This is the transcript for this episode.
Allen Wolf:
Welcome to the Navigating Hollywood podcast. My name is Allen Wolf and I’m a filmmaker and an author. Navigating Hollywood encourages and equips entertainment professionals to live relationally and spiritually holistic lives. If you work in entertainment, be sure to visit navigatinghollywood. org to see how you can get involved. Today you’ll get to learn a little bit more about me and my work. I was recently a guest on the podcast Perspectives in Neurodiversity and we’re presenting a rebroadcast of that episode here. Enjoy the show.
C.S. Wyatt:
Welcome to Perspectives on Neurodiversity, a podcast dedicated to challenging myths and assumptions about neurodiverse life. I am your host, Christopher Scott Wyatt, speaking as the Autistic Me. Joining us once again is Allen Wolf. I last chatted with Allen in late 2001. We discussed his novel, The Sound of Violet, and the planned theatrical release of the film adaptation. Now the film is available via most streaming services and on Blu-ray or DVD dist. Allen is an award-winning filmmaker, novelist, and game creator based in Los Angeles. He is also the host of the Navigating Hollywood podcast. The Sound of Violet was his debut novel. Allen wrote, directed and produced the film adaptation of The Sound of Violet. The screenplay won numerous awards and the film brings awareness to the social challenges based by autistics and the issue of human trafficking. His previous film, In My Sleep, won multiple festival awards. Allen has also created five board games that won a total of 39 awards. Welcome back to the podcast, Allen. Thanks so much for having me. Great to be here. So let’s jump right in The Sound of Violet. I will have a link to the first discussion we had, which was predominantly about the novel, and I read an electronic copy of that novel, shared it with some of the discussions with my wife. We talked about the character Shawn, we talked about his issues as an autistic individual, and at the time, you were explaining to me now, almost two years ago, that the film was going to differ from what I read. And it does. It does, yes, so let’s jump right in on that. Both are about an autistic individual’s experiences dating and trying to find love. Yes, why did you adapt the film? How did that adaptation change from the novel? And vice versa? Because you had explained previously they were intertwined.
Allen Wolf:
This is true. I was always interested in seeing the story become a movie. And the story takes place in New York City, the movie takes place in Seattle and there’s a lot in books. You’re writing out what you want the reader to be able to picture and imagine in their minds, whereas in the screenplay you’re actually visually showing them everything you want them to see. So it’s a very different process. Whereas the novel is very lush in its descriptions and words, when you write a screenplay it’s very skeletal in structure. It’s really the scaffolding that’s going to be around the building that you’re creating, which is ultimately the film. So there are just different things that are more captivating in a film than they are in the novel. The novel tends to be able to take its time with certain things, whereas in the movie you’re kind of getting to the point and certain issues. And then the other point with the movie too is that I then showed it to test audiences Because as a filmmaker, at some point I feel like I lose my objectivity and just need feedback from people who watch it. So, based on the feedback, I did a bunch of changes to the movie and cut out some scenes, extended some scenes, moved around some scenes. So in the end you get two different experiences between the movie and the novel.
C.S. Wyatt:
Let’s talk about the main character. Shawn, can you first explain how you chose the lead, because the lead has an interesting backstory himself too.
Allen Wolf:
Well, my goal was to choose the best actors possible, and we had a terrific casting director. She brought in a lot of different actors to read for the two lead roles. I knew I needed a lot of chemistry between the lead character of Shawn and the woman that he falls in love with, Violet. So I first started to narrow down the role of Violet, and then I had a real challenge finding someone who I felt would be convincing, as Shawn it turns out. Later I discovered that the person who ultimately played him, kasein Thomas, actually has worked a lot with autistic children as a teacher, and so came in with a certain amount of knowledge and when he auditioned for the role I thought well, he is really getting this character, they’re connecting really well. So I cast him in the role. Later he took me aside and he told me that he could really identify with one of the themes of the movie, which is trafficking, because the story is a romantic comedy about a man who is desperate to find a wife and he thinks he found his soulmate, but his autism and his trusting nature keep him from realizing that she’s actually a prostitute looking for a ticket out of her trapped life. So after I cast Cason in that role. He took me aside and he said I want you to know that my mom was trafficked, that she actually was a prostitute and he was a product of her and what happened to her. He has not talked to her since he was a senior in high school, but he grew up in the foster care system in Houston and he’d always thought to himself if my mom had just gotten a second chance, if people had looked at her in the way that we hope that people will look at Violet’s character in the movie, that could have made a real difference in her life. So he was very much attracted to wanting to play that part for that reason and for the autistic themes in the movie, and so it was such a perfect fit. I didn’t know that until after I cast him and he didn’t tell me that until after I cast him because he didn’t want that to influence my decision. But when I heard that it just made it even more meaningful that he was in that role.
