EMPIRE WAIST: A Development Story
We are honored to share a very personal piece from 2019 Black List Lab fellow and 2020 Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting fellow Claire Ayoub about the making of her brand new film, EMPIRE WAIST, which arrives in theaters on September 27! Claire has been a tireless, tenacious advocate for her own project, and her unorthodox path to getting EMPIRE WAIST produced can be instructive for independent filmmakers at all levels of their careers.
I first encountered EMPIRE WAIST on the Black List website in 2019, and was blown away by Claire’s ability to create such a poignant, laugh-out-loud, character-driven comedy that spoke to my own lived experience as a fat woman who was once a fat teenager who could NEVER find the clothes I wanted. Getting to know Claire at the 2019 Black List Lab solidified our friendship and allowed me to understand what a bright, thoughtful, and most importantly, kind human being she is — all qualities that shine through the characters of EMPIRE WAIST. This is the kind of movie that will inspire conversation and hopefully, compassion, in of its viewers.
EMPIRE WAIST is EXACTLY the kind of film I needed to see as a teenager, and beyond the narrative itself, offers audiences a comprehensive educational Confidence Curriculum they can engage with even after the credits roll.
Keep reading to learn LOTS more about Claire’s journey to bring EMPIRE WAIST to a theater near you!
My name is Claire Ayoub and I’m the writer/director of EMPIRE WAIST, an award-winning, heartfelt comedy about teens learning to love their bodies through fashion design and friendship.
Not only is it the movie I needed to see as a teen (and adult) struggling with my own body image issues, but it’s also my feature debut. And, on September 27th, EMPIRE WAIST will be playing in theaters across the U.S. and Canada, followed by a worldwide release through Blue Fox Entertainment. We’ll also be releasing the Empire Waist Confidence Curriculum, a free and vetted education curriculum for tweens, teens, and adults to process their own body image struggles brought up by the film, thanks to funding from P&G and Gillette Venus.
Now, if I were a grifter, this would be the point where I invited you to spend $50K on a class with me just to learn how I did it — “it” being convinced someone to pay me $50K for talking. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have a conscience but then I’d be…the worst?
You don’t need to pay me $50K for me to tell you that:
— I first wrote this script in 2015
— Took a hiatus for 4 years while I went to therapy to deal with the immense amounts of unprocessed trauma I ripped out of my body for *mY aRt*
— Began in earnest again in 2019 when I picked up the script, finally in a place emotionally to bring my characters and this story to life, which led me into
— The Black List Cinematic Universe (AKA the 2019 Black List Feature Lab, 2020 Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship at Sundance, and incredible community support from fellow screenwriters), which was very helpful during …
— 5 years of the hardest work I’ve ever done in my dang LIFE.
See? Free. (Stupid conscience. Tip me on Venmo?)
Today, I’ll be sharing some practical advice and tips for screenwriters and filmmakers who, like me, are not seeing stories that represent them and their own worldview in entertainment — and who want to change that.
And that starts with thinking outside the standard script to studio pipeline — beginning with doing development differently.
Congratulations! You’re an Entrepreneur.
“But I’m a filmmaker…”
Yes! An indie filmmaker, which mean that until you are able to hire others to help you with *gestures around*, you do it all. You will be your biggest advocate in this process, which means you have to get as comfortable as possible speaking about the business, legal, and nitty gritty production side of filmmaking, not just craft. You don’t have to be an expert, but you DO have to be open to learning as much as you can so you can make informed decisions as the director and engine of this feature train.
To do this, I looked at making EMPIRE WAIST as a combination MFA/MBA. My goal was to not only make the movie I needed to see as a kid, most also to learn HOW to make a movie. So, when it comes to your film, ask yourself: “What do I want to learn?” If you feel panicked about not knowing things, say to yourself, “I don’t know that YET!” That reframe helped me a lot and I really pushed myself out of my comfort zone.
And being comfortable talking about the business side matters, especially when you have an uphill battle like we do.
Just like many business owners with a bottom line, Hollywood studios and financiers are incredibly risk averse. Besides being expensive as hell, a box office failure is not a good look. That’s why we see them continue to bet on big name stars with huge followings or existing IPs with a built-in fanbase, so the leap from funding to box office success is more of a short walk and a sure thing.
