Insomniac

Based on Writer/Actress Becca Brooks' own experience; Insomniac is "about 90% true"

The original casting call brought in over 400 submissions from across the country.

Dr. Trent was originally slated to be an older man, so there would be a positive male figure in the script, but Casting was so impressed with Actress Lisha Hackney's audition, the script was re-written to accommodate her.

The character of Tamara was not originally hearing impared, but after watching actress Heba Toulan's audition, Casting was blown away by her body language and facial expressions; and the role was refitted for her. Becca Brooks said "I can totally see Ollie's husband leaving her for someone like Heba. She is stunning, and her facial expressions say it all. There is empathy and practicality in her body language."

Actress Caroline Helander (Dr. Baker) won the role when she made actress Becca Brooks cry during her call back audition. "She brought me back to so many conversations I've had with my own Oncologist; the frustration, the ball busting, the fear, the empathy..."

Actor Shawn Ian Hardee won the role of Brett with a near flawless combination of charm, infantile humor, and subtle creep factor. Brooks felt "the initial charm made it believable anyone would pursue a one-night stand with him; and then the ick-factor...well it spoke for itself."

Becca Brooks struggled for months with a vision for " Insomniac" until she watched "Recommended Dose" by Kristin Cochell and "Dawn" by Lauren Lox. Both films guided her vision and gave her a concrete idea coupled with a watershed conversation with her Oncologist a month later. She credits Cochell and Lox directly for getting Insomniac off the ground.

Actress / Producer / Musician Sheilava was brought on board through Lauren Lox and proved beyond invaluable with her knowledge of behind the scenes logistics. Becca Brooks credits Sheilava with getting the film cast and made.

All of Olivia's tattoos are real. Actress Becca Brooks has been getting tattooed regularly since she was 18 years old. The tattoo across the top of her back reads "Not all those who wander are lost" in Elvish, from The Lord of the Rings; while the ones beneath that are "Aquarius" in Arabic, the Zodiac symbol,and the constellation for the Aquarian.

While the characters of Brett, Nicholas, and Tamara are not real people, they represent the very real fears Brooks suffered while she dealt with the side effects of her surgeries and the aftermath of her diagnosis. "I was terrified my husband would get fed up with me and stray; and I was disgusted by how my own body turned traitor on me. I wanted to leave me, how could he possibly want to stay? Fortunately I married a saint in real life."

The characters of Dr Trent and Dr Baker were named after Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and Aussie actor Simon Baker respectively. Becca Brooks listened to With Teeth and The Fragile during the writing process; and the dark atmospheric music heavily influenced the atmosphere of the film; and she had just finished binging The Mentalist on Amazon Prime; "I found Baker to be unbelievably charming and charismatic. The name just stuck."

The COVID-19 virus made writing the script easier for Brooks, it explained why the character of Olivia was such a shut-in and why all her doctor appointments were virtual.

The title, Insomniac comes from the intense and nightly occurrences of insomnia; along with nightmares, brain fog, hot flashes, night sweats, and uncontrolled weight gain Becca Brooks suffered in the two years leading up to writing the script.

SPOILER: Said Brooks on the ambiguous ending, "I hate open endings, I think it's so lazy of the writer to make the audience guess, when they know exactly how it ends. While I worship John Carpenter's "The Thing" and Chris Nolans's "Inception"; they drive me INSANE! They knew exactly what happened, but we are left to guess and speculate! But in this case, not even I know what my ending is. I suppose none of us really do. My ending and beginning start over every six months with a CT scan. Hopefully my story ends in another 40+ years, after a life of travel, adventures, my true love by my side; asleep in my bed somewhere in the Texas Hill Country; preferably after a night of delicious wine, good company, and amazing stories told for the umpteenth time.