Rally Caps with Jodi Cutler

It is Official!!! Rally Caps was selected for the 31st Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis starting the week of October 10-16, 2022. This book to film shines a positive spotlight on deafness, cochlear implants, sports, and friendship. Join me as I talk with the woman who made this happen, Jodi Cutler.  The message about accessibility and inclusion will be on the big screen thanks to Jodi's passion and purpose. Grab your popcorn and get your tickets now. 

Premiere Link: https://tickets.heartlandfilmfestival.org/.../rally-caps...

Encore Link: https://tickets.heartlandfilmfestival.org/.../rally-caps...

Virtual Link: https://watch.eventive.org/.../play/63121579c47af100d7e6d508

The code RALLYHIFF will allow customers to receive $2 off the ticket price for any tickets purchased at the above links. Look for the "Have a discount code?" option. For virtual, it's a gray box. For physical, it's blue text in the checkout window after you select your seats. (Screenshots attached.) The code RALLYHIFF must be all-caps with no spaces before or after.

Watch the Facebook live version at:  Empowear Audiology | Facebook

For more information about Dr. Carrie Spangler- check out her Linktree at https://linktr.ee/carrie.spangler.

For transcripts of this episode- visit the podcast website at: https://empowearaudiology.buzzsprout.com

Transcript

Announcer: [00:00:00] Welcome to episode 47 of Empower Audiology with Dr. Carrie Spangler.
Carrie: [00:00:16] Hello, listeners. This podcast is a little different from my other podcasts as it is a remix of the Facebook Live event with Jodi Cutler. This conversation was too good to not put out to all of you. For those of you who do not know Jodi, Jodi is amazing. She is a mother, public speaker, writer and now movie producer. She has an adult son who has a cochlear implant and has been able to use her own personal parenting journey to help many others. In this podcast episode, you are going to hear about the exciting news of Rally  Caps book turned to movie. Jodi takes us behind the scenes as Rally Caps was selected for the 31st Heartland International Film Festival in Indiana from October 10th through the 16th, 2022. For me, as an individual who has a cochlear implant and wears a hearing aid, just seeing the movie poster with Lucas, one of the main characters wearing a cochlear implant gives me a sense of excitement and belonging. Representation does matter. Take a listen to this amazing conversation with Jodi Cutler. I think we are going live. Welcome, Jodi Cutler. Thank you for joining me this morning. At least morning for me. And I have my morning coffee with the EmpowEAR Audiology Facebook Live group and this is part of 3C Digital Media Network. I am so excited to have you this morning and afternoon for you.
Jodi: [00:02:05] I'm so excited to see you because I love you and I wanted to talk to you.
Carrie: [00:02:10] I know it's been a while since you were on your baseball spree going across the country to different baseball field, but now you have some even more exciting news, don't you?
Jodi: [00:02:24] I do. I have a lot of exciting news. When I was.
Carrie: [00:02:28] When I was excited to find out more. What? So what? What do you have to share with me this morning?
Jodi: [00:02:37] Okay. First of all, for people who haven't been following the situation, I met Carrie during. Well, first I met Carrie during a zoom for the American Cochlear Implant Alliance. Tuesday talk. And I researched Carrie because she was the person who was a moderator and I, like, fell in love with her and everything that she does. So I stalked I stalker her and. And when we had to go to do the Cleveland Guardians Rally Caps Hearing Loss Awareness Day event, I reached out to her and we were able to collaborate and work together. And she's like, amazing. So I have real love for Carrie, which is why I'm excited to talk to you about Rally Caps, because back when we were in post-production and, you know, we had no idea how we were, how it was going to move forward and how it was going to play out. We were accepted to the Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it's like, go time, big time. So.
Carrie: [00:03:44] Well, so yeah, so that is so exciting. And just to kind of back up a little bit, Rally Caps is kind of a fusion from a book that you and your dad wrote. Correct?
Jodi: [00:03:55] Yes. My my dad and I worked together to write this book. I have been living in Tuscany for the past 25 years. So I was writing parts of the book in Tuscany and he was editing, modifying, adding parts of the book in West Palm Beach. And there was an exchange. And then finally we were able to finish the book and complete it. My dad had a story to tell about anxiety and getting hit by a baseball bat when he was young. And I had a story to tell because I wanted my son to see himself represented in literature as a child with a cochlear implant who uses listening and spoken language. Because until then I had not found that representation for my son. And I'm obsessed with reading.
