The Gossip Queen

STORY

Set at a high school spring formal, The Gossip Queen, a musical drama, tells the story of Olivia Whittick. Everyone knows Olivia as the biggest gossip in school. The second she arrives at the dance, she is approached by students wanting to know more about a rumor circulating involving a girl named Laura. Olivia happily obliges, but the rumor quickly makes it way back to Laura who promptly vows revenge on Olivia.

Maggie, Olivia’s best friend, warns Olivia that maybe she should try to keep her mouth shut once in a while. When Olivia leaves the dance for a moment, pondering what her friend told her, she sees Maggie’s boyfriend Gabe in the throes of cheating. Should she take Maggie’s advice or immediately tell her devastating news? Three boys who have witnessed the incident try to convince Olivia that she should tell her friend what happened. Isn’t she the Gossip Queen after all? Isn’t this precisely her life’s purpose?

PROJECT

The Gossip Queen is Dominique and Raghav's thesis film at Columbia University where they both attend the graduate film program. This has been a passion project for Dominique and has developed it over the course of two years and is finally getting the opportunity to make it a reality. 

All music will be recorded at Fillerproof Productions in Toronto where the entire soundtrack will be engineered in the studio by Aamir Shahid and the project will be shot in July 2012 at Iroquois Ridge High School in Oakville, Ontario and will consist of almost an entire Canadian cast and crew. 

Where is all this money going? Everyone involved is committed to the project but we still have to pay for some important things:

• Equipment (lights, grip, etc)
• Accommodations (for the actors)
• Music composition and recording
• Production design
• Props
• Makeup (it is a high school dance)
• Transportation
• Food (a lot of hands on deck)
• Post-Production and Sound

CREW

Writer/Director - Dominique Lefebvre

Writer/Director/Producer Dominique Lefebvre has been working in film since her mid-teens, first as the assistant of producer Martin Paul-Hus (Amérique Film) before pursuing this life-long love independently as a Film MFA candidate at Columbia University in New York. Before moving to the United States, Dominique graduated with honors from Concordia University in her hometown of Montreal, with a BFA in Film Studies, collecting three scholarships during her time there. Her work at Amérique Film allowed for many great opportunities, including being a trainee assistant director on Nicolas Roeg's most recent feature, Puffball (2007).

Since studying in New York, Dominique has directed four short films, completed two feature scripts, with several more still in development. Her other works include: producer of At Night I Was Beautiful (Wilsey, 2010, Newfest Winner) and assistant director on AWOL (Shoval, Official Selection Sundance 2011).

Having written and produced Brand New Day (2010, Best Film Jury Prize & Audience Award at Los Angeles Comedy Film Festival 365), a musical comedy short about herpes directed by fellow classmate Mark Raso, Dominique has been itching to direct a musical of her own. She is thrilled to be doing so with The Gossip Queen.

Producer - Raghav Tandon

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Raghav Tandon obtained his BA at Carleton University in Mass Communications and Economics. This began his career as a financial analyst for Becton Dickinson. He decided to switch tracks after being accepted into the Real Ideas Studio Emerging Filmmaker Program. His first project, a short documentary titled 100 Mountains, screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.

His second documentary short, 8, which he produced and directed screened at Sundance in 2009. His third short documentary was selected for the Cannes Festival and was acquired by Ouat Media in Canada. To pursue his growing interest in fiction filmmaking, Tandon enrolled in Columbia University’s MFA program.

While at Columbia, he has directed, written and produced more than 10 fiction films, all shorts. Meanwhile, at Darren Aronofsky’s production company, Protozoa Pictures, he has gained valuable experience as a development intern doing script coverage and research.

Co-Producer - Chris Boyce

A Toronto native, Chris holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Queen's University and is currently pursuing his MFA in Film Producing at Columbia University. In his transition to the film business from his professional background in corporate finance and brand management, Chris has already produced or is in production on almost a dozen short films.

Composer - Ryan Miller

Canadian born musician Ryan Miller is one of the leading writers of music for film and live theatre in Southern Ontario.  After founding Melomania Studios in 2005, Ryan has produced and engineered more than 50 albums and soundtracks, working with artists from every genre.  Having stepped onto the music scene at a very young age, he has played and toured with a number of bands over the years.  However, he remains dedicated to both the stage and the screen, composing music for films as well as a number of his own musicals to be staged in local theatres.  “A passion for music and versatility in its pursuit” continues to be the driving force behind Melomania Studios, which shows no signs of slowing down.  For more information, contact melomaniastudios@gmail.com 

Assistant Director - Steven Wilsey

Steven has degrees in political science and journalism from the University of Oregon and is currently working on his MFA in film directing at Columbia University. His most recent film, At Night I Was Beautiful, was a mixed documentary narrative that played in festivals around the world and picked up Best Documentary Short at NewFest. In the last year he worked as the director's assistant on Ira Sach's feature film Keep the Lights On. Steven is currently in pre-production for his thesis film.

We couldn't be more excited and thank you in advance for your support!