Wordspeaker

As the producer of Wordspeaker, I have left it unrated. It's up to viewers to discern its subtle charms. One recent viewer responded viscerally while watching Roger 'Mad Dog' Welles. "He gives me the creeps" she said. See for yourself and please leave a comment or two. The writer/director for Wordspeaker, Dennis Sparks, says that The Twilight Zone TV program was his Bible growing up, and so he fashioned a story that evokes some of the Twilight Zone vibe. Extra credit questions: in the film what time is it? What does this phrase mean: a fish out of water can't be expected to act like a fish? The answers can be found in the 'extras' segment that follows the film...let it keep playing after the screen goes dark.

I've known Clyde Lewis and been a fan since the birth of his Ground Zero radio show in Salt Lake City. His skills as a broadcaster are nationally known, as is his V.O. performance as Toxie. I even worked with him on several episodes of a stillborn investigative television show. I was still taken by surprise by this performance.

At first, I thought, "Ah, here's Clyde doing his usual stuff," but that's not it at all. I was an acting coach and theatrical director for many years and I was seriously impressed by the caliber of this short film and Clyde's performance.

Wordspeaker really would make a great double bill with Pontypool. Both feature powerful performances, by beaten-down talk show hosts who fall into the classic mold of the wounded, but not yet defeated anti-hero making a last stand. Great stuff.

Wordspeaker deserves much good word-of-mouth.

The following is a brief comment from an interested audience member who first viewed WORDSPEAKER in 2023, the year in which it was entered in several world-wide film festivals. It seems relatively rare for an educational administrator to comment on the arts:

"I enjoyed this short film. Clyde Lewis is a talented actor. I think one-man shows are especially challenging, given the importance of the actor's timing to make the monologue flow and the impression of dialogue realistic. Good luck in the competition. I think this is a contender!"

Tim O'Malley VP University Relations (retired) University of San Diego.