Telling stories through film and conversation.
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WILDsound's The Film Podcast

In each episode, the C.E.O. of WILDsound, Matthew Toffolo, chats about all things storytelling and film. Conversations with talented individual from all around the world.

Posts in feature screenplay
EP. 1597: Screenwriter A.E. Guaaker (THE VILLAGE PHANTOM)

Watch the Best Scene Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew4yxfT2YUA

Fiona Haegerbergh, a journalist for The Metro Standard, arrives in a rural Norwegian town to investigate rising drug use. Officially, she’s there to produce a webcast— but Fiona has her own agenda: uncovering the truth behind the recent suspicious death of a local drug dealer. Fiona’s editor urges her to stay on task, as much is riding on the Metro Standard’s survival—now largely dependent on the recent success of its popular web series.


Get to know the writer:

What is your screenplay about?

My screenplay is about a journalist Fiona Haegerbergh, who travels to a remote Norwegian town to cover rising drug use for her paper’s popular web series, but she’s secretly investigating the suspicious death of a local dealer. She’s met with hostility from townsfolk and a wary sheriff, but she gradually earns his reluctant trust as she digs into the community’s hidden drug network. Her search leads to Jenny, a young mine worker with ties to Fiona’s brother, who may have inherited the operation. When Jenny is suddenly found drowned, Fiona’s investigation takes a darker turn and she is faced with a devastating choice: expose what she’s uncovered and risk her own secret being revealed—or stay silent and let the town’s shadows close in.

What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Thriller, Mystery

Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

Because it has a good mystery, loveable characters and an unexpected twist.

How would you describe this script in two words?

Powerful forces

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EP. 1542: Screenwriter Andrew Conlyn (HIGH GROUND)

Watch best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1057hMo7JU

Get to know the writer:

What is your screenplay about?

High Ground is a dramatic, near-future story set in climate-ravaged Miami. Gloria Tejeda, a brilliant, physically disabled architect, becomes an unexpected hero. As rising seas and political polarization threaten lives and values, her fight against societal judgment, and radical extremists transforms her from a misunderstood figure into a national symbol of strength, vulnerability, and moral courage.

What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Drama, with elements of Science Fiction, Social Commentary, and Thriller. It delves into abstruse disability issues and touches on Romance and Political Satire.

Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

High Ground is a blend of personal and planetary crisis, addressing timely issues of climate change, misinformation, overcoming disabilities, and extremism. Gloria is emotionally insecure and physically limited, yet her internal and external challenges bring out inner strength. Her journey is inspiring, cinematic, and relevant. The story delivers suspense, emotional weight, visual spectacle, and a message of hope in a divided world. It is a story that needs to be told.

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EP. 1504: Filmmaker Russell Emanuel (STAYCATION)

STAYCATION, 93min,. USA
Directed by Russell Emanuel
How is the world affected by a catastrophic event? Everyday people live through a government mandated quarantine during a global pandemic while desperate scientists race to find a cure before it’s too late.

https://russem.com/
https://www.instagram.com/russem31/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

It was the Covid Pandemic. Everything was shut down so my late filmmaking partner Emile Haris (who unfortunately passed away during post-production in July 2023) and I went about to create a film about a pandemic against what seemed insurmountable odds (nothing was open).

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

Emile Haris and I started with a short film called “Routine” which we filmed in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic when even SAG-AFTRA was shut down and we couldn’t go outside. So he and I took it upon ourselves to film a 5-minute proof of concept prequel called “Routine” at my condo with a non-SAG-AFTRA actress Paige Laree Poucel and we hired an amazing DC/Marvel Comics Artist Dave Beaty to “draw” the third act which took place outside and hired two amazing voice actors Bill Victor Arucan and Alan Courtright. Due to the success of this film, along with head executive producer Bill Victor Arucan (who reprised his role of ‘Rob Peterson’ from “Routine” and the Peterson name itself is a running gag in all my 6 feature films), we successfully raised the money to do “Staycation” and started filming in November 2024 when SAG-AFTRA was re-opened but with severe Covid restrictions. We then filmed piecemeal over 2 years, finally completing shooting in November 2022.

