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Collaborative Connections and the Room4 App
Episode 1035th December 2024 • Faith & Family Filmmakers • Geoffrey and Jaclyn Whitt
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Episode 103 - Collaborative Connections and the Room4 App

In this episode of the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast, Jaclyn interviews Laura May about the creation and vision behind the Room4 app. Starting from her early experiences casting for faith-based films, Laura recounts her journey and the divine inspiration that led to developing a platform to connect Christian talent with faith-based projects. She discusses the importance of community, faith, and collaboration in the Christian film industry, and how the Room for app aims to unite and support its members. Laura shares personal anecdotes, challenges, and the profound lesson of trusting in God's plan, emphasizing the need for faith, partnership, and innovation in creating uplifting and wholesome entertainment. Laura and Jaclyn also reflect on their mutual experiences and the growth of their respective endeavors in film and faith.

Highlights Include:

  • Welcome and Introduction
  • Early Casting Experiences
  • Challenges and Triumphs in Casting
  • The Birth of Room4 App
  • God Speaks at a Film Festival
  • The Heart behind Christian Casting and Room4
  • Personal Journeys and Sacrifices
  • Unexpected Paths and Opportunities
  • Collaborations and Community Building
  • Features and Goals for the Room4 App
  • Uniting for a Common Purpose
  • The Value of Long Term Relationships
  • Trusting God and Being Faithful

Bio:

Laura Mae is a Navy wife, mom of nine, and a passionate dreamer who has taken a lifetime of love for the arts and turned it into an international ministry, serving the faith-based and family-friendly film family all over the world.  She's an actress, casting, director, producer, and more excitedly, and constantly discovering new hats to put on her latest project is the brand new app for the indie film world called room four.  film family all over the world.  She's an actress, casting, director, producer, and more excitedly, and constantly discovering new hats to put on her latest project is the brand new app for the indie film world called room four.

Laura Mae on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauramaepoore

Christian Casting Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1758573180908736

Christian Casting online / Room4: https://www.christiancasting.com/


Content Christian Media Conference 1-Day Event https://www.christianmediaconference.com/content1day-program

VIP Producers Mentorship Program: https://www.faffassociation.com/vip-producers-mentorship


The Faith & Family Filmmakers podcast helps filmmakers who share a Christian worldview stay in touch, informed, and inspired. Releasing new episodes every week, we interview experts from varying fields of filmmaking; from screenwriters, actors, directors, and producers, to film scorers,  talent agents, and distributors. 

It is produced and hosted by Geoffrey Whitt and Jaclyn Whitt , and is brought to you by the Faith & Family Filmmakers Association

Support Faith & Family Filmmakers Our mission is to help filmmakers who share a Christian Worldview stay in touch, informed, and inspired. If you would like to assist with the costs of producing this podcast, you can help by leaving a tip.

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Faith and Family Screenwriting Academy: https://www.faffassociation.com/

Script Notes and Coaching: https://www.faffassociation.com/script-services


Copyright 2024 Ivan Ann Productions

Transcripts

Jaclyn:

Welcome back to the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast.

Jaclyn:

My name is Jaclyn, and today I've got Laura May with me.

Jaclyn:

And in our previous interview, we briefly touched on the Room for app, but we didn't really get into all of what it means.

Jaclyn:

And I would like to talk about that today, and let's just start with what was the heart behind what got it started?

Laura Mae:

Sure.

Laura Mae:

So, I remember being up in Connecticut.

Laura Mae:

It was the second time I had been asked to cast a project.

Laura Mae:

And I did not realize, you know, these David and Goliath things you look back on?

Laura Mae:

Things that you tackled early on in the industry that you were like, Oh, right now, if somebody asked me to do that, I would never.

Laura Mae:

I would never.

Laura Mae:

I would say, Nope, that is impossible, but when we're young and we're green,

Jaclyn:

You don't know any better.

Laura Mae:

No, you don't.

Laura Mae:

And so I had helped to cast with a project in the Pennsylvania area, but I lived in Maryland and I thought, well, that's, that's cool.

Laura Mae:

That's fine.

Laura Mae:

That's no problem.

Laura Mae:

I can get a bunch of people there, a bunch of families for a, uh, a sports scene one afternoon, you know, just fill the stands and the bleachers.

Laura Mae:

so then they're like, Laura, you did a great job.

Laura Mae:

Could you help us cast for this courtroom scene?

Laura Mae:

It's the most pivotal scene in the movie.

Laura Mae:

Again, I knew no better.

Laura Mae:

That's the most pivotal scene in the movie.

Laura Mae:

And we need a courtroom packed with people.

Laura Mae:

And we are going to need people there for eight days filming.

Laura Mae:

So we're going to do that.

Laura Mae:

But here's the thing, we cannot pay for their travel and we cannot pay for their lodging, but we need them for all eight days.

Laura Mae:

And I was like, Oh, sure.

Laura Mae:

No problem.

Jaclyn:

no problem.

Laura Mae:

And if anyone asks me to do that now, I would say, go back into your prayer closet and ask the Lord for wisdom.

Laura Mae:

Okay.

