Project Status
Overview
Thanks to our generous supporters, we brought an incredible team together for our-end-of-the-year shoot at Conway Recording Studios. We are pinching ourselves over the sheer talent, dedication, and brilliance of our cast and crew. The footage we captured during those four magical days has us so excited for what’s ahead.
No production is without its challenges and when one of our leads lost their voice unexpectedly, we made the tough call to schedule an extra shoot day in March to ensure the authenticity of live vocals that are at the heart of Pop Screen.
This extra day, along with our post-production, is supported by our new partnership with Fractured Atlas —making all donations tax-deductible under their 501(c)(3) umbrella!
While in LA, our director/songwriter Meg Steedle also worked with our amazing music producers— Taylor Bird & Peter Hanna —finessing the film’s main song. We cannot wait to share it with you all soon!
New Updates
Our Instagram will feature new updates every week. Please give us a follow or reach out via our Direct Messages!
We promised you a pop star… Introducing @lizhuett as ⭐️Lily Beach⭐️ in Pop Screen!! Liz isn’t just playing a star—in all honesty, she IS one. With an incredible voice that’s taken her from singing backup for @taylorswift to soaring on her own, she was literally flying in and out of Nashville just to make it to set. 🎤✨ LILY is a challenging role and we knew we needed someone who could bring her to life authentically - having the ‘it’ factor while also drawing you in as a person —someone with raw talent and an undeniable presence… Well, folks…Liz is IT. We can’t wait for you to see her in action🔥🎬 In the meantime, check out her music on Spotify or Instagram—you’ll see exactly what we mean…. 👏🎶 @lizhuett @prettybirdbandla Counting down the days until you see her shine! ⏳🎥 HMU/photography for Lily album art by @madelinelauer and @rawanted 🤩 #PopScreenFilm #LizHuett #LilyBeach #RisingStar #MusicMeetsMovies #TaylorSwiftFans #independentfilm #musicalfilm #conwayrecordingstudios
🎬✨ Our December Shoot! ✨🎶 Thanks to YOU, we brought an incredible team together for our-end-of-the-year shoot at @conwayrecordingstudios . We are pinching ourselves over the sheer talent, dedication, and brilliance of our cast and crew. The footage we captured during those four magical days has us so excited for what’s ahead. 🎥 No production is without its challenges and when one of our leads lost their voice unexpectedly, we made the tough call to schedule an extra shoot day in March to ensure the authenticity of live vocals that are at the heart of Pop Screen. This extra day, along with our post-production, is supported by our new partnership with @fractured.atlas —making all donations tax-deductible under their 501(c)(3) umbrella! (Link in bio to learn more 💌) ✨ While in LA, our director/songwriter @megsteedle also worked with our amazing music producers— @taylorbird4 & @peterhannamusic —finessing the film’s main song. We cannot wait to share it with you all soon! Your support means everything. Your belief in this project has brought us so far, and we’re endlessly grateful. Let’s cross that finish line together. 🖤 Stay tuned for updates, BTS, and some exciting surprises coming soon! 💫 #PopScreenFilm #indiefilm #fiscalsponsorship #thankyou...
Casting
Casting is currently underway for our film’s four lead characters.
We are VERY committed to hiring actors who one might consider ‘unknown’ for the roles of Alex and John, who will both play studio employees. We believe it’s important that we not recognize them from other work in order to lean into the idea that there are many talented people who work in the shadows of greats…and we may never know who they are.
This is a heavy acting piece and both Lily and Alex need to be able to sing…so, in all, it will take some special artists to bring this one to life.
A couple of the studio runners in the film will be played by actual studio runners Meg Steedle worked with during her 3 years at the recording studio. We are excited to hire some of Meg’s studio colleagues, not only giving them a chance to shine on screen, but also to authentically portray what it is these amazing people do behind the scenes and how it is they do it.
Location
We have been generously gifted the location of Conway Recording Studios in LA, the same location that provides the real-world inspiration for this script, by owner (and Meg’s former boss) Buddy Brundo.
Principal photography for POP SCREEN took place in Los Angeles, CA at Conway Recording Studios from December 12 – 16. A pickup shoot is scheduled for early March to complete the production stage!
Fundraising
We were a top 15 finalist for a $10,000 production grant from Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition. While we did not end up winning the funds, the honorable accolade added even more fuel to the fire – we know the story is special and we are determined to make this film.
On November 5, we launched our Seed&Spark 30-day goal of $24,000 to cover the bare minimum costs of production. This paid our talented cast and crew as well as provided us the means to rent much-needed equipment (camera, lights, etc.) to make POP SCREEN a reality.
In addition, we are fiscally sponsored under the 501c3 Fractured Atlas making all donations towards our project tax-deductible and making us eligible for many company’s charity matches.
Through the generosity of so many who believe in the power of music and music stories, as well as the desire to illuminate the people behind the scenes, POP SCREEN will be a labor of love for so many. We continue to be so grateful for all of the support we continue to receive.
Stay tuned for another chance to get involved in helping us cross the finish line via a Fractured Atlas crowdfund campaign. This last push will raise money for our March pickup shoot and post-production costs!
Our incredible cast and crew for last December’s shoot!