Studio SKYFIRE options new comedy feature from screenwriting duo Kanani Koster and Lee Johnson
Kanani Koster & Lee Johnson.
Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Honolulu-based entertainment company Studio SKYFIRE has optioned a comedy feature concept from screenwriting duo Kanani Koster and Lee Johnson. Wahine Wedding Crashers follows a perpetually single hopeless romantic and her womanizer best friend as they gleefully escape their bitter reality as broke locals by crashing lavish star-studded destination weddings in Hawai’i.
Koster and Lee will develop the full screenplay at the Stowe Story Labs Feature Campus this spring.
”Kanani and Lee have such a deft touch with modern comedy,” said Studio SKYFIRE founder and producer Jennifer Thym. “Wahine Wedding Crashers is a vibrant and hilarious take on the wedding comedy genre, which makes it absolutely perfect for Hawai’i.”
“Meaningful development support at an early stage of a project – especially for emerging independent talent – is both tremendously valuable and ridiculously hard to find,” said Stowe Founder and Director David Rocchio. “We are deeply appreciative of Studio SKYFIRE’s sponsorship of Kanani and Lee’s participation in Feature Campus, and believe our approach to developing talent and projects will bring great value to the filmmakers and the Studio. We can’t wait to get started.”
"Writing comedies is what brought Lee and I together and taking time to develop our feature under the Stowe program is an honor. We are especially looking forward to being mentored by creatives like David Rocchio, David Pope, and Jennifer Thym who understand the power of genre filmmaking," said Koster.
Kanani Koster is a kanaka maoli writer and director whose Maui stoner comedy Shoots was a finalist at AT&T’s Untold Stories at Tribeca Festival in 2024. Koster is a 2024 American Film Institute Directing alum, 2024 ‘Ohina Lab Fellow, and 2023 Punky Aloha Scholar for Kanaka 'Oiwi and Pasifika Creatives. Koster’s innovative shorts have played at AFI Fest and Hawai’i International Film Festival.
Lee Johnson is a Hawai’i screenwriter best known for her work on ABC’s Queens, a hip-hop drama starring Brandy Norwood and Eve. Johnson co-wrote and produced the finale of Queens in collaboration with creator and showrunner Zahir McGhee (Harlem’s Kitchen, Scandal). Known for her heartfelt comedies about dysfunctional friendships, Johnson was a finalist in both the Paramount Writers Mentoring Program and Disney Entertainment Television Writing Program.
Studio SKYFIRE is a Hawai’i-based entertainment company that specializes in elevated genre, iconic character-driven sagas, and high-octane fairy tales across print, electronic media, film & TV. More at www.studioskyfire.com.
Stowe Story Labs is a Vermont-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2013. Stowe offers labs, writers’ retreats, long-form writing programs, ongoing mentoring, community building, and advanced development programs throughout the year for top emerging screenwriters, filmmakers, and creative producers from around the world. Stowe is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Applications are open for Stowe’s 2025 Writers’ Retreats. To learn more and apply you can visit https://stowestorylabs.org/writers-retreats.
