My Current WIP: The Secret of the Leather Satchel

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry for my long absence. Due to complicated circumstances, I have not been able to blog. However, I have some exciting news to share that I think will make up for the recent lack of posts! :)

I mentioned in my last post about how I was inspired to write a screenplay. Today, I'm finally ready to tell you about it!

So, after I finished writing My Father's Princess, I became inspired to dabble in filmmaking. (An interesting little tidbit: My first big writing project was an American Girl play that I edited/wrote based on the Felicity books and another script for my 8th grade drama class. So I guess you could say that my first written work was a play.) Last year, I took an online course for filmmaking and I found the whole process very fascinating. It seemed like a fun opportunity to combine my love for storytelling with my organizational, leadership, and multitasking skills, as well as learn something new. I began applying what I had learned in filmmaking and chose to make an 8-minute video about the Trail of Tears called "Escaping the Removal" for my historical literature class project. I had a ton of fun researching it, writing the script, planning out the shoots, making the costumes and props, and casting my friends and siblings for the roles. However, due to several logistics not working out in my favor, I ended up with half the cast I originally needed, and one day to film in five different locations what should have realistically taken two or three days (and that one day turned out to be cold, rainy, and miserable). To top it off, no one had studied their lines and most of them were exhausted and hyperactive from their youth group lock-in the night before. Despite how stressful it was, completing that project was one of the most exciting learning experiences I've ever had, and I found that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was also applying what I had learned about screenwriting. I had an idea for a movie inspired by the color we painted our basement ("Leather Satchel") and an old suitcase that my dad and honorary uncle brought home one night. The original idea was for my siblings and I to act in and produce the movie together after the model of The Runner From Ravenshead,  but the project quickly got drawn out a bit too long. Finally, after almost three years, I finished the first draft of my original screenplay, The Secret of the Leather Satchel! It needs some serious editing; I will probably spend a ton more time on it. I don't know what will happen with it once I finally finish, but I thought that y'all would like to know what I've been working on. Here is a little blurb in summary of the story:

Jem, Harvey, and Alex are just three detective kids trying to make a living in a small town which is as un-mysterious as you could imagine. However, everything changes when a stranger shows up with a leather satchel. With all odds against them and while being pursued by a shady gang, the three intrepid explorers set out to find the truth regarding the mysterious leather satchel. What secret could that stranger be guarding so closely? A fun story filled with action, mystery, and adventure, “The Secret of the Leather Satchel” illustrates the blessings that follow when we truly search for God’s wisdom as if for hidden treasure.

Tell me what you think! I might do some more blog posts in the future about the characters and sneak peaks on the story. Enter your email address and click the "follow" button to stay tuned! :)

My Favorite Movies

A while ago I did a post with a list of my favorite books, and it was so much fun that I thought I'd write about some of my favorite movies as well!

Newsies

Whenever you need a pick-me-up, Newsies never gets old. I have very fond memories of being introduced to the musical about newsboys in New York fighting the tycoons who abused child labor by my mom and honorary aunt when I was twelve. Something about the songs and the story is so inspiring and encouraging. Newsies is and at this point always will be my all-time favorite movie. The inspiring and timeless story, epic singing and dancing, incredible script, directing and casting, and just overall awesomeness makes it...well, awesome! Christian Bale plays the main character, and honestly, I wish that he was more well-known for playing "Jack Kelly" than "Batman." As a sidenote, Newsies was directed by the same guy who directed High School Musical.

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story

This has been a favorite of mine since childhood, as it was a movie about a horse (enough said). I just re-watched it recently, and I was bawling from the first scene and all the way through to the end. It is an amazingly heartwarming, beautiful, and well-told story about an injured racehorse that brings a family back together again. AND, Dakota Fanning stars in it. :) (*disclaimer: a couple mild swears don't ruin the movie, in my opinion; however, you could always watch it on VidAngel to remove those.) 

Beyond the Mask

I honestly have never seen a movie that weaves so many different genres into one plot so well. The Burns brothers are absolute geniuses for finding such random historical facts and connecting them in a fascinating and exciting tale. Besides being a huge fan of the historical fiction genre, I loved the analogies of redemption and identity that were showcased in this movie. This was the first movie (not counting documentaries) that I had ever seen in the theater, and I came away completely inspired and motivated to make my own movie. *(update on that to come)

The Runner from Ravenshead

What do you get when one homeschooling father of (now) six decides to quit his job and start making feature length movies with his family? Little Crew Studies! The Runner from Ravenshead was their first production, and it remains a family-favorite of ours to this day. Five kids under the age of nine play all the parts in this action/adventure allegory, and not only are all those little guys superb actors and actresses, but the script is amazing, and the quality of the movie is incredible for first-time movie-makers! They have been finalists for multiple award categories at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival for their movies, and The Runner From Ravenshead won the Audience Choice Award in 2010. It is cute, hilarious, fun, and clever, and the message that is woven throughout brings you to tears at the end of the movie (um, every time, in case you're wondering, and I've watched it at least...10 times? I lost count.)

Mandie and the Secret Tunnel

Okay, so I know that a lot of people--especially in the homeschool community--liked the Mandie books by Lois Gladys Leppard. I started reading them along with some close friends of mine at the time when I was 11 or 12, but even though they were engaging, I found that they, especially the later ones, just weren't great books. There were a bunch of little things in them that I didn't like, such as what kind of behavior was portrayed as acceptable. HOWEVER, once I saw the movie that had come out based on the first Mandie book, I loved it! I will break the unspoken code of a writer, that "books are always better than the movies," and say that it was one of the very few movies that I actually did like better than the book (others including Charlotte's Web and Mary Poppins, just in case you were thinking about wasting your time on those books.) Not only did the movie add awesome visuals to scenes that I had been imagining in my head from reading the books, but the ending was a whole truckload better than the book! The actors were wonderful, the characters colorful, and the story was changed just enough from the book to be an improvement, without ruining the integrity of the original story. After watching this movie, my friends and I decided to reenact it and film our own version, something that was never completed, but we had a darn fun time dreaming about! (I have plenty of epic stories about some of our escapades in this venture, if you're ever bored or can't fall asleep and want to hear how, ahem, stupid I sometimes was.)

There are a ton more movies that I could rave all day about, but I'll keep it short for now. What are some of your favorite movies? Tell me about them in the comment section! :)