Laura Mae:

Because that is not wisdom, but I didn't know any better.

Laura Mae:

And so the Lord took that, Innocence and that naivety and he blessed the socks off of it because I was reaching out to people.

Laura Mae:

Luckily, there were a couple of big names in that scene.

Laura Mae:

So I was like reaching out with tentacles everywhere going, Hey, do you want to be in a film?

Laura Mae:

you're going to be in a scene with this person and this person and this person who were pretty hot in the christian film world at that time and I literally had The whole courtroom full of people.

Laura Mae:

Thank God.

Laura Mae:

Like that was completely him.

Laura Mae:

I just got to be I was the cord, but he was the plug, he was the outlet, he was the everything.

Laura Mae:

And so as we're there, I was thinking, man, it would've been great if we could have had an avenue to just blast this thing out on, you know?

Laura Mae:

And it was funny because we even had a guy fly from Denmark.

Laura Mae:

I kid you not, he later got it published in the paper and he sent us a copy and it was.

Laura Mae:

I think it's Dutch that they speak over there.

Laura Mae:

I don't remember.

Laura Mae:

We couldn't understand a word of the article, but here's a picture of this man from Denmark in his suit in the courtroom and like all of Denmark was rejoicing that he flew to America to be in a movie.

Laura Mae:

It was so And so he came over.

Laura Mae:

He literally flew over, paid for his hotel for the eight days.

Laura Mae:

It was wild.

Laura Mae:

And so anyway, so many cool things were birthed in that moment.

Laura Mae:

I was talking with a bunch of the extras.

Laura Mae:

You know, of course we had hours and hours that we weren't filming and we were all just stuck in this little room together.

Laura Mae:

And we were like, man, why isn't there something, you know, like Actors Access, but for Christians, why isn't there something just for faith based and family friendly projects?

Laura Mae:

Because that would be so much easier, we weed through things, we spend hours and hours and hours on Actors Access or backstage.

Laura Mae:

com or castingnetworks.

Laura Mae:

com, and even back then people were on mandy.

Laura Mae:

com, and it was just all these websites, but you had to filter through so many projects that you didn't even know You couldn't even tell from the breakdown whether or not they would align with your faith.

Laura Mae:

You know, like, maybe it looks like it is for that scene, but maybe not the rest of the movie.

Laura Mae:

And so we got talking about why isn't there a website for just that?

Laura Mae:

isn't faith film getting big enough that we could help each other out?

Laura Mae:

There's no shortage of Christian projects, and there's no shortage of Christian talent.

Laura Mae:

How come there's no place to connect the two?

Laura Mae:

And so that is actually where it was started, is in, you know, right in the middle of Impossible.

Laura Mae:

I feel like God's always asking me to do Impossible.

Laura Mae:

And shortly after that, I went to a film festival called the Hollywood Divine Film Festival.

Laura Mae:

Ah, I love it.

Laura Mae:

It was tiny, but it was so mighty.

Laura Mae:

And I keep hoping that they'll come back again.

Laura Mae:

For another round and the Lord told me you need to go watch the George Muller or some people say it Muller the George Muller story And it was a cartoon.

Laura Mae:

It's just an animated thing and the Lord's like get over there get over there get over there Well, of course, you know back in that time like Dallas Jenkins was there He's just starting with the chosen, you know, it was years ago And so I'm like Lord, I have to go teach a session but the Lord's like, get in there.

Laura Mae:

I kid you not, I walked in there and nobody else was in this huge auditorium.

Laura Mae:

Nobody else was in there to watch that cartoon.

Laura Mae:

But here's me, da da da da, just walking in because the Lord told me to go watch this cartoon.

Laura Mae:

And of course, it was at that scene where, he's renting this orphanage, and he's so believing for the Lord to provide that he sets the children down with no food and with no beverage.

Laura Mae:

And he says, Children, we're going to thank the Lord because he will provide.

Laura Mae:

He has never failed us before and he will never fail us now.

Laura Mae:

And so he sits the children down to an empty table to pray and to thank the Lord.

Laura Mae:

And then he gets a knock on the door and somebody says, Hey, the Lord woke me up at 3am to bake bread for you.

Laura Mae:

I hope that I heard him right, but I've got all this bread and I've been baking all night.

Laura Mae:

Is this something you could use?

Laura Mae:

And of course he's like, Oh, praise the Lord.

Laura Mae:

And then a milk truck breaks down right, or not a truck, but like a wagon.

Laura Mae:

Um, and so then knock on the door, hey, we have all of this milk and it's going to spoil before we're able to get the carriage fixed.

Laura Mae:

Could you guys use some milk?

Laura Mae:

And so of course it was at that scene, and I'm weeping,

Jaclyn:

Mm hmm.

Laura Mae:

cartoon in this huge church auditorium all by myself, and I'm going, Lord, I hear you.

Laura Mae:

Lord, I hear you.

Laura Mae:

It's It's gonna be big, and it's gonna be scary, and I'm not gonna know, but you are gonna require me to have the faith to sit down and thank you for the things that I can't even see, and to say thank you in the presence of other people, knowing that I will either look like an absolute lunatic, Or, that that faith that I'm going to put out there is going to somehow reveal your glory.

Laura Mae:

And, just over and over and over, he kept saying, Are you ready?

Laura Mae:

Are you ready?

Laura Mae:

Are you willing to walk this road?

Laura Mae:

And of course, I'm like, the George Mueller story has always been so fascinating and so, encouraging of course, you know, I talked about missionaries in the last episode and kind of my my addiction to like a great missionary story.

Laura Mae:

I love it.

Laura Mae:

so it really felt like the Lord was like I'm going to have you walk this sort of path.

Laura Mae:

And so I'm wiping the tears away.

Laura Mae:

I'm looking at the clock like, Oh, I got to run and go.

Laura Mae:

teach my own seminar at the festival and literally the whole thing has been just like that ever since then.

Laura Mae:

It's just been these really big sort of impossible things and it sits there long enough that I know that there are people who are going to say, well she's crazy or she's never going to finish or it's not going to happen, and I just have to believe and I'm actually grateful, that you asked about the heart because I had forgotten until You know, now I hadn't thought about that recently, how the Lord was like, I need this from you.

Laura Mae:

I need this faith from you.

Laura Mae:

And so the heart behind it was let's start something, and connect people to be the networker.

Laura Mae:

I feel like the body, here's another ism of mine, I guess, is the body of Christ should be unstoppable.

Laura Mae:

But right now we're so disjointed that it's like the knuckle is doing a great job over there.

Laura Mae:

And like the ankle is doing fine in the pinkies over here.

Laura Mae:

You know, but I feel like we are so.

Laura Mae:

Disembodied from one another that the support structure that we should have in place That's in I think it's Acts 4 where the body of Christ lacked nothing the early church because they share what they had That has been driven into my soul as one of the stakes that is going to pin down room 4 That we will lack nothing when we actually share what we have.

Laura Mae:

When we take our resources and we go, Hey, I've got this and I know you don't have this.

Laura Mae:

So let's do some old fashioned barter and let's make it happen.

Laura Mae:

But right now, everybody, not everybody, but it's safe to say most folks within the industry are sort of floundering.

Laura Mae:

There's a couple of groups that are like rocking it and they have all the funding they need.

Laura Mae:

And then there's 95 percent of us who are like, scraping, trying to

Jaclyn:

Yeah.

Laura Mae:

but, we, if we just had the funding, we'd be okay, you know, But I think that there's a lot more barter that we could do, There's a lot more hand in hand, like the left hand helping the right hand, And so in that, little did I know that even faith based casting was being birthed in Beverly Holloway.

Laura Mae:

You know, she's of course one of our favorite, casting directors.

Laura Mae:

God was birthing in her something very similar that he was to me all those years ago.

Laura Mae:

And as I was in that room saying, we need to do something.

Laura Mae:

She had actually met with Brian Jagger, who is the head of Casting Calls America.

Laura Mae:

And she met him at a film festival and said, could you create a film?

Laura Mae:

Faith based section, like a little wing just for, my kind of projects over there.

Laura Mae:

And he's like, yeah, we can do that.

Laura Mae:

We already have the software.

Laura Mae:

We'll just splinter off a little piece.

Laura Mae:

And so then as Christian casting is growing, so is faith based casting.

Laura Mae:

And I had been building a community and they had been building software.

Laura Mae:

And all of a sudden, Bev Holloway goes to them and goes, Uh, you need to go talk to Laura about what she's doing, okay?

Laura Mae:

Because we have We have the thing, but she has the people, and we need to somehow work together because the thing and the people need to work in tandem.

Laura Mae:

And so it was neat because God had been preparing my heart for this connective tissue, building structure.

Laura Mae:

so we have worked side by side with Faith Based Casting, and the difference between Room 4 and Faith Based Casting is we want to kind of be like, The housing for, like, the shopping mall, right?

Laura Mae:

So we want to let you know what's on Faith Based Casting.

Laura Mae:

We also want to tell you about the Faith Based Projects on Actors Access.

Laura Mae:

We want to tell you if you found a great casting on, Facebook, or if there's one hitting Instagram.

Laura Mae:

Like, we want to be kind of that holding space where you can find them from all over in one place.

Laura Mae:

The funnel, so to

Jaclyn:

Mm hmm.

Laura Mae:

But, but never at the expense of, never in competition with one another.

Laura Mae:

Like, just how can we build up each other?

Laura Mae:

And here's my last one, this is the last one people know me for, is I constantly say, a rising tide lifts all ships.

Laura Mae:

And so, that is my goal, like, hey y'all, let's just, let's just work on getting the water in here, and then we all rise together.

Laura Mae:

So, sorry, that was a really long answer, but

Jaclyn:

No, it's,

Laura Mae:

it.

Jaclyn:

fantastic.

Jaclyn:

And I, I love, like, what I've learned in my walk with God is that I think sometimes he specifically chooses us when we are naive because we don't know any better.

Jaclyn:

like when I was, I think I was 19 and I decided, hey, I want to learn something And so I bought a Spanish English dictionary, and I thought, how hard could it be?

Jaclyn:

And I just started practicing the language, because I knew people that were struggling with English, and they were from a Spanish speaking country, and so I made friends with them.

Jaclyn:

And so, I went through like two years of just learning this language, I didn't even necessarily have plans to.

Jaclyn:

to go visit anywhere that speaks Spanish.

Jaclyn:

Now I live in Mexico and it's because, in order for us to have a Faith and Family Filmmakers Association, like, we have to be somewhere where we can afford to live because it's not cheap to start a business, right?

Jaclyn:

And so we sold everything, we left everything in Canada, we came to Mexico, lived off of our own savings so that we could build everything for exactly the same heart that you're talking about is, like, We are going to be stronger when we work together, like in X, right, where everybody pooled resources together and then nobody lacked anything.

Jaclyn:

And so I know that the more that people step into what we do, We're creating because God has placed it on us.

Jaclyn:

And like, honestly, same for me.

Jaclyn:

who in the world am I to be, you know, like that's, you've been around since we started out with the Family Friendly Screenwriting Academy where it was just about screenwriting.

Jaclyn:

And I thought, okay, yeah, that'll be my part time thing where I'll teach screenwriting and then I'll just be a writer.

Jaclyn:

I thought I was just going to participate.

Jaclyn:

It didn't occur to me or to Geoff, that we would end up, facilitating something that would.

Jaclyn:

potentially support the entire industry, but yet here we are where God has connected us with, opportunities to learn skills in business and all of these things.

Jaclyn:

And I mean, Geoff wasn't website developer and it's like, now he's doing all these things and we never, it was just never part of our, our thoughts.

Jaclyn:

But then we were like, well, I guess we have to do this now.

Jaclyn:

And we didn't have time to stop and think, but that's crazy.

Laura Mae:

Yes, exactly.

Laura Mae:

And that's part of the juggling.

Laura Mae:

If somebody throws you another ball, you're like, ah, okay.

Laura Mae:

Okay,

Laura Mae:

let me get to that one in a second, but you don't have time to reason.

Laura Mae:

That ball should not be anywhere near me.

Laura Mae:

you're just like, all right, got it.

Laura Mae:

Okay, I'll do it.

Laura Mae:

I'll try to figure it out.

Laura Mae:

And this journey has been so much like that for me, too.

Laura Mae:

And in fact, I'm just gonna brag a little bit, okay?

Laura Mae:

I got to be in your beta class.

Laura Mae:

I love Oops.

Laura Mae:

that I get you're like, well, not sure how this is going to go, but, and I still adore the time that I had in that class.

Laura Mae:

And I love seeing where God has brought you guys, because I think, you know, I tell people too, last episode, I talked about how our passion defines our ministry and our, our, well, it doesn't even define our ministry, just the people that we'll touch, you know, the crazy thing is.

Laura Mae:

I thought, when I was young, I wanted to be a singer, and I, and I thought I was pursuing singing, and then I go to school for music, and then I even go do this talent competition for singing, but they couldn't, they're like, no one trick ponies, you have to act too, and you have to be a lifestyle model, and I was like, what, no, but they're like, no, they need everyday looking people, and I was like, oh, okay, well, then I can do that, because I'm definitely an everyday looking person, so, Then, and they're like, well, can you act?

Laura Mae:

And I said, well man, I was standing on a chair behind the pulpit singing when I was four years old at church and then quickly after that, as quick as I could memorize lines, I was always doing the plays and the skits, and I love drama.

Laura Mae:

Got to high school, did college drama, loved it.

Laura Mae:

But I was like, as a grownup, I can still act what it was.

Laura Mae:

So outside the sphere of my little bitty Baptist upbringing that I just, I just thought, you get married and then you have kids and you just have to put all the fun stuff away,

Jaclyn:

right.

Jaclyn:

You only have fun when you're a kid.

Jaclyn:

I kind of, I feel like that's the reverse.

Jaclyn:

I am having so much fun as an

Jaclyn:

adult.

Laura Mae:

So much, like literally so much of my childhood is kind of this blur because I feel like nothing that exciting happened . No offense to my parents, they gave me a very stable home.

Laura Mae:

but it's not thrilling in the least.

Laura Mae:

So I have gone on the opposite spectrum and gone, I will give my children fantastic memories and experiences that they will never forget.

Laura Mae:

And sometimes I go a little overboard.

Laura Mae:

My husband's like, I think you're overcompensating.

Laura Mae:

And I was like, that's okay, because.

Laura Mae:

I told the Lord, if I do this, I'll do it with my children.

Laura Mae:

I promise it'll never come before them.

Laura Mae:

You allowed me to walk into this as a mother.

Laura Mae:

I will do it with my children.

Laura Mae:

And it's funny because that childhood dream of singing and then they made me do acting in this competition.

Laura Mae:

Well, I didn't get much attention for singing.

Laura Mae:

I got a little bit for singing and songwriting, but I actually got an award for my acting like top 10 out of, thousands of people.

Laura Mae:

And I went, Oh, that was really unexpected and kind of cool.

Laura Mae:

And so shortly after that, I ended up in a Walmart commercial and I was like, what?

Laura Mae:

I can do this as a grownup.

Laura Mae:

And so I tell people just because you have a dream, don't think that that particular dream is going to be the highway that you ride for the rest of your life.

Laura Mae:

It is more likely.

Laura Mae:

the highway that's going to take you to the exit you need.

Laura Mae:

so God got me on that music highway, knowing he would not keep me there, knowing it had nothing to do with the end goal, but it had everything to do with putting me in position to have me exit at this crazy film exit where I didn't have a clue what I was doing.

Laura Mae:

I had no idea what I was getting into, but I was silly and naive enough to go ahead and say yes, uh, because it was fun.

Laura Mae:

And I enjoyed it and it brought me life.

Laura Mae:

And one of my favorite quotes and I don't remember who says it, but he says, find what it is that makes you alive and go do that.

Laura Mae:

Because what the world needs is more people who have come fully alive.

Laura Mae:

And I know for you too, Jaclyn, like when we see each other at film festivals, it's like that, atmosphere, those people, it gives me such life.

Laura Mae:

And I'm exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time.

Laura Mae:

Like I, my body's worn out, but my heart and soul are so full.

Jaclyn:

Yeah.

Jaclyn:

And I feel so grounded, you know, like, everybody there's, most of them anyways, are brand new to me.

Jaclyn:

But I feel like these are my people, these are, like, I get them, they get me, and like a, a family reunion, and actually my mom said something to me recently where she was saying, what we need to do as believers is to come together setting differences aside in order to bring glory to God, and she gave the example of like, you know, my siblings and I, we don't always get along, we're just very different people, and it's not to say that.

Jaclyn:

we have discord or anything.

Jaclyn:

It's just we have different ideas and because different personalities and different experiences in life, So we're just very different people.

Jaclyn:

we do though get together and work together and figure it out so that we can celebrate our parents on their birthdays or for whatever thing that we've decided to gather for in order to honor them.

Jaclyn:

And we figure it out.

Jaclyn:

We make it happen.

Jaclyn:

We set our differences aside because the goal is to honor our parents.

Jaclyn:

And we can all agree on that goal.

Jaclyn:

And I feel like in the film industry, we need to do the same thing because the end goal, what we want to do is glorify our father.

Jaclyn:

We want to honor him.

Jaclyn:

And so whatever differences we have, we can set them aside because we have a common goal.

Jaclyn:

And we can work together to figure out how do we meet that common goal.

Laura Mae:

Right.

Laura Mae:

Yeah.

Laura Mae:

It's so important because so much of this industry in the world is so competition based.

Laura Mae:

It's just it's ridiculous.

Laura Mae:

I feel like too many times we look to Hollywood and we put too much glory in how they do things.

Laura Mae:

Well, if our movies could look like Hollywood, now, should they be excellent?

Laura Mae:

Yes, they

Laura Mae:

should.

Laura Mae:

But should that mean that there is one monster, company funding all of our stuff?

Laura Mae:

No, don't think that Our road to get there should look the same.

Laura Mae:

I think that our end goals should be one of excellence, and I do think that our stuff ought to be better than theirs, because we serve a creative God.

Laura Mae:

He is the author of creativity, and if we are walking in fellowship with him, and we are inspired, and, you know, have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, then our stuff should be better.

Jaclyn:

Absolutely.

Jaclyn:

And that's exactly how I feel, too.

Jaclyn:

Like, our stories should be the most compelling.

Jaclyn:

Our, products should be the most excellent.

Jaclyn:

the reality is that it really should be the cream of the crop.

Jaclyn:

Like, that's what we should be pursuing.

Jaclyn:

None of this good enough.

Laura Mae:

doesn't it feel sometimes though like people are like, okay But we have to do it just like Hollywood and I'm like, no, no, no.

Laura Mae:

No.

Laura Mae:

Have you read the Old Testament?

Laura Mae:

Do you know how the walls of Jericho fell?

Laura Mae:

Okay.

Laura Mae:

It was very creative.

Laura Mae:

It was very eloquent.

Laura Mae:

It was very, um, Allegorical, okay, right?

Laura Mae:

We're gonna march around the city and we're gonna march and march and march for seven days.

Laura Mae:

We're gonna holler We're gonna break some jugs And then boom, the walls are gonna fall.

Laura Mae:

Like, we forget.

Laura Mae:

We forget that Gideon and his 300 men defeated the armies.

Laura Mae:

We forget that it was David and Goliath.

Laura Mae:

And all over scripture, the Lord is like, I do things different on purpose so that you know it was me.

Laura Mae:

And here we're all like, what?

Laura Mae:

But we have to do it like, no, we do not have to do it

Jaclyn:

No, I think he is ready to just break that, like where he's basically saying, look, you guys had your fun doing it the human worldly way.

Jaclyn:

I'm going to show you how to do it my way.

Jaclyn:

And it's going to be better than anybody could have ever expected.

Laura Mae:

Yes.

Laura Mae:

I pray so.

Laura Mae:

you know, with the Room 4 app, I'm like, Okay, so Actor's Access is big.

Laura Mae:

It's big.

Laura Mae:

I get it.

Laura Mae:

but I feel like we can do what Actor's Access does.