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EP. 1377 - Screenwriter Sarah Edmonds (KEVIN’S NOT DEAD)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcVED8gwsec

https://www.instagram.com/saraheedmonds/

G-man and Greg are just two guys trying to get through the day by doing the bare minimum. However, when a vampire hunter appears at their place of business, the pair start to suspect that their sunscreen-loving coworker Kevin is her target. After a few near-misses with the hunter’s traps, G-man and Greg decide to put their lives on the line to save Kevin from her murderous plot—even if he is undead.

Get to know the writer:

What is your screenplay about?

“Kevin’s Not Dead” is about two small town mechanics who are suddenly roped into helping a Romanian vampire hunter fulfill her quest for revenge. However, when her target turns out to be their strange but seemingly harmless coworker, they start to question whose side they’re really on.

What genres does your screenplay fall under?

This screenplay is a horror comedy (emphasis on the comedy).

Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

I’m a bit biased, obviously, but I think the biggest draw for this screenplay in terms of production value is just that it’s fun! This screenplay offers a campy take on the vampire film that offers a nod to the classics while also keeping a more lighthearted contemporary tone throughout that I think works well for attracting both horror and non-horror fans alike. It’s a relatively self-contained script, as well, which is hopefully appealing in terms of set and budget demands. I think it strikes a good balance of being a low-budget option with a fairly broad audience appeal.


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EP. 1341 - Screenwriter E. Wendell, R. M. Olivier (MINA PLAYS THE GAME)

Watcth the screenplay reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsW9eL6aqck

A woman plays a poker game for a second shot at life, but what are the stakes and what is the real prize?

(NOTE: Podcast stopped abruptly due to a power outage.)

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EP. 1321 - Screenwriter Beckett Van Stralen (ENGINE OF EVIL)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9umcIT1JMg

A sixteen year old receives an old car as a birthday gift from his stepfather. When he drives it for the first time, he realizes it isn’t powered by conventional gasoline – but instead, an engine of pure evil.

http://www.vanstralenwrites.com/

https://twitter.com/vanstral

Get to know the writer:

Engine of Evil is about a belligerent 16 year old who receives a car for his birthday. Only instead of being ecstatic like most 16 year olds would be to receive such a gift, he doesn’t appreciate it. Little does he know that what powers the car is anything but ordinary – instead, it’s an engine powered by pure evil.

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EP. 1278 - Screenwriter Susannah Roberts (DEPRAVED)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4sVMUQHho

Depraved is a slasher that takes place at a college campus. A serial killer stalks the campus mutilating their victims while two detectives work tirelessly to try and identify the culprit. More and more bodies mount up until we end with a shocking twist that no one will see coming.

Get to know the writer:

Depraved should be produced because it is different to other slasher movies out there. The film moves away from the stereotypical ‘serial killer identity’ and takes us in a new direction that is rarely seen in the horror genre. It explores themes that while present in the real world are rarely shown on screen. It also breaks a number of the trends and clichés seen in most slashers. Depraved is a fresh new take on the genre and will appeal to lovers of horrors as well as being more inclusive of groups who seldom have pivotal roles within the slasher genre. The script has already garnered interest within the industry with people reaching out to me about it.

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EP. 1132 - Screenwriters Laura Elliott & Joseph Samuels (Beyond The Rivers of Babylon)

Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t96yy7b3gI

A journey through time when the Jews were threatened by the Muslims and how one young man’s life changed when he escaped and helped others smuggle into Israel from Baghdad- based on a true story.

https://www.laurasmagicday.com/

Get to know the writers:

Laura : It’s the true story of how Joseph came of age in Babylon during WWII, when a brutal pogrom of violence against the Jews (the Farhud), forces him to smuggle aboard a riverboat to freedom in Israel––leaving his friends, family, and country behind. It’s the story of how a mischievous, fun-loving boy became a man under extraordinary circumstances and not only survived, but thrived. But it’s also about how Muslims and Jews lived in peace in the region for over two thousand years until the Farhud.

Joseph: It is about sharing the lessons of life. Facing broken dreams to build new ones. How to take failure and use it as a stepping stone to success. How you can learn from disappointment and use it to learn how to improve your life. Facing fate, the uncontrollable circumstances we all find ourselves in, and using resilience to not only survive those circumstances, but to thrive. Last Sunday I spoke at the Holocaust Museum to a room full of people. I was saying that university teaches you about life. When you see this movie you will learn how to live. Not only how to survive, but to thrive. To see all the difficulties and turn to resiliency, tenacity, and courage to overcome the unpredictable difficulties that we face.


You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

EP. 1063 - Screenwriter Casey Seline (A-Okay)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgpA0h30_HQ

Merritt and Hylan are returning to their high school for their ten year reunion. Friends and roommates, the two complete each other in being completely different; Hylan — a confident, sexually active and adventurous extrovert, and Merritt — a shy, hopeless romantic who is struggling with her sexual identity. Unlike Hylan, Merritt does not enjoy sex or physical intimacy and believes she may be asexual.


Get to know the writer:

A-OKAY is about Merritt, a hopeless romantic, grappling with the fact that she’s asexual… or somewhere on the asexual spectrum. Still longing for romantic fulfillment, she sets out to define the boundaries of her sexual identity.

In this pilot episode, Merritt goes to her ten-year reunion, planning to reconnect with her high school flame, Rohan. She’s accompanied by her best friend/roommate (and probable nymphomaniac) Hylan, who has plans of her own for revenge against an old high school bully.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Ep. 1022 - Screenwriter Sandon Yahn (PATHS WE LEAD)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVZUTousLAA

An aspiring screenwriter who struggles to support his family becomes successful after he uses a mysterious writing software that alters reality. But, with that comes a price that he never imagined he’d have to pay.


Get to know the screenwriter:

Every one can identify with the struggle of finding your calling and living it out. This story shows what happens when we decide to do things based on our own wisdom (which can be flawed) and not relying on God’s wisdom. It asks that question, “If you had the power to do what you wanted, how would you wield that power and at what cost?” It shows what the love of a family can do to heal the wrongs of one’s actions. What is more important, family or career? Can it be both or do we tend to put one over the other for the wrong reasons.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Oct. 16, 2023 - Filmmaker Amy Miller (MANUFACTURING THE THREAT)

MANUFACTURING THE THREAT, 82min., Canada
Directed by Amy Miller
For the first time ever, a feature-length documentary is examining the issue of agent provocateurs and entrapment in Canada’s national security apparatus. Manufacturing the Threat is a thrilling and emotional film, which examines a deeply disturbing episode in Canadian history, when an impoverished couple was coerced by undercover law enforcement agents into carrying out a terrorist bombing. Further, viewers learn that this case is far from unique in the context of Canadian intelligence.

Get to know the filmmaker:

It’s an extremely important topic that has not been covered in a feature documentary to date so I felt a sense of responsibility to ensure there was at least one film that took on the subjects.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

July 14, 2023 - Screenwriter Michael Harris (PREMIUM ECONONY)

Watch the Winning Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3--iiwTEfKE

Falling Down meets Dude, Where’s My Car? Over 24 hours, a recently divorced accountant loses his job, his Jeep and accidentally traffics Heroin. His only escape? Become a beige pants badass aka a Dad Ass.

From the writer:

Premium Economy is How Stella Got Her Groove Back meets Dude, Where’s My Car meets Falling Down (without the racial animus). It’s funny with deceptively touching relationships, even amongst the criminals, and it would be a low budget movie to shoot.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

May 6, 2023 - Screenwriter Janna Jones (SHELTER)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPdZKEVV2s

A smart, but indecisive movie theater owner is about to lose her husband, movie theater and her family’s legacy, but when two forces of nature sweep into her life–a violent tropical storm and a gorgeous and compassionate man–she finally jumps into action to get what she wants.

https://www.facebook.com/janna.jones
https://instagram.com/drjannajones

Get to know the screenwriter:

Shelter is original, funny and sweet. It is truly a love letter to cinema, and it is full of funny, quirky and three dimensional characters who live on a cool, funky island off the coast of Florida. In some ways, it also flips the script of the romantic comedy–because at the end of Shelter, we see the woman chasing after the man; in this case, by way of skateboard and golf cart!


