The ISA Podcast
The ISA Podcast
International Screenwriters' Association
From Page to AFM: How Sari Earl's Screenplay Won Big at Table Read My Screenplay - Hollywood
29 minutes Posted Feb 1, 2026 at 12:51 am.
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Show notes

Award-winning screenwriter Sari Earl joins us to discuss her Grand Prize win at Table Read My Screenplay Hollywood with her deeply personal and heartfelt screenplay The Do Over.

In this conversation, Sari shares the 10+ year journey of developing The Do Over, a comedy-drama inspired by her relationship with her father, who lived with ALS for over two decades. She opens up about adapting real-life experiences into compelling fiction, finding the right tonal balance between humor and heartbreak, and how a professional table read at AFM helped elevate the script to a new level.

We also dive into:
How The Do Over evolved across genres before landing as a comedy
Why table reads are a crucial development tool for writers
Collaborating with director Drew and an exceptional cast, including Rob Morrow
What happened after winning the contest: meetings with investors, producers, agents, and studios
Why writers must become the driving force behind their own projects
Learning to trust your creative voice

This is an inspiring, practical conversation for screenwriters, filmmakers, and storytellers looking to move their work from the page toward production.