An Anniversary

written by Bill Kopp

In October 2025, Reno-based Storyled Productions announced its inaugural project, an upcoming film titled An Anniversary. Written by filmmaker Stephen George, the psychological thriller will be shot and produced in Northern Nevada. Beyond the appeal of a major production taking place in and around Reno, the project promises to serve as an incubator to cultivate local talent -- actors, technical crew and the like -- and to help establish the region as an attractive locale for other production companies to create their films.

I spoke with Stephen George about the project, as well as with co-stars (and real-life married couple) Arianne Zucker and Shawn Christian, both known for many credits including their longtime roles on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives. Because it's a thriller, the story details of An Anniversary are being kept under wraps. But there was still plenty to talk about.

What inspired you to write An Anniversary?

Stephen George, Writer/Director: I've been doing short films for a couple of