You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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March 23, 2023 - Producer/Actor Kristina Miller-Weston & Director Michele Ly (TO SAY GOODBYE IS TO DIE A LITTLE)

TO SAY GOODBYE IS TO DIE A LITTLE, 15min., USA, Drama
Directed by Michele Ly
To Say Goodbye… follows a late night ride share where their journey is the same but their destinations are very different.

https://www.kristinamillerweston.com/koolbnz-productions
https://instagram.com/koolbnzprod

Get to know Kristina Miller-Weston
This film came about in an odd way. My husband, Stephen Weston the writer, read a Reddit thread that inspired this idea. Who would you confide in if you weren’t willing to tell your friends and family that you were dying? What does that conversation look like? He stepped away for a couple hours one night and came back with this script and said “that’s finally out of my head”. I fell in love with it and knew it needed to be made. It was an important story to be told.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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March 11, 2023 - Screenwriter Alex Vickery-Howe (WATCHLIST)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80HWDaLb7VA

Logline: A young man falls in love with an ecoterrorist only to discover their pasts are entwined.

Synopsis: Basil Pepper is not ‘the man’, he’s not a doer, or a fighter…or even much of a thinker. World events pass him by, ideology makes him sleepy, and the Prime Minister’s name eludes him. Delia Dengel is determined to take a stand, to succeed where generations have failed, and be the change she wants to see, even if she’ll always be hunted. Basil is smitten. It isn’t long before he begins to see the world through Delia’s eyes…
And that’s when the storm begins.

How far would you go to save the world?

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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March 4, 2023 - Screenwriter Patrick Norman (THE HIGHWAYMAN)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFl77xk6Qzg

A deep and all-consuming romance set in eighteenth-century England between a highwayman and a landlord’s daughter tests their love, loyalty, and willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Logline: He met her on life’s darkest road, and her soul became his moon.

Get to know the screenwriter:

It’s an adventure, romance set in 18th century England about a lonely highwayman who happens upon a beautiful woman along the coast of Wales. After a couple close encounters, they connect and realize that they are one, and develop an unbreakable, intense soul connection. It’s a story about undying love and that special bond that rises to a twin flame or soulmate level. It’s a story about finally uniting with the one you were meant to be with, losing them, and realizing that you can’t live without them.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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February 19, 2023 - Screenwriter Matthew Nicholson (Pietra Fredda)

The Italian Marble Institute hand-selects sculptress Ellen Corsair to study in the marble capital of the world, Carrara, Italy. Will the stone come alive or will it mark someone’s grave?


Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48T_sHjEQNg

Get to know the writer:

Horror and art fans alike can enjoy this piece. “Pietra Fredda” is a dark spin on how far an artist will go to master their medium. The supernatural elements of the script invite the audience to walk that fine line between genius and madness and get a sense of what it means to be consumed by your art. The limited locations and cast make it ideal for a short film, and it has a proven track record placing and winning at festivals with nearly 20 screenwriting laurels.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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February 9, 2023 - Filmmaker Duy Viet Hai Tong (LONG KISS GOODBYE)

LONG KISS GOODBYE, 8min., Canada, Relationships
Directed by Duy Viet Hai Tong
A window into the last day of a relationship.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I made this film during a period where not a lot of things were happening around me. I was just trying to find my feet in a new environment. I had just graduated from university and moved to Canada. So, I think there was a personal component to making the film because it was for me to reflect on such a long journey from when I was a kid to just being done with the education environment and moving to another phase in life.

The relationship aspect of it came down to reflecting on past experiences and combining them with other things I know of. That’s where the European arthouse influence came in and I thought what a great tribute it would be to have a romance film in that style set in the modern day. We did ditch the excessive smoking though.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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October 30, 2022 - Screenwriter Pamela PerryGoulardt (THE RINGMISTRESS)

A funambulist battles gem smugglers, pirates, her estranged mother, and the Russian mob, to win the Golden Clown at the Monte Carlo Circus Festival.


Conversation with Pamela PerryGoulardt on the writing of this screenplay, followed by the best scene reading of The Ringmistress.

WILDsound also made a Screenplay Movie of Pamela’s screenplay Underwater Hazard. Watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tApw61u0kfU

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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July 31, 2022 - Screenwriter Arthur Tiersky (WE ARE ALL DEAD)

WE ARE ALL DEAD was the winner of best screenplay at the Crime/Mystery Film Festival. Conversation with writer Arthur Tiersky, followed by the best scene reading of the script.

Watch the script reading: https://www.wildsound.ca/1st-scene-screenplay-readings/videos/we-are-all-dead

When a robbery goes wrong and the getaway driver is killed, the gang’s two leaders become romantic rivals when the driver’s widow shows up to collect her share.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook