Wild Nights with Emily: A Feature Film About Emily DIckinson

By The Writers Room Member Madeleine Olnek

Molly Shannon plays Emily Dickinson in the humorous drama “Wild Nights with Emily." The poet’s persona, popularized since her death, became that of a reclusive spinster – a delicate wallflower, too sensitive for this world. This film explores her vivacious, irreverent side that was covered up for years — most notably Emily’s lifelong romantic relationship with another woman (played by Susan Ziegler). After Emily died, a rivalry emerged when her brother's mistress (Amy Seimetz) along with editor T.W. Higginson (Brett Gelman) published a book of Emily's poems. Unique and surreal, this seriously Independent film was the Winner of the US-In-Progress award in Paris. Appropriate for all ages.

Biography

Madeleine Olnek is a Guggenheim award-winning writer/director/producer who has had four films at Sundance: Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, The Foxy Merkins, Countertransference, and Hold Up. She wrote and directed the first-ever on-screen portrayal of a queer Emily Dickinson. Wild Nights With Emily, starring Molly Shannon. It was acquired by Universal Pictures and was picked by Rotten Tomatoes as one of the top ten "Best Comedies of 2019." She served as the sole juror for the NEXT Section of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

This winter, Madeleine served as an off-campus mentor for the Playwrights Festival at Yale University, and was headed up to New Haven to see the festival.

Critical Praise for Olnek’s Work

“Hilarious… Olnek directs at a breathless pace.” - The Village Voice

“A delightful playground of bizarre moments.” - Time Out New York

“Funny, darkly obsessive, often fascinating… The work is disturbing, sexy and pithy, all at once.” - Greenwich Village Press

“Madeleine Olnek is making incredible contemporary masterpieces.” - Playwright Paula Vogel in American Theatre Magazine

Countertransference: Full Short Film

A lonely woman with assertiveness issues finds her problems multiplied in therapy.

Selected as a Sundance Film Festival Classic

“Unforgettable…a comic goldmine.” -Filmmaker Magazine

Starring Deb Margolin, Susan Ziegler, Dennis Davis, and Rae C Wright

Connect with Madeleine Olnek here:

https://www.madeleineolnek.com/

The Writers Room Interview with Madeleine Olnek:

Q: We wanted to conduct this interview in an unusual and creative way. What is a question you’ve always wanted to be asked? 

A: “To what extent is writing influenced by foodstuffs?”

No one ever talks about this in interviews, but I would say the first 20 plays I wrote were only possible because of pastries and Rolos. I was at a comedy show recently where one of the comedians said “the way everyone on stage is acting right now might lead you to believe we are all on drugs, but I went backstage and everyone is just eating Rolos.” Rolos are a great writing food because they have a burst of sugar and then a gooey caramel center that you can chew for a long time. You have to commit to the journey. Rolos are an excellent writing food and why are they not in big bowls in The Writers Room? When are the writers here going to unionize?

Q: What are the best pens in the world to write with?

A: There’s only one answer: The Pilot Varsity Disposable Fountain Pen in blue ink. They sell them in packs of 6 on Amazon for $12.They are the best ones to write with. There is no other pen that’s better. On the Stephen Colbert Show, suddenly I noticed he was holding up my favorite pen, The Pilot Varsity! I love Stephen Colbert. Beshert: it was meant to be.

Q: How do writers avoid burnout?

A: I’m too burnt out to answer that question.

Q: If you were chosen to run a movie night at The Writers Room, which movies would you show and why?

A: I recently watched the movie Flipper, the original 1963 feature film starring a dolphin,  and it blew me away. There was a kind of a pre-consciousness of all the people who inhabited this world. It’s hard to watch a really weird movie unless you're doing it with a group of people or else you just give up. As such, the first movie I would show at the writers room is Bad Luck Banging or Looney Porn which was made by a Romanian director during covid and won The Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and because I've never seen it and I’m curious. And it has a title that would guarantee turnout.

Q: Speaking of titles- How important are titles to you?

A: I always thought it was interesting that so many comedies have very serious unfunny titles. Like if you can’t give it up - and by “it,” I mean your need to be taken seriously - for the length of a title, why should I think your movie as a whole is going to be funny? When you can’t even give up the idea of seriousness for a short bunch of words? 

That being said, the playwright Sam Shepard said he loved the way the east village worked with theater, you could book a show with only a title. That inspired me in terms of naming my films and plays. They are a framing device through which to understand the movie. 

I’m really inspired right now writing a brand new screenplay and can’t wait to pick a title once I’m finished.

Q: How can you prevent burnout when you’re in the middle of having a really hard time writing something?

A: When I’m in the middle of a really tough project, I like to make lists of really horrible movies that my movie is better than. Now with lesbian films this is really easy, this might be harder for other members of The Writers Room. But it’s really helpful to remember that your script is not the worst thing that has ever been written. It’s only the second worst.

Q: Now I have to ask, what was your experience of being a juror at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival?

A: I read in this interview where Steve Carrell said, when The 40-Year-Old Virgin was released in theaters, he saw a giant billboard of his face on the street and he thought: “it is never going to get better than this.” The Sundance Film Festival is arguably the greatest film festival in the entire world-- to go there and be driven around by a car and chauffeur and watch wonderful movies having their world premieres was an awesome privilege. The category I was chosen to judge was for original innovative filmmaking and it was a total honor to be trusted by Sundance to be the sole juror for that section. To go back to the burn-out question: if you are feeling burnt out it’s always good to look to wonderful works of art for inspiration.

Q: You have belonged to The Writers Room for over 20 years, what has changed here in that time?

A: Many people have come and gone, but The Writers Room remains an essential, beautiful place in which to focus on writing deeply. I can’t imagine there is any other place in the world where the staff cares so much about everyone being able to do their best work. It’s a special gift- that we get to come here- and sit and write in such a warm, welcoming, quiet place. Now it just needs Rolos.