When a teenaged Stephanie Sanditz learned that the English translation of her hometown Creve Coeur meant "Broken Heart," she totally flipped out. "I was like, 'Oh my god! I was born in Broken Heart, Missouri!' I'm going to tell that to every single guy my entire life," says Sanditz, adding, "It totally worked."
Aside from providing a sweet pickup line, Sanditz's childhood home also inspired her to write and produce her first original screenplay, CREVE COEUR, MO, and she wants to film it here in Missouri, on location. She needs $100,000 and a crowd-funded campaign on the site Indieigogo has already raised $73,031 with ten days to go.
Although she initially pursued a career as an actress, Sandtiz has made a name (and a living) for herself writing screenplay adaptations of best-selling book franchises. Most hire her, she explains, for her ability to write "empowered young female warrior voices," which must be an enviable and sought-after set of skills in post-Hunger Games Hollywood.
But the empowered young female characters in Sanditz's vision of 1993 Creve Coeur don't try to murder each other in the wilderness; they may, however, wear much too much flannel, a shameful mistake Sanditz admitted she herself was guilty of.
"The hottest girls dressed like dudes. We were all wearing these big dresses or combat boots, and I remember trying on men's jeans and just looking as genderless as possible," she says.
Sanditz, along with director Kimberly McCullough (General Hospital's "Robin Scorpio") and producer Jennifer Glynn make their pitch via a video on the Indiegogo campaign page. At around the 1:20 mark, Sanditz seemingly kicks off a game of "free-association" about what the film means, but the game quickly degenerates into a blizzard of '90s buzzwords, fads, celebrities and more.
The three of them are good and fast, no doubt. By the end, however, Sanditz seems to finally exhaust her '90s vocabulary with "Axel Rose" -- and instead of giving up she brings it home by triumphantly shouting: "Blowjobs! Freedom! Whippits!"
Indeed, Sandtiz is truly of the '90s generation. (Are you taking notes, BuzzFeed?)
Continue for more of our interview with Sanditz on her so-in-love grandparents who inspired her.