Laura Mae:

And by the way, I kind of want to do everything else.

Laura Mae:

When I was talking to the app development team and I was explaining all the things that I want Room 4 to be able to do, I was like, Okay, let's do The guy sat his pencil down on the table and he looked at me and he said, You want to build an entire online world, don't

Jaclyn:

Uh huh.

Laura Mae:

I said, Yes, I do.

Laura Mae:

Um,

Jaclyn:

Why?

Jaclyn:

Is

Laura Mae:

I

Jaclyn:

hard?

Laura Mae:

know, I know.

Laura Mae:

Well, I mean, how much could that possibly cost me?

Laura Mae:

It turns out, a

Laura Mae:

lot.

Jaclyn:

could it be?

Jaclyn:

Right.

Jaclyn:

Yeah,

Laura Mae:

But, I look at We Audition, right, so that's a website or an app that a lot of people use to find readers for well that's great, but why can't we have a, a section of Room 4 where you can find a faith based person to work with?

Laura Mae:

Why wouldn't we want to support each other?

Laura Mae:

Again,

Jaclyn:

make

Laura Mae:

Christ

Jaclyn:

connection.

Laura Mae:

Uniting.

Laura Mae:

Yes, find a new film friend.

Laura Mae:

I want to have a social media aspect on there.

Laura Mae:

I want to have a tab where you can look at everybody who's fundraising.

Laura Mae:

Because I'm thinking, listen, right now, there's so much noise on social media.

Laura Mae:

And it's like, well, I've got to GoFundMe.

Laura Mae:

Well, I've got GiveSendGo.

Laura Mae:

Well, I've got an Indiegogo.

Laura Mae:

Well, I've got a Kickstarter.

Laura Mae:

And they're just hoping that some rich person will stumble upon it on social media and give a bunch of money, or that grassroots efforts will blow them away.

Laura Mae:

And let's be real.

Laura Mae:

Most of the time it doesn't seem to happen.

Laura Mae:

And so I've said, look, rising tide.

Laura Mae:

Okay.

Laura Mae:

I want to have a tab on the app where you can just click currently fundraising

Laura Mae:

and then everybody, I don't care if there's 3 million and two people who all want to post their fundraisers.

Laura Mae:

Then we at least have them all in one place.

Laura Mae:

Doesn't that make sense?

Laura Mae:

if you need a reader, can't you go to one place?

Laura Mae:

If you need a good script, hello, Jaclyn.

Laura Mae:

Uh, if you all listen to this podcast and you have not read some of her scripts, whoah, whoah, okay?

Laura Mae:

Like, every single one I've ever read, I'm laughing, I'm weeping, like, I'm trembling.

Laura Mae:

All the things.

Laura Mae:

Every single script of yours I've ever seen.

Laura Mae:

So, I want to have a script library where people can pull scenes!

Laura Mae:

Because people are like going, We can't find good scenes.

Laura Mae:

without profanity, or without sexual suggestions, or without Potty content.

Laura Mae:

And so another thing, it kind of sounds like I'm trying to answer all of the film world's problems.

Laura Mae:

I am.

Laura Mae:

Listen, I have nine kids.

Laura Mae:

I'm afraid of nothing, okay?

Laura Mae:

So I try to see how many problems we have, and if it's 812, I don't care.

Laura Mae:

Just give me a minute.

Laura Mae:

We'll get to all 812.

Jaclyn:

right,

Jaclyn:

right, right.

Jaclyn:

You are a problem

Jaclyn:

solver at

Laura Mae:

Yeah, even scripts!

Laura Mae:

Like, I need a monologue, or I need a scene to do with a partner, I need a reel.

Laura Mae:

Okay, great, go to our monologue, or go to our script library.

Laura Mae:

It's all clean scripts, and by the way, you might kind of love some of these script writers, and then you find out, ooh, they have screenwriting academies, and they have all these things.

Laura Mae:

But it's just constantly connecting, connecting, connecting, connecting, so that we're building this framework that is just solid as concrete.

Laura Mae:

And then we all build from there.

Laura Mae:

there's a lot of other things I want the app to do, but, I'm rambling at this point, just to get so stinking excited.

Jaclyn:

Yeah.

Jaclyn:

It's hard not to when you're excited about, what you're doing, especially when you can start to see how it's coming together.

Jaclyn:

I know I do the same thing when I, kind of get on my soapbox where I can see what God's doing, where now the vision is becoming clearer, and I can just be like, oh, it's gonna be amazing,

Laura Mae:

yes.

Jaclyn:

you know?

Laura Mae:

And I'll tell you what, so I'm gonna go somewhere.

Laura Mae:

I don't know if I should go here or not, but I'm going to.

Laura Mae:

there was a gal in that screenwriting class with me, your very first screenwriting class.

Laura Mae:

And so we as a family, I'm just gonna put it out there, I was in my 40s, when all of a sudden, somebody told me that Leviticus 23, Was for me too.

Laura Mae:

And I was like, wait, what?

Laura Mae:

What?

Laura Mae:

I don't even, what are you talking about?

Laura Mae:

I don't even know what you're talking about.