So what happens if you don’t have Glen Powell or that TWISTERS IP? You prove that your script is a sure thing, that there’s an audience out there who wants to buy those tickets and pack the house.
And you do that by finding your audience first.
Meet Your Audience Early and Often
Here’s the thing: If you want to see a certain story or character on-screen, you ARE the one who can write it, but find those people who want to see this story that resonates with them on-screen. Your job during development is not only to make your script better, but to connect with your audience long before they ever step foot in a theater or rent your film on-demand.
That may sound weird, so allow me to continue to share my story…for free. (Ughhh)
I knew I was a major risk for any funder when I first committed to making EMPIRE WAIST myself, especially as a first-time director…leading an ensemble high school comedy…with a strong fashion component. Financier Vision™ says: “YIKES!”
That’s why I originally planned to film it as an independent film in my home town in 2019. Cue: Global pandemic, plans changing, and finding both my lawyer and agents via The Black List to get the funding that led me to my studio.
And I secured that funding because my script resonated with people across the US from ages 14–84.
Yep. Not a typo. And I had the data to back it up.
Throughout 2019 and early 2020, I held 17 live readings across the US, including one broadcast on Facebook Live with Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls. I heard from audiences in New York and LA, as well as Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, DC, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Many in my audience had zero experience in film, but as people who loved reading and watching TV and film, they knew story. For EMPIRE WAIST, they knew how this story made them feel, what they loved, and parts they wished could be different to feel more true.
Thanks to feedback sessions and (so many) Google forms, I knew that this story was resonating with them. Not only that, but how much they WANTED to see it get made.
From a craft standpoint, I was able to keep making adjustments to make this script so much better, at a rate that meant no audience heard the same script twice. (Yes, I’m still tired.)
From a business standpoint, do you know what a potential investment with an audience age range of 14–84 sounds like to a studio? A damn hit.
Why Live Readings?
I come from a live theater and comedy background, so hearing projects aloud and how the audience reacts to them is a major part of my process.
Even if you don’t come from that background, when it comes to craft and story, live readings are a gamechanger when it comes to getting your characters out of your head and into the world. Not just to have people clap for you (although that is VERY nice), but because while WE know the whole universe of the story in our heads, our audience doesn’t. What might make perfect sense to us on the page could have them scratching their heads, pulling them out of both the script and the moment.
Live readings are your way to see where your script is working and where it needs to change.
Got a Draft? Schedule Your First Live Reading
“But my script’s not ready.”
Your script will never feel ready for a live reading. And it shouldn’t.
Remember, your script is a working draft, a changeable thing. Your job as a writer is to make it better. A live reading is your chance to hear if your characters and story are working. For my comedy writers, you will actually be able to hear that through laughter — or crickets if it’s not. For my drama and thriller writers, you’ll be able to feel the tension you’ve been crafting — or maybe not if you’ve missed your mark.
Instead of learning after shooting and editing the feature, you’ll be able to clarify the story long before that stage. So get uncomfortable, put yourself out there, and look at it is an exercise to get feedback from your audience, versus seeing negative feedback as some failure.
The 1:10 Ratio
Getting feedback through live readings also allows you to revise at an accelerated pace.
After hosting 17 live readings for EMPIRE WAIST, as well as live readings for my other projects, I can confidently say that 1 live reading and talkback with an audience is the equivalent of 10 drafts on my own.
Getting outside your own head as a writer and responding to your audience will expedite your creative process — and you’ll get to hear from the people your film will impact while you’re still writing it.
Also, there will be snacks. (That you’ll likely supply. But still nice!)
Identify Your Audience
So who do you invite to a live reading?
My big advice: Think outside your writers’ group. Think outside your industry friends. When I’m talking about your audience, I’m talking about the people across the country and around the world who will feel drawn to your story by the trailer alone, enough to buy a ticket or rent on-demand.
I always like to ask my students, “Who are you making this for?” That helps you target your audience beyond “everyone” or “anyone who will pay to see it.” The answer can also be, “I’m making this for myself,” especially for those of us who wished we’d seen a film like ours growing up or as adults. So expand from there. Who else would want to see the same thing? Does your film center on a certain community or demographic? Start there.
