Meet Danielle Frankl

We recently connected with Danielle Frankl and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
Ha ha, well from when I was breastfed I guess.  I was born into the movie business. When I was a child, my father was a creative executive at 20th Century Fox, among a million other things, before he started to write and direct his own movies. My mother was a production accountant for features all over the world and also produced a few movies. I have worked many years in the business for some of the big studios. It was great working for Disney, Universal and Netflix. Then I also worked on location all over America, Asia and Europe. This is the movie business.  There is always something happening that needs to be taken care of and if not the production will stop.  If you go into fear in those situations, you will not be able to solve it. So I guess I got it from learning that there is no idea to put your head in the sand, you just have to find a solution, and after a while you stop seeing problems and just see different solutions. I mean when I got involved in the movie, “Get Lucky” there were some scenes that weren’t shot during the shoot and the director was in Sweden.  I had to put the actors together in Los Angeles and we had rehearsals over the internet and the same with the shooting of the remaining scenes. We had the director in Sweden, directing over the web, trying to get the actors and the team to follow instructions, it was hard but we had a blast. Being in the movie industry since childhood made me realize I can’t take a no for an answer. There are always a few doors that open when one closes.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
So I met Torkel Knutsson at our mutual friend’s party, Louis Gossett Jr. Torkel is a Swedish director and writer. He pitched me “Get Lucky”, the movie he was working on. I really liked the idea. So we teamed up to finish the movie together. A crazy comedy about having problems getting pregnant. I went through those problems myself. My ex-husband and I tried for years but it never happened. It’s still a big grief in my life that I will probably never be a mother. Well fingers crossed, you never know, maybe there is a miracle on the horizon. Torkel went through the whole IVF thing with his spouse. After years of trying, they finally got lucky. There are so many couples struggling with this so I really believe there should be much more info about this and of course more movies about those problems. Recently, Torkel and I started a Production company, Drama Queen Pictures. Our next project is a film, “Surrogate Mother”, a psychological thriller about a desperate couple that hires a surrogate mother to help them have a baby. Torkel is writing a new draft. The movie is really like a modern take on films, such as Fatal Attraction, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Single White Female, but still about trying to have children. No, not all our projects are about making babies, ha ha. We have many other compelling stories we are producing. We have good contacts all over the world. Torkel is a fine storyteller. He has directed some really good movies in Sweden, and he wrote the American Netflix success, “Naked” starring Marlon Wayans, Regina Hall, Dennis Haysbert and JT Jackson.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Education has opened a lot of doors and deepened my understanding of the world. I have an MBA from Pepperdine. I am also a certified yoga Instructor. I got my license to teach Yoga in Thailand. That was totally fantastic! I have continued teaching yoga in Thailand since then. My nonprofit organization Freedom and Growth Foundation, Inc. gives me the opportunity to teach free yoga and meditation classes here in LA to women in early recovery from drug addiction and with other mental problems. I meditate every day and try to exercise to keep myself fit for whatever task that comes up. I need to put myself in a stream of positive energy, so I can stay being myself, I mean myself is all I got. I really believe if you stay true to yourself you can reach every single goal you put yourself up for. We need our dreams to go on believing that everything is really possible, if you are determined enough. Of course, with a little bit of help and sometimes a lot of help from our friends. I really try to stay away from too much drama, one of the reasons we called the company Drama Queen Pictures is that I always try to stay away from personal drama, remembering to focus on the most important task in everything. And never stop dreaming, BIG DREAMS.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Now that “Get Lucky” is completed, we are looking for a distribution company. We’re diving into the sales phase and simultaneously gearing up for the pre-production of “Surrogate Mother.” We’re actively assembling our crew and cast, with some key positions already filled and specific talents in mind. I’m particularly intrigued by the evolution of Tracy Lords’ career post-adult industry and am curious about the unique perspective she could bring to our project. “Surrogate Mother” is set to be an independent film to expedite production. Real-world practice is invaluable, and we’re eager to dive in headfirst. Our immediate need is additional financing, which often presents a challenge for independent projects. We’re hopeful to secure the necessary funds soon, with shooting planned for September/October this year. The film will predominantly take place in a luxurious beachside house, and we’re currently scouting potential locations, including some captivating properties at the lake in Seattle, though a Californian coastal setting might be more fitting. The narrative centers on a couple who seem to have it all, except for children and a harmonious relationship, leading them on a distressing path toward divorce. The couple reconnects when they decide to hire a Surrogate Mother in hopes that having a family will save their marriage. For those interested in collaborating, especially in the realms of financing or creative input, we’re looking for partners who share our vision for telling impactful stories. If you’re reading this and feel a connection to our project’s aims, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can bring “Surrogate Mother” to life, contributing to a narrative that delves into the complexities of modern relationships and the deeply personal quest for parenthood.

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