Saturday, October 17, 2015

Meet Eljon and Randy

Let me introduce you to two people.

Eljon Wardally and Randy Wilkins.

First Eljon.

Eljon was born in New York and when she was younger she wandered outside when they shot a segment of Law and Order. Remember that, because it affected her in a big way.

She tried her hand at acting in high school but it wasn't for her. See, Eljon is a Playwright and a Screenwriter. She's written six plays, two short films and won a bunch of awards. When I asked her when she knew she wanted to be a writer, Law and Order came up.

Her father came here from Grenada as a young man, pretty much penniless, and proceeded to start a thriving business.  Both of her mother's parents were deaf. Her mom was able to juggle raising her daughter while caring for her parents all while earning her college degree.

I mentioned two people.
Randy Wilkins grew up in The Bronx. He was smart, talented and played center field in baseball, thought he would play in the pros. A bad injury changed all that. Derek Jeter was his 'guy' and, funny, my twins wear Derek Jeter jerseys that their dad gave them.

He is Eljon's boyfriend. He's also a cinematographer, editor and a director.

Together they've made something special.

It's called Docket 32357.

It's a web series, written by Eljon and directed by Randy, and it's a good one. Go to Youtube and punch in Docket 32357 and you'll see. It's a story about two women who meet outside a court room. The title pertains to the court case ahead. Through all the twists and turns an unlikely friendship evolves. Now, I'm the kind of person who tries to figure things out, and I'm happy to say, I was wrong on this one alot of the time.

It's well written and shot well.

More on Randy.

He says, "In college I needed an art credit to graduate," and he took a class on film making. He was good at it. He adds, "I didn't know everyday people could make a movie. I thought your name had to be Spielberg."

And then fate stepped in.

After he finished shooting his second documentary, there was a dinner with the director Spike Lee as the guest of honor. Randy's college president graciously gave up his seat at the dinner, next to Spike.

Guess who he gave it to?

Here we are, a few years later, and he and Spike work together. Randy is a two time Emmy winner and is currently in post production for his first ESPN 30 for 30 short scheduled to be released in 2016.

Back to Eljon. And as they say in movies, here's where the plot thickens.

Eljon is a stroke survivor.

She had her stroke in 2010 and wrote Docket 32357 after her stroke. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
She first had a bad headache, which went on for awhile, and she ended up in the hospital.

"Ask Randy how he found out," Eljon says. Randy's turn. "She sent me an email that said, I'm in the ER."

That's a fine how do you do.

After her stroke, Eljon was afraid, "afraid that I couldn't write anymore." While she was getting better she watched a lot of tv, Law and Order of course, and slowly began her return to writing. First a couple of sentences, then a paragraph, then half a page, then...

Docket 32357.

The first season is done and she and Randy are about to start shooting the second season. They could use a helping hand and I've included a link that will allow you to do just that.

By the way, World Stroke Day 2015 is October 29th. This years theme? I am Woman.

Just thought you should know.

I'll let Eljon have the last word. "I'm a driven, passionate person who won't let stroke dictate my life."

That, my friends, is a mouthful.


To help go to http://www.seedandspark.com/studio/docket-32357#wishlist

Eljon is also the author of a blog:http://imakethestrokeunitsexy.blogspot.com


#MarkMcEwen
Subscribe to my blog: Mark McEwen's World
Follow me on twitter: @mcewenmark
Like my page on facebook: www.facebook.com/markmcewensworld
And also visit my website: www.markmcewen.com

3 comments: