The 90s had American Pie and 10 Things I Hate About You. Today has The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Lady Bird. So where's the high school coming-of-age story from in between? It's right here! Set among the emo scene of the time, this is the high school story that you've been waiting to see!

A HIGH SCHOOL COMING-OF-AGE DRAMEDY ABOUT LOSING WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS HAD

Set in the mid 2000's among the backdrop of the pop-punk/emo renaissance, High School Lullaby tells the story of Hayley, a high school junior and lead singer of her pop-punk band, the day she finds out her parents are being relocated for their jobs and the consequential news that they have to pack everything up and move in less than two weeks. Usually this would come with the normal teenager huffing and gruffing if it weren't for the fact that Hayley's band is competing in a huge Battle of the Bands the day before Hayley and her family are slated to move.  So, now, what normally would be fairly lousy news just became Earth-shattering for Hayley as she struggles to cope with the move and having to tell her friends and band mates that the band has its days numbered.

The story begs an answer to the question "When everything you've ever known is suddenly taken away, what do you leave behind?" 

WHY POP-PUNK/EMO?

The short and easy answer is "Why not?" but I can do better than that.  High School Lullaby is, at its core, a coming-of-age story and if I were to write an autobiographical coming-of-age story it would be steeped in music and when I was in high school the music that was dominating the radio waves was that of the pop-punk and emo scene.  Notes of Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, My Chemical Romance, Sum 41, Blink-182, The Used (and the list goes on and on) dominated my bedroom radio and car stereo.  These bands got me through a lot between the years of 2003 until I crossed the stage in 2007.  And as I look around at the films of that time period I believe there to be a significant lack of appreciation (still searching for a better word) for the music that made up that brief sliver of time.  In fact, that near-decade seems to get glossed over as a whole.  We don't just forget about the music but also the fashion that made that time period iconic.  When else could you go outside with midnight black hair, thick black eye liner, a denim jacket clad in safety pins, pay for something by taking out your duct tape wallet, and slide back into your Chevy Cavalier because your skinny jeans won't let your legs behind, and not be looked at as out-of-place?  It's high time that the early 2000s get their proper place in film culture.

BEHIND THE CAMERA SIGNIFICANCE: A DIRECTOR'S NOTE

Every director/writer/filmmaker has their own reasons why their project should be greenlit and what it personally means to them.  This one is no exception.  I've always had a dream of going back to my hometown of Ellicott City, MD to film my very first feature as a way to 'give back' to the community that raised me and encouraged my love and pursuit of the arts.   In addition to filming in and around my old stomping grounds, the music that will score this film will also be made up of local bands reminiscent of the mid-2000s sound that this film is set to.  I currently have agreements in place that would feature the pop-punk stylings of The Last Second Save and Heartbent.

I am treating this story and the film it will become as my love letter not only to where I grew up but also when I grew up.  I consider myself extremely fortunate to truthfully say that I had a great time in high school.  That's not to say that I didn't have my fair shake of troubles, bad moods, tantrums, and heartbreaks but when every experience is weighed out against each other, the good times vastly outdo the bad ones.  High school was also where I found the theatre which I would go on to study and get a degree in and while studying theatre I found writing and my love for filmmaking so you could say that high school truly did set me on the path I'm on today.

Cliché I know.

But I also don't want to just let that fall into oblivion.  I want to do something for the school and community that did so much for me when I needed it most.  That is the true driving force behind this project.

Another thing that I am doing to 'bring it all back home' is how I will be filling my crew.  I have been in communications with professors within the Film Department at Howard Community College (HCC) and Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) about offering their students real-word, on-set experience in exchange for classroom credit.  So my PAs, grips, etc. will all be college students, the next generation of filmmakers, looking to get their feet wet.

THE ULTIMATE GOAL

Is to make the movie, right?

Well short answer is 'yes' but as you may have gathered from the above sections there is a lot of personal significance in this project for me.  So I guess you could say the ultimate goal is to not only make the movie, but make the movie where it all started for me: back home.  And I want the message of this story to burst through so that's why I want maintain as much creative control with my team as I can and make this film as an Indie Feature.

And why we need YOUR HELP!

First and foremost, the safety, well-being, and comfort of our cast and crew is of paramount importance to us so we will follow all COVID-19 protocols and precautions to keep everyone healthy regardless of union status for this project. 

I hope to start production of this film in August of 2023 and while that may seem like a ways off it will sneak up on all of us before you know it.  I already have a fair amount of ducks in a row but one massive duck still remains, hence why you're here reading my ramblings.

Let's address the elephant in the room shall we?  Times are tight.  Money is taboo.  I know many of you will want to help but you won't have the ability to and that's ok because there are still numerous ways that you can make this project happen without reaching into your wallets (but if you wanted to I'm not going to stop you either).  Your graciousness will help hire cast and crew, secure locations, rent equipment, feed the cast and crew (very important), buy insurance so everyone is safe, and deliver to you, the adoring public, a truly original story with a female at the forefront and original music as the backdrop.

And any pledges made to the site both at the top of this page and below will be eligible for a 100% tax deduction (which is pretty cool too, right?).