265. Introducing PassionFlix: An Interview with Tosca Musk and Alessandra Torre

[music]

Sarah Wendell: Hello, and welcome to episode number 265 of Smart Podcast, Trashy Books. I’m Sarah Wendell with Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and with me today are Alessandra Torre and Tosca Musk from PassionFlix. Alessandra Torre is a New York Times bestselling author, and Tosca Musk is a filmmaker and cofounder of PassionFlix. PassionFlix is a subscription movie service specifically for us romance fans. We’re going to talk about the filming of Hollywood Dirt, which is one of Alessandra’s novels, and we talk about the process of turning a novel into a film. We also discuss the launch of PassionFlix, their goals for the service, and the production schedule, plus we get some behind-the-scenes moments and challenges that made filming quite memorable, and there are two dogs on the podcast. I am so excited about that part.

Now, PassionFlix launched on the first of September, and Hollywood Dirt premiered on September 20th. PassionFlix has also optioned several other projects, including books from Brenda Jackson, and there are two more original films premiering this fall: Afterburn and Aftershock by Sylvia Day, which will premiere in November, and The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis will release in December. So if you’re curious about PassionFlix, of course in the podcast entry I will have lots of links for you to check it out and see if you want to sign up. We did; both Amanda and I are founding members, and I have to say, as I mention in the podcast, when you open up the app and you see all these movies that are the, your favorite kind, it’s like, oh, this really is just for me! I love it! Just looking at it makes me happy.

Now, this podcast is brought to you by The Scotsman Who Saved Me by Hannah Howell. From New York Times bestselling author Hannah Howell comes a brand-new series featuring the MacEnroys, a family of seven strong, seductive Scottish brothers who come to America with nerves of steel and who will take no prisoners when it comes to love. The last thing that Iain MacEnroy expected to find inside his peaceful corner of the Ozarks was a burning cabin with a murdered couple inside, but as he and his brothers bury the dead, a trail leads him directly to gravely injured Emily Stanton, who managed to escape the attack. The MacEnroys take her into their care, and as Iain grows to care for Emily’s kind heart, he vows to help her get revenge for her family. The Scotsman Who Saved Me is available at Kensington Books and everywhere books are sold. And thank you to Kensington Books for sponsoring this month’s podcasts!

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And I will also have links to all of the books and movies that we talk about, as well as links to PassionFlix and all of the social media accounts that we talk about as well. If you want to see some of the behind-the-scenes development of some of the movies, PassionFlix’s Instagram is where you’ll find some fun, fun pictures.

And now, without any delay, on with the podcast!

[music]

Alessandra Torre: My name is Alessandra Torre. I’m the author of Hollywood Dirt, and I’m excited to be here.

Sarah: Yay!

Alessandra: [Laughs]

Sarah: And Ms. Tosca, could you introduce yourself?

Tosca Musk: Hi, my name’s Tosca Musk. I am the director of Hollywood Dirt; also one of the founders of PassionFlix.

Sarah: Yay!

Tosca: Thrilled to be here.

[Laughter]

Alessandra: The good news is, we sound completely different. [Laughs]

Sarah: Yeah, I don’t think anyone’s going to be able to tell you guys apart, like, at all.

Tosca: No, no, not at all.

[Laughter]

Sarah: So, I am so excited to talk to you about everything. I know that PassionFlix launched on the 1st, and then Hollywood Dirt will premier on the 20th; is that right?

Tosca: Yes, that’s correct. I’m super excited to show it to everybody.

Sarah: So what are you doing, right now as we’re taping, what are you working on for Hollywood Dirt?

Tosca: Well, we’re working on the sound mix. So we have the last two days of sound mixing, so that’s where we take all the, you know, the music and the dialogue and all the, you know, foley, which is, you know, movement of clothes and animals in the background, ‘cause it’s on a plantation, and, and we mix it all together to make it sound great! Natural!

Sarah: So do you –

Tosca: [Laughs]

Sarah: So do you have, like, okay, no, I don’t like that horse; I like that cow, and I want that horse instead?

Tosca: Yes, that’s exactly right. In this particular case, it was a lot of chickens and cocks. [Laughs]

Sarah: Okay, there’s so much possibility there.

Tosca: [Laughs] Exactly!

Sarah: Now, I’ve been watching a lot of the behind-the-scenes images on Instagram, and it looked like filming this was a lot of fun and also a lot of work.

Tosca: It, it absolutely was both. It was the most amount of fun I – you know, firstly, it’s a, it’s a dream come true to be able to turn these books that I love so much into movies as a filmmaker and a creator and also somebody that enjoys to watch them, but the, it, it was hard in, in particular, in this situation, ‘cause we were shooting in Georgia, so it’s away from home, but it also, we got a cold front in. Alessandra, if you remember that, we got this super cold front in, this icy blast that came through while we were shooting, so here we were, trying to shoot this beautiful, outdoor, summer movie while we’re all wearing Patagonia jackets and our –

Sarah: [Laughs]

Tosca: – talent have to wear these, you know, you know, Emma, who plays Summer, had to wear this lovely little summer golden dress because it matched the cover of the book, and, and she was freezing, freezing! But it looks, it looks like summer! [Laughs]

Sarah: It’s sort of like the, the romance movie equivalent of shooting a summer catalogue in January.

Tosca: Exactly.

Sarah: Pretending, oh, no, it’s not cold, it’s fine!

