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.
Watch script reading: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/in-the-house-that-elle-built
Elizabeth has her hands full with her two foster kids, a roommate and a new love interest that she's not sure can handle her lifestyle.
https://www.instagram.com/lbe.hackney/
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ATnlU8JqBA
The vicious attack that almost killed her erased all that she was. But not what she did. Elyse Tysoni s shocked to learn her taped confessions remove any hope of escaping her nightmare. Desperate for a lifeline, her only option is to be studied by Doctor Steve Bennett, a psychologist who specializes in psychopaths, to prove she is no longer a threat. But as the study progresses, it’sclearthere’smore to herstory than anyone knew.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
ORIGIN STORY is about a woman, Elyse Tyson, who wakes from a coma to find herself in prison with no memory. Everything that made her who she was is gone; her life turned into a living nightmare. And she’s still responsible for what she did. She’s a serial killer. Or at least she was. We follow Elyse as she tries to piece together who she is now by delving into her past, even if that means losing herself again.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Psychological Thriller
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Beyond immersing the audience in a thrilling journey into the dark recesses of the human mind, ORIGIN STORY explores what makes us who we are and the meaning of justice. By putting those concepts to the test in a scenario that is an extreme contrast to what most of us experience, it makes difficult subjects easier to digest and provokes discussion.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Relentless suspense
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
It’s a toss-up between Terminator 2 and The Princess Bride.
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Watch the Best Scene Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl_qNRmmZSs
A grizzly bear and a polar bear mate as a result of climate change and in an attempt to find food for their “grolar bear” cub the male polar bear must leave the safety of their ice cave to hunt and find sustenance for his new family in a harsh and increasingly difficult environment. He encounters humans and gets himself into a bit of trouble while simply trying to survive and provide for his family.
https://www.instagram.com/planetaeric
Get to know the writer:
It is a story about the Canary in the coal mine of climate change – Grolar bears. Grolar bears are a new hybrid species, a mutation resulting from the union of a polar bear and a grizzly due to habitat overlap caused by climate change.
This is a comical, yet heartfelt story of one father’s mission to feed his young grolar bear cub or face starvation. His nightmare begins when he encounters humans. Will he survive a nightmare lost among humans and get back safely to his family and save his cub? Or will his family be another casualty of our greed and exploitation of our planet’s resources?
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Watch the best scene reading: https://youtu.be/biuPP3yLUY4
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
A gunslinger is hired to rescue and return a young person to their family despite all outlaws, odds, and attire.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Western, Action, Drama
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
I believe, especially now, that understanding, listening, and accepting are something we need to get back to doing. Whatever form/medium necessary to push that, might be helpful.
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDHl6jdZ3M4
Blue (formerly Logan) is a gifted transgender surgical nurse whose life spirals after a violent romance exposes her truth. Surviving a suicide attempt, she’s sent to an off-grid trauma retreat, where healing begins amid a web of broken souls, betrayal, and revelation. Returning home to confront family and memory, Logan reclaims his identity—detransitioning not in retreat, but in power. Blue Idaho is a raw, redemptive journey of self-forgiveness, queer identity, and the quiet strength it takes to choose yourself.
What is your screenplay about?
This screenplay is a bold, soul-stirring exploration of identity, redemption, and the courage to love one’s true self. At its heart is Blue (also known as Logan) — a precise, compassionate, and quietly suffering OR nurse who identifies as a trans woman. Behind her composed exterior lies a turbulent past: a childhood marred by neglect, abuse, and rejection. She inflicts harm on herself not for attention, but as a tragic ritual — a conversation with the inner child who was never allowed to speak.
Based on real memories, true events, and lived characters, this story is an emotional autopsy of shame, survival, and transformation. When Blue opens her heart to Connor, a young doctor who genuinely sees her, it shatters the rule she swore to live by: never mix vulnerability with proximity. When Connor uncovers her truth, the rejection that follows is brutal — familiar — and almost final.
Blue’s near-death suicide attempt leads her to an unconventional retreat, where healing unfolds in messy, unexpected ways. There, she finds not only herself, but also her voice — as Logan.
This story is not about being trans. It’s about being human in the aftermath of trauma. It’s about reclaiming dignity when the world has tried to erase it. It’s about survival — and the raw, beautiful work of learning to live again.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Drama and Coming-of-Age, with powerful psychological and emotional undercurrents that resonate universally.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Because it tells a story that has rarely — if ever — been told with such honesty, depth, and compassion.
Blue/Logan is a protagonist we haven’t seen before: a trans woman, a detransitioner, a medical caregiver, a wounded survivor, a human being whose experiences speak across lines of gender, politics, or identity. This is not a culture-war film. It’s a human story, and that is its power.
The screenplay holds a mirror up to all of us who have felt unworthy of love, who carry an injured inner child, who have learned to survive by shrinking. It dares to say: you are still here — and that matters. It is intimate yet universal, deeply personal yet painfully relatable.
This is not just an LGBTQIA+ story. It’s a redemptive character journey that speaks the emotional language of anyone who’s felt voiceless, invisible, or broken — and longs to heal.
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After being embedded with the U.S. military in Afghanistan, which ends in tragedy, a journalist heads to rural Maine to fully recover and finds herself on the frontlines of another battle, between a family of wolves and the ruthless land developer who wants them hunted down.
After a comrade dies in a horrific incident on the frontlines in Afghanistan, a war correspondent, forced to take time off, travels to Maine, only to stumble upon a exotic-animal hunting resort that threatens the local wolf population. When two wolf pups come under her care, she risks everything to stop the corruption and return the wolves to their pack.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
This script is about a war reporter experiences the death of a close friend, she thinks she never known a tougher battle until she inherits his dog and they witnesses the murder of a wolf, then a brutal land developer set his sights on them when she informs his his land
belongs to the Penobscot Tribe, now with the two wolf pups they’ve rescued as she wages the biggest battle of her life to save them and absolve herself of her friends death.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
My screenplay is an action/ adventure/thriller with a kick-ass female lead.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
This screenplay is about a woman stepping outside of herself to do something for the greater good in a world she knows nothing about. We have become so detached from nature and what the true meaning of what balance is and how important it is, I know this- you won’t find any true meaning to life buried in your phone. This movie will remind everyone who sees it what it feels like to be connected to something bigger than your
little world when you experience nature through the eyes and hearts of animals.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Redemption. Love.
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Watch the script reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8dO89qOZRk
An adventure seeking young girl comes of age, joins the Peace Corps, gets posted in the Congo and takes a wild ride through culture clashes and love affairs.
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
My screenplay is about an adventure seeking young woman who joins the Peace Corps to advance her career, gets posted in the Congo, and ends up falling in love with two fellow volunteers.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
The genre is Romantic Drama.
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
This movie needs to be made because there has never been a Peace Corps movie made before, and the Congo is the 4th world that Americans need to see.
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
In two words: compelling and original.
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnOurfvF21E
Sci-Fi/Political/Action – A popular President’s re-election campaign is beset by a relentless, brutal Assassin with whom he shares a dark, shocking history.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
The fundamental story of Justice and the Machine is about one of the most popular presidents in US History, William B. Justice, becoming the target of a brutal assassin during his run for re-election. Calling himself “the Machine”, the assassin unpredictably succeeds in killing the President’s innermost cabinet. His loyal wife gets kidnapped by the Machine, and he soon reveals that he has a secret history with her husband that goes beyond anything she understood to be reality.
Much to her disbelief, she comes to accept the truth that her husband, the President of the United States, is an alien from another planet with murderous intentions to conquer the planet. The Machine is, in fact, his sworn enemy, and whenever they meet, they are obligated to duel to the death.
So, on its surface, there’s a lot of fun action and sci-fi sort of genre bending elements, but at its core is a story of deception and betrayal and the discovery that completely changes one woman’s world view.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
I used to enjoy calling it: My Sci-Fi/Political/Action/Thriller – so, depending on which page you turn, it’s one or more of those.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Are you freaking kidding me!? This is a franchise starter baby, come on! I’ve got the sequel and a follow up if they wanna go for three – I know how to meet a deadline, let’s write up that deal!
How would you describe this script in two words?
Crazy Politics
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLrcCUBi10A
Facing death due to different illnesses, three patients find themselves playing a made up game called The Mortality Game to experience life one last time risking it all.
www.instagram.com/thevelamonster
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
It’s about 116 pages! Sorry, I just had to get one “Dad Joke” in, even though I’m NOT a Dad (that I know of). “The Mortality Game’ is in essence a story of life as seen through the lens of impending death. It’s about how we as humans face the “final act” of the stage play of our lives. In the case of my three headed lead: Schubert, Halada and Tugger face it in their own differing, yet quirky ways. Ultimately deciding to take a final road trip across the country while playing a game where they do dangerous things to challenge and defy death, since they have nothing to lose.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Character Driven Dramedy for the most part, as it has elements of Comedy and Drama, with a bit of Coming of Age mixed in for good measure.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Because the characters are as diverse in age and attitude as they are strong in development and memorability. Because the story, about how we face death is an important one to tell, since that is a situation that none of us can avoid. Because it explores letting go as well as fighting back, finding the joy in the dreaded, and allowing yourself to feel what you feel facing the end, whether it’s understandable or not, expected or not, appropriate or not.
