Local writer finalist in screenplay competition

Lance Griffin

Nov. 7, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- HARTFORD -- It took just one conversation with a shooting victim in college to let Donna Monroe know what she wasn't supposed to do with her life.

Today, as she looks back, it may have prepared her for what she is supposed to do.

Monroe, who now lives in Hartford, was a reporter for her school newspaper at the University of New Orleans when she was assigned to cover a story involving a male student who had been shot at random while walking a female friend home.

She began to cry when the student told her he was glad the bullet struck him instead of his friend.

"I get too emotionally attached to the stories," she said.

So, realizing that reality may be a little too real for her, Monroe began to dabble in writing fiction. She has written a novel and three screenplays and may be closer than ever to seeing one of her screenplays made into a feature film.

Her screenplay "Lotto Boy" is one of several finalists in a competition sponsored by MovieHatch, a social network for aspiring and professional filmmakers with partnerships with several studios in the movie making business. A trailer and synopsis of "Lotto Boy", along with the other finalists, have been placed on the Web site at moviehatch.com, and the public is urged to vote for their favorite. The top ten vote getters will be evaluated by MovieHatch's Hollywood partners and judges. One or more could be selected to go into development or full production with a film budget of up to $10 million.

"Lotto Boy" tracks the story of a young Mississippi high school football hero who enjoys plenty of school popularity, but has a miserable home life thanks to his abusive, drug-addicted mother. His life changes one day when a rich woman leaves him a lottery ticket as a tip, and it turns out to be the sole winning ticket for a $288 million jackpot.

However, Jett, as he is known to his friends, is too young to cash the ticket. The rest of the screenplay deals with Jett's desperate attempt to find his imprisoned father, a whirlwind romance with a beautiful Chinese immigrant, and a search for happiness, with his miserable home life always trying to catch up with him and drag him back to Mississippi.

Monroe, who was born in Jacksonville, Fla., believes the story and potential film would resonate with the public because everyone would be rooting for Jett to win in the end.

"Jett is the kind of person everyone would love," Monroe said.

Monroe and her husband, Webb, have lived in Hartford for just a few months. They met in South Korea several years ago when she was there teaching English and he was working as an engineer. They also lived in Brazil for some time, in Washington and California before Monroe wanted to move back to the South.

Monroe said she took extensive screenwriting lessons in California and has attended several "pitchfests" to market her screenplays to various studios. She has worked in different areas on several feature films, allowing her to meet stars such as Julia Roberts, Farrah Fawcett and Joe Pantaliano.

She said her new home in lower Alabama won't keep her from pursuing her screen writing passion.

"There is a saying in Hollywood that if you have a good script, you could throw it out the window onto the highway and it would find its way into the right hands," Monroe said. "The story is the important thing."

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WHO: Donne Monroe

WHAT: MovieHatch.com screenplay contest

WHERE: Moviehatch.com

WHEN: The public can vote on Monroe's screenplay "Lotto Boy" through Nov. 15

HOW: Go to MovieHatch.com and search "Lotto Boy" and follow the directions to vote

Newstex ID: KRTB-0303-39524999