0:01:10 – Speaker 2
Greetings and citations. Thank you for joining us. My name is Jonathan Nadeau, I’m your host and this is Embrace your Storm. Thank you for joining us. So today we have on Donnie, and he has submitted a script of the Tornado Film Festival, Sweet Cuisine. So, Donnie, thanks for coming on today. Thank you for having me, it’s my pleasure. So, Donnie, before we get too far into the interview, the first question I’d like to ask everyone is how did you get into film as your creative outlet? What brought you down this path?
0:01:39 – Speaker 3
Well, it’s an interesting beginning. So when I was a small child, I always had a passion for movies. Just from an audience standpoint, the first film, according to my grandmother, that I was introduced to was a movie called Beethoven.
0:01:55 – Speaker 2
Yeah, I remember trying that.
0:01:57 – Speaker 3
Yeah, she was trying to get some house chores done. I kept bugging her, so she turned to HBO and Beethoven was on and to get me to stay focused she would tell me, look at the doggie, look at the doggie. And every time he would leave the scene he’s like, okay, he’ll be back and he comes back. And that’s what kept me hooked on the movie and from there I just started a lifelong obsession with film. And from Beethoven it was the Little Rascals. Then came Toy Story, which is actually my favorite film of all time. So it to this day I really want to be in film from a creative standpoint. I love the idea of world building, character development and connecting with an audience.
I don’t like to have sad endings, and this is something I learned from Dwayne Johnson, because he says that life is hard enough. He doesn’t make films where there’s a sad ending. He wants a happy ending where people try them and resolve their issues, and as a screenwriter, that’s something I strive to do as well. No matter, what the hardship the character may face by the end of the movie. Just know you’re going to walk away smiling.
0:03:01 – Speaker 2
Okay, that’s cool. So what you mentioned before the interview, something about being a comedian so where did those things kind of coincide? Where did you want to be a comedian first? Did you kind of want to get an acting or like kind of that kind of fall into play for you?
0:03:19 – Speaker 3
So it’s interesting, despite my love for film, I’ve also had a pinch it for a stand-up comedy Like. I love watching the comedy of Bernie Mac in particular, and I was introduced to him through his show, which was a lot more family friendly than his stand-up. But from watching his journey he’s from well, he was from Chicago Illinois, like I am, so I identified with him as a man of color from Chicago, watching his journey to where he eventually ended up by the end of his life.
It just inspired me like I can do that too, if he did so, and along with writing screenplays, I decided how can I still have a creative outlet, still entertain people, without being in the industry per se? So about a year ago I decided to start doing stand-up comedy locally. I’ve put on four shows out of my own budget. I’ve sold out three of the four shows. One of the shows was just bad schedule on my behalf because I live in a college town and it was during a time where there were really no students in town. Oh man.
0:04:25 – Speaker 1
Yeah, about 10 people showed up.
0:04:27 – Speaker 3
And I knew every last one of, but it was okay.
0:04:29 – Speaker 2
Hey, there you go, there you go.
0:04:32 – Speaker 3
But yeah, every show I do it out here it always sells out well and I build a name for myself in the area so hopefully I can take it nationwide.
0:04:41 – Speaker 2
So now, with the before we get this week was seen like have you acted in any films or anything like that? Or is this script your first kind of you know endeavor into the film industry?
0:04:53 – Speaker 3
Well, in the mass industry, yes, but on my own terms. I produce short films that I’ve produced and acted in and I’ve done a play locally, so I have experiences. But sweet cuisine is the story I’m really trying to push to the industry to someday get on the screen.
0:05:13 – Speaker 2
All right, so tell us about sweet cuisine, like what’s the kind of plot storyline, some of the characters, All right.
0:05:19 – Speaker 3
So it’s a comedy drama, more leaning towards the comedy. It’s a story about a young woman who has suffered loss of a child and appointing the past, but she’s working to move past that by pursuing her longstanding dream of a culinary venture. She has friends and relatives who are assisting her in this and they have their own Struggles that they’re all trying to work towards. But in the end they come together as a community and sort these problems out as a unit. And the protagonist, her name, is Amanda.
She’s a very street wise, kind of quirky mouthy young woman, has a rapid fire with. She’s very funny, very outspoken and, no matter what life throws at her, she’s determined to make her dreams a reality and part of it. She knows that she can’t do this without the people she loves. She’s not the kind of person to say like, oh, this is all about me, this is all about what I want the people around her. She sees special talents within them and says, okay, I’m going to bring you along with me. Like, you can cook as well as I do. You can work in the kitchen with me, or you’re good with money, I’m going to need a manager. So she sees the work of the people around her, and she wants them to understand this as much as yours as it is mine.
0:06:34 – Speaker 2
Okay, that’s cool. What kind of brought you to want to tell this story? Because I mean, if this is a feature like film, I mean there’s no joke to write a script that long. Yes.
0:06:45 – Speaker 3
So the script is currently 93 pages long which is ironic because that’s the year I was born.
There you go. So this story has undergone many different changes. In the beginning the restaurant setting was always the backdrop, but it started off as more of a run of the mill romantic comedy. But just studying over the years how there have been women and leading roles and their goal is to always pursue some man, and I felt and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s like women and people in general, we have more hopes and dreams than just finding a romantic partner. Right.
0:07:24 – Speaker 2
And that’s what I’m looking forward to.
0:07:27 – Speaker 3
And with the protagonist, though she does have a love interest. Her main goal is pursuing the thing that’s closest to her heart, which is her dream of owning a family owned restaurant.
0:07:38 – Speaker 2
That’s interesting, that’s cool, I like that, I like, I like I wear that. That’s cool, cause, you’re right, I like a lot. There are a lot of kind of like movies or even TV shows or whatever, where it’s just, you know, the almost the main idea to the movie is oh, the other person has a significant other. And, you’re right, there are people that want more than that in life. So that’s really cool that. So how long have you been working on the script?
