Hello!

This is Flopping Upwards.

I’m Sarah! I’ve been a lifetime fan of movies and film - I spent a large part of my childhood and adolescence writing fiction, both fanworks and original, but didn’t realize until my late twenties that I could combine my enjoyment of writing fiction with my love of movies, which is when I first got started in writing my own spec scripts while self-teaching, using a few online free resources, begging my professional-screenwriting and old film school friends for help and answers, as well as just winging it, most of the time. I went to film school! In case it isn’t obvious by the way that I talk about movies - I’ve been told it is, and I’ve rarely been told that as a compliment.

I’m a special effects makeup artist for film, and I specialize in horror & sci-fi. Horror movies are my absolute lifeblood. They were not only the reason that I realized I could have a career in film - something I’d been taught throughout life by mainstream influences was exclusively a lottery-win career that rarely went anywhere or paid any bills - but they also inspire my own artistic creativity and my ability to cope with the downsides of life through art and fiction. When I say that I’m a special effects makeup artist, I should admit that I haven’t worked in a while. I still love it, and get my practice in where I can, both to keep myself from going cold and also because as I’ve said, it’s one of my most powerfully healthy creative outlets.

I moved to New York City three years ago to remove the ‘long distance’ caveat out of my relationship description, and have been looking for other creative film-related outlets to pour myself into with all of my free time before committing to diving back into giving myself all of the refreshers I’ll need to get back to the real on-set work that I always loved so much again. Being drawn to movies, and surrounding myself with fellow movie-lovers has led to a few different personal projects just for fun, whether they be teaching the odd volunteer zoom-class on making homemade sculpting scab-blood, or just keeping a prolific and obsessive Letterboxd account. I’ve also started a Podcast with my best friend, Verona, called What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie? where we discuss some of our favorite horror movies each week. It’s also led me to start posting here! I’ve always had a funny habit of truly enjoying a movie and feeling a deep connection to it, only to find out that almost no one else felt the same way. For that reason, Flopping Upwards won’t be focused much on ‘so bad they’re good’ or ‘guilty pleasure’ movies, but moreso on my innate ability to have my life absolutely changed by a movie that the general population thought was a complete waste of their time. If you’re interested in reading in-depth essays and articles that are hell-bent on selling you on a 2-star movie, or if I’ve just hit you up and asked you to check out this newsletter if you’re curious about how I’ve been spending my time since my move, welcome to Flopping Upwards!