Tosca: Yeah.

Sarah: Now, Alessandra, how much time did you get to spend on the set, and how much did you get to see of the movie being made?

Alessandra: Well, I felt like I saw a lot of it, but it’s funny, ‘cause when I watched the trailer, you know, there are so many moments I’m like, oh, I forgot about that! Or oh, I didn’t see that, you know, but I was there the first day of filming, and it was funny what Tosca said. It was unseasonably cold, and the, the building that we were filming in didn’t have, I guess the heat was too loud. Is that correct, Tosca?

Tosca: Yeah.

Alessandra: So it was just, it was funny. It was, I felt so bad for the actors and the actresses, but, but it was funny ‘cause it was like that. We, we were all bundled up in jackets, but I was there for a couple days, and then I went home. I, I live about six hours away from where they were filming, so I spent a lot of time on the road, and I came up there two or three times. I, again, on any given day, they’re such long days – that surprised me as an outsider, but they’d be twelve-hour days, and during twelve hours, I feel like I saw four or five scenes each day, so I probably saw fifteen or twenty scenes total. I can’t remember.

Sarah: Was it strange for you?

Alessandra: [Laughs] Oh, it, it was, it was surreal, and it was funny because I didn’t even realize, it wasn’t until my second trip there that I was –

Capone, Bella, and J.J.: Woof, woof, woof, woof!

Sarah: Ooh, dogs! Ooh.

Alessandra: Quiet.

Sarah: No, dogs on the podcast is awesome!

Alessandra: [Laughs]

Sarah: Usually it’s mine! I’m really excited that it’s not mine this time. I bribed mine with, like, a bone.

Alessandra: No, unfortunately, our neighbor’s hammering something; it’s the worst time. Shh! The –

Sarah: Wait, you have to tell us what the dog’s name is for the transcript, so we can include him in the transcript.

Alessandra: I have three, unfortunately or fortunately, and the loudest is Capone. We got Capone, Bella, and J.J.

Sarah: Okay, cool. Hello, Capone! Anyway – [laughs] – as you were saying?

Alessandra: Yeah, so it wasn’t until the second trip, and I, it was a night scene, I was listening, and Joany, the screenwriter, really did a great job with pulling actual lines of dialogue. I feel like, out of the movie, I’d say eighty percent of it is actual dialogue from the book, which is really cool, and I was listening to Emma, Summer’s actress, saying the lines from the book, and it’s just like that moment where we were like, oh, my gosh, you know, I’m here with forty or fifty cast and crew, and all of this is happening around a book that, you know, a year and a half ago I was sitting on my couch in pajamas, you know, trying to tune out the sound of the television and write, you know, so it was really, a really special moment where I just had to, you know, just sit there and absorb it for a moment. But the whole thing’s been like a dream, you know. I mean, I, I don’t think I’ll actually believe till I’m, you know, watching the movie, which I’m, I’m, I’m terrified and excited to do. I, I’m, I used to be really terrified, but after being on set and, and seeing, it, everything looks so great, just from watching it from next to Tosca. They have the area where they have all the screens, and everything looks so great there. Like, it didn’t even seem like it needed anything more, you know, so I can’t imagine what sound and editing is in there. It’s, it’s going to be really, really incredible.

Tosca: Yeah, just to touch on that, I’m actually very nervous. I really hope that I have done you proud, Alessandra, ‘cause it’s, it’s like, the most important thing for me is that you love it! Like, everybody, everybody can like it, but you have to love it! [Laughs]

Alessandra: I already love it; I know that.

Tosca: [Laughs]

Sarah: Is it an experience for you as well, Tosca, to take looking at a book and then moving it into film? Because you, you have a long history as a filmmaker –

Tosca: Yeah.

Sarah: – going from one type of project to another. Is it, are there moments like that for you, where you’re looking at this and you’re like, this is exactly what I thought it looked like in imagination, and then having the author say, yes, mine too? Is that a weird mind meld that happens?

Tosca: It’s beautiful, actually! So, you know, so, everybody, when they read a book, you, you picture exactly how it’s going to be and what the room looks like and, and how these characters will say something or lean forward or lean back, and I tried to go through the book very specifically when it came to movements, even, so I would look at each scene, and I would look at the movements of the characters that Alessandra had written for the characters in the book, and I would try and put those movements into the screenplay and get the actors to do those movements, which is sometimes very hard because actors also want to bring their – and they should – bring their own interpretation to the character. But it got to the point where the actors, I would say, okay, you have to walk in the room, and then you look here, and then you look to the left, and then you’re going to clear your throat, and they would just laugh, because they’re like, of course, I’m going to clear my throat, because it says it in the book, and it says it on this piece of paper, so now I have to clear my throat.

[Laughter]

Tosca: And I was like, yes, well, I pictured you clearing your throat, so you have to clear your throat! And, and I was very specific about it. But it was quite, it, it’s so magical to have had something – you read a book, you imagine what it’s going to look like, and then you’re able to translate and, and make that real, bring that to life, and then I have Alessandra sitting next to me, and then I, after shooting a scene I would look at her and go, so, is that how, how you pictured it? And, and for the most part, she said yes! [Laughs]

Alessandra: It, it –

Sarah: That is really incredible!

Alessandra: What was really also, I think, unique about this was that so many of the cast and crew, I mean, I think all of the, of the cast had, but the crew also had read the book, so we all –

Tosca: Yeah.