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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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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QDNj491w8Q
James Stuart Donovan Hastings, Earl of Billingswood, has had one headache after another. First his home is in disrepair, his nephew is too young for his own good, his best friend thinks he’s gone round the bend and now someone just tried to kill him. If it wasn’t for the angel with strawberry blonde hair and amethyst eyes, he might well be dead. Blasted horse, thinks he knows more than the master!
What is your screenplay about?
James Stuart Donovan Hastings, Earl of Billingswood, has a potentially deadly encounter on his way to Sandringham. He is rescued by a beautiful angel. His horse decides it is his right to make choices for the master. Can there be a happy ending?
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
With the success of other Historical Fiction/Romances such as Bridgerton allowing for viewers the chance to escape their day to day experiences, allowing them to immerse themselves in an era that has been romanticized.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Captivating drama
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Princess Bride
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
Couple of months
How many stories have you written?
Seven novellas
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0mBY_JoZVo
When a young, broke librarian buys an abandoned house on the outskirts of a British Columbian town, he starts to uncover the house’s secrets as unexplained incidents occur.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
The script follows a young programmer who moves into a haunted house in the Interior of British Columbia due to (widespread) financial difficulties.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
It is a horror picture.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
The story derives it’s chills n’ thrills from mood more so than sudden frights, which an audience will resonate with. The origin of the evil spectre which haunts the house and surrounding area is also relevant to issues of concern today.
How would you describe this script in two words?
‘Definite Appeal’.
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
By my recollection, either ‘Jaws’ or ‘The Maltese Falcon’.
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJaOxm5dyWk
Mark Tyler gets out of prison after twelve years for a robbery gone awry. The loot is still out there. A corrupt cop, a local grifter, a femme fatale and the partner he left for dead all come marching out of his past to come for it.
Get to know the writers:
What is your screenplay about?
Jeremy Hogan: To me it’s about time. Lost time, how we spend our time, the futility of trying to catch up or outrun it.
Aaron Krygier… Lost people looking for something to fulfill that emptiness. Whether it’s something tangible or not. Love, revenge, greed.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
JH: Neo-noir or crime thriller
AK the same
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
JH: I’m biased, but I think it’s well written. Meaty characters that actors might relish playing, and it’s true to its genre, while subverting conventions and expectations in interesting or surprising ways.
AK it wears its influences on its sleeve and its simplicity offers a ton of options for outlandish Ness.
How would you describe this script in two words?
JH: uncertain redemption
AK… Evoking humanity.
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
JH: Probably a tie between “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” or “Miller’s Crossing,” though “Adaptation” is catching up.
AK… Heat, Blade Runner, Alien, Se7en are all contenders.
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFCutMoedMI
Harry loves Sandy and has planned “the big date” to propose, but between his twin, her twin, the guys from the Bobcat rugby team, Roxie, Linda, and One Eye’d Jacks, the world seems against it. Comedy.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
Physical therapist Harry Goodman meticulously plans a romantic evening to propose to his intelligent and vivacious girlfriend Sandy. But what should be a seamless night of fine dining and heartfelt commitment rapidly unravels into chaos as meddling rugby teammates, flirtatious coworkers, a jealous bouncer, and an unexpected armed robbery sidetrack every effort. With the engagement ring left behind and a police chase unfolding,
Harry and Sandy must navigate misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and family dysfunction—all while questioning how well they truly know each other. A raucous romantic comedy that careens through slapstick, screwball, and sincere emotional beats,
The Big Date asks whether true love can survive a night gone completely off the rails.
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Watch best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrexqrq7AIE
Something has happenned in Mady’s life. As an immigrant woman in America, she has achieved the American dream; A successful career as a doctor of psychology, a lavish home, nice car, and, most importantly a husband and two wonderful children, yet something is missing. Not knowing what it is, she goes looking for it in strange places and in ethically-questionable ways.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
It’s about an immigrant woman, who has embodied the American dream by becoming a successful psychologist, a wife, and a mother, yet has started living an increasingly destructive double life to escape her existential despair.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Thriller. Dark Comedy, maybe. Always find this question hard to answer.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Control and abandon.
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
It’s a tie between Eraserhead, and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.(1978)
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
2 years, on and off.