Carrie: [00:04:46] Well, and I think it's so important for individuals to be able to see themselves and be represented in literature. And now you have a movie to share as well. So how did you decide that this book needed to become a movie?
Jodi: [00:05:04] My dad has a very determined personality, and from the moment the book was published, he continuously said The book needs to become a movie, and he made it his life ambition and goal to make Rally Caps the book into Rally Caps, the movie. He found Lee Cipolla, who is our multitalented, unbelievable work ethic, phenomenal director who took our book and transformed it into a screenplay, that is. Okay. It's better than the book. I know that you're not supposed to say that, but I love what he did with the screenplay. He's so talented. And. And I was so grateful because he consistently collaborated with my dad and me to. To make sure that we were on board with everything that was being done. I was totally against the idea of making it a movie, because when my dad came to me and said Lee was ready to go, I was like, Dad, it's March. I'm in Italy 2020. We're having a serious lockdown. Covid is happening. Nobody's making a movie right now. And he said, Yeah, we're going to make the movie. And I'm like, okay, Dad. And then and then, you know, your past and time went on and we kept making the screenplay even better and stronger. And then we had I mean, because I was involved, even though I was a little hesitant, my dad will never let me forget that fact.
Jodi: [00:06:35] And that's okay because he's right. I can admit what I'm wrong. And and so we had a table read, and at the table read I met Carson Minniear, who's our superstar. He's so cute and just asked amazing questions and was really talented. I started to see the other actors that were going to be involved in the movie. James Lowe, who plays Coach Ball game. I mean, he plays Coach Ballgame. He is Coach Ballgame. He's phenomenal. Like, I mean, you just melt when you see him and then that's how it started. So we were a small indie film, and then Amy Williams, our producer, was like Lee. I think it's really important to have Judd Hirsch and Amy Smart in this movie because I really believe that they would be exceptional. And so Lee was like, Yeah, that sounds really good. So Amy Williams made that happen, and suddenly our small indie film became. The bigger and more important and the fact that Judd Hirsch and Amy Smart are in the movie, and aside from the fact that they're exceptional professionals and unbelievable actors, their names are going to bring even more awareness to the representation that we are trying to make more visible.
Carrie: [00:08:03] Mm hmm. And you have a couple of characters in the movie who themselves live their life as an individual with cochlear implants or who is deaf and hard of hearing. Can you share a little bit more about those characters?
Jodi: [00:08:19] I will say this. When I found out about my son's profound hearing loss bilaterally sensorineural in Italy, in Italian, and I didn't speak the language. I was a little lost. I mean, I was determined. But but to help him learn to listen and speak. But I was a little lost because I couldn't talk to anybody, really. And in Italy, I didn't have a lot of resources. So the first time I went back to the United States, I went to a bookshop and I was looking through books on hearing loss. And I found Choices in Deafness and in choices and choices in deafness. There was the story of Curtis Pride, and when I read his story, I sat down next to the bookshelf and started crying. So for me, Curtis Pride has always had an important place in my personal journey. At another point in time, my father, who lives in West Palm Beach, near where Curtis lives, heard about a wiffle ball tournament that Curtis was having. And he went to participate because, you know, my mom and my dad were on the other side of the world. And it's you feel helpless to do anything because, you know, so he wanted to to feel like he could contribute and do something.
Jodi: [00:09:39] He went to umpire at this tournament and they became friends. So years later, when we were starting to cast the characters for the my son, who was going to be my my son's character, the child with a cochlear implant. My dad reached out to Curtis, and Curtis has two children, Colton Pride and Noel Pride. Colton, who plays Lucas, has single sided deafness and Noelle has bilateral sensorineural profound hearing loss like my son. So I had always wanted to to cast a deaf character, to play the role of Lucas and. Both me and my dad and everyone was so excited because we were able to have another character with hearing loss with cochlear implants in the film. So we have a boy and a girl and. Additionally, Curtis Pride himself has a cameo and delivers an important message. And for those of you who see the movie, wait till the credits at the end. Don't be getting up and leaving because there's another part that you're going to want to see when the credits roll. And I just the fact that it went full circle with Curtis Pride and and how I live that moment personally was just another Rally Cap's miracle that occurred.
Carrie: [00:11:02] Yeah, that is amazing. That, like, you had that incident in the bookstore where you read about him and then come come full circle and both of his kids that in the Rally Caps movie and they're just so good They're so good.
Jodi: [00:11:19] I know such beautiful people. I mean, they're so sensitive and intelligent and they're just and fun. They're a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun making Rally Caps at camps Gattaca in New York. I'm not going to lie. Like.
Carrie: [00:11:33] Amazing And yeah, so I know. So you got the movie produced and how did Ralley Caps get picked for the The Heartland Movie Festival?
Jodi: [00:11:49] I guess I I'm like Jodie, who raised a child with hearing loss and was a teacher and has helped people in Italy who have their own journeys in deafness. I have had no experience in my entire life with filmmaking, so becoming a producer has been a step by step learning experience. One of our producers, William Garcia, who was working on budget and a lot of the elements, he'd be like shooting acronyms and stuff. And I'd be like, Okay, I need you to explain that. I didn't understand anything. And then Catherine Borda, who is like taking care of all of the details and special effects and color and sound and score that I have no clue about. It's been a learning process. So in terms of the festival, all I know is that we submitted the film and they said, You've been accepted to the official selection. And I'm like, Woo hoo! And Lee and Kathy are like, Oh my God, that's amazing. But they had like. It's 25 days to finish. Finish the movie because we were in post-production.
Carrie: [00:12:58] That is awesome.
Carrie: [00:13:26] So if people want to watch this movie, how are they able to stream it or see it?
Jodi: [00:13:35] Well, we are premiering in Indianapolis on October 8th, and we are premiering in a theater called the Toby Newfields at 5:15 p.m.. If you live near Indianapolis, we're going to have a really good time at our premiere. Like everybody's coming except for Amy and Judd. They are not coming to the premiere, but all the kids are going to be there. We are planning a lot. We're trying to get involved with all of the associations in Indianapolis who I've learned that most of the people responsible within the associations are parents themselves. So there's this huge cohesive unit in Indianapolis that has like been unbelievable for me to work with them. So the Toby you can order ticket for the the premiere the next day. The ninth is another screening in person and that is at the Glendale Glendale 12 at 7 p.m.. You can order both of those tickets through Heartland International Film Festival. And we also have the opportunity to watch the movie virtually. There is a link to be able to reserve, a link to be able to watch it virtually. Those are limited. There is only a certain amount of virtual links. So anybody watching if you want to see the movie. Right now. As far as I know, this is the only chance.
Jodi: [00:15:06] Obviously, our hope is that a streamer distributor will pick the movie up after this festival. But for now, we're taking it step by step. Everyone has been so incredibly supportive. I just if I can, I'd love to give a shout out to Phonak and Advanced Bionics who have partnered with us. Their main goal in partnering with this movie has been to make as many people mainstream aware of. Cochlear implants, what they do for our kids, hearing aids, how hearing technology and devices like the Roger ON. Allow for more accessibility and more inclusion in mainstream lifestyle. And through the movie, we are trying to make sure that all hearing technology is very visible because what we all want to do is smash negative stigma regarding hearing loss. We're tired of our kids having to explain themselves constantly. We want people to look at a hearing aid and a cochlear implant and be like, Oh, they're just like Lucas. Or Oh, they're just like Nicki, So they don't need to go into this explanation about their hearing loss before people are able to know who they are as individuals. And this is what our real goal is for Rally Caps.
Carrie: [00:16:26] And I love the poster too. With you can see Lucas and his cochlear implant and a vibrant blue color. And that is just so amazing to have that representation just even visually. But I can't wait to see the movie as well to have that representation. Thank you. Is there anything else I should ask you or that you want to talk about with the movie as we're live this morning?
Jodi: [00:16:52] I just. I could talk for hours and hours. It's like I just wanted to I kind of want to add something that that I had this conversation a couple of days ago because I'm moving to the United States. A lot of people who are from my forum are coming to visit me to say goodbye, who I've met virtually. And because of COVID, we haven't been able to have our usual Congresses. So everybody can meet in person and people are coming to visit One of the people who came to visit is a woman who had profound was born with profound hearing loss, wore hearing aids for her entire life until she was 50. When she was 50, she decided to get a cochlear implant. And what was really interesting is that she was because a lot of you with the forum, you help them and then they pay it forward and help