Alessandra: – understood when filming a scene, ‘cause they’re all filmed, you know, out of order, we understood the relevance of, of that scene, and you had, like, the full background on the characters, where normally, you know, in a movie and with a script, you don’t have that rich level of, of background, so that was really neat, and in between takes, a lot of times I’d see Emma listening to, to the audiobook of it to help get the accent and, you know, and those lines in, in her head, so that was, I think, an extra level that was really interesting to see and to, and to know, you know, all that background history along with it.

Sarah: So everyone sort of shares in building the story visually because they’ve all read the book.

Alessandra: Mm-hmm, exactly.

Tosca: Yes.

Sarah: That’s very smart.

Tosca: Yeah.

Sarah: Now, I’ve noticed that the production schedule – Amanda, my assistant, who’s very excited about PassionFlix, has been talking about it to everyone she knows, wanted me to ask this question; I actually had it written down as well: it seems like the production schedule is, is it one original adaptation or film per month, is that right?

Tosca: No, it’s every two months.

Sarah: I was going to say, ‘cause every month seemed a little bit much.

Tosca: Yeah, that’s a little –

Sarah: [Laughs]

Tosca: Well, we’d like to, PassionFlix would like to be able to release one original movie and series a month, you know, hopefully in year two with, if, if we, you know, get the support that we need and were able to, we’d love to release an original every month. There’re so, there are so many incredible books out there, and, and we’re very fortunate to have a whole bunch of them, but we, but it, it does take time to make movies. So this year we’ll have, Hollywood Dirt will come out in September, and then we have Afterburn/Aftershock, it’ll come out in November, and then we have The Trouble with Mistletoe that’ll come out in December. So, so in that regard it’s, it’s like almost every six weeks? We won’t have a movie in January, and then we’ll have another movie in February and March.

Sarah: Well, looking at it from the perspective of somebody who hasn’t seen a good romantic comedy in the movie, in a movie theater in, like, eight years, until this year –

Tosca: Yeah!

Sarah: – like, every two months sounds like paradise to me? That sounds great! [Laughs]

Tosca: Great!

Sarah: That sounds perfect! [Laughs] Because, I mean, we’re, we don’t have a lot of romance in film, outside of what you’re developing. There’s not a great deal of it in, in the works right now.

Tosca: No, there really isn’t, and, in, in fact, so much content that’s out there doesn’t generally show women in a very positive light, doesn’t show relationships in a positive light.

Sarah: You don’t say!

Tosca: Yeah, and, and, and they’re also, sometimes they’re not, you know, passionate. So while there’s a lot of, you know, content out there, it, it’s not, we wanted to focus on content that was female-focused and male-focused. We want to show both men and women in a positive light, you know? The great thing about Hollywood Dirt is that the, this is more like a, a, a costarring movie, you know, as opposed to, yes, we have Summer, and she’s our main character, but Cole is also, you know, he’s pretty up there. It’s, it’s, it’s relatively equal, and, and that’s a beautiful thing in, in stories, ‘cause what’s told from the female perspective, it’s a love story, we’re focusing on the romance and the love and the struggle and the communication needed in order to build a relationship and, and get over some pretty rough heartache that happened before, but, but the characters are both, are positive.

Sarah: Alessandra, what about you? Have you noticed the lack of romantic movies in, on, in movie theaters lately too?

Alessandra: Yeah. Mm-hmm. And the ones that I’ve seen, other than Nicholas Sparks movies, there’s just not any.

Sarah: So for you as the author, I don’t want to ask this question and, in the typical sort of smarmy way like, so, when you write your love scenes, ‘cause obviously I’m not going to ask that question, but I’m curious about how it was for you to see some of the more intimate moments that you wrote translated onto a screen. Did you, did you see any of that?

Alessandra: No, I – well, yes and no. The first love scene, it was closed set, so, and I, I was in town, I mean, I was in Augusta, but I wasn’t on set. So –

Sarah: Mm-hmm.

Alessandra: – so, I, I wasn’t there for that. The, but it was good that the second, I saw a scene, I saw several scenes, and I think Tosca was really great about this, was bringing the heat with minor things. Like, just a small thing, like just, like, Cole’s hand, like, settling or moving up Summer’s knee. Like, it didn’t need to be, like, graphic to be really hot, you know? And, and they had great chemistry, Summer and Cole, and so nothing looked awkward, you know? So that was what really made me happy as, as an author, and, and as soon as I saw that first scene where, again, it was just like a casual, like it was, it wasn’t casual, it was, it was a very heavy chemistry moment between Summer and Cole and his, on a fake set. It was a, they were filming a scene; the, the characters in the book were filming a scene. So if you, if you haven’t read the book, they’re, the book covers them making a movie, so they –

Sarah: Right, there’s a movie in, there’s a movie in the book, and now there’s a movie in the movie.

Alessandra: Right, yeah, and the –

Sarah: Right, ‘cause that’s not confusing!

Alessandra: No, not confusing at all!

Sarah: [Laughs]

Alessandra: So that, that first scene where, again, nothing, nothing really happened, I don’t even think they kissed, but they’re, but it was so electric, and as soon as I saw that I was like, I know I’m going to be happy with, with this movie and, and with this cast, you know, and with everything else, because they were able – again, it wasn’t graphic, it wasn’t explicit, but it was –

Sarah: Mm-hmm.

