Short Screenplay Reading – LOVES LABORS LOST by Stanley Eisenhammer

Watch the February 2016 Comedy Screenplay Winner.

LOVES LABORS LOST by Stanley Eisenhammer

CAST LIST:

NARRATOR – Neil Kulin
JEFF – Gabriel Darku
NICOLE – Amanda Pereira
CHLOE – Elizabeth Rose Morriss
VOICE – Susan Wilson

Matthew Toffolo: What is your short screenplay about?

Stanley Eisenhammer: It is about the very nature of love. A couple is forced to reexamine their year-long relationship after the young man botches a marriage proposal and his girlfriend accidentally drops the engagement ring in the toilet.

Matthew: Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

Stanley: Because the movie answers the question about the nature of law—that love is caring for your lover more than yourself and doing the little things in life like making soup, learning to play fantasy football—or putting your hand down the toilet.

Matthew: This story has a lot going for it. How would you describe this script in two words?

Stanley: Poignantly funny.

Matthew: What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

Stanley: Casablanca. The best movie ever.

Matthew: This is a very tight, emotionally engaging and fun screenplay. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

Stanley: 6.

It took 5 hours to write the first draft and 5 months of rewriting.

Matthew: How many stories have you written?

Stanley: Seven

Matthew: What motivated you to write this screenplay?

Stanley: A friend told me a story of how she accidently dropped her fitbit in the toilet. She is a friend who I would have liked my son to date and marry but it was not to be. So I wrote this screenplay, instead.

Matthew: What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

Stanley: I ruptured a disc making it difficult for me to sit or walk. So I finished the last rewrites flat on my back and in pain.

Matthew: Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Stanley: My wife, first of all. Trying to get my son, who is an actor, a part in a movie and married off. I am also writing a brief and preparing to argue a case in The United States Supreme Court, which is my day job.

Matthew: What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

Stanley: The opportunity to receive feedback and the possibility I could see it being read (which is another way to receive feedback.) My initial feeling about the feedback was that the feedback was totally wrong. But after reading it again, it made some good points (probably more than some) which I incorporated into my rewrites and which undoubtedly made the final product a better screenplay.

Matthew: Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?

Stanley: Do not be discouraged by rejection (negative feedback) and keep writing. By continuing to write, you will become a better writer.

 

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Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson