Rising Stars: Meet Dianna Ippolito

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dianna Ippolito.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When I think back on how I got to where I am today, it almost seems like I was always headed in the direction of filmmaking, but it was definitely a zig-zag kind of journey for me. From a young age, I was fascinated with the arts. I loved to read and wrote a lot of short stories in grade school, and when I got to Jr. high, a photography class I took on a lark ended up giving me the direction my life would take. I fell in love with the idea of storytelling through imagery and went on to pursue a career in fashion photography. After studying at both The Art Center College of Design and the Academy of Art College, I worked in the industry for a number of years. Telling stories through fashion really engaged my creativity. I shot in New York and LA, and that eventually segued into shooting celebrity portraits for various magazine publications. It wasn’t until several years later that I took a screenwriting class which ended up changing my career aspirations. Once I had completed the six-week class, I was hooked. Writing my first movie was so much fun. I got to utilize my creative writing skills, tap into my experience as a photographer, visually describing scenes and characters, and I knew from then on that I would become a filmmaker.

I began learning the ropes, got myself a manager, and have been happily writing screenplays ever since. It took years to really understand the mechanics of writing for film and television, but as a total cinema buff, it’s been a fantastic journey. One of the best experiences I got early on was getting the chance to work on the television show “Saf3” as a writer and co-producer. We shot it in South Africa, and I got to work there for several months and learn all about the ins and outs of set life. That was an invaluable learning experience and helped prepare me for when I began producing my own indie films several years later.

Currently, I have my first-holiday movie “Mistletoe Connection” airing on November 26, 2023 on the UpTV network. It was co-written with my friend Marie Jones, and we are both thrilled to see it come to life.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think any journey in the film industry is never going to be smooth. It’s a tough business, and you really have to be passionate about it. People love to say “NO”, which is sort of a reflex. That can be hard to take on a consistent basis, but if you believe in yourself and your vision and know deep down that eventually someone will say “YES”, you’ll eventually get through the dark tunnel and into the light. I have had plenty of rejections and “almost” deals that fell apart, but that’s par for the course. You just have to keep going and leave those blinders on.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love writing all kinds of genres and don’t think of myself as boxed into any one of them. I started off writing romantic comedies, which I still adore writing. Eventually, I decided to stretch my writing muscles and began writing coming-of-age dramas and true stories about musicians. I am currently developing a script with director Randal Kleiser about the life of Andy Gibb, youngest brother of the Bee Gees, who died tragically young at the age of 30. Recently I won First Prize for my political thriller “Hunted”, which tells the story of Dorothy Hunt, wife of Howard Hunt, one of the masterminds behind the Watergate scandal. She became a courier for Nixon’s burglar hush money and was mysteriously killed in a plane crash just before she was set to speak to the press about what she knew. I am heavily influenced by films of the 1970s and tend to like to mine stories from that time period. I love writing about underdogs and about whistleblowers, two of my favorite topics. What sets me apart is probably my ability to write things like light-hearted holiday films, to dark thrillers, and scary horror scripts. I love it all and can dig in deep to any story.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Tune in to the UpTv network on November 26, 2023 and watch my holiday film “Mistletoe Connection” I am also currently shopping a few of my scripts to producers. One is about Cass Elliot of the Mamas and Papas, I have a biopic about actor/comedian Dudley Moore and a story that is very dear to my heart called “Joy in the Congo” about the world’s first all-black classical orchestra in the Congo, that is an uplifting story about the power of music.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.diannaippolito.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsallhappeningfilms/?hl=en
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/diannaseye

Image Credits
Jessica Sipos and Markian Tarasiuk in UPtv’s ‘Mistletoe Connection’. (For the image of two actors with mistletoe above their heads)