Alessandra: – there was so much heat just in, in a simple interaction, and, and that really made me happy.

Sarah: That’s very cool.

Alessandra: I’ve never seen a direct-, I’ve never seen a director work. I’ve never seen anything, but it would be interesting, because we would watch a scene, you know, a, a take, and afterwards, as I’m watching it, it’s just not right. Like, I don’t know why it’s not right? I can’t figure out why it’s not right, but something’s off, like, when they’re filming it, and so they would cut, and then Tosca would go over, and she would pinpoint exactly what it was that, that was wrong with the scene, and, and, and what the connection was or, and it might have been something minor like the positions of the actors and actresses. Like, it was, you know, he was higher than her, and so, you know, when she had to look up to him, it changed the dynamic, but whatever it was, it just amazed me. It made me realize, like, I could not be a director. Like, you know? Like, that’s a –

Sarah: [Laughs]

Alessandra: – that’s a talent that I just don’t have, because as soon as she said it, I was like, yes, that was what it was! You know, and then they would do it again, and, and it would work, and it would be great, so that’s, it’s, there are so many different roles on the movie as far as the ca-, as far as the crew that I wasn’t familiar with, and all of the different parts make it together, but if Tosca, a hundred percent, her impact on the movie was so great, just for those little – and that’s what made me confident to leave set and go back to Destin or go back to Florida and know that, that all of it is going, is going to be great.

Sarah: That’s fascinating! That she would just be like, all right, I know exactly, I know exactly how to fix this.

Alessandra: Mm-hmm.

Sarah: That’s incredible.

Alessandra: I didn’t have to say anything. Like, it didn’t even have to be like, I didn’t like that, you know? Like, she would just, she would just go. She, she would get up and go, and I don’t think I had a single constructive, helpful comment to make the entire –

Sarah: [Laughs]

Alessandra: One time I was like –

Sarah: It’s –

Alessandra: – she’s saying “condom” weird, and that was my one comment, so.

Sarah: [Laughs] It’s just that one thing.

Alessandra: Yeah.

Sarah: Just that one thing. Is that something you learned through the process of learning to make films?

Tosca: Yes, I think so. I mean, you know, I, I was a, I was in theatre and film, I was an actor as well, and for me it’s, it’s all about connection, so if, if, if I’m watching something on screen and I don’t see the connection happening with the dialogue or with the, you know, with whatever the situation might be, there has to be some way that I can get that connection to work, and it’s normally by adjusting the person’s position, putting them closer together, having them touch or not touch, want to touch – that was a big thing for me, and certainly is in romance novels, is that when somebody can touch and when somebody, and when they can’t touch are, are very important, because touching’s big. And, so, so, yes, I, I think it’s just, I just observe a lot of people all the time, and, and it’s fun to observe – [laughs] – and I put it onto screen.

Alessandra: And I think that was one thing, like, I think I was watching it and something was off, and Tosca went over and she’s like, you know, it’s, it’s too aggressive when you put your hand on her here. Like, you know, she doesn’t want you to touch her right now, you know, or –

Tosca: Yeah.

Alessandra: – you know, you haven’t earned that yet, you know, and, and as soon as she said that I was like, yes! That’s what it is! Like, you’re exactly right, but I couldn’t figure out, I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It was just something felt off.

Tosca: The male actors and, and our DP, Dennis, who works with me on all, all of our movies, they said I, I should have the Tosca School for Gentleman Callers.

[Laughter]

Tosca: Because –

Sarah: That could be a series!

Tosca: [Laughs] Exactly! Because all these men, the crew and the actors that are with, with me on set, I’m like, nonono, this is when you touch a woman. This is when you can touch a woman; this is when you can’t. This is how you touch a woman, and that – we’re going to do this again. We’re going to practice over and over again until I get this hand touch of how it’s supposed to be and what we want to experience, and, and then, and, you know, and then, and then we can move on. But until then, you will rehearse this, the specific touching of a woman, specific look at the woman, the, the distance that you need to be away from her. That, all this is very, very important to telling a story, especially about love.

Sarah: And the, and the way, and the way in which characters are breaking through visual boundaries on the screen is part of what builds the intimacy between the characters.

Tosca: Yes, absolutely.

Sarah: Wow. What were some of the actors’ reactions to the scripts and the material? Were there any actors who were, say, who noticed that what they were doing was different from other jobs that they’d had, or was this, for them, another opportunity to perform and, and work?

Tosca: It’s a great question. The, the actors found this to be very different from what they’re normally offered. They –

Sarah: Oh, that’s so interesting!

Tosca: Yeah. Well, the story focuses on two people falling in love and the struggle, the struggle to communicate and, and build that relationship. Most movies that are out there, most scripts that are out there, there’s a, there’s a different plot point; it’s, it’s centered around a thing externally, something else, and then there’re two people that just happened to fall in love at the same time, but really we’re focused on this external thing. Our stories, because they’re based on romance novels, which are all about two – while there are external things that happen, those are not the, that’s, that’s not the primary plot point. The primary driver of our stories is the communication and the, and the love of these two people. So, so that’s the first thing that’s very different between our movies and, and romance novels in general and, and, and other movies. But also, there’s a lot more passion, intimacy, in a, in a very elegant and, and sophisticated way. There’s, there’s no, you know, guttural sex which you would see on, on maybe some other, some other shows, but it’s, it’s very sensual; it’s very, it’s, it’s very beautiful. It’s done in a very beautiful way, and, and I think that’s different from a lot of other scripts that are out there, so they really were drawn to it, ‘cause it’s character.

