Sunny Sandler's new Netflix movie was inspired by its D.C. screenwriter's life
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Sunny Sandler stars in "Don't Say Good Luck." Photo: Courtesy of Netflix
A heartfelt new movie out Friday on Netflix was inspired by a local screenwriter's days as a high school musical star in D.C.
Why it matters: The coming-of-age dramedy "Don't Say Good Luck" stars Sunny Sandler — aka Adam Sandler's daughter — and is produced by the Sandman himself.
- It also stars big names like Melanie Lynskey, Max Greenfield and Steve Buscemi.
State of play: The film follows Sophie Birenbaum, a high school girl (played by Sandler), as she deals with the simultaneous highs and lows of scoring the lead in her school's production of the musical "Waitress" while her mom is battling cancer.
What they're saying: The story was inspired by the co-screenwriter and D.C. native Laura Hankin's own experience: She landed the lead in the then-Woodrow Wilson High School's production of "Moby Dick! The Musical" right when her own mother became sick.
- "It was really hard to know how to deal with it and how to find the balance of it all," Hankin tells Axios — an experience she says she didn't fully start processing until she sat down to write the screenplay years later.
- Hankin is also an author, but she turned this experience into a screenplay so the singing and dancing could come to life.
Zoom in: Hankin lives on Capitol Hill now but grew up in Tenleytown — "right in between the Van Ness and the Tenleytown Red Line Metro stops" — and while the movie isn't based in D.C., some scenes are inspired by places Hankin once hung out.
- Think Guapo's or Montgomery and Tysons malls.
Fun fact: Hankin and her friends were so into showbiz growing up, they started their own community theater at the then-named Eldbrooke United Methodist Church.
- "Oh, yeah, I was a huge nerd," says Hankin. (She did get to kiss the cute senior boy in one of their plays, though. "That was crazy.")
- Plus: Hankin has a tiny cameo in the movie as a teacher.
What we're watching: Hankin's next book is out April 2027 — and she says more screenwriting is in her future.
How to watch: "Don't Say Good Luck" premieres Friday on Netflix.