Community Content

Dream Project Comes Full Circle for Actress/Writer Jeanne Marie Spicuzza

Deborah Gilels
Contributor
Dream Project Comes Full Circle for Actress/Writer Jeanne Marie Spicuzza

The Academy Awards reminded actress/writer Jeanne Marie Spicuzza about what could be.  After all, her screenplay “Breath of God” was a semi-finalist in the Academy sponsored Nicholl Fellowship, a prestigious competition that found sourced screenplays for films such as “Arlington Road” and Aqueelah and the Bea.”  Having just finished shooting her second feature length film, “Night Rain”, in January, which aims for release later in 2017, Spicuzza is set to make “Breath of God” as a European co-production, eyeing a start date in 2018.

For her Master’s degree in philosophy at one of the top two programs in the U.S., Spicuzza had spent seven years researching the life and work of Hildegard von Bingen, even traveling to Bingen, Germany, for that purpose, and made Hildegard, who was a composer, philosopher, author, herbalist and leader during the Middle Ages, the subject of her Master’s thesis.

“I was so inspired by what Hildegard accomplished, and during a time when women were denied formal education,” said Spicuzza.  Spicuzza’s graduate advisor Fabrizio Mondadori cautioned that her proposed subject would not be accepted. Hildegard would not be considered traditional philosophy.

“No women prior, indeed, could have fallen under the category of ‘traditional ’by any means.” Spicuzza explains.

Spicuzza quit her Master’s program and moved to Hollywood with the screenplay called “Breath of God: The True Story of Hildegard von Bingen” in tow.  Executives seemed impressed but nonplussed, so she entered the screenplay in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.  It became a semifinalist, and ranked in the top 7%. It was blessed by Pope John Paul II and was conferred high honors by the Vatican Division of Arts and Culture. David Lynch called it a “great project.”

After CAA turned the project down, she was advised to pursue another project, a dramedy titled “Making Angels,” also based on a screenplay she had written.  It caught the interest of director Julie Dash. They began pitching it, securing interest from several distributors and top talent, but were ultimately unable to secure full financing.   It was about then that Spicuzza became the target of cyberstalkers and was mutilated by her former therapist and another woman while under hypnosis.

After six months of suffering from severe PTSD, and with an active related lawsuit, she wrote an essay inspired by her experience with therapist abuse.  She was encouraged to write a new screenplay, “The Scarapist” that ultimately became her first motion picture.

“The Scarapist” enjoyed a limited theatrical release, which led to its release On Demand in three countries last year.  The film also screened at the 2016 Berlinale European Film Market, and won the award for Best Picture from the Verein Deutscher Kritiker Und Filmemacher, or VDKUF.

Spicuzza and her company, Seasons & a Muse, ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for her second feature, a true crime thriller titled “Night Rain,” on Indiegogo, which is currently InDemand at https://igg.me/at/nightrainmovie.

The night after the Oscars, February 27, Spicuzza was invited as a special guest to an Oscar After Party, sponsored by members of the Italian film community.  The evening included a wine tasting, poetry reading and fashion show where her “Night Rain” co-stars Adam Lesar, Clarissa Thibeaux, and Thessa M’loe were featured as models.  Thus, “Breath of God” has found new life, as Spicuzza used the after-party to launch into talks with investors, distributors and talent about her favorite passion project. 

So, there it is, full circle. The straight path is often composed of a delicious symphony of crooked and cumbersome lines. According to Spicuzza,” It’s art, and it’s living.  Just don’t give up. Ever.”

 

 

 

Screen Anarchy logo
Do you feel this content is inappropriate or infringes upon your rights? Click here to report it, or see our DMCA policy.
AMPASCatholicismIndieItalyNichollsWomen's Issues

Around the Internet