Writer Laura Hankin's new Netflix film, "Don't Say Good Luck," is based on her own high school experience of being cast as the lead in a musical while her mother's terminal cancer returned.
The movie, which began streaming on Netflix, stars Sunny Sandler as Sophie, a high school student who lands the lead in a school production of "Waitress." Concurrently, Sophie must cope with her mother's declining health. Hankin's personal story mirrors this dual reality, where she grappled with caring about her role in the school's production of "Moby Dick! The Musical" and the emotional weight of her mother's illness.
"Is it okay to be going to rehearsal?" Hankin recalled thinking at the time, as detailed in an interview with Decider. "To care about crushes on cute boys, and if I’m doing a good job with my solo number? Or should I give up everything so I can just spend all of my time sitting with my mom on the couch watching Gilmore Girls?"
Hankin, known for her novels, processed this period of her life years later by writing the screenplay for "Don't Say Good Luck." The film, directed by Julia Hart and co-written by her husband Jordan Horowitz, fictionalizes elements of Hankin's life but aims to preserve the authentic emotions of the experience.
"I wanted to find that balance of honoring my mom, honoring the theater community that was so wonderful to be a part of, while also making the best movie that we could," Hankin stated.
In her junior year of high school in Washington D.C., Hankin was cast as Ishmael in an all-girls Catholic school's production of "Moby Dick The Musical: A Whale of a Tale." This joyous experience with friends contrasted sharply with the increasing severity of her mother's illness. She noted that while her memory is imprecise, her mother did attend a performance of the musical shortly before passing away a few weeks later.
Hankin made deliberate choices to fictionalize the story for the film, including adding siblings and altering the setting and family dynamics. She explained that the initial screenplay draft focused more on impressions and emotions, which were then shaped into a more structured narrative suitable for a film.
The inspiration for adapting her story into a movie came partly from watching Bo Burnham's film "Eighth Grade." Hankin felt that "Eighth Grade" demonstrated a serious engagement with the inner lives of teenage girls, prompting her to consider her own adolescent experiences as potentially compelling subject matter for a film. Additionally, she felt that the musical aspect of her story, particularly the songs by Sara Bareilles, offered a powerful emotional dimension that could be best conveyed through visual and auditory performance rather than solely through text.
Throughout the revision process, Hankin emphasized maintaining the story's core emotional truth and the reality of its characters, even as elements were sharpened and heightened. She worked with directors Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz, who helped refine the script while preserving the story's fundamental tone and heart.
Hankin was present on set during much of the filming, interacting with actors Sunny Sandler and Melanie Lynskey. While she wanted the actors to embody the characters authentically, she also avoided imposing her own experiences too directly, encouraging them to develop their portrayals naturally.
The production also involved Adam Sandler and his wife Jackie Sandler, who produced the film through their company Happy Madison. The filming of "Don't Say Good Luck" occurred concurrently with another Happy Madison production, "Roommates," starring their younger daughter Sadie Sandler. Hankin observed Adam Sandler's active involvement, noting his contributions to both comedic and dramatic elements of the script, and his emphasis on authenticity and emotional depth.
Hankin also made a brief on-screen appearance in the film as an English teacher, fulfilling a desire to act which had been a significant part of her own emotional processing during her youth.