Sarah: And it’s probably a, it’s a probably a, a lot more deep internal conflict that they have to communicate outwardly.

Tosca: Exactly! It’s character. It’s character growth; it’s character development. It’s this, they can really hone, use their acting skills to, to, to bring these characters to life, as opposed to trying to believe something that’s external.

Sarah: Were there any actors or actresses that you worked with who you just cannot wait for people to see them?

Tosca: All of them.

[Laughter]

Tosca: They’re all amazing! I, I actually –

Sarah: I’ve –

Tosca: I’m, I –

Sarah: I’ve been on your Instagram, and I agree.

Tosca: Thank you! I, you know, it’s, it’s this, here, here’s the beauty of this situation, of, of PassionFlix, of, of working with romance novelists as a filmmaker: the beauty is that I don’t have to cast people with name talent in order to sell them to the foreign market, which is very big for most films, right. You have to cast –

Sarah: Right.

Tosca: – certain people in certain roles so they can sell in the foreign market so that, you know, you can get your money back and you can – that, that’s basically how the film industry works. Right now, we get to cast anybody that we want in a movie, as long as the author believes that these people look the part and I believe they can act. So if they can act and bring this character to life and Alessandra says, yes, I think that that’s what, that’s how I pictured Summer, that’s how I pictured Cole, or that really works for me, that I could really, I can really believe that, then I go great! These guys can act. I love it! Let’s, let’s, let’s play with that. And the same with Afterburn/Aftershock; we got to do the exact same thing. So these are not recognizable actors for, for the most part. They’re, they’re working actors; everybody’s, you know, talented and, and has been working for a long time, but they’re not, you know, the names that everybody knows. And so we really get to craft these characters without any outside notions of who these people should be and, and really transform these actors into the characters. It’s fun!

Sarah: Alessandra, what was your reaction when you saw the casting for your book?

Alessandra: Well, the beauty of it was, I was involved in all of it, which I –

Sarah: Oh, that must have just been terrible work, no fun.

Alessandra: – it was so unexpected, you know.

Sarah: [Laughs]

Alessandra: I was so pleasantly surprised by how involved, I mean, PassionFlix kept me. That was really great. It was, early on, it was like, we had a call about the movie, we signed the contract, and then it felt like, you know, two weeks later, I would get an email, and it would have, you know, twenty different prospects for a certain role, and you could look through their photos and watch clips of their things, you know, so I would look through, through them all and then send my favorites, so there was a lot of back and forth, so it wasn’t, I wasn’t really surprised by any of, of the actors or actresses, and if anything, I was only surprised when I was there with how, with how great they all did. It was, Emma, I fell in love with. I mean, she’s just, she’s just such a great – I couldn’t have picked a better person to be Summer, and I think her range is amazing. I mean, she’d be giggling backstage and then – backstage; I don’t even know if that’s the right term – but then, you know, a minute later she’s, like, crying on camera. It was, I mean, I was just amazed. I don’t know. It’s, again, it, that’s another job I could never do is act.

Tosca: Emma, Emma is wonderful. I had the pleasure of working with Emma the year before. She was, she played Cinderella for me in A Cinderella Christmas, and, and so when she became available to, for this role, we sent it off to Alessandra and were like, so, you know, what do you think of her? And Alessandra immediately came with, oh, I love Emma! I’m like, great! And, and so – I was like, whew! That’s really hopeful! – and, and so then we offered the part and she, she accepted immediately. She was just so thrilled to, to have a role that – ‘cause, you know, then she goes to do horror films or something, you know, else, but she doesn’t get to play these rich, complex female characters, and so she was very excited about it, and I just loved getting to work with her again. She’s just an absolute joy as, as a person and an actress.

Sarah: I’m, I’m wondering now if there are, if the word is spreading among actor communities that are like, have you heard about this PassionFlix thing? You need to do this, ‘cause it is so much fun.

Tosca: I really hope so. We’re –

Sarah: I hope so!

Tosca: – we’re about to do our third, and, you know, casting Hollywood Dirt was a little harder for us because we came, you know, we were independent, so, in-, independent from any studio or network, and so initially people like, hmm, who are these people? But fortunately, I’ve done it before, so I was directing, so a few people, the, you know, people knew, knew that I would make some quality work, so –

Sarah: Right.

Tosca: – so we got some, we got responses pretty well, but, you know, the, the concern is, if you don’t have a, a network or a studio backing you, that actors won’t pay attention to you. But hopefully now, after the launch of PassionFlix, and people can see what PassionFlix is, and they’ll see Hollywood Dirt, and they’ll see Afterburn, and then they’ll see The Trouble with Mistletoe, they’ll, they’ll respond very positively and quickly. I think so.

Alessandra: I think the other thing was, it was, the, the filming of Hollywood Dirt was right in the middle of pilot season –

Tosca: Yeah.

Alessandra: – and that was also, you know, getting actors and actresses to leave LA and go to the middle of Georgia for, you know, three weeks probably wasn’t the easiest sell, but –

Tosca: Four weeks.

Alessandra: – again, it all worked out perfectly.

