The Dinner Party

I wrote this script, The Dinner Party, over 10 years ago. In fact, it’s one of the very first short films I ever wrote! I wasn't making movies at the time, just writing for myself or for class projects. Originally, the script was about a couple celebrating their anniversary, but fast-forward to a decade later, attending Film school, auditioning for a guy and a girlfriend, some test shooting, scrapping ideas, and ultimately rewriting the script into an all female cast, casting 4 of the auditioned “girlfriends” as friends/roommates, and a total stop due to the pandemic, The Dinner Party was finally completed and ready for viewing! The main character, Sarah, a horror movie buff, hosts a weekly dinner party with her closest friends, when she gets hit in the head and wakes up in the middle of these horror films with no way out…

This film was inspired by Neil Patrick Harris’s opening to an awards show he hosted many years ago. He walked through doors, visiting the past TV shows he was on, and it got me thinking, what would that be like? To get trapped in a movie, but you are suddenly the main character and you can’t get out?

We found our lead actress, Brianna Gentilella, during a casting call in Los Angeles, and knew almost immediately that she was our Sarah. I was so impressed by her performance that when I rewrote this script for an all-female cast, I knew she could easily step into the lead role and bring life to this expanded character! She did not disappoint! Her incredible talent, genuine kindness, strong work ethic and collaboration made this film everything I hoped it would be when I wrote the original so many years ago.

Creating this film with an almost all-female cast, as well as an almost all-female crew, was one of the most incredible experiences of my life! It’s amazing the things we can accomplish when we respect each other and come together to create.