C.S. Wyatt:
When we think about the foster care system. My wife and I our daughters were in the foster care system for almost four years before we adopted them. We were their first foster placement and I am a believer that trauma creates a form of neurodiversity. It creates an awareness that you are in always a survival mode fight or flight. You’re always on edge. There’s this instability all around you that in many ways alters your approaching, your perception to relationships. Do you feel that working on this issue, both of trafficking and then having a lead who is familiar with the dark aspects of having a family member who has been trafficked and who has been through that Do you believe that gave him insights that into Shawn’s personality?
Allen Wolf:
Oh, tremendously. So he’s neurodiverse himself the case in Thomas and so he also worked very closely with one of our lead crew members named Tom Bond. He was our DIT, which is the person who is in charge of making sure that all the footage gets copied and protected and is safeguarded, so he’s a very key role in the film. But he was very excited to work on the film because of the themes and worked very closely with Kaysen to make sure that his portrayal was accurate and Kaysen studied Tom and his mannerisms and the way he interacted with others as a role model for him in that role. So that was tremendously helpful. But I think that Kaysen’s background and everything that he went through and overcame just brought a real, just emotional depth to that character and, I think, a deep understanding of who he is. That translated well on screen.
C.S. Wyatt:
So you did make a comment that you already had a violet chosen before you cast Shawn. I hope I say this right it’s Cora Cleary playing Violet. It’s a very outstanding performance there in the film. How did you select her? How was she Again? I know you said you worked with a casting director. How was this role chosen first and did that sort of determine the path you were going in as a filmmaker?
Allen Wolf:
It’s a lot of work finding someone who will really connect to a particular character, and because I wrote the novel in the screenplay, I very much had in my mind an idea of what that character would be like, and so I saw probably over a hundred people audition for that role on tape. And when I saw Cora I realized, oh wow, she’s really getting it, she’s really connecting to it. She also was 19 at the time and that fit in with that character and I realized, wow, she had a real naturalness to her, the way she portrayed the character and read for the role and like some of the choices that she made. So then I started to match her with different possible shans and then it wasn’t until I saw Kason that I realized, oh, wow, okay, this is it, this is the couple that’s meant to be in the movie, and that’s your real hope. It’s like fitting a whole bunch of puzzle pieces together, and different pieces don’t quite fit together and then your hope is that you finally find one that does, and I felt like I really did when the two of them were matched together.
C.S. Wyatt:
Both of them. This is their feature film debut.
Allen Wolf:
It is, which is incredible. I mean it’s just when you watch it you would never imagine this is their first film that they’re in. The woman who played Ruth. Her name is Jan D’arcy. She’s been in a lot of movies, TV shows. She worked with David Finch. She was in Twin Peaks. She really took them under her wing in terms of during the rehearsal process she would often get together with them, they would run lines, they would rehearse. I would sit in with them and listen to them take on the different roles. So I think that helped. They really put the research in the time in. What was funny is that during the first week they were so good in their roles that they never really made mistakes. And at one point I said we have nothing for the gag reel because you guys are not messing up. And then we had another actor come on who plays Shawn’s brother, Colin, and and Kaelon had been in multiple TV shows and movies and so after a take he would do something funny because he realized that it’s going to be on the gag reel and then they kind of got it at that point and we’re able to loosen up a bit. But they you know it was a big responsibility. These two people are carrying this film their very first feature film, but they really knocked it out of the park. I was very, very proud of them.
C.S. Wyatt:
We discussed a couple of years ago how there’s the idea that the autistic computer programmer, the autistic math savant, the autistic office worker who sits there in the cubicle, comfortable alone, and in some ways Shawn does fit some of those stereotypes. He is a coder by profession, working on a dating app. There’s some complications that viewers or readers will quickly find out about. Was this a conscious decision to make him a programmer and fit into that? I don’t want to say stereotype, because it’s not just a stereotype. Many of us are technical in nature. But was there a reason for these choices that you made beyond just they’re great for a story? What influenced you saying, ok, Shawn’s going to be in this cubicle, way on.
Allen Wolf:
We discussed on your other show that my goal was to never create a character that represents all autistic people, because each autistic person is very unique and you meet one autistic person and you’ve met one autistic person Like there’s really nothing about that person that you can make generalizations about every autistic person. So I did want him to be unique and have characteristics that fit in with his character, and I thought that there would be a lot of irony in a character who worked for a dating app, who he himself was having a lot of issues connecting with women and socially connecting with women. His character was really first inspired by my own awkward dating life. Like there are a lot of things about my dating life that I connected to with Shawn in his own journey with One is a naivete and the people that I would date and the women I went out with, and also some of his issues with building intimacy or things that I had shared as well. So I could really relate to him on many levels in that way. But beyond that, I really tried to find characteristics for him that I felt made him unique as an individual and in terms of him being autistic as a writer and an artist, it was more something I felt like I discovered. I didn’t set out to make that character autistic, but it was more that as I kept developing him and I would have people read the character, that people would give me feedback and say, well, there’s something interesting about him. He seems to have trouble disconnecting with others in certain ways and maybe not getting certain social cues. And then, as I did research and just thought about some of the relationships in my life, at one point I realized, oh, I think he’s autistic, so it’s funny. I felt like I discovered that about him. And then once I realized that I did even more research, talked to more people and just tried to flesh out his character. But my goal was always to make him as unique as I could but also just kind of fit in with the story and what was best for the story.
C.S. Wyatt:
And he’s not just autistic, as many autistics and neurodiverse individuals try to explain. They’re often comorbid conditions, and in Shawn’s case, it’s synesthesia. Right, he hears color, right, hence the title. So would you give some insights, then, in how that also became an important aspect of the character and the relationships he has, not only with the people but even with the world around him?
Allen Wolf:
Yeah, I discovered that that impacts about 20% of autistic people and I have multiple friends that actually have synesthesia as well, and I just thought that would be such an interesting part of his character, especially in a movie where everything is visual, so that I could recreate visually what he sees and then auditorily what he’s experiencing as well. And it’s a way that he’s able to connect with the world around him, and he sometimes uses that as a way of trying to figure people out and judge them is by listening to the colors of what they’re wearing. In the book you get much more of that because the book is longer and you get to see him experience that in more different contexts. But within the movie I was able to do it in key moments and it really helped to set up a contrast between him and Violet. She was able to start appreciating him and his uniqueness and see that there was something very different about him when she realizes that that is something that is part of his character early on.
C.S. Wyatt:
And when you adapted it, the relationships that are in the book evolved slightly and shifted unsure out of necessity. Plus, with film there are things you can do that are visual, that indicate relationships, how closely people stand to each other when they’re apart, when they’re making eye contact, not making eye contact. A lot of this works visually much better, in some ways, than a book. I tell my students and I tell other people when I’m working as a writer I don’t think that theater is better than film or film is better than books or anything. I comment that you know, if we’re adapting Cinderella, how we tell it in a book, how we tell it on stage or how we tell it on film will change and they each have their own value. And so what I notice about the film is the relationships are in some ways much clearer, especially the relationships with Colin and Ruth. So you mentioned already Kalen in the brother relationship it is an interesting one. On screen it isn’t always the same as in the book. This is a movie about relationships, obviously not just dating, but also then the two brothers, and it comes across in the movie, I think, even more so than in the book, that Colin is protective.
Allen Wolf:
I loved Kalen Christopher’s portrayal of Colin because he really does, I think, connect well to the role that the brother takes on, which is being very protective of Shawn but also wanting to come alongside him and help him to grow and learn. And you see that when they go together to one of the work parties where Shawn is trying to connect with people there and Colin gives him some advice on how to do so and at first it doesn’t go really that well. I loved the connection that they have and later you see, in the growth of their relationship, just a real emotional connection. Without ruining a key point that happens in the movie. There’s something that happens later on where you see Colin’s character very much touched by something that his brother does for him and I just think there’s just a difference. When you’re watching something and you’re seeing the actor’s performance, you’re experiencing the music of the moment, you’re just giving your full attention to it. I just think it hits you differently, emotionally. It just goes into a different place, whereas when you’re reading it it’s you’re having to, in your imagination, come up with the moment and what the characters look like, and it’s just a different process of how you connect with it. I think it can just be more, sometimes be a little bit more emotional in the movie also because it’s all condensed into one sitting, whereas you’re reading the book over multiple days. It was, yeah, a different experience in that way and I think to your point, sometimes that can make relationships and certain situations much more clear. You also have much less time to do things, so you tend to really make things much more condensed and concise. So there were some characters that in the book they were portrayed by two different characters, but in the movie I made them into one character or took scenes that took place over multiple scenes in the book and they were condensed into one scene in the movie. So that’s the challenge between going between the book and the movie very different pacing, very different journey, but you still want the audience to be able to connect and emotionally really connect in with what the characters are going through. And because it’s a romantic comedy, I also wanted them to laugh and enjoy it, even though at the same time it’s more of a kind of a dramedy, really part comedy, part drama. But that’s my hope as the filmmaker is that the audience loves going on that journey with the characters.
C.S. Wyatt:
Stan Mallow. Ruth is again a relationship character and you mentioned that Jan D’Arcy was a mentor on set and Ruth is sort of the mentor to the other characters. That relationship is also again in the film. It feels a little more. She’s more assertive. It feels like in the film. I want to say in some ways she’s also far more protective and clear that she doesn’t want that kind of girl around Right. And it can be facial expressions, it can be that they stand across from each other in her room, it can be little gestures made, but it captures it very well. So can you comment on Ruth in the film?
Allen Wolf:
She adopted both Shawn and Colin when their own parents really dropped the ball with parenting them. They she brought them into their home. Their grandfather was still living at that point. That’s a little bit more explained in the novel. But she really becomes their parent to them and because of that she’s very much invested in their future and particular Shawn’s future. She knows she’s not going to be around forever, but she wants to make sure that he’s not with someone who really wants to take advantage of him and wants to take advantage of her because she’s well off and so she’s very suspicious in that way and she really wants the best for Shawn. But I think in the context of the movie you see that in much more in a sharper relief than the book, because you get fewer scenes and so that conflict is amplified. You see her confronting the other characters in certain scenes and so it’s just much more kind of critical the way that’s worked out in front of you and I’m sure because of that she comes out as across as more protective and more of a Just kind of a mother hen, a protective mama bear really.
C.S. Wyatt:
I think because of that and there are aspects of her beliefs that are also expressed, I think, more subtly in the book, that are more out front in the film. She really wants Shawn to have a relationship by lasting you know, it’s not just a second date. She wants him to be married and to be I don’t want to say the word normal, but to be traditional. She seems to want that traditional future for him.
Allen Wolf:
Right and she has loved him unconditionally for years and sacrificed so much for him. I think she wants to know that the person that she’s with will love him just as unconditionally and sacrifice her in the same ways that she has for him. And I think when she first meets Violet she thinks that something’s off and that she, Violet, is really about herself and she just knows something’s wrong with her and suspects that something’s very off with the way she’s dressed and the way she’s acting and she doesn’t trust her. She doesn’t come across it very conservatively in the way she’s dressed, the way that she acts, and so I think Ruth just has a lot of fears and really only wants the best for her son.
C.S. Wyatt:
And that brings us to the title of character. The portrayal of Violet is the character that we see grow the moth, change the moth, whatever you want to call it. It’s the character’s arc. In some ways is really Violet’s arc. We are watching how she is abused, how she is used, traded as merchandise, she’s treated as a product for sale and we watch her grow, mature and break free in some ways. So could you talk about again the portrayal you were looking for, what you managed to get onto screen with a young, first time theatrical performance, and really this is the core and heart of the film.
Allen Wolf:
Well, I really wanted, whenever you’re making a film you want to make sure that the main characters they start off one way, at the beginning of the film and at the end of the film they’ve gone through this growth process and really changed. So I wanted both Violet and Shawn’s character to go through change and to be in very different places at the end. I think for Shawn he shows such love for Violet, he believes her when she says she’s an actress early on in the film and so he has a kind of a naivete there. But he also just kind of sees the best in her and loves her anyway and that’s very transforming for her. And I have not seen many I don’t know if I’ve seen any films where there’s a lead romantic, autistic character who is the hero. I’ve talked to many people about this. No one has pointed out any other stories that have that and I thought, yeah, it’s kind of past due, let’s have that. And it’s really because of his autism that he’s in such a unique position to be able to see her through different eyes, through a different lens, love her and appreciate her in ways that others haven’t and it’s completely transformative for her and then the way that she cares for him back is equally transformative for him, but in different ways. So that’s one of the things I love about the movie. I you know, as I’ve shown it to in different venues and done Q&As in different movie theaters. Autistic folks have come up to me afterwards or talk during the Q&A to say how much they’ve appreciated it and could even relate to the struggles of the main character. But my hope is that the person watching the film will want to go on that journey and just as they grow emotionally, relationally, that maybe we as the audience members can be moved and change a little bit as we see that modeled as well.
C.S. Wyatt:
But people have also responded positively to the changes that Violet experiences.
Allen Wolf:
Yes, we did a Q&A in New York City. This is opening weekend. It was playing in theaters around the US and I started off doing a premiere in Seattle on Thursday, los Angeles on Friday, new York City on Saturday and then Dayton Ohio, my hometown on Sunday. And while I was in New York doing the Q&A after the film, a woman raised her hand and told the audience that she is a former Violet and she loved the film. It was accurate to what she experienced, but then she also. She had written notes down on her phone and read them to all of us and she said that she was very much moved by the message of the film that everyone has the right to be loved. I actually just found the quote that she sent to me. This is what she said. She said the movie was all about hope and reminded me of the importance of love and grace. We are all different and deserve the love of God and true love. This movie showed the importance of loving people, understanding people for who they are and where they are, and loving them. Anyway. We both held back tears, kason and I, because we were doing the Q&A together, but it was so moving. I mean I love that. I love that people watching the film where they’re coming from, if they’ve experienced this or not, that they’re identifying with those characters and their journeys and they’re being moved by it. It’s impacting them. I mean there’s no other hope that I could have, really, as both the author and the filmmakers, that it impacts people’s lives and I love that.
C.S. Wyatt:
You don’t get many movies that are going to say there’s a main character who’s a prostitute and then the movie is positively reviewed by faith-based and family-focused organizations. And yet I’ve looked at some of the reviews online. You had the review from Dove and some other sources that tells you that this is a movie about acceptance and not just the experiences of the human trafficking in the prostitution.
Allen Wolf:
Right yeah.
C.S. Wyatt:
That has to be rewarding, that this has been widely accepted by people who may at first wonder why are you making a movie about a prostitute?
Allen Wolf:
Right, right. Well, I think that for a lot of us, when you hear that word or you hear someone being denoted as a prostitute, a lot of images get through your head. And I think for a lot of people there’s a lot of judgment and they think, oh, that person’s probably that because of something they’ve done or they’ve chosen that for their career or something. And that was kind of where I was coming from when I first started researching the film, because my perception of someone who’s in prostitution was very much in line with what I had seen in most movies, where it’s the empowered woman who’s out there. This is her own choice, this is her way of making a living. But then when I did the research, I found that I mean nearly 100% of the time these are women who’ve been abused, who’ve experienced trauma. They’re not there by choice. I mean who would do that by choice? And even the people who would maybe publicly say, oh no, this is my choice, I’m doing this because it’s my body. If you do a little digging, they nearly 100% of the time themselves were abused or experienced trauma. So then you have to ask yourself how much of a choice is this? Are they really making this out of a healthy whole person. So I realized no, that’s not the case and so that really informed the creation of that character. But I found early on in the early test screenings of the movie you don’t find out, you didn’t originally find out how Violet got to that place in her life until nearly the end of the movie. That’s how it is in the book. But when I did test screenings I discovered that audiences couldn’t really relate her and couldn’t connect with her until I moved that scene up toward the very beginning of the movie. Till now it happens about 30 minutes in. You see what happened to her. Once people experienced that they realized wow, I am rooting for this character, I want the best for this character and I think it’s just similar that way in life that once we understand what happens to not only this person but anyone who’s going through something that we as a society might judge and say, ooh, look at that person and the choices they’re making, once you understand the background and what they’ve been through, it really does bring a lot of compassion, a lot of empathy and it can bring us to a different place. So I did appreciate the reviewers who saw that in that character, and the audience members too, that they really saw. Okay, this is not quite what I thought it was, maybe. I came into this and a lot of people after watching the film said you know, I want to do something, I want to be a part of changing this, and so they’d contact their local organizations or they’d go on our website, thesoundofvioletcom, where you can get involved, and they’d make a difference. That was very inspiring to me.
C.S. Wyatt:
Well, you said you did three premieres plus one in your hometown of Dayton, and I recall from our conversation that is where you got your start as a filmmaker. Yes, the premiere comes right at the I wouldn’t say the end, but towards the edge of reopening with COVID. What was that experience like? Premiering a movie as we’re coming out of the pandemic trying to get this, you know, launched into theaters. How difficult and challenging was that, not just for you but for your cast and all of those people supporting this effort.
Allen Wolf:
Well, covid delayed our movie by a couple of years. So in a few weeks a series of videos are gonna be coming out that show behind the scenes how the movie was made and when you see that no one’s wearing a mask because COVID hadn’t happened yet. So by the time we actually recorded the orchestral soundtrack with a 52 piece orchestra about a month before COVID hit, and then the movie got derailed because theaters closed and we knew that it wasn’t gonna be seeing the light anytime soon. So we first showed at the end. It first came out in theaters at the end of April and 2022. And it was a little strange, like I, people were just kind of coming out of the darkness, coming out into public again. I remember people I invited to come to the premiere. Some people said, no, I’m still not doing anything in public. And you know, I understood, you know where people were. But I think enough people felt like either that it wasn’t the threat that it was or they, frankly, had already gotten COVID and felt like, okay, I’ve already been through this. I think I’ll be fine that they came out in support of the film and it made such a difference. I mean, it’s really fun to experience the movie with a crowd of people. I’m encouraging people to watch the movie and invite their friends, their neighbors, their family over, because there are some really great issues in the film to talk about as a group. It’s a great movie night to have. It’s a great opportunity to connect with people that you haven’t connected with before Even your neighbors, maybe that you haven’t spent time with. Like who doesn’t want to come over and watch a movie and then have a great talk about it afterwards? So I’m hoping that in that way too, the movie will continue to bring people together, continue to help build a community. But COVID definitely impacted us in the timing of it, but ultimately, you know, I think everything works out as a certain way for a reason, and I was super thankful that we got it all filmed and all the music recorded before everything shut down.
C.S. Wyatt:
You mentioned the music you worked with. Conrad Pope and indie films really struggle to get original music or original arrangements. Both can be a challenge, and even some popular shows when they go to DVD or they get re-released, they have to change the music because they’re rights issues, whatever. Music is so key to film, I believe from the days of silent film when the music was the emotion. This is one of the few independent films I’ve seen where you even have, I believe, cds of the music.
Allen Wolf:
Right, right.
C.S. Wyatt:
That really I’m a sound person. I love sound. I’m a sound is my thing. The audience I’ll give you some behind the scenes here if you’re listening to this podcast. I just came from school of rock with my daughter who plays keyboard and drums and she is autistic and where she fits in is she can play the drums and she can play keyboard, and so she’s at school of rock here in central Texas. Music is so important to us. It is how we communicate, how our emotions are conveyed. We think in terms of songs. I’ll name a song to her to tell her how I’m feeling and she gets it. What led you to that relationship with Colored Pope, who has worked on major projects? He also contributed to your first film. Again, music being so key to me, I really appreciate an indie film with this quality of sound production.
