ELLA ENCHANTED

Based upon a Newberry-Award-winning novel, Ella Enchanted is a rollicking medieval tale of a girl's adventurous quest to free herself from a lifelong curse of obedience.

Ella was our first attempt at writing a PG-rated movie and over the course of our 6-week rewrite (the first draft was by Laurie Craig), we came upon a pleasant surprise: True artistic satisfaction CAN be derived from writing a really good poopy joke!

One of the other joys of Ella was our collaboration with deliciously delovely director Tommy O'Haver.

Prior to writing, we spent a week with Tommy reconfiguring the story, using the Chateau Marmont as sprawling ground. We developed a weird group eating disorder (Binging Without Purging) and our story sessions were constantly peppered with cries of "I'm bloated!" or "Am I fat?" Tommy often had us examine his stomach for signs of pudge, but alas, none were found. (Our self-esteem was not helped when Miramax exec Jill Messick would stop by, eat massive amounts of food, and somehow manage to leave looking skinnier than she did when she arrived.) Another perk of working at the Chateau was every few hours we saw a celebrity. Included in our star-gazing were Josh Hartnett, Julie Delpy, Tilda Swinton, Dermot Mulroney, Estella Warren, Jimmy Fallon, and Kate Hudson. Oh, and I almost forgot -- Mickey Rourke!