Andrea Wassel drew on her years of experience as an agency spot producer, “among the ego and chaos” on L.A. and New York shoots, as inspiration for “Leftovers,” her comedy screenplay.
Those years on set paid off. Her first screenplay was one of 130 entries out of 1,400 to make the quarter-finals of a prestigious international contest?the first she’d ever entered.
Wassel describes “Leftovers” as a story about a cocky one-time movie star who gets a second chance at stardom as the unlikely host of a late night TV cooking show, “The Joy of Cooking with Artichokes and Zucchini.”
She sees Vince Vaughn in the role.
She entered “Leftovers” into the American Screenwriters Association/Gotham Writers Workshop, assuming the Gotham part “would get a kick out of a spoof of the Food Network,” which is located in New York.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled” with the first go-around, says Wassel, who produced national commercials for the Leo Burnett, FCB and other big Chicago agencies.
She was executive producer at health care specialist Wassel & Co. Motion Pictures, co-owned with her husband, award-winning director/cameraman John Wassel.
If “Leftovers” scores, Wassel will receive a big cash prize, heavy L.A. trade marketing, and a script development trip to Hollywood.
Wassel’s Email is awassel6@hotmail.com.
