Leigh Medeiros considers herself one of a growing number of filmmakers in Rhode Island’s independent scene.
Right now, she’s self-employed. Her work is focused on screenwriting. But, she said, her sights are set on Hollywood.
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“To break in … the best place for pre-production is L.A.,” she said. After that a screenwriter can work from anywhere.
For a year and a half, she lived in Los Angeles, where she said she worked as an assistant to Andrew Marlowe, who wrote the screenplays for “Air Force One,” “Hollow Man” and “End of Days.”
“I went to understand screenwriting better, then came back to hone my craft,” said Medeiros.
Upon returning to Rhode Island about a year ago, the East Greenwich native started a Web-based screenplay analysis business, Silver Wing Script Services.
She said she has about 25 clients across the country, and the list is steadily growing. “It’s quickly becoming about half of my income,” she said.
Medeiros attracts clients by charging about one-third of what other screenplay analysts charge, she said.
She charges less because she’s less experienced. But that doesn’t make her less successful with her clients, she said. One client was in the top 5 percent of applicants for the Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, facilitated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
For Medeiros, Silver Wing Script Services is a “no-brainer,” because she’s learning as she teaches others how to improve their scripts.
The rest of Medeiros’ time is split between teaching a continuing education course in screenwriting at the Rhode Island School of Design, and producing a new short film that she wrote, co-produced and directed.
“Go/No Go” is her third film. It’s about a factory worker who escapes the monotony of his job as a parts inspector through a series of daydreams, which unfold in kung-fu, musical and Western scenes.
The film is 13 minutes long, and has a budget of about $15,000, she said. And though independent short films are typically “funded by Visa, MasterCard or Discover,” Medeiros said, she has implemented some creative fundraising. Those fundraising efforts include asking businesses for an advertising sponsorship of $200 to $400. In return, she will provide a link to the business on her film’s Web site, www.gonogo.citymax.com, and will print all sponsoring businesses’ names in a brochure given out at the premiere.
(The date and venue have yet to be announced, since filming ended Oct. 9.)
The idea is to get the business community involved with the state’s independent filmmaking scene, which is “bubbling up right now,” she said.
“For me, this is a grassroots effort,” Medeiros said. “Getting involved with local filmmakers is about building a community that supports and values the arts as an intrinsic part of its makeup.”
There are six or seven feature-length independent films being shot in Rhode Island right now, and about 30 short films are being shot, according to Mark Fogarty, president and co-founder of the Rhode Island Film Collaborative, which was founded 10 months ago as a way for the state’s independent filmmakers to network and collaborate on projects.
The group meets once a month, Fogarty said. And since its inception, its membership has grown from about 15 regular members to 70.
Medeiros, who is a member of the collaborative, said Rhode Island is a great state for filming because of its tight-knit community. “It’s so much easier to get things going here,” she said.
But, still, “my ultimate goal is getting back to Hollywood.”
