deadlines, daruma dolls and dylan we need to talk!
screenwriting journal #001
Last week, I held a table read for my feature “Dylan We Need to Talk”. I’ll be writing a more in-depth post soon on how to put one together, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share my experience here. I’ve been wanting to keep a film journal to document what’s going on behind the scenes and this felt like a moment worth documenting.
once upon a daruma doll
About five years ago, right before the pandemic, I bought a daruma doll—it’s this little round paper-mâché figure from Japan. When you get one, the eyes are blank. You fill in one eye when you set an intention, and then the other eye when you’ve completed it. It’s like a very visual reminder of your goal.
I filled in one eye and told myself: I want to write a feature. And it’s been sitting on my desk, staring at me with it’s one eye, for the next five years .
I’ve written other features since then, but none of them ever felt truly “done”. And if you’re writing on your own time, with no deadline, it’s easy to keep tinkering forever. Even if something gets picked up, it’ll go through rewrites, production rewrites, and probably post-production changes, too.
So… when are we actually done with a script?
For me, the answer ended up being when I planned a table read.
dylan we need to talk
I’ve been dancing around talking about the feature I’ve been working on the past few months on here, but here’s a some more info about it.
“Dylan We Need To Talk” is a feature about a hopeless romantic, Paloma, who finds a compromising photo of her long term boyfriend (Dylan!) and embarks on a journey to confront him. Over the course of one night, Paloma, along with her best friend and bride-to-be Barb, and her cynical, workaholic sister Cory, run around Seattle in an attempt to confront Dylan.
But since it’s 2 in the morning, they’re a little drunk, a little high, extremely delirious, and slowly the world starts turning more and more surreal as they encounter a vending machine of spells, magical animals, sea hags, among other things.
Dylan actually started as a short idea last September. I was toying with themes of modern love and friendship, and sometime in January, I decided to turn it into a feature. I talk a little more about that early writing process here.
the tableread
So about a month ago I gave myself a hard deadline: a table read. I picked a date, invited friends (and may or may not have stayed up super late the night before rewriting a few more scenes!)
Okay—let’s just get the anxiety and self-loathing part out of the way. Sharing something that’s still in progress is rough. You know there are parts that aren’t working yet, that’s the point, but it’s still embarrassing because deep down, you want people to think you’re a good writer.
And getting feedback from a group is scary.
But I’ve learned that I really do work best with deadlines. Giving myself a solid month helped me focus, and while the tableread itself was nerve-wracking, I think it’s essential to my process. This is the third one I’ve done, and hearing your words being spoken out loud expedites the rewriting process in a way that sitting alone with a draft just can’t.
But perhaps most importantly, by having people speak out the script, I felt like a version of the script, flaws and all, exists in the world, like it was spoken into existence.
And that was enough for me to finally fill in the second eye of my daruma.
I truly felt so honored and appreciative to everyone who came out. It honestly reminded me how lucky I am to have such a kind, creative, supportive group of friends both in Seattle and my life. <3
Thanks for reading!
Xx Gisella
what i’m consuming 🍰
Just watched “Perfect Blue” a few days ago. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a psychological thriller anime from 1997 directed by Satoshi Kon, about a pop idol who leaves her girl group to pursue acting, and slowly starts to unravel as reality, fantasy, and her public persona blur together.
It’s also a major source of inspiration for Darren Aronofsky. He’s talked openly about how “Perfect Blue” influenced “Black Swan” and “Requiem of a Dream”. There’s a bit of drama around this, though: Aronofsky has claimed he got permission from Satoshi Kon to replicate certain scenes (like the bathtub shot), but there’s still some debate about how much was borrowed and how much was credited.
Just know—if it looks familiar, Satoshi Kon did it first!
who i am
Hi, I’m Gisella! I’m a repped screenwriter based in Seattle. I directed a feature-length documentary and most recently, my pilot Body Brokers was on the 2024 Blacklist Latine List. Follow me on my journey to get my first screenplay green lit 💚
Was such a cool experience, and the piece was truly immersive!
It was so much fun! Looking forward to the next one.