Laura Mae:

And then I was like, I just read it and I am not feeling inspired or encouraged.

Laura Mae:

I'm like, don't, it's Leviticus.

Laura Mae:

I mean, what are we,

Jaclyn:

Yeah, yeah.

Jaclyn:

You read it and you're like, and?

Laura Mae:

We don't ever go to like numbers for inspiration and, you know, Holy living.

Laura Mae:

Right.

Laura Mae:

And so I remember there was a gal who was doing a Sukkot film.

Laura Mae:

She wanted to write a Sukkot film.

Laura Mae:

And I got so excited

Jaclyn:

By the way, for those who don't know the word Sukkot, it's the Hebrew word for the Feast of Tabernacles.

Laura Mae:

yes, Okay.

Laura Mae:

good call, good call on that explanation.

Laura Mae:

But as a family, it's funny cause somebody very close to me was like, I guess there's nothing wrong with you celebrating I think it's kind of weird that you do that, but I guess there's nothing inherently wrong with it.

Laura Mae:

And I'm like, no, no, there's not.

Laura Mae:

Yeah.

Jaclyn:

No, there's nothing wrong with that.

Laura Mae:

Don't even get me started.

Laura Mae:

Boy, you and I could soapbox on that for a long time.

Laura Mae:

But anyway, what I loved is that, like you said before, like we set aside the things that make us different, right?

Laura Mae:

And we cling to the things that all make us the same.

Laura Mae:

Like we all are longing to please Abba, Father, to hear the words, well done, my good and faithful servant.

Laura Mae:

and when we drop the lines and we drop the, even the denominational boundaries, right?

Laura Mae:

we go to a film festival and I don't know what denomination each person associates with.

Laura Mae:

And I kind of love that

Laura Mae:

because then sometimes through conversation you'll be like, Oh, okay.

Laura Mae:

So they're this or they're that, but you didn't know, like there was a common goal for a common good for the glory of our creator God.

Laura Mae:

And I love that in dropping those lines, then sometimes you meet people who are like, Oh, I don't know.

Laura Mae:

When that girl writes that movie, like, I want my kids to see it, because we've seen plenty of Christmas movies, but hello, I've never seen a movie about the Feast of Tabernacles, and I've never seen a movie about, ANYTHING like that, like, that would be so cool, so, for whatever it's worth, I just, I love what you're doing, and I, think that you know, but in case you don't, like, I am watching this.

Laura Mae:

this volcanic eruption happened out of what started so many years ago.

Laura Mae:

and I remember us connecting just on, I think you had won an award, and I just wanted to celebrate with you guys.

Laura Mae:

So I shared it to the Christian Casting Community page, but I didn't even know you.

Laura Mae:

And later on I was like, oh, that's that same girl!

Laura Mae:

Oh, she's kind of cool, I like her.

Laura Mae:

And then all of a sudden we just started talking more and more and more and more and more.

Laura Mae:

And it's just been so cool to see this, you know, neither one of us had any idea about each other, and then just to see it exploding out the top is so encouraging because it's such an organically God thing.

Jaclyn:

Yeah.

Jaclyn:

And I love that, when you do develop relationships and, when you have those relationships that last for years, you get to see the progress that, God is doing in their life, and where he's leading them.

Jaclyn:

and it is amazing when I know when I went to my very first film festival, I went to content and I met Stephanie Parker.

Jaclyn:

And, um, And so it was kind of at the beginning of her journey, and it was the very beginning of mine.

Jaclyn:

And so we were both like brand new and then, and then we kind of, you know, went our own way, doing our own thing for a while.

Jaclyn:

And then we met again a few years later and I had seen some updates of what she'd been doing and she'd seen some updates of what I'd been doing.

Jaclyn:

And so we're like, it's so cool to watch your journey.

Jaclyn:

You know, like I, I knew you back when.

Laura Mae:

Yes.

Laura Mae:

I think the same thing.

Laura Mae:

I love that we were all on the ground level.

Laura Mae:

and I tell people too, when they're just starting out, I say do not despise small beginnings and don't despise the other people.

Laura Mae:

So many folks are like, Oh, well I need to prove myself.

Laura Mae:

I need to make it.

Laura Mae:

I, if I could just be in a movie with so and so or they get their picture with a celebrity and they're like, okay, this'll prove y'all.

Laura Mae:

there is such a wonderful.

Laura Mae:

Beautiful, innocent, brilliance about knowing people that are on the same level as you and just building together.

Laura Mae:

Like you said, with me and you and with Stephanie and, and I'm watching other filmmakers do it.

Laura Mae:

You know, Tyler Sansom is another one

Jaclyn:

Mm hmm.

Laura Mae:

little church, kind of like Sherwood, grassroots, they're like, we just want to make a film.

Laura Mae:

And then they debuted it in the prisons because, according to Matthew, I was in prison and you visited me, I was sick you came to me.

Laura Mae:

And so they debuted it in prisons and we're having men.

Laura Mae:

Being baptized.

Laura Mae:

Like they didn't do a red carpet premiere first.

Laura Mae:

They sent it to the prisons first.

Laura Mae:

And so I love watching how God has blessed first capital and their films.

