Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Diana Firefly Sellers and Brit Sellers of Scoffer Studios Are Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry

Published in

Authority Magazine

12 min readJan 28, 2023

Diana: You can only depend on yourself and a few select friends to support you and get you through tough times in this industry. That the playing field is not level, and that no matter how hard you think it’s going to be, it’s much harder than that. Magical things can and do happen, and those are blessings sent by the universe, expect and wait for these things to happen because they will.

As a part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Brittany Sellers and Diana Firefly Sellers, owners of Scoffer Studios Productions, an all woman film studio specializing in horror, steampunk, and animated films. Their projects include acting talent legends such as Tim Curry and Doug Bradley. Their most notable projects are Blood Brothers Life Harvest, a live action zombie horror film, and Dagon Troll World Chronicles an animated horror sci fi film.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Diana: I grew up in the southwest, I was deeply influenced by the art, culture and spirituality of the southwest, that is probably where I get my liberality of ideals and embracing multiculturalism. From a family of artists and writers and poets, I explored many mediums and had several art shows, taught art, and eventually, midway in my career, I became a graphic artist in Orlando Florida. Six years ago, I along with Brit my daughter, created Scoffer Studios: An all woman studio that encompasses our talents, art, story writing, and creative abilities. It gave us an outlet for all of that.

Brit: I was homeschooled and so I had a lot of time to experience art and culture from being exposed to different mediums and styles by my mom. I am a skilled artist, writer, and filmmaker. Because of my mom’s teachings in art, I approach all of my projects from an artist’s perspective. The camera angles in our live action film as well as the color grading and makeup are done primarily by myself, and I draw heavily on my artistic vision to create all of our projects.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

Diana: When I was a graphic artist I met many celebrities and people in Orlando Florida who were in the film industry. I was offered a job doing story boards for a movie studio which I actually never even took, but it was something I felt was a missed opportunity. Later, when the internet opened up all avenues and opportunities that had previously not been available, I began to consider making an animated film. I was deeply influenced by Hayao Miyazaki’s films which are masterpieces of 2d animated artwork. Then the idea to create Dagon Troll World Chronicles the 2d animated film was born.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Diana: The most interesting thing that happened to me, was hiring Tim Curry for our animated film Dagon Troll World Chronicles. Dagon is a dark fantasy horror animated film, and it opened all kinds of new opportunities for us as creatives. It stretched my creative talents to casting, marketing, producing, writing, and co-directing as a female film maker. When I picked Tim Curry to play Necrofer the Demon in Dagon Troll World Chronicles, I just knew that the whole process of hiring him was pure magic. I knew that I wanted him for this character because he personifies the elegance and power and personality that this character needed to carry weight in my film. I had seen Tim Curry playing the character Darkness in Legend and I felt that I wanted that level of ominous sensuality for my character Necrofer. I contacted his agent and began the negotiating process which involved sending him the drawings of his character, and the script. Tim Curry is very picky about his roles. He is a master at his craft and a legendary actor and hiring him was one of the most exciting parts of our filmmaking career.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Brit: One of the funniest things that happened during our shooting of Blood Brothers Life Harvest, our first live action film about two brothers trying to survive during a zombie apocalypse, was when all of our zombies makeup started melting in the sun. It takes 3 hours on average to successfully complete good zombie makeup, and when there is a shooting schedule to adhere to every second counts. We were shooting at a fire station, and we were setting up the scene, when suddenly I noticed my zombies torn skin and bloody eyeballs and noses began to fall off. Turns out, you should always keep your zombies out of direct sunlight!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Brit: As a young filmmaker, it is always great to have someone you can rely on and someone who always has your back there with you every step of the way. I couldn’t do any of these projects without help from my wonderful mom. Diana is my right hand woman, she helps me write, direct, cast, and design everything I do. Without her, there would be no Scoffer Studios. Another great help to our studio is Adam Boster who helped us with production advice with our live action zombie film Blood Brothers Life Harvest.