Sarah: So, I have a, a semi sort of question for you, sort of just semi-personal question for you, Tosca. I was doing some research to prepare for this interview, and I came across a quote of yours about filmmaking, and you said that tenacity is crucial, which reminded me a lot of romance as a genre in general, ‘cause, as I’m sure you’re aware, romance gets put down a lot and, and is often fighting a slightly uphill battle when it comes to any kind of recognition or development, and I was reading some of your, some of your history and that you have a, a lot of experience being told, regarding your film projects, no, you can’t do that; no, that’s not going to work. No, you can’t do that.

Tosca: [Laughs]

Sarah: And then you do it anyway, which I really, really, love, ‘cause that’s kind of how I roll.

Tosca: Yeah.

Sarah: Was this a project that came together without a whole lot of no, you can’t do that, or was, was it a familiar sense of, oh, yes, just watch me. I have all this tenacity; I’ve built my tenacity muscles. Just get out of the way.

Tosca: You know, I think that’s just something in general when it came to PassionFlix, you know, because PassionFlix is the one that, that financed this movie and put the whole thing together, and, and we’ve been working to get PassionFlix together for about a year and a half, nearly two years. And so the initial pitch of it was, you know, to a lot of, you know, to financiers, people who were going to fund PassionFlix was, you know, we want to turn romance novels into movies, and, and we have a strong audience for it, and for the most part, people are like, huh, that’s crazy. [Laughs] Who would, who, who watch-, who wants to watch romance novels turned into movies? And I said, well, let me list –

Sarah: Why would you do that?

Tosca: Why would you do that? I was like, well, you know, because half the world are women – [laughs] – and we like, we like love. We love love, in fact, and we want romance!

Sarah: So you’re bringing math and emotions into the argument.

Tosca: Sorry, say that again?

Sarah: [Laughs] You’re bringing in math and emotions in.

Tosca: Yeah, math and emotions. And, and so the initial, the initial response was, was not overly enthusiastic. The initial response was I don’t get it; so women want romance. It was like, it was, like, mind-blowing, and –

Sarah: [Laughs]

Tosca: – I was like, yeah. As the multi-billion-dollar industry of, of romance novels, we would like romance movies, and, and so the initial, you know, trying to raise money for it – well, for PassionFlix; not for this particular movie, but in general for PassionFlix, ‘cause it has a full slate – was a little hard, but then once you, once we got into the flow and, and we started convincing just, just a few people, it, it basically went wi-, like wildfire. They’re like, of course women want romance! This is amazing! This is so great! Here’re all these romance novels! But it did take a little bit of convincing at the beginning. When it came to Hollywood Dirt, it was a no-brainer that that would be our first movie. Both Joany, Joany, myself, and Jina, all three of us loved the book from the outset. It was, it was so cinematic, when you read it from, from beginning to end, you can picture absolutely everything. It’s epic in its storytelling, and so as a filmmaker, for me, it was a, it’s a challenge to make on a smaller budget because it’s so big, but that just makes it even more exciting to me. So, I guess when it comes to tenacity, yes, they said, can you really make something so big so quickly and, and for a platform that nobody knows about, and I said, hell, yes, and now they do.

[Laughter]

Sarah: Get out of my way. I will show you how to do this.

Tosca: Exactly. And it’s so exciting! We have this platform that will, you know, show all these romance movies that will have, that have a female gaze and a female focus on them, that will bring on so many film-, female filmmakers and hopefully cast so many more female actresses that we really hope that will be a, a major impact in this space, and bring love and hope to the conversation.

Sarah: I am all for that. I mean, even if, even at Romantic Times, when we were at the conference, your, your room talking just about PassionFlix, the room was standing room only. Like, you couldn’t get in the door.

Tosca: That was, that was humbling and beautiful. It was so great. We really appreciated it.

Sarah: Oh, yeah, well, the whole romance community, once we sort of understood what was going on, a lot of us were like, like when you hold a, a cookie in front of a very excited puppy? Like, yes, give me that, give me that right now! Give it to me; I will just wiggle right here until you give me that. Just even, even looking at the selection of movies inside the, not the, the demo but the beta of the app?

Tosca: Yeah.

Sarah: Even just looking at the selection of movies earlier in August made me so happy. It was like, oh, I like that one, and I like that one, and this is really is just for me.

Tosca: Yeah. Oh, thank you!

Sarah: Yay!

Tosca: Thank you! That’s so great! We spent so much time over the last year and a half curating these movies, knowing that we could only have a small selection of movies, and, and they do change monthly. You know, this week we’re getting Moonstruck, Overboard, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Baby Boom. So we’re getting, like –

Sarah: You know, I do have other things I need to do with my life.

Tosca: [Laughs] Why?!

Sarah: I do have, like, I have, like, these humans –

Tosca: Oh, yes.

Sarah: – I have to feed them all the time.

[Laughter]

Sarah: Right, Alessandra? We’re doomed now. We are just doomed.