Laura Mae:

And they're now they're building their own studio.

Laura Mae:

And I'm like, I remember when you guys were like, okay, so we can't pay anybody.

Laura Mae:

We need some extras.

Laura Mae:

You

Laura Mae:

know, this is our first church movie.

Laura Mae:

It's just our church family doing it together.

Laura Mae:

and there are some really cool things just exploding with excitement.

Laura Mae:

And it's been really, really cool to see.

Jaclyn:

That is so exciting.

Jaclyn:

Yeah, they gave their first fruits to God.

Jaclyn:

And I think that when you do that, God is just, He is looking for opportunities to bless us, and He watches for things like that.

Jaclyn:

And so, yeah, I want to encourage people.

Jaclyn:

I think that this episode has really, definitely dove into understanding that like, God is God, ways are above our ways.

Jaclyn:

We're not necessarily going to understand the journey, but it is going to be such an adventure.

Jaclyn:

And when we keep ourselves grounded in Him and serving Him and that the goal is to bring Him honor and glory, that whatever avenue He calls us to, we can do that.

Jaclyn:

even if it looks like He's calling us away from what we, we were supposed to do,

Jaclyn:

um, we need to trust Him in that journey.

Jaclyn:

and He's blessing us, and the more that we can bless each other, I mean, Jesus said that they will know you.

Jaclyn:

by the way, you love one another.

Jaclyn:

And, this is what we're doing.

Jaclyn:

We are like ready to set aside our pride and be like, look, I know that I can do something for you.

Jaclyn:

Whether you can actually do something for me or not is not how this works, right?

Jaclyn:

I can give to you and I'm going to do it.

Jaclyn:

And God is going to figure out how that all works out in the end.

Jaclyn:

And so, like I used to tell my kids.

Jaclyn:

Don't worry about the chores and who does what, what day, because you know what, by the time you both move out, you'll have done the same thing.

Jaclyn:

So, it

Jaclyn:

really doesn't matter.

Laura Mae:

you know, for my children, know now to not say, that's not fair, you can't say that at my house, because then I will intentionally make things more unfair, and I tell them that if I teach you that fair is a world principle, then you are going to leave this home and be so horribly

Laura Mae:

discouraged.

Laura Mae:

And so, it's my job to teach you that life is not fair, but things always balance out.

Laura Mae:

And so, if this moment feels very unbalanced, your moment is coming.

Laura Mae:

And I think even in, certainly in this industry of a million no's,

Laura Mae:

okay, a hundred, a hundred no's for a

Jaclyn:

Yeah.

Jaclyn:

Feast and

Laura Mae:

Yes, that, that, it's really good to know, like, life isn't fair, but God is.

Laura Mae:

And we know, he promises, vengeance is mine, I will repay.

Laura Mae:

He promises to send rain on the just and the unjust.

Laura Mae:

But he says, I am just, I am righteous, and I promise you, I see what I need to see, both the good and the bad,

Jaclyn:

Mm hmm.

Laura Mae:

and I will make things right.

Jaclyn:

Yeah.

Jaclyn:

One of the best things that I think I focused on teaching my kids was not to complain about what they were given.

Jaclyn:

The way I did that was with food, because they were very picky.

Jaclyn:

And so, I told them they were going to eat what I made them for dinner, and if they complained about it, I was making the same thing again the next day until they stopped complaining about it, and then I would move on to something else.

Jaclyn:

And so, I think that God does that sometimes, where he's like, look, you're going to complain, we're not moving forward.

Jaclyn:

You need to get your attitude right, and then we can move

Laura Mae:

Oh, 40 years in the wilderness proves that, right?

Laura Mae:

Because not a one of them got in, they waited for their children to get Canaan because he's like, are you gonna complain?

Laura Mae:

And then I'm gonna send quail and then you're still gonna complain?

Laura Mae:

Even after I send water and all of the things and miraculously lead you and for 40 years your clothes don't rot and your shoes don't get worn.

Laura Mae:

And you are still going to complain.

Laura Mae:

So my mom used to do the same thing.

Laura Mae:

Well, sort of the same thing, but she would say, if you don't want to eat it for dinner, that's fine.

Laura Mae:

I'll put it in a baggie and it'll be there cold for you for breakfast.

Laura Mae:

And so, yeah, excellent rule.

Laura Mae:

And I do think that God does that to us sometimes because I tell my kids, If you are feeling stuck in a season, let me ask you, has your attitude been in that season?

Laura Mae:

My son called me from work today, Mom, Mom, I feel like I'm never gonna get out of here, and I'm trying to have a good attitude.

Laura Mae:

I said, it is possible you are being tested for that very exam that's going to bump you up, so do well, son.

Laura Mae:

Do well and stay faithful in the small things, because only then can he trust you with the larger things.

Jaclyn:

Amen.

Jaclyn:

I think, there we go.

Jaclyn:

That's it.

Jaclyn:

That's the episode.

Jaclyn:

We did

Jaclyn:

it.

Jaclyn:

Fantastic.

Jaclyn:

Oh, this was so much fun.

Jaclyn:

I love talking to

Jaclyn:

you.

Laura Mae:

you.

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