Screenwriter: Megan Holley

Virginia screenwriter Megan Holley was a featured guest speaker in the Women’s History series at Richmond’s historic Byrd Theater. Joined by General Manager Todd Schall-Vess, Megan presented the movie she penned, Sunshine Cleaning, a 2008 film starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt and directed by Christine Jeffs. Megan also screened The Projectionist, a short film she wrote and directed.

The idea for Sunshine Cleaning - the story of two sisters who start a crime scene cleanup business – began with a drive in the car. “I was listening to NPR and heard this story about a person who started this business.” Megan was intrigued by the dark and light side of how such an enterprise would put a protagonist in contact with dead bodies and their stories. “It was so interesting to think of this business and [ ] the viscera of tragedy.”

“I’m fascinated by death. And I’m also terrified of death,” says Megan. “That’s why a lot of my work centers on that theme.” Her project The Projectionist is an 18-minute short that tells the story of a bureaucrat working in the space-time continuum as a projectionist between life and death. Megan hopes to expand The Projectionist into a full-length feature.

In 2002, Megan wrote and directed her first feature length film, Snowflake Crusade, followed by her screenplay of Sunshine Cleaning, which won her the 2003 Virginia Governor’s Screenwriting Competition. “I’ve always loved telling stories. And screenwriting is just the way I kinda backed into it.” 

“I would love to get back to directing,” says Megan, who’s been professionally writing screenplays for 13 years. Her screenwriting is front and center thanks to the big-name clients and production studios hiring her to write. In between deadlines, she works on developing her own TV and film scripts. She says making time for personal projects isn’t easy. “You have to step off the hamster wheel of writing for others. I’m contractually obligated to meeting deadlines. After that, I can work on my own writing.”

Stay tuned for this talented writer and director’s next work!