You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

Diana: Do not let obstacles stand in the way of your dreams. Seize the opportunities that are now out there for women, LGBTQ, and other minorities to get funding, and to compete in the film industry because there has never been a greater time than now to pursue this career. It is a difficult career to be in, but if you have a marketable idea and the courage and perseverance to follow your dreams you can succeed. Our studio was confronted with so many obstacles. Women filmmakers only represent 5% of the industry. We did not let that stop us though, our all woman studio represents less than 1% of the film industry. We have become the spearhead for women in film. We embrace minorities, LGBTQ, and diversity in all of its forms. We hire people from all over the world for our films and our staff. The future is looking bright. The sky is the limit.

Brit: Never give up and never let anyone tell you you can’t succeed in whatever it is you are trying to do. In film, there aren’t many notable female directors or producers when compared to men. It is not fair, but its the truth. Girls are talented, intelligent, creative, and strong. Never let anyone put you down. You can do it. You can make your dreams come true.

Every industry iterates and seeks improvement. What changes would you like to see in the industry going forward?

Diana: More diversity in film, and more women film makers and female lead studios and projects. Equality and embracing diversity is something desperately needed in the Hollywood filmmaking industry and the global film market today.

You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?

One of our favorite projects is our dark horror animated film Dagon Troll World Chronicles which features an all star cast including legendary actor Tim Curry from Rocky Horror Picture Show, It, and Home Alone 2, Doug Bradley from Hellraiser, Bryce Papenbrook from Attack on Titan and Sword Art Online, Mark Silverman from Disney, Emily O’Brien award-winning actress from The Young and The Restless, and Kurtis Stacey from Emmerdale to name a few! Scoffer Studios Presents, Dagon Troll World Chronicles…

Plot of the film Dagon Troll World Chronicles:

On the troll world of Goth, Dagon, a professional murder for hire demon slayer, is the best that money can buy. When he is given his last big score for a job, stealing a human girl and delivering her to the buyer, Dagon decides to go rogue, finding himself on the run from demons and gangsters alike, together with his two friends Jaqualin and Maxine, he must find a way to save the human child…

Scoffer Studios Felt that Necrofer the Demon, one of the main villains in our film, was deserving of a voice of legendary caliber. We chose Tim Curry for this role, because of his magnificent dynamic voice acting abilities, his iconic presence he brought to each character he played, and because we just loved him in general. Tim loved the script, he recorded his lines and in the words of his agent Marcia, he “Knocked it out of the park!” We at Scoffer Studios are so excited to have him in our animated film.

Doug Bradley was very excited to play the role of Goayre Heddagh or the Creature that Doesn’t Exist in the film, his character is a terrifying demon of the forest, and Doug’s chilling voice really brought the character to life.

In 2019, Bryce Papenbrook joined our cast to play the role of Gallows in Scoffer Studios Productions animated film Dagon: Troll World Chronicles. His voice gave our character a dark and seductive edge, making him one of many interesting and odd personalities to be found in our film…

Our other film project is a live action horror film called Blood Brothers Life Harvest, Blood Brothers Life Harvest is about two brothers, Enoch and Aaron, who must fight to survive during a zombie apocalypse, but when Enoch is infected with the virus and slowly begins turning into a zombie, Aaron finds that he can no longer trust his older brother and comes to ask himself the question; is blood thicker than water?

Another project we are working on is an epic five hour long audio drama involving a huge cast, original music, in a fantasy horror genre setting, not unlike Coraline that we are undertaking. This project should be finished by summer of 2023, and is sure to be a classic for children and young adults. This project is called Over the Hills and Far Away, written by Diana Firefly Sellers.

Diana is also very excited about having a Galla star studded art show in London at the Worldly Wicked and Wise Gallery, Art by Diana Firefly Sellers and Brit Sellers, hosted by Eugene Ankomah and Louise White from Walks Around Britain, with fashions by Aysen Djemal. This show is set to take place on April 3rd through 8th, opening night will be VIP celebrity and special guests by invitation, then the public will have access for the next 7 days to experience Goddess and Godiva art show. This show is a celebration of women’s empowerment, creativity, it is called Goddess and Godiva. We are donating part of the proceeds to Breast Cancer Awareness.

We are very interested in looking at diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers why you think its important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture and our youth growing up today?

Diana: The choice to support diversity, LGBTQ, and minorities and new actors and talent in film is an investment in the future. This opens and broadens opportunities in the industry for these groups to excel and achieve their dreams. It is important for everyone to be represented in film, people all over the world have a voice and we want it to be heard in our films.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

Diana: You can only depend on yourself and a few select friends to support you and get you through tough times in this industry. That the playing field is not level, and that no matter how hard you think it’s going to be, it’s much harder than that. Magical things can and do happen, and those are blessings sent by the universe, expect and wait for these things to happen because they will.

Brit: Just worry about one thing at a time when dealing with large projects, because if you look at the giant pile of stuff you are going to have to deal with, you will go crazy and never do anything. Focus on what’s in front of you, and what you can do in the moment. Leave some room for the universe’s magic, and let spontaneous unplanned things happen without fighting too much for control.

Brit:

Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices or treatments that you do to help your body, mind or heart to thrive? Please share a story for each one if you can.

Diana: We listen to shamanistic and natural music, we burn incense, and we meditate. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I began listening to Native American healing music, because I was born in the south west and I grew up surrounded by Native American monuments and cliff dwellings. In order to feel like I was healing myself I went back to my roots and back to the core spirituality of nature and drinking herbal teas and meditating. This brought me enormous peace and tranquility and I feel like I grew spiritually.

Brit: I am obsessed with Chinese drama, and zombie horror shooter video games. I also write to explore my emotions and thrive mentally. I wrote most of my film Blood Brothers Life Harvest as a book, while in the hospital with my mom during her treatments for breast cancer.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Diana: Follow your bliss… If you are creating or doing something that makes you feel blissful, your soul will be satisfied and you will be rewarded spiritually, financially, and physically.

You are both persons of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Brit and Diana Sellers:

If we could inspire a movement that would bring good to the most people, it would be a woman’s movement and a celebration of female creativity and empowerment in all areas and careers globally. Women of all races and creeds struggle to have their voices heard equally and to be accepted equally in a male driven society. We have a long way to go, but we are striving to be a spear head in the film industry and to change the way women are viewed, one film at a time.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

Diana: It is so hard for me to choose, but I would have to say, I would like to have lunch with Jennifer Connelly or Stevie Nicks. Both women strike me as bold, and unafraid to present themselves in a natural way. They are authentic to themselves, and are both massively talented women. I have always loved Stevie Nicks music and her lyrics speak to me.

Brit: I would have to say Elijah Wood, or Liza Minnelli, both people are creative and unique in their own ways, and to me they are legendary. I love the expressive performances Elijah Wood gives and the authentic gentle tone he brings to each film he is in. I also got to meet him once when we were both doing panels at Phoenix Fan Fusion in 2019. It was a very special moment for me, to meet one of my favorite creatives. In Liza’s case, she is a woman after my own heart. She is bold, brash, and beautiful, and she is not afraid to take the world by the throat and say “Here I am! Hear my voice!” If I could have lunch with either of them, that would be amazing.

Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?

We are everywhere online, just look up Blood Brothers Life Harvest and Dagon Troll World Chronicles! You can also look up Scoffer Studios and Brit Sellers and Diana Firefly Sellers!

Blood Brothers Life Harvest:

Blood Brothers Life Harvest Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BloodBrothersZombieFilm

Blood Brothers Life Harvest IMDB:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21443306/

Blood Brothers Life Harvest Youtube Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziv2vLto5WU&t=39s

For full cast see IMDB

Dagon Troll World Chronicles info:

Dagon Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/DagonTrollworld

Commercial for film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4JdyKMt8So&t=113s

Official Film Website: https://magnusgov.wixsite.com/home