other people who are nervous about cochlear implants because we're always scared of the unknown. So the more known we make it, the easier it is to make a decision. She was like, Jodi, I have people come to me who are about to get married and they're like, Should I have a cochlear implant before I get married or after I get married? And she goes, Jodi The cochlear implant changed my life. It helped the real me come out of my shell because I, I didn't feel isolated. I felt more secure that I could hear things around me and. I became a new Maria Luisa. Like now I drive places. I go on trips alone. I, I started working. So she goes, make sure you get that cochlear implant before you get married, because the dynamic of your relationship could change when you go from someone who is a little bit more dependent to a person who becomes totally independent and starts making decisions on her own. And I just I thought that that that blew me away. I just thought that I wanted to share that because it happened a couple of days ago and it's still going around in my head.
Carrie: [00:19:00] But. But because of all of your sharing and willingness to share about your own journey and then the Rally Caps and now the movie, it really opens up opportunities for people to have a conversation and like you said, smash stigma and make it something that's mainstream and out there and that these kids are amazing kids no matter what. They just have amazing technology on their heads that helps them listen and talk. And that is kind of, I think, the message that is really positive for Rally. Caps.
Jodi: [00:19:36] And another thing that I've loved since we started sharing is that parents are contacting me and they're asking me how they can have virtual watch parties so that they can get as many people involved as possible. While we have this window of opportunity to see the movie, like one of our actors’ principals where he goes to school, wants to have a huge watch party for the whole school. So, I mean, literally people are taking advantage of this opportunity to try to spread as much awareness as possible in this moment that we have. And my hope is that people love the movie so that it just explodes from here because there's there are so many ways that we can reach an incredible amount of people with this information to spread awareness.
Carrie: [00:20:26] And so I know we have this window of opportunity to watch it right now, But what is your hope after the film festival is over?
Jodi: [00:20:38]When the film Festival is over, I'm going to my new place in West Palm Beach, getting my kids situated and set up. And my hope is that within that period of 15 days, everything explodes and we have an opportunity to to discuss with a distributor, talk to a streamer, to get it to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible and as internationally as possible. Because as you well know, we are a global community. In the past I know the deaf community has been strong, has been visible in the media, has had an incredible voice. What I have realized, and I can attest to is that our community, which is just another shade of hearing loss and deaf, including the listening and spoken language aspects or even bilingual communication. And, you know, there are parents who make choices in deafness to to use sign language and and and to use spoken language. But we have a powerful community that is dying to be represented, and that is not just in the United States, that is internationally. And I'm looking forward to the entire experience.
Carrie: [00:21:57] Well, Jodi, I just want to say you said you loved me at the beginning. And I just want to say that I love you just as much as I love you. I just love everything you do. And you have such an open heart and willing to share. And you are just. And by like, that's all I can say is you are on fire and you are making such a difference.
Jodi: [00:22:20] I need to say one thing to the people who watch you like Carrie is amazing. And there were moments during the Rally, during the Rally Caps, hearing Loss Awareness Day events. And because we did everything in such a short amount of time and I don't know, she must have sensed that I was losing my mind. She would send me these like these affirmations, daily affirmations that were they were so, so kind. And I just there have been so many people who have been present and I so appreciated you just being kind, like, for no reason. And that's what's been happening with Rally Caps. We have been experiencing kindness, generosity, love, miracles. And I just hope that that continues.
Carrie: [00:23:06] And I'm sure it will. So thanks again for joining me and live this morning. I'm hoping that we didn't have too many glitches with the Internet connection. But after this, we will share this with others who weren't able to join us live this morning and put links to the Rally Caps movie in the comments so that if people want to either attend in person or virtually they have the information that they need to do that.
Jodi: [00:23:38] So thank you again. Thank you so much. I love you. Have a great day.
Announcer: [00:23:43] This has been a production of the three C Digital Media Network.