Riot Girls
We talk a lot here on the blog about creative energy- we're big believers that in order to make something creative, you have to feed yourself with art. Art in, art out. Sometimes that means taking a break from working your way through a round of notes and watching a few episodes of Black Mirror. Sometimes it means seeing a concert or a play or picking up a new book. Especially when we feel stuck on a project, putting new art into our lives greases the wheels and gets us moving again.
Last Friday, we got invited to a screening of the new film Riot Girls by our amazing publicist friend. To say that it was the kind of art that gets the wheels moving again is a wild understatement.
If you don't know a thing about Riot Girls, here's the trailer to get you started:
The film was a super fun, stylish ride. It's dark and funny and weird in the best ways. I don't think the trailer does justice to the world-building on display here (and you know how nuts we are about some great world-building). Director Jovanka Vuckovic and screenwriter Katherine Collins take all the trappings of a teenage world and build it organically into a really, really cool post-apocalyptic landscape.
As great as the world is, the characters are even better. As someone brought up at the Q&A following our screening, I would happily watch a "Nat and Scratch go on a road trip" sequel, because they were a blast. Everyone in this world was interesting and layered and colorful. It helps that this is a fantastic cast of young actors. Madison Iseman has been a favorite for us all year, but there were a dozen newcomers in Riot Girls that we also immediately fell in love with. Particular favorites for us were Paloma Kwiatkowski (who walked the line between hardness and vulnerability brilliantly), Joseph Curto (Bacon was immediately amazing), and Darren Eisnor (who's clearly having more fun than anyone in the world with this part).
Like I said, we also got to stay for a Q&A with Vuckovic after the film, and there is just nothing better in the world than listening to a badass woman filmmaker talk about the craft. We both walked away with director crushes on her for her frank, honest wisdom about making an indie film.
Now that I've ranted and raved about my love for this movie, here's what happened after we walked out of the screening Friday night:
We talked nonstop about Riot Girls and wrote all weekend.
Seriously, for the next 48 hours we did almost nothing but talk and talk and write and outline and talk and solve structure problems. It was like Riot Girls lit a fire underneath us and get all our current work bubbling to a boil. More than us just getting a break to see a great indie film, we got a jolt to our creative energy. We're pushing our characters further this week because we saw how great it can be when you really push a character. We're shuffling the deck on our current worlds because we saw how much weirder can be better. We're working harder this week and writing our faces off and talking style for our new projects.
All because we had a night out with friends to see this awesome, punk-rock indie.
Big thanks to the creative team on Riot Girls for bringing this rad little story to life. Big thanks to Jovanka Vuckovic for staying to share her perspective with us afterwards. And big thanks to AJ for the invite!
Happy writing, y'all!
CT
Last Friday, we got invited to a screening of the new film Riot Girls by our amazing publicist friend. To say that it was the kind of art that gets the wheels moving again is a wild understatement.
If you don't know a thing about Riot Girls, here's the trailer to get you started:
The film was a super fun, stylish ride. It's dark and funny and weird in the best ways. I don't think the trailer does justice to the world-building on display here (and you know how nuts we are about some great world-building). Director Jovanka Vuckovic and screenwriter Katherine Collins take all the trappings of a teenage world and build it organically into a really, really cool post-apocalyptic landscape.
As great as the world is, the characters are even better. As someone brought up at the Q&A following our screening, I would happily watch a "Nat and Scratch go on a road trip" sequel, because they were a blast. Everyone in this world was interesting and layered and colorful. It helps that this is a fantastic cast of young actors. Madison Iseman has been a favorite for us all year, but there were a dozen newcomers in Riot Girls that we also immediately fell in love with. Particular favorites for us were Paloma Kwiatkowski (who walked the line between hardness and vulnerability brilliantly), Joseph Curto (Bacon was immediately amazing), and Darren Eisnor (who's clearly having more fun than anyone in the world with this part).
Like I said, we also got to stay for a Q&A with Vuckovic after the film, and there is just nothing better in the world than listening to a badass woman filmmaker talk about the craft. We both walked away with director crushes on her for her frank, honest wisdom about making an indie film.
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| Not pictured: Us, jaws still on the floor. |
Now that I've ranted and raved about my love for this movie, here's what happened after we walked out of the screening Friday night:
We talked nonstop about Riot Girls and wrote all weekend.
Seriously, for the next 48 hours we did almost nothing but talk and talk and write and outline and talk and solve structure problems. It was like Riot Girls lit a fire underneath us and get all our current work bubbling to a boil. More than us just getting a break to see a great indie film, we got a jolt to our creative energy. We're pushing our characters further this week because we saw how great it can be when you really push a character. We're shuffling the deck on our current worlds because we saw how much weirder can be better. We're working harder this week and writing our faces off and talking style for our new projects.
All because we had a night out with friends to see this awesome, punk-rock indie.
Big thanks to the creative team on Riot Girls for bringing this rad little story to life. Big thanks to Jovanka Vuckovic for staying to share her perspective with us afterwards. And big thanks to AJ for the invite!
Happy writing, y'all!
CT
This post makes my heart happy.
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