Emily Grace and the Secret of Lavender Field - The Screenplay

I took a chance and turned my children's book into a screenplay and submitted it to The Page Awards (an annual contest where screenplays are judged by top Hollywood directors, producers, etc...)

Well, even though my screenplay didn't get past the first round, I did receive some very interesting comments that were a joy to behold! Though there are a few minor changes that I need to make, the overall comment that my judge gave was as follows:

**EMILY GRACE AND THE SECRET OF LAVENDER FIELD is a sort of fairy tale about nine year old EMILY GRACE who enters a special forest and is sent on a hero’s journey to a magical lavender field to find an antidote which will free her father and others from being animals.

EMILY GRACE is a charming, courageous young protagonist.

You have a flair for visually beautiful descriptions. The magical world of the Sunny Hollow and the lavender field are nicely described.

The animal characters are well delineated and each has its own individual character and voice. The animals would be a joy for children to observe.

The animals have human characteristics which are recognizable and work on a symbolic and allegorical level.

LADY LIA, is a particularly beautiful creature – part butterfly and part lovely fairy.

The happy ending with Emily being reunited with her beloved father is very upbeat and ends the story on a positive, uplifting note – the “happily ever after” of your modern fairy tale.

The premise of Emily’s going on a hero’s journey to save her beloved father is a strong premise.

Your concept of the magical Sunny Hollow and lavender field where people who have been turned into animals wait for Emily to free them by means of an antidote is compelling.

“EMILY GRACE AND THE SECRET OF LAVENDER FIELD” has the potential to be a commercial family film.
It could be either live action or an animated feature depending upon your intentions. If you choose to market your screenplay as an animated feature, you will be able to create amazing special effects which could be financially prohibitive with live action. You might also consider mixing live action with animation as in Disney’s recent re-visiting of “Alice in Wonderland” directed by Tim Burton.**

This is EXACTLY what I had in mind when I wrote it! I saw this as a live action/animated feature. It's ironic that this judge would say "Alice in Wonderland" because I have explained this book as "Alice in Wonderland" meets "The Wizard of Oz".

So to sum it up...I did good with this book! I hope everyone gets the opportunity to read it. You won't be disappointed!

Have I become a Twi-hard?

A few years ago, when everyone was all a-buzz about this new movie that was opening called 'Twilight', I was thinking 'oh no please, not another vampire movie...Hollywood has gone bonkers - give me the rusty butter knife NOW'. I had no intention on seeing it and I went about my business. Then 2009 rolled around and the 2nd installment called 'Twilight: New Moon' came out and, again, the scuttlebutt on the street was all about New Moon and who's team are you on? WTF is this? Are you kidding? There's a sequel! Doctor, can you up the dosage, please?

Then this year it happened. My mother was bitten by a damned Cullen named Edward and she, in turn, bit me (not literally)! She watched Twilight on cable, passed the venom on to me and, with the bait on the hook, we needed to see what happened next, of course, New Moon was next (bought it on pay-per-view). In my ignorance, I should have given this beautifully written story by Stephanie Meyer and wonderfully acted by Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, a chance.

So let's count it down. I've seen Twilight AND New Moon about a thousand times (we have added Twilight AND New Moon to our DVD collection). I'm undecided which team I want to join (do I want to live forever as a vampire with Edward or just grow old with Jacob, even though he's a werewolf and could, if he gets pissed, tear me to shreds...friggin' decisions! I'm kind of likin' Jasper and his emotion control even though he, too, could rip my throat out)...I'm listening to a playlist of songs from the Twilight and New Moon soundtrack (I really like Supermassive Black Hole by Muse from Twilight, when they play baseball...see, I knew exactly where this song came in)...Robert Pattinson has grown on me (I even saw Remember Me...it's pretty good with a surprise ending that I was NOT expecting)...I haven't read the books since I've been busy writing my own books but these are now on my MUST READ list and I can't wait...and I'm chomping at the bit to see Eclipse...and then Breaking Dawn, Parts 1 and 2!

So does this make me a Twi-hard? Taking a small line from the song 'Possibility' from New Moon (when Edward leaves Bella and she's sitting in her room looking out the window...camera circles Bella - October...November...December...)...there's a possibility - there's a possibility!