Tosca: Yeah. If you – the, the fun, the great thing about this platform and, and, and the fact that we get to turn these romance novels into movies is that we really wanted a place where women could come after – you know, it’s great. We, we have this, we are great multitaskers; we are great with, you know, fine, we’ll get up, we’ll take care of everybody, everybody gets breakfast, everybody gets off to school, husband or boyfriend or whatever it is, they’re all taken care of. Then we go to work, we do our thing, we take care of clients. We write a book, we make a movie, whatever we’re going to do, while at the same time making sure that the soccer game, the kids are at their soccer game, the birthday party is taking place on, on Saturday, they have a birthday present, and that the recital is taken care of on Sunday and, you know, and we have all these things that we’re ready to do, and then we come home, we make dinner, everybody gets bathed, everybody’s in bed, and then you’re like, okay, I just want to moment to regroup. We’re like, great! PassionFlix is there for you. Have a glass of wine; have a cup of tea; sit down; watch something that’s going to take you on this wonderful emotional rollercoaster, roll, roll, that’ll going to, that’s going to end with a happy or very hopeful ending, so you’re guaranteed that, that HEA that you need so that you’re refreshed!

Sarah: Yes.

Tosca: You’re refreshed! You can come back and go, you know what? I’m good for tomorrow! Let’s do it again! But I feel like I’ve been filled.

Sarah: Yes.

Tosca: And that was –

Sarah: It’s very replenishing.

Tosca: Thank you, yes, and so that was, so that’s every single movie that we chose. We’re like, does this replenish me? And –

Sarah: Yep.

Tosca: – and that’s why we chose them.

Sarah: Do you have a favorite from the movies that are part of the collection right now in the initial launch? Is it possible to pick one, or is that just being too hard?

Tosca: It’s pretty hard. I’m pretty excited about Moonstruck because that’s such a chutzpah movie for me. I just, it’s so, it’s so cool, but, you know, I watched Sabrina. I just love Sabrina; it’s such a great movie. All of them are great. I can’t choose one. Last Holiday, oh! You just feel so great and so empowered after watching Last Holiday.

Sarah: What about you, Alessandra? Do you have a favorite of the, of the initial launch films in the collection?

Alessandra: I chose, like, five or six. Is there, is that already up, Tosca? The –

Tosca: It is! It is.

Alessandra: Yeah. So, you can go under Alessandra’s picks, and it, and it was hard to narrow it down to that when looking –

Tosca: Yeah.

Alessandra: – when looking at the catalogue. I like that there’s such a variety. You know, there’re older movies, there’re newer movies, there’re ones that are, like Last Holiday, where it’s, you know, it’s just a lot of different types of movies, so I like that. Just, whatever your mood is, you can find something that’s perfect for it.

Sarah: And I love that there’re so many different time periods represented, even in the initial collection. That was just – like I said, I opened up the app and I’m like, oh, this is really for me!

Tosca: Yeah.

Sarah: This is, oh, this is perfect! I’m so excited also that you’re going to be adapting some Brenda Jackson movies –

Tosca: Yes!

Sarah: – or books into movies.

Tosca: Yeah!

Sarah: That is going to be amazing! Where are you in that process?

Tosca: So we have the script written. We are looking to shoot it around October, November? It, we really want to shoot it in Virginia because that’s where it’s based, so it, it comes down to weather, because we don’t want to shoot it in winter when it’s snowing, so, you know, so much of, there, there’re so many different variables that go into actually making a movie, obviously, as I’m sure you understand.

Sarah: Mm-hmm.

Tosca: So if we want to shoot it in the location where it actually took place, like, for example, Georgia for Hollywood Dirt, we have to be very conscious of the weather.

Sarah: Right, of course.

Tosca: So, right now, we plan on shooting it this fall, so it’ll be actor-dependent then, but we look to shoot it October-ish, October, November.

Sarah: One of my readers wanted to know if you were planning to adapt any gay or lesbian or queer titles –

Tosca: Sure!

Sarah: – for PassionFlix as well.

Tosca: Yes. Yes, we are. Love is love! We’ll go, we’ll go anywhere. So, yes, we are. We haven’t, we haven’t optioned any yet. We are looking to do so within the next few months. We just haven’t gotten there yet, but we absolutely will. We, we really want to make sure that we are a platform that shows love in every different possible way, ‘cause love is love, and we want to make sure that it’s not segregated love, it’s not different for anybody else; it’s love, and so it’s important for us to tell that story.

Sarah: I agree. I’m so pleased to hear that answer. Now, I, I did warn your publicist to warn you that I would be asking this question. This is always the question I ask, and people are like, oh, my God, my mind went blank!

Tosca: Oh, okay. [Laughs]

Sarah: But I wanted to ask you, what are you reading that you want to tell people about? If you have any books to recommend, and I’d also love to know, Alessandra, what you’re working on right now as a writer.

Tosca: Well, what books am I reading right now? I’m actually reading a couple. So I’m rereading Gabriel’s Inferno, because why not? [Laughs] And, and then I’m also reading Kristen Ashley’s The Will.

Alessandra: That’s a really good one.

Tosca: Yeah. And then, did you know Nacho Figueras, you know, the polo player? Nacho Figueras?

Sarah: Yes, he has a whole series!

Tosca: Yes, and so I’m reading The Polo Season. Beautiful!

Sarah: That must be visually in your, as a director –

Tosca: Gorgeous.

Sarah: – and a filmmaker, that must be a really fun book to read.

Tosca: It is gorgeous, so, so, yes. I’m, I’m actually reading the second book in his series, ‘cause I read the first one already, so I’m reading the second one.

Sarah: So are you going to have to come up with foley artists for polo horses in the future? Is that what you’re saying?

