Anna Kiss's Lounge Discussions

Bravo! A great accomplishment!

Congrats Richard,. Can you talk more about the OWA process, is this your first submission, do you only receive selection for consideration or do they also say - pass, and what's the typical time-frame for response?

Congratulations!!

Congrats!

Well done. Bravo!

Hey Terry Chodosh , what makes the most sense is to make sure you're marketing the heck out of your book and racking up sales. The cruel fact of the industry is that they aren't much going to care about the quality of a book more than the marketability. There's a reason that "Fifty Shades of Grey" gets made into a major motion picture but a Pulitzer Prize-winning title like "The Orphan Master" still hasn't been adapted. If you want Hollywood's attention, it's not to spend your time and money on a screenwriter yet, but to give it your all to market the book.

These are great questions Ashley Renee Smith. I've done this with two of my books and have loved the journey. Moving forward, I plan on focusing on screenplays and using them as an outline for the books. I agree with Dawn in that the pacing was the biggest issue I had to overcome. But the journey has been worth the struggle.

Ashley, I have published my novel “ Shaloha Gems” had a “pitch deck” & series bible done, wrote a longline, have a producer interested (but he produces reality TV shows in a different genre.)

I would be happy to collaborate with a screenwriter with a track record.

Frankly I would like to connect to Adam Sandlers studio Happy Madison since I think he would be a perfect fit for this story. which is a combination of “ My Big Fat Greek wedding” and

“ Nobody wants this” aling with his movie “uncut gems.” How would you recommend that I proceed?

Hi, Terry Chodosh! If I were you, I would reach out to the Stage 32 Success Team at Success@Stage32.com. Tell them about the project and the types of producers and writers you're hoping to connect with. They can then share a curated list of executives and resources right here on Stage 32 that can help you with your next steps.

Hi Ashley. I have adapted my two nonfiction (and published) books into screenplays. I think the first thing I did was to annotate and circle the scenes in my books that visually would have the most impact. Secondly, I crossed out or red-lined through parts of the books that did not deliver visually. This worked well for my comedy feature: "The Broken Spoke."

Then I cut the scenes, like index cards, from Final Draft software and shuffled them within the chronology. I understood that something dynamic must "hook" the reader on page one, but I also knew that I could provide other scenes that would play out as flashbacks. But because my primary source for the book died of a heart attack in 2021, I decided to make him the narrator (in V.O.) of his own story when I began writing the screenplay adaptation in 2023.

For my other adaptation, I also red-lined my book pages and made index cards of scenes in Final Draft. However, I needed help figuring out how to write each episode of a limited true crime series as a stand-alone story with a beginning, middle and end. So I searched for a collaborator and found Cynthia Uhrich on LinkedIn. Together we have written the TV pilot for the series: "The Texas Secessionists." With Cynthia's input, we have managed to write a compelling pilot that will lead into three other episodes. Each episode will be a story within a story!

Catherine Cole, Rupert LOVES wearing his bow ties. We take it off at night before bed and in the morning he gets so excited to put it back on. He sits up all straight and proud while we place it and then he struts around. Lol!

Anna Kiss, Rupert being spoiled is probably the understatement of the year! My sister always jokes that he’s the most expressive animal she’s ever seen. He truly has a whole face of emotions and can speak volumes with just a glance. I absolutely love how you described your Shepherds laughing at you. I know exactly what you mean! There’s a whole secret language in those looks and expressions, and once you learn it, the bond becomes something really special.

Jack Binder, he was definitely born for the spotlight. Lol! He loves being the center of attention.

Oh Marina Albert, thank you for sharing such a sweet and heartfelt story. I’m so sorry to hear about Amber. Losing a young pup is absolutely heartbreaking. But how beautiful that Coco has Skye now, and that they’ve become best friends after that rocky start. Dogs really do have a way of helping each other heal. I’m sending you all the good vibes for your move, what an intense time! I couldn’t agree more… animals really do bring people together in the most unexpected and meaningful ways. Give Skye and Coco some love from Rupert and me!

Thank you, Ashley Renee Smith - you're gonna make me cry, girl.