For EMPIRE WAIST, I started by thinking of when I needed to see this movie. I needed to see it as a tween and teen, but also to heal my inner child as an adult. Demographic-wise, that's women ages 11-35. I knew that parents and care-givers would relate with the parental relationships and teachers would resonate with Ms. Hall.
What I didn’t expect was how universal it would feel, both across generations and genders. I had grown men come up to me in tears after readings, saying, “I know this isn’t for me, but…” and telling me how they felt seen. Those honest conversations helped me refocus this film from “a film for teen girls” to “a film for all of us.” That shift in focus led men, as well as non-binary kids and adults, to feel welcome in this film and its message about loving ourselves exactly as we are.
Remember the MFA/MBA? Throw in a Psychology degree, too. We can always learn from our audiences and discover new ways our projects resonate with them. Stay open, listen, and try not to limit what you know “for certain” about your audience demographic until you have the data to prove it.
Bring in Experts
EMPIRE WAIST was an award-winning script and is now an award-winning film, and a huge part of that had to do with bringing in experts during the development process. I’m not talking about a script coach. I’m talking about people who had direct expertise in what my characters were going through in the script to ensure it felt true to the audience, not just to me as the writer.
My film follows a teen struggling with her body image and self-confidence, and we see her at school, at home, and even at the doctor’s office. So, in addition to inviting parents, grandparents, caregivers, and teens to my readings, I also included teachers, nurses, psychologists, and social workers who worked directly in this space.
But…isn’t this a comedy? Yep! And the jokes hit harder when the world feels more real. Do your characters and audience a service by doing that extra layer of work by talking to the people who can confirm that your world feels true. And if it doesn’t, they can share their own stories and expertise to guide your next draft.
For example, my conversation with a social worker about how my film’s mean girl Sylvie controls her friends’ food led her to flag including ANY shots of their food in the movie. As filmmakers, we communicate through visuals, so an overhead shot of 4 sad and regimented lunches was definitely on the shot list.
This social worker explained that someone struggling with disordered eating would likely take a picture of Sylvie’s food and copy her eating habits to try and look like her. Meaning I would be inadvertently harming members of my film’s audience by including that shot.
So, I immediately ran it up the flagpole to my department heads to make the changes necessary to prevent that harm. As you see in the movie, we hear about Sylvie’s control and see her friends eating sadly, but we never see the food. And that’s thanks to experts.
Live Reading Logistics
A live reading doesn’t have to be an all-caps PRODUCTION. In fact, the lower of a logistical lift you make it for yourself, the more energy you’ll have to focus on the script and story.
I hosted my first live reading of EMPIRE WAIST on February 13th, 2019 in the library of my then-office, an educational nonprofit off Union Square. I invited 20 people. Seven of them played all the parts. I read stage directions so I could find all my typos. I provided (TOO MANY) snacks and beverages just in case they hated the script so they could leave hammered and happy. Anxiety, baby!
You can host a live reading in your living room, request a room at your local library, or ask friends who may know of a no-cost or low-cost space to gather.
When it comes to actors, ask your friends! Count up your characters to see how many actors you actually need. One person can play multiple characters, especially smaller roles, as long as those characters aren’t in conversation with each other. THAT would get confusing.
Send the script to your actors at least a day ahead of time and ask them to bring a computer or tablet with the script on it. And have a hard copy for yourself so you can mark it up with notes.
I like to mark up:
— Typos
— Where my audience laughs
— Where my audience DOESN’T LAUGH (RIP, darlings)
— Emotional lines that really hit
— Sections that are dragging and need to be re-worked
I’ll also get ideas while I’m listening and put those thoughts in the margins to come back to later.
Give Your Audience Permission to Give Feedback
I started every live reading by welcoming the audience, explaining the project, and then saying the following:
“I can hear what works. (Meaning: Laughter) But I won’t be able to know what doesn’t work unless you tell me.”
What that does is give my audience permission to critique and share what’s not working. For many of the non-creatives in your audience who aren’t used to critiques, they can worry about hurting your feelings with their feedback. Let them know, right off the bat, that their feedback is vital to the creative process. That this is a working draft and their feedback will help make it better. You’d rather have them share it than keep it to themselves.
I also reminded that them I worked in advertising for years, so I had the emotional hide of a rhinocerous. That helped, too.
Knowing they were going to give feedback also signalled them to listen more closely so they could give their thoughts at the end. However, not everyone enjoys speaking up in front of a crowd and others may need or want more time to process. So I always say I’ll be sending a Google form out in addition to the talkback at the end, and then follow up with the form the following morning.
And a lot of that submitted feedback made it into my pitch deck to secure funding for the film. I met and heard from our audience, and wanted to make sure potential partners did, too.
You do not need to take all the feedback
In fact, PLEASE DON’T! You’ve probably heard the term “too many cooks in the kitchen.” The same goes for feedback sessions. If you try to implement everyone’s feedback, you’ll end up with a Frankenstein. Less villagers with pitchforks, more of a script you can’t recognize or make sense of.
Live readings are a chance for you to get feedback, but you are still the writer. Think of yourself as a filter. Take all the feedback in, but only take the pieces that feel true to the project and your vision of the story. AKA why you’re making it.
That being said, if someone gives a piece of feedback that is directly against your vision, try your best not to get combative. Even if it’s an idea you’ll never take in a million years, write it down, thank them for sharing, and move on. I write down everything because I never know if there’s going to be a “note behind a note.” And getting combative can signal to your audience that it may not be a safe space to share their point of view.
Unless it’s something totally racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Then shut it down as you wish.
Here are my two big questions to kick off every feedback session:
— What did you like? (AKA what would you be sad to see cut)
— What confused you?
That second question is much more important that “What did you not like?” because it speaks to story and clarity versus personal preferences.
Then, I’ll ask questions I have about a specific character or section that I had been struggling with before opening up to the floor for additional questions or comments. Guiding your feedback session is important because, at the end of the day, you’re there to get answers to your own questions about your script.
Take Time to Process
With the exception of my two-week script tour across nine cities, I tried to take at least a week away from my script to let my brain rest between revisions. Getting feedback like this will feel like drinking water out of a firehhose. It’s exhausting and overwhelming, so be kind to yourself, schedule a time to start reviewing 1–2 weeks in the future, and give your mind a rest.
It may sound bananas, but I recommend not looking at your notes from the feedback at first. Instead, think of what sticks out to you from the feedback you heard or received. Did someone make a comment about one of your characters or story that stuck with you? That will be a great place to start if you’re feeling overwhelmed.
That’ll be $50,000
Kidding. For my fellow writers and filmmakers, I hope this has been helpful. I definitely felt like I was making it all up as I went along, so sharing what I’ve learned makes ME feel better knowing that it can help demystify the process and guide others to make their own dream projects a reality.
Remember: You are not the only one who wants to see your perspective and story. You deserve to take up space. Let’s support the hell out of each other to make it happen.
See you in theaters on September 27th!
To learn more about EMPIRE WAIST, visit empirewaistfilm.com and follow the film at @empirewaistfilm on Instagram.
To learn more about Claire’s work and upcoming classes, visit www.claireayoub.com. You can follow her on Instagram at @claireayoub and subscribe to her substack: www.claireayoub.substack.com
Claire Ayoub is a writer, director, and performer on a mission to create entertaining, educational, and empowering stories through her production company Try Anyway Productions. Claire launched her career in the New York City comedy scene as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater where she wrote, directed, and performed both sketch comedy and storytelling shows. Claire is the writer/director of the upcoming feature film EMPIRE WAIST, a heartfelt dramedy about teens learning to love their bodies through fashion design. The script was named the #1 Comedy on The Black List and selected for both the Black List Feature Lab and Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship at Sundance. The film has since won Best Empowerment Film and Best Social Impact Film at Sedona International Film Festival, Wavemaker Award: Best FutureWave Feature, and Best Feature at the Coney Island Film Festival. Claire is also the creator of The GynoKid, an award-winning solo comedy show about growing up as the child of small-town gynecologists that encourages audiences to laugh and learn about their bodies. OPEN WIDE, her TV pilot version of The GynoKid, was named a Finalist for the 2023 PAGE Awards. Claire has also written for Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls and is the creator behind two web series: “A Series of Comebacks” (2015) and “Your Hair Looks Great Today” (2018). To learn more, visit www.claireayoub.com.