Tosca: [Laughs]

Sarah: Polo horse one, chicken two, cow six.

Tosca: You know, you know, if we, if we get to make those books, which I’m, I’m hopeful we will, then my, the exciting thing for me is that I get to invite all the founding members from PassionFlix to come and watch us shoot those polo matches.

Sarah: Okay, that would be such a good time!

Tosca: Yeah. That would – and also, so, it’s the same thing for Driven; we’re going to be shooting Driven at the end of this year, beginning of next year, and so all those racing, all those, all the, the races, all the car races, we’re inviting all the founding members. It’s going to be so much fun.

Sarah: Oh, that’s really fun!

Alessandra: – any idea where you’ll film it?

Tosca: Most likely in Los Angeles, ‘cause –

Alessandra: Okay.

Tosca: – the characters live in LA? But I think, you know, it really depends on, again, weather, but LA tends to be pretty good in January.

Sarah: Yeah. You’re lucky that way.

Alessandra: I’m reading Bombshell by C. D. Reiss.

Tosca: Yeah?

Alessandra: I don’t know how I missed it when it released, but I’m catching up on my reading, and I love it. I absolutely love it. About a, a Hollywood star and his nanny. So that’s what I’m reading, and as far as working on, I just launched a new erotic serial on the Radish app, which is similar to Wattpad. I pub chapters as I write them, and –

Sarah: Mm-hmm?

Alessandra: – it’s all free, or you can pay if you want to read ahead. So it releases one chapter a week for free, or if you want to read, like, two chapters a week you can pay, like, fifteen cents per chapter. So that’s called All In, it’s set in Vegas, and it’s, like, a big casino owner and a cocktail waitress, so I’m having a lot of fun, and I’m liking the process of publishing it as I write, because the reader interaction is really interesting and getting their feedback as, as the story unfolds. So that just stop, started, and I release a book in three weeks called The Ghostwriter, which is not a romance; it’s a psychological thriller, so I’m excited for that.

Sarah: Whoa, that is a lot! Way to go!

Alessandra: Yeah, thank you.

Sarah: So, people can still sign up for PassionFlix anytime, right?

Tosca: Yes, please do! Please sign up. The, the more people that sign up, the more movies we can make. All of the money that we get at PassionFlix, so all those subscriber fees, they go directly to making original movies. So it doesn’t go to licensing additional content; that’s, that’s what we raise money for, but, but any, any subscriber money goes towards making original content, so we really appreciate any support.

Sarah: That is so cool.

[music]

Sarah: And that brings us to the end of this episode. I want to thank Alessandra and Tosca for hanging out with me and talking about the founding of PassionFlix, the filming of Hollywood Dirt, and if you are thinking, okay, I want to check all this out, you totally should! Head on over to smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast, and in the podcast entry I will have a link for you to check out PassionFlix and potentially sign up as a subscriber, and I will have links to all of the books and DVDs we spoke about during this interview, as well as links to Alessandra Torre’s website and social media, as well as PassionFlix too! Like, I’m going to have all the links; you should go check it out, because it’s pretty cool, right?

This podcast was brought to you by The Scotsman Who Saved Me by Hannah Howell. From New York Times bestselling author Hannah Howell comes a brand-new series featuring the MacEnroys, a family of seven strong, seductive, Scottish brothers who’ve come to America with nerves of steel and who take no prisoners when it comes to love. The last thing Iain MacEnroy expected to find in his peaceful corner of the Ozarks was a burning cabin with a murdered couple inside, but as he and his brothers bury the dead, a trail leads him directly to the gravely injured Miss Emily Stanton, who has managed to escape the attack. The MacEnroys take her into their care, and as Iain grows to care for Emily’s kind heart, he vows to help her get revenge for her family. The Scotsman Who Saved Me by Hannah Howell is available at Kensington Books and everywhere books are sold, and I will have links to this book in the podcast entry as well!

Each podcast gets a transcript, and I would like to thank garlicknitter for transcribing each one. Plus, as part of our Patreon goal, which we reached – yay! Thank you! – I’m also commissioning transcripts for older episodes deep in the archives, so keep an eye out for those as well. And if you would like to help or support the show, there are many options. First, you can have a look at patreon.com/SmartBitches. For monthly pledges starting at one dollar, you make a deeply appreciated difference in the podcast.

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Now, if you would just like to get in touch with me and tell me a thing or ask me a thing or suggest a thing, I love that! You can email me at [email protected], or you can leave a voicemail at 1-201-371-3272.

The music that you are currently listening to is provided by Sassy Outwater. You can find her on Twitter @SassyOutwater. This is The Shadow Orchestra. This album is a little bit difficult to find. It’s available on iTunes, and you can also find them on MySpace, and you guys know how much I love to talk about MySpace – I’m so excited! This song is called “Sweet as a Nut,” and I really like it. I hope you’re enjoying it as well.

Now, lately I’ve been ending with a joke. Are you ready for the joke? It’s terrible; I’m super excited about it.

Why don’t chicken coops have four doors?

Why don’t chicken coops have four doors? Because then they would be chicken sedans!

[Laughs] I don’t have my sound effects loaded, but just imagine a rimshot here: [oral rimshot sound effect]

All right, and that is all for – [laughs] – this episode, as I make myself laugh. Thank you so much for listening. I wish you the very best of reading. Have an excellent weekend, and I will see you back here next week.

[sweet music]