Tuesday September 18
th
marks the cable release of Dodge College alumnus
Rob Margolies
’ (BFA/FTV’05) romantic comedy,
She Wants Me
(2012).  Last week, we celebrated this milestone by arranging a free screening followed by a question and answer session with
Margolies
, and fellow alumnus/producer
Jeremy Schott
(BFA/Film Prod. ’08) and lead actress
Kristen Ruhlin
.


Our team loves making special guests, especially alumni, feel welcome, and so shortly before the event, we took the team out to dinner at
Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen
, in the heart of Old Town Orange.  Soon I found myself chatting and dining with the associate Dean – Michael Kowalski – a leading actress, a successful producer, and a working writer/director.  As a screenwriter myself, it was invaluable to hear their insights – especially Rob’s – given they’ve all gone through the same process I’m going through now, and are actually out there in the real world thriving on their art.

After the screening, the team answered questions from the audience, and told us a bit of the production history. 
She Wants Me
is a romantic comedy about a screenwriter who is thrown into a sticky situation when a well-known actress expresses interest a role originally intended for his girlfriend. In addition to
Kristen Ruhlin
, the film also stars
Josh Gad
,
Hilary Duff
, and the infamous
Charlie Sheen
. According to Margolies, the film was shot in a 15 day period for just under $1.5 million, quite the impressive feat!

She Wants Me Q&A


Asked about the small budget, Margolies explained,

The story is the most important part, and if you have a good story that grabs performers and producers, you can’t sell yourself short in that department…  I knew I was going to make it with whatever I could.


After the Q&A, Margolies, Ruhlin, and Schott, were more than happy to chat with lingering audiences members, hear their responses, listen to their hopes and dreams, and give them advice for the future. They were not quick to rush into their town car and be taken home, they were most interested in meeting the new talents here at Chapman and being a source of inspiration for them.

As for future plans, Margolies is beginning production on another film as
She Wants Me
is released. Kristen Ruhlin is moving on to two more television movies, as well as a horror film that she wrote herself which Warner Bros. has expressed interest in.

I’m looking forward to what the team have in store for the future!