0:08:03 – Speaker 3
Long enough, well, who? A long time since 2015.
0:08:07 – Speaker 2
Yeah, I believe it. Like did you do anything? Well, actually we were talking before the interview. You actually mentioned you went to school for film, right?
0:08:16 – Speaker 3
Yes, so where did you SIU? Siu, yeah, southern Illinois University. So how was that? Wow, so surprisingly, I learned a lot studying from SIU, but I didn’t notice that there was a shortage of minorities in my department the cinema department.
So I brought a unique voice to my screenwriting courses that a lot of people were not quite familiar with, just simply because of the cultural barriers, but I use that to further fuel my creativity. So within Sweet Pizzeria, it’s a very diverse, inclusive cast. You have people of color, you have Caucasian people, straight people, queer people, because I wanted to reflect that, although I am a heterosexual black man, it’s not an all black world. It’s not an all black world.
It’s not an all straight world there are people who come from different walks of life and within this community of characters. You see that reflected.
Yeah, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful aspects of the story and had I not had the experience of going to SIU and seeing firsthand the lack of diversity, I figured well, why not create this kind of representation within my work? I mean, if I may not see you around me every day, I do know that these communities are out there. So just represent to the world how people can come together from different walks of life and create something wonderful together.
0:09:46 – Speaker 2
So what was one of your favorite classes there?
0:09:50 – Speaker 3
It was screenwriting for sure, and I took a directing course as well.
0:09:54 – Speaker 2
Okay, so then do you more inspire to be a screenwriter than acting?
0:10:00 – Speaker 3
Yeah, writer director is what I really love in terms of film. Stand up is more of an outlet to still be creative until I can do what I really want to do. I hear that I have no desire truly to be in front of the camera full time, like I’m not trying to be a Tyler Perry, a Jordan Peele person who can act and yeah. I’m much more comfortable crafting the world, guiding the actors. You know the whole mezzan scene set design. That’s something I really enjoy.
0:10:31 – Speaker 2
So, after a sweet cuisine, do you have any other projects you’re working on currently?
0:10:36 – Speaker 3
Yes, I’m working on a short film which I did before an undergrad, but I’m recrafting it into a feature. It’s called Don’t Hate the Player. It’s a comedy thriller about a young man who, is this philanderer, sleeps around with all these different women Until one day he gets caught up in the most bizarre twist of fate possible Turns out that three of these women are assassins and they set him up for the fall, and this is going to teach him how to respect women and to not play with a person’s heart, because you never know what kind of person you’re going to cross.
0:11:11 – Speaker 2
That sounds good. That sounds really good. Thank you, did you say you already made a short of that?
0:11:18 – Speaker 3
Yeah, I made a short film of it back in college and the title comes from it. It’s an outdated phrase but I still think it’s funny. It’s Don’t Hate the Player, hate the Game. Hate throughout the short he constantly says that phrase over and over.
0:11:32 – Speaker 1
Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game.
0:11:35 – Speaker 3
And when he gets caught by the assassins, they throw that line back at him. Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game.
0:11:40 – Speaker 2
Oh man, that’s awesome. That is so cool. Thank you, that is so cool. So do you want to give out like? Do you have any websites or Instagram, like any of your handles? Whatever you want to get out of people If they want to get in touch with you or if you have any projects you want to help work on?
0:12:00 – Speaker 3
Absolutely my ex-name. Well, it’s formerly known as Twitter, but my ex handle is realdonite R-E-A-L Donite D-O-N-N-I-E-T-A-E.
0:12:16 – Speaker 2
There you go.
0:12:17 – Speaker 3
And my Instagram is official Donite. So the same thing, just instead of real, it’s official because Twitter wouldn’t let me have that long of a.
0:12:26 – Speaker 2
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes sense, or ex rather, yeah, anyway, but man, it’s ridiculous. But yeah, no, that’s awesome. So, donnie, you know, thanks for coming on. So I have one more question I usually like to kind of close the interviews with is what kind of advice would you give people starting off in the film, whether it’s they want to write or they want to start filming and directing or whatever like what kind of advice would you give someone my advice is if you have a dream, go for it full stop and remember, as you’re chugging along, that you’re gonna hear it now a million times, but you have to remember that you have this dream for a reason.
0:13:10 – Speaker 3
You have a gift.
I’m not pushing religious beliefs on anyone, but you have a God or a universe given gift, however you want to word it, and you have to utilize it and understand that it’s gonna be very hard, it’s gonna take time, but keep pressing on is going to work out. And it shows. When I’m saying shows within my story of sweet cuisine because foil alert, the character goes through a number of hardships to get to her dream, but she remembers that this is her talent, she loves to cook, she loves to serve her community and she keeps pressing on. Eventually she gets rewarded with the thing she always wanted.
0:13:46 – Speaker 2
No, that’s really cool man. That’s a great words and that’s a great to leave it on. So, everyone that will be on, Donnie, thank you for your submission to the festival, because without work like yours, there’d be no reason for the tornado film festival. So, thank you so much for your work and submitting that to the festival, thank you for your time and thank you for having me. My pleasure, my pleasure. So everyone, thank you for listening, thank you for downloading. Don’t forget to embrace your storm, see ya.
0:14:15 – Speaker 1
Tornado with Jonathan Nadeau. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe now. It’s your first to hear new episodes with more stories of inspiration about the highs and lows of life and how embracing the storm is so much more fulfilling of a life than being crushed by the weight of the world. And until then, we hope you’re inspired to do something, whether it’s creating, participating or learning whatever leads you to your personal passion.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
