A Wright State graduate’s psychological thriller has been adapted into a feature-length Primetime film.
Angelle Haney Gullett, 44, graduated from Wright State in 2006 with a BA in English and in History. She works as a professional writer. She said it feels like “a dream come true” to have her screenplay adapted to film.
“To see all of these people pull together because of something that has come out of your head is surreal, humbling and beyond exciting,” Haney Gullett said.
LATEST: Six programs receive administrative changes
“Her Worst Nightmare” premiered on Sunday, Aug. 26 on Lifetime. This is the first of Haney Gullett’s screenplays to be adapted into a movie. It tells the story of a woman following her rescue from captivity. She attempts to overcome her trauma, only to learn that she is being stalked.
“I’m very interested in what happens after we experience something horrible or violent,” Haney Gullet said. “I tend to write a lot of stories that center around survivors picking up the pieces and getting on with their life.”
The psychological elements of Haney Gullett’s screenplay were drawn from academic writing and research, which she said provides an accurate depiction for an audience. “I hope that if they find it reflects their experience, I have done them justice.”
Haney Gullet drew inspiration from real-life survivors’ accounts when writing this story, many of which “have never left me,” she said. Her other sources of inspiration have included interactions with Wright State professors and experiences as a reporter.
WRIGHT LIFE: The stakeout and improvised musical
Writing has been a life-long passion for Haney Gullett. As a child, she was enthralled by reading. “I loved escaping into another word from someone else’s perspective,” she said.
She has worked as a freelance writer, Editorial Assistant and Crime Reporter for The Dayton Daily News, Editor at Mazer and Executive Editor at McGraw-Hill Education. She also worked as an Opinions Editor for The Guardian at Wright State.
Haney Gullett advises college students to “try a lot of things” to achieve their goals. “Try everything that interests you and everything that you’ve read works for somebody else,” she said. “One of those things will work for you, but you won’t know which one it is until it does.”