Allen Wolf:
Well, yes, our sound mixer, who ultimately mixed all the sounds, was nominated for an Academy Award for past work that he’s done. And our composer, conrad Pope, has worked with John Williams, danny Elfman, alexander De Pla. He’s worked with some of the top composers in the world and I was very fortunate to meet him before I did my previous film, The Sound of Violet, and I wanted a Bernard Herman-esque score because it’s a very kind of Hitchcockian story and so it was important to me to have an orchestral score for that. And he did such an amazing job and we got a soundtrack deal for that movie as well that I knew from the beginning I wanted to work with Conrad on this movie, and so I first sent him the novel. He read the novel many years ago. We had been talking about the score for years, so he’s just such a beautiful storyteller with music that I thought, wow, to have him partner with me and come alongside this film could just add just layers of dimensions to the story. I wanted him so badly to be nominated for an Academy Award. That was my goal and we but unfortunately we just got pushed out by major films. I mean, I didn’t realize that. I was a little naive going into it because I thought, oh, it’s about the score and how brilliant the score is, and we sent out the score and links to the score to Academy members. But unfortunately we just got pushed aside by just major films that had just multimillion dollar budgets to be able to promote their scores and their movies. But that’s how good I thought the music was. I just thought he did such an amazing job and that’s one thing I hear over and over from people who see the movie is how much they love the music in the movie and to me it’s what really helps people to connect to the movie emotionally. So I listened to the soundtrack myself many times. It’s just, my kids have even figured out some of the songs on the piano, so it was a real blessing. I was so fortunate to work with Conrad and I hope to work with him again on my next film.
C.S. Wyatt:
It has been a pleasure to have you back on the podcast. If you’re interested in more information about Allen’s work, you can go to allenwolf. com. If you’re interested in watching the movie, I suggest myself. I always end up buying a Blu-ray just because things go on and off streaming services. You can do that at thesoundofvioletcom, so it’s just like it sounds Thesoundofvioletcom. You can purchase the DVD, Blu-ray or the soundtrack. I think the soundtrack is definitely a standalone purchase. It’s really a beautiful arrangement. Is there anything else that you would like the audience to know about this incredible project and how it has turned out?
Allen Wolf:
Well, I’d love to hear what your audience thinks. So, if you watch the film, you can reach me through our website, thesoundofvioletcom, and I have to spell out violet, it’s like the flower, because people sometimes think I’m saying the sound of violence, but it’s like The Sound of Violet, like the color. So if you go to thesoundofviolet. com, I’d love to hear what you think. So please reach out to me through the website and you’ll get to see the trailer. On the website. There are links to every place you can stream the movie or watch the movie, and we’re going to be posting behind the scenes footage and how the movie was made too, which is completely fascinating. So I’d love to hear from your audience, I’d love to hear what you all think of the film.
C.S. Wyatt:
But I really want to thank you for joining us on Perspectives on Neurodiversity. I do want to remind people that independent film, the independent arts in general, really struggle and a lot of people will wonder gee, should I spend the $5 to rent? Should I spend the $15 to buy something? You have to understand that independent film right now and musicians, everyone right now is really struggled to get back on their feet after the pandemic. If you want high quality original works of art, no matter what the art is, you have to pay for it. And I know that sounds horrible, but artists need to eat. We do consume food, we do need shelter. We’re hungry, we are hungry. So I have no problem saying if you watch the trailer, you will probably end up wanting to rent or buy The Sound of Violet. So go to thesoundofviolet. com, watch that trailer, listen to it, see it. Then if you rent it, you still might buy it. You might as well buy it, right? I mean, come on, Come on. But that’s my own personal view. I do appreciate listeners of the Perspectives on Neurodiversity podcast. And again, Allen, it has been a pleasure to talk to you again.
Allen Wolf:
It’s been great to talk with you. Thanks so much for having me, Scott. I appreciate it.