Magda gets a new name.
The Naming of Things
One of our limited edition perks is simple, intimate, and extremely important. “What’s in a name?” asked Juliet. “Be some other name!” she wished. Both names of our main characters are changing. Today, we introduce you to the new version of Magda.
When I wrote this script, I started with this name because I liked the way it sounded and I didn’t have any friends named Magda, so it was a safe choice when sending the script around for feedback. (The day I get a script with a character named Wonder is the day I get extremely self-conscious!)
It’s fitting that the person to name our central character, played by Lisa Coronado, is Lisa’s own mom, Elizabeth. The re-naming is in honor of her mother, Lisa’s grandmother, Virginia, or “Genna.”
Honoring our loved ones is an important part of this project, and this choice is just lovely. Welcome, Genna, to your story.
On that topic, if you haven’t yet, please email me with a photo of who *you* would like honored on the Memory Wall! This perk is available at $30 and up. At $150 and up, you are listed in the Special Thanks credits along with the name of the loved one you wish to honor.
Thank you to Elizabeth and Don Marsh for their generosity. It’s so lovely to have grandma Genna as an important part of our film!
Special Offer: Provide Feedback on the Rough Cut
If you pledge at support us with $15 or more today, we will enter your name and email into a special group of viewers who will be able to see the rough cut and provide feedback. This will be a delicate stage of the film, with incomplete visual effects, sound, etc. Normally this is something we don’t share with many people. But getting feedback is also an important step. We thought to combine the two to bring in our final wave of supporters in these last few days. Know a cinephile who would love to be in that group? Send this update their way!
“Get the first look at a new short film and provide valuable feedback that will help us in the final edit. Just $15 or more, for the next 24 hours only!”
This offer expires on Tuesday May 12 at 5pm PST.
Already supporting us and want to be part of this exclusive group? Email us before the deadline to be included! At 5pm PST on May 12th, we’ll close this offer permanently.
More fun coming soon!
Thank you all for reading, sharing, following, cheering us on, and being in the club. 😉
Love,
Wonder
The beauty & glory
About a month before my Dad died, we were watching the sunset from my parents’ back deck. Golden skies melted over fields of spring wheat, their ten acres disappearing in rolling hills down to the darkening trees. With the last of the warm light on our faces, he said to me …
I found this again recently, and it sent a dagger of breathlessness through me. He was so right. He *is* so right. We don’t know the hour of our departure. If we did, wouldn’t that make every sunset worth soaking up? If you agree, maybe you’d like to share this.
Tell people what we’re doing here. We’re soaking up the beauty and glory for the dark times.
I didn’t go blonde, but I did eventually start writing this story, and I capped it with an ending I think he would be proud of.
A little beauty, a little magic, a little glory.
Love,
Wonder
Grieving out loud.
Grieving out loud.
I always used Twitter for fun chats and a quick way to share info, but suddenly it also became a way to capture a life changing experience in a few phrases.
See You On the Other Side: origin stories
See You on the Other Side
 New Beginnings
My Dad died unexpectedly almost three years ago. The tragedy completely rocked my world and forever altered my life. Digging myself out of a hole of grief, and watching my mom battle depression and heartbreak sparked the creation of this film. This painful experience is intensely personal, but also profoundly shared with everyone else who has survived similar tragedies. When your heart breaks, the world’s heart breaks. And when you heal, the world heals too.
Me and Dad
Photoshoot: Once Upon A Boudoir
The peerless Dawndra Budd and I teamed up on a Saturday morning over mimosas to create a dreamland-inspired boudoir-style photoshoot.
The soft consciousness between being fully awake and fully asleep, when you’re still cozy in bed, warm and vulnerable, was a touchstone.
New Short Film: See You On the Other Side
Newsletter
When I was around 10 years old, I had a newsletter I wrote by hand, stapled together, and mailed to important subscribers like my Grandma. Insider were doodles, poems, and “news reports” from the fictional team of reporters I’d created, who went by nicknames like “Wheeler.” I don’t know where I came up with that, but I loved it!
On some blogs I enjoy, I opt to receive their newsletters. Usually they’re a bit different than the blog, or are more of a handy round-up. I’m inspired to start my own again, and I’
d like to know what you would like to see, beyond whatever I may be up to! Here is what I’m thinking:
- Tutorials I’ve found interesting – anything from make-up to lighting
- Cocktail recipes
- Spotlight on another artist (DP, Actor, Composer…)
- Photography
- Book recommendations (I mostly read fantasy so be warned!)
- Non-denominational spiritual aspects I am interested in: chakras, meditation, holistic healing, etc
These may not be in every newsletter, probably they would rotate. However I am most interested in what interests you! Let me know in the comments.
I am already gearing up, so if you would like to be part of this, come on in!
Seattle Shorts Film Fest
Two of my short films, Lunch and Behind Me, screened in two blocks at the 4th Annual Seattle Shorts Film Festival here in Seattle, and I couldn’t feel luckier!
 
When your face is your business card
It can’t be too flashy. Shiny material can look a little cheap. Leave the tiara at home – keep it simple. Faithful.
It needs to say who you are, without giving away all of your secrets. Authenticity first, and a little mystery behind the eyes.
You hope they call. You hope it’s a solution to their problems (casting problems, ha!)
Wonder Russell
I’m very happy with my new headshots by Lisa LeVan! If you’re in the Seattle-Tacoma area, be sure to schedule an appointment with her.
New Short Film: ALONE
Last year, we shot a film in my house, based on the unexplained ‘hauntings’ I’ve experienced in said house. Talk about tempting fate.
Now, we’re extremely pleased to share it with you, in its entirety. Please, please, choose a dark room, watch on full resolution, and put down the cell phone. Cuddling with a loved one is recommended. 🙂
getthefuckoutofmyhouse.com
