15-Year-Old’s Inspiring Screenplay INTO THE SPOTLIGHT To Hit Theaters Sept. 1
By Cooper Dowd, Movieguide Staff
At the age of 15, Kate Larson wrote a script for a new story called INTO THE SPOTLIGHT, inspired by an old microphone in her bedroom.
Today, INTO THE SPOTLIGHT is a feature length movie starring Leigh-Allyn Baker, Karen Abercrombie and Larson herself.
Larson recently sat down with Movieguide to discuss the inspiration behind her musical drama, and how faith and family played the biggest roles in the making of INTO THE SPOTLIGHT.
“It is a story about a girl named Laura Banks who struggles with insecurity and bullying, and she quickly finds herself with a magic microphone that gives her the ability to sing,” Larson explained. “She finds herself going on a journey of fame and her name being in lights and she must decide between continuing down that route or going back to who she is and actually just realizing what a gift a family and friends had been the whole entire journey.”
Larson’s love for storytelling came at an early age when she started performing at the age of four.
“I started acting in local theater when I was around four and then did that off and on and then around 12 I got more serious into screen acting,” she said.
After being sent several screenplays for on-screen roles, Larson wondered if she could write her own script.
“I just really fell in love with it and painting a world and watching movies come to life and getting on set and filming it and so it really all started when I was 12,” she said.
After striking inspiration for the story while cleaning her bedroom, Larson turned her script into a short film and then a feature length screenplay she could show at festivals.
“I had all these moms and parents coming up to me telling me, ‘My daughter needs a story like this.’ So that was actually really my motivation,” she said of INTO THE SPOTLIGHT.
“I struggled with dyslexia when I was younger, and so I was told that I wouldn’t be able to graduate high school, and so I just didn’t even think writing a film would be possible,” she added. “[But] just seeing the younger girls watching it and wanting to give them inspiration, it really put fuel in me to get it done. That’s a story that I would have wanted when I was younger.”
Not only does Larson hope young girls can connect to the themes in INTO THE SPOTLIGHT, but that it also brings whole families together.
“My goal for INTO THE SPOTLIGHT was for it to be a movie that families could watch together because some of my greatest memories of my family are going to the movie theaters and just having movies that we can watch as a family,” she said. “That was really my goal, for it to be something that brought the family back together.”
Family and faith both played major roles in Larson’s pursuit of her dream.
“I think especially in today’s society, having family role models is really important,” she noted. “My family has played a big part in creating who I am and who I’ve become… You see families struggling with problems, but in the end, they come back to each other and they come back to what’s important and I think that’s just a really good message that we need out there. It’s okay to have differences. But at the end of the day, families, they’re there to come back if you need them.”
“Faith has been the biggest part of my story,” she continued. “I think when I was younger, God really used stories to kind of help me escape because my mom was sick for my whole childhood until COVID. I saw her going in and out of hospitals and God really used just creating stories to help me cope with my mom being sick.That really pushed me into creating stories because I wanted to make an escape for people.”
“I think he gives us talent and I think he’s given me a talent for writing and acting. So I [want] to just use that to help people enjoy a movie and just glorify him.”
INTO THE SPOTLIGHT releases on Sept. 1.
Movieguide has yet to review INTO THE SPOTLIGHT, and cannot advise on its content. Check back soon for our full review!
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
