Hey, this is Craig Zisk director of The English Teacher, along with screenwriters Stacy Chariton and Dan Chariton. Our new film staring Julianne Moore is premiering on May 17th. 

Craig: When I first read The English Teacher, I was drawn to the rich themes of self-discovery and transformation. The film is a journey, from hope to failure to redemption, played out in a funny, endearing and mindful way. The characters are both human and relatable, showing great courage to risk chasing their dreams. 

The high school play is used as a vehicle to glimpse into the character's flaws and desires. The comedy is born from grounded performances set within the framework of the absurd situation. Julianne's nakedly honest and hilarious portrayal of Linda took it to another level. Every cast choice exceeded my already high expectations.

Stacy: The inspiration came from our experiences growing up, reading books, being bookish people who would immerse themselves in fiction. To a large degree, fiction was a much safer place to us than reality. Reality always seemed a bit messy and difficult. We wanted to write about a character whose passion for fiction is the great joy of her life, but also creates a block for her.

Dan: At its heart, it’s really about a woman who’s so lost in stories. She has stories about everything in her life because as an English teacher, she was trained to see what characters are, and what stories are. If you’re someone like Linda, you’re going to go through life, and all you see is these characters from literature that you’ve lived with for decades. 

We're running a great promotion on Wattpad and we'd love to read some of your writing. Check out all the details for both readers and writers here: http://www.wattpad.com/theenglishteachercontest We'll be posting some of the best stories in a reading list and have some great giveaways for winners!

Also, we've posted the draft script here too! Catch a sneak peak before hitting the theatres on May 17