Shelly's Diary

I think it was sold to a small-time film-maker, but I've heard doubts on NEPAT that they might not actually film it at all.

It very well could be that's it's being filmed, but there's nothing that suggests it will actually be in theaters everywhere.

I tend to not take anything they say as truth. We know they've lied before and continue to do so.

PA DOES lie. Or they just kind of stretch the truth with weasel-wording. I'm betting it goes right to VHS or DVD, one of those you never hear about.

They often get away with their weasel-wording and half-truths legally, although they have lost at least two cases on their part.

I can't remember the name of the company off the top of my head. It might have been posted on NEPAT, but I'll have to check on that.

It's an indie film. Production company is W2 Entertainment, director is Timothy D. Walker. Starring no one you've ever heard of. Filming was originally supposed to commence in autumn 2005, delayed to summer, 2006.

If this film is ever made, and if it's ever released, I expect it will go direct to video.

The only think I can remember about Shelly's Diary is going to the actress' website and she talked about it. I just can't remember what she said.

I'm lots of help, right? LOL

Neither Stella Parton's nor Traci Dinwiddie's official or fan sites mention this movie.

Here's who's going to be in this movie:

Elizabeth D'Onofrio says, in August 2005, that she is going to play the role of Dr. Arrington in the film. She also says that Bonnie Johnson will have a role.

Later, in December, she gives an update, saying that filming has been postponed to June, '06.

That is the last mention of this film in Ms. D'Onofrio's blog. June has come and gone with no talk about the filming.

Bonnie Johnson does not mention Shelly's Diary anywhere.

Cindy Marie Pain tells us that the filming of Shelly's Diary has been bumped back to July/August '06. She'll have a supporting role.

Aleks West tells us that she's been cast as Jesse, Shelly's best friend.

A Nashville-area model known merely as "Michelle" says she will be playing a lead in the film.

Someone named Amanda thought she was going to be in the film, at least as of last October.

Actor Dennis Poirier's website has a Shelly's Diary link, but it takes you to a blank page.

And that's it.

As to director Timothy D. Walker, he's identified as having directed a film called "Marigolds Bloom," about which there's very little information on the 'net. Brad Davis is supposed to have had a song on the soundtrack. "Shelly's Diary" is supposedly Walker's third film (after "Marigolds Bloom" and perhaps "The Healer"), but ... here we are coming up on nearly a year late in starting photography.

There's no entry in the DGA Guide for Timothy D. Walker.

Medievalist said:

There's no entry in the DGA Guide for Timothy D. Walker.

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In one place Shelly's Diary is listed as "SAG-indie." In another place it's listed as "Non-union, paid."

I still have the email PA sent their authors bragging that Sheey's Diary was being made into a movie. They called it a 'blockbuster' and we'd see it in the 'theaters' soon.


Deb*U*

Here's from the letter PA wrote to their authors on 29NOV05, trying to induce their authors to buy their own books:

Today we are congratulating your fellow author Benjamin Frazier, who is well on his way to becoming a Hollywood celebrity! His PublishAmerica book "Shelly's Diary" is currently being filmed on location in North Carolina, starring Stella Parton (Dolly's sister) and Traci Dinwiddie (Dawson's Creek, The Notebook). The big-screen release is certain to create a buzz, and you may expect the film to show in a theatre near you! Seeing your book turned into a movie is every author's dream, so here's to Ben Frazier, with pride!

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From 02JAN06:

Also, exciting things continue to be happening for PublishAmerica authors in and around Hollywood. After we announced the upcoming big-screen success of our author Benjamin Frazier a few weeks ago, we can now also inform you that author Lisa Croll Di Dio has seen her book "Sherwood Forest" optioned by a Los Angeles production company, represented by the Beverly Hills-based Michael Eisner law firm. Another PublishAmerica book, "Absolution: The Ted Roth Story" by author Edmund Hulton, has been made into a screenplay by award winning New York screen writer Doug Klozzner and is currently being shopped around in Hollywood.

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Here's from 07APR06:

Among them are celebrity authors such as actor Jamie Farr, Agathe Von
Trapp of the singing family who were made famous by the movie The
Sound Of Music, Hedda Nussbaum, or Pulitzer Prize winner William
Coughlin. Others are making celebrity names for themselves, such as
author Benjamin Frazier whose book "Shelly's Diary" is being turned
into a Hollywood movie, or authors Victoria Grossack and Alice
Underwood whose book "Iokaste" is being translated into Greek by a
major publisher in Athens, Greece. Imagine having two versions of
your book on your coffee table: English and Greek! Or Korean, as has
happened to about a dozen of our titles. For more success stories see
http://www.publishamerica.com/upinlights.htm.

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From PublishAmerica's "Up In Lights" section:

Congratulations to author Benjamin Frazier! His PublishAmerica book, Shelly’s Diary –a fictional account of isolation, southern charm, and murder in Appalachia- is now a feature-length film that stars Stella Parton (Dolly’s sister) and Traci Dinwiddie (of Dawson’s Creek and The Notebook). Expect to see Shelly’s Diary in a theatre near you.

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Here's how it looks today:



Oh, and congratulations to PublishAmerica on fixing the typo in the title of Frazier's book at Amazon -- people will be able to find it! Now, how about fixing the typo in your Up In Lights section in author Jillann Olvera's name?

Folks, please quote only the relevant part of post you're replying to, not the whole thing.

Also of interest is "award winning New York screen writer Doug Klozzner." It's amusing to check on exactly which awards Mr. Klozzner has won.

Relevant to this thread: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=704841&postcount=3937

The Up In Lights entry for A Monster's Mind, a movie based on a PA book, available for rent at a local video store in Ohio.

This still begs the question: is Shelly's Diary in production or has it wrapped? What if they haven't even started filming?

Of course PA throws out their cute little nugget that it IS a feature film. That implies that it's a wrap and waiting for distribution to major theaters.

Just one more little white lie on the mound to dredge up false hopes in the PA stable that they too can go directly from book to film.

Is is any wonder why their second largest thread on the PAMB has to do with PA books to movies, with some 240 posts? Well why not? Being a published PA author is an up or out position. Movies are next.

The staff of PA will throw anything in their writer's faces to foster the belief that insane, wild dreams are coming true every day, and that you too are likely to become the next Hollywood celebrity!

And by golly, just so you don't run out books for those celebrity events, readings, and book signings, make sure you take advantage of our latest discount offer on your own titles. We have a full staff standing by to take your order!

the largest and most efficient department PA has is the book ordering department. Those calculators are humming and I'll bet there are no, none, zippo errors in those letters or numbers!

Tri

James D. Macdonald said:

If this film is ever made, and if it's ever released, I expect it will go direct to video.

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If it even gets distribution at all. If they already had a distribution deal, it would be on the imdb, and it's not there. For a movie I starred in, we had to get an out of state screening before we could get it on there, because we had to prove that it was not just "local interest." It's been in several festivals, it's on the imdb, and we STILL don't have a distribution deal for it.

Anyone can make a feature film. That doesn't mean anyone will ever see it, even on video.

I'm late to this, but this is what www.ncfilm.org has about it.
http://www.ncfilm.com/news_productions.asp

Shelly's Diary

Filming Area(s): Central North Carolina (Moore County), Southwestern Virginia
Start Date: August 2006
Production Office Fax: n/a
Production Office Tel: n/a
Email: [email protected]
Production Office Address: P.O. Box 448; Seagrove, NC 27341
Additional Information: Feature from W2 Entertainment. Director: Timothy D. Walker; Writer: Benjamin J. Frazier of North Carolina. Story of the hidden world of Appalachia, cut off from the world, frozen in time. When two young women embark on an enthralling adventure, they find a mountain community turns on them when a neighbor is found murdered. Currently filming in Southwestern Virginia. Moore County, North Carolina, filming: September-October.

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