Are you happy?
Happiness is a well-maintained plant. It’s not a state of being to be achieved, nor is there a standard of happiness for everyone, and someone can steal your plant if you let them. If you give your plant plenty of water, sunlight, and room to grow, it flourishes. You don’t mourn a plant the way you do a pet, you just buy a new one. I’ve killed almost every physical plant I’ve ever attempted to grow, but I can brew the hell out of some kombucha. I suppose my happiness maintenance skills are on the macrobiotic level. My happiness grows best in darkness, isn’t well-liked by everyone, and gets bubbly when it’s ready.
I used to be afraid of sunflowers. The original Little Shop of Horrors was Jack Nicholson’s first movie, was made in two days, and had a very different ending than the 1986 version. The faces of Audrey II’s victims bloomed in the middle of a sunflower. Such a perfect metaphor for Hollywood. We become part of that which feeds upon us. My hippie parents let me watch the original version because the 1986 version was my favorite movie and they loved campy 1960’s horror movies too. Even as an adult, I had a lingering fear of sunflowers until last summer when I took this behind the scenes picture for Dylan Brody’s movie:
I’m not a trained photographer, Dylan just lent me his camera and said “Take all the pictures you want”. I love that picture so much because of the light, the hope, and optimism captured in that one moment. When I started Imagination for Sale, LLC this year, my logo grew into a sunflower of its own accord. I’m not being consumed by a plant, I’m growing my own. Sunflowers can stand alone, but are more beautiful when in a field surrounded by other sunflowers. I am here, putting down roots, planting my feet, and reaching for the sunlight.
I’ve spent over a week attempting to get the producers of the Little Shop of Horrors remake to take me up on my Script Doctor offer. Other than meeting Seth MacFarlane, I don’t think anything could make me happier than to have that script in my hands. Dominic, an assistant I spoke to yesterday, asked a very good question “What if the script is already perfect? Would you give the money back?” Hmm. I hadn’t thought of that. I never assumed there would be something “wrong” with someone else’s art. I was offering my insight as a screenwriter with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatrical Production and a deep love of the source material. My freakin’ logo is a reference to the original movie! I didn’t say that, but I appreciated Dominic’s question.
I reached out to Lady Gaga’s representative first, hoping to encourage her to take the part of Audrey. In my opinion, no living actress could portray such a dichotomous character the way Stefani could. Audrey is beautiful, imaginative, hard-working, has self-esteem issues, and she is incredibly powerful when she sings. I want to help shape Audrey into a role of strength which vulnerable women can find in themselves. Lady Gaga’s empowerment of her Little Monster fans has shown me she has the magical presence and tingle-inducing voice to drive a man to feed her abusive boyfriend to a hungry plant. I hope she takes the role, I hope she reads the letter I wrote her, I hope like crazy she demands I be hired as script consultant on the Little Shop remake and on any of her other roles. Gaga has the power Stefani had all along… To make this happen.
I have a seedling of hope growing for the Little Shop of Horrors remake. I want to be a part of it and see my ideas on a big screen, but it’s not about me. As I state in my Script Doctor offer blog, I don’t care if I get credit. Carrie Fisher worked on countless films as an uncredited script consultant and since the offer is part of the #AStarForCarrie project, I’m taking my ego out of it. One of the many hurtles young writers face in Hollywood is the old line “We don’t take any unsolicited material”. The offer isn’t a script, it’s for a script consultation service, which I realized yesterday may offend a few folks. Maybe they don’t realize their script needs a doctor the way a diabetic limping on a swollen foot may not take the time to go to an actual doctor. I need to get my writing out there somehow. Since so many doors have been slammed in my face, I’m looking for open windows.
I’ll be careful about not knocking over someone else’s plant. If I don’t get hired onto the Little Shop of Horrors remake, I’m not going to let it kill my little sunflower. I’m looking for any and all scripts to doctor. Anyone with $100 and a script (or an idea for a script) can rent my imagination for 5 hours under the #AStarForCarrie project. I’m not a terrific gardener, but I can write like the wind! I wrote the first draft of my feature screenplay, Otto, in three days! Dylan Brody was a witness. Contact me at imaginationforsaleceo@gmail.com to get in on this Script Doctor offer while it lasts!
Imagination for sale 