A. Jannone (SOLDIER ONLINE)

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SOLDIER ONLINE was voted BEST ANIMATION FILM at the January 2020 DANCE & MUSIC Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

John J.A. Jannone: Daniel Munkus, one of the three musicians in the band Old Robes, was my student in the M.F.A. program in Performance and Interactive Media Arts (PIMA) at Brooklyn College. We became friends and collaborated for several years. When Old Robes’ new album The Spider and the Spectator was coming out, Daniel commissioned a bunch of artists to make music videos, and I created this video. The mystery and energy of this song struck me in particular, and I was interested in who the “Soldier Online,” the character in the song, was.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

I worked on this animation for about a month. Since it…

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Interview with Screenwriter Paul Sargia (THE TATTOOED BLONDE)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Paul Sargia: When incriminating evidence points to Jon, a Connecticut psychiatrist, as the main suspect in a tattoo artist’s murder, his freedom hinges on the one person who knows the truth, a mysterious tattooed blonde who’s been appearing and disappearing in his life.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

A drama with a twisty thriller ending and a touch of romance.

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

Because it’s satisfying pure entertainment with characters who show a lot heart, despite going through some difficult times. It will leave the audience guessing who the killer is right to the end which adds to the suspense.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Pure entertainment.

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

Casablanca — It’s a great story, and also has…

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Interview with Screenwriter Adam Seidel (CALIFORNIA)

matthewtoffolo's avatarMatthew Toffolo's Summary

Matthew Toffolo: What is your screenplay about?

Adam Seidel: At it’s core California is about a man who decides to fight for his loveless marriage through taking extreme measures. It’s a piece that examines the way we often go all in on lost causes and how that affects us. Do we come out the other end completely destroyed or do we find a strength and purpose within ourselves we didn’t know was there? I think it can definitely go either way. In the case of this story, our protagonist finds the latter.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

I’d say dark comedy / thriller.

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

I think the themes are very relatable to most people, whether they want to admit it or not. I think despite some of the more graphic parts of the story, the end offers a…

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