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Watch the screenplay reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_akiPTQU9g
Two strangers meet and sparks fly, but when he accidentally discovers forged paintings at her house, he leaves abruptly. That would be the end of their story except for the fact that he’s reported her to the FBI, and their children are marrying one another on Christmas day.
https://instagram.com/drjannajones
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
It’s about two successful fifty-somethings who have had good lives but have avoided relationships because of the pain they experienced when they were younger. Because they are forced to spend time together, due to their children marrying one another, they eventually have to come to terms with the fact that they are flawed humans who care for one another.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
The Art of the Matter is a romantic comedy and a holiday adventure.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Because it is an original take on the holiday movie, blending a Christmas romance with road trip adventure with heartfelt family drama.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Unconventionally conventional
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
I’ve been working on it for almost a year. I did a zoom script reading with you some months ago, and the feedback I got from the actors inspired me. It seemed to mean a lot of them, but listening to it, it was clear I still had work to do on it, and you mentioned a few things that made me think I still had a bunch to think about and rework. I’ve revised it multiple times since the reading. It may be getting close considering that the script won at this festival.
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31g8svgvUGc
Kathy, a failed writer, barely gets by selling “haunted” dolls online to gullible marks, writing elaborate backstories to up the selling price. Her quiet life is upended when she encounters the real deal: Clara Jane, a vintage doll possessed by a foul-mouthed spirit. Clara Jane makes Kathy question everything she thought she knew, and forces her to make a bold choice to change the course of her life.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
Kathy, a failed writer, barely gets by selling “haunted” dolls online to gullible marks, writing elaborate backstories to up the selling price. Her quiet life is upended when she encounters the real deal: Clara Jane, a vintage doll possessed by a foul-mouthed spirit. Clara Jane makes Kathy question everything she thought she knew, and forces her to make a bold choice to change the course of her life.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Creepy, salty.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
I think the premise is unique, though there’s definitely a niche fanbase for haunted dolls—both those who truly believe and those who just enjoy that weird little world. And who couldn’t use a little encouragement to follow their creative dreams… from beyond the grave?
From a production standpoint, this could be made on a very low budget and shot over 2–3 days. There are only three human characters and two locations. The doll is the most important character and would ideally be robotic—but as a backup, I know some talented puppet makers from a previous short I produced.
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Ngl: The Princess Bride. I forced my friends to watch it nearly every day ine summer in middle school.
In the horror genre: Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A perfect film. No notes. Much better than the book.
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
I finished the first draft in early 2020, and planned to produce and direct it as my second short film with the Bay Area Indies film group. Then—well, you know—the pandemic.
Also—I had a baby.
I recently returned to it and did a few revisions over the past year.
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKPy3qh6KJ4
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
The story is about an exhibitionist addicted to chowers who grapples with a converging world of voyeuristic non-acceptance and risks losing it all including a potential love interest.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
It’s a pure Dramedy!
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
CHOWER is currently in production with the hopes of bringing a fun entertaining experience to audiences.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Tik-Tok Effect
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiEeUQ6nzx4
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
Shesafella, a modern twist on Cinderella, is about a kind-hearted teen forced into servitude by a ruthless stepmother and closeted stepbrothers, who defies the odds with help from her butch fairy godmother. At a Ball, she wins Princess’s heart but vanishes, leaving behind a single Doc Martens shoe. Princess’s Instagram posts spark a citywide search, and Shesafella must outsmart her family, reclaim her true self, and fight for her happily ever after.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Fantasy, romance, fairy tale, LGBTQ
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Cinderella movies (Ever After, Ella Enchanted, A Cinderella Story) are beloved for their timeless themes: rags to riches, kindness over cruelty, and finding one’s voice. But they’ve all followed the same blueprint—a girl meeting a boy. Shesafella flips the script. It’s a girl meeting a girl, in a joyful, queer reimagining that feels both long overdue and perfectly timed. This is the inclusive fairy tale audiences have been waiting for.
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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj2UD32BCgI
When a precocious mixed-race five-year-old wanders into a fire station with only a backpack and a cryptic note about her missing mother, she has no idea it will set off a chain of events that will reshape her life. The little girl, who refuses to give her name, is sent into foster care and given the name Mariah Foster. Despite her resilience, she often runs away, gravitating toward the fire station where Fire Chief Teresa Cortez becomes a steadfast mentor.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
Pearl Fisher” follows two parallel journeys of loss and ends in the same room.
A precocious 5-year-old girl, abandoned at a fire station by her pregnant mother fleeing abuse, enters foster care and is renamed Mariah Foster, though she continues awaiting her mother’s return.
In a parallel story, Kenny MacCayne, a newly-hired investigator, searches for a wealthy woman’s missing daughter who ran away years ago with Kenny’s previously unknown twin brother.
After Mariah survives an attack involving a cherished pendant, clues from a library volunteer and her distinctive swimming style reveal she might be the missing granddaughter. Skeptical at first, Mariah finally believes the truth when Kenny’s twin brother calls her by her birth name, “Pearl Fisher,” a secret known only to her mother.
. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Drama, Mystery
. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
“Pearl Fisher” is a story of hope and miracles, heartbreak and devastation, and ultimately the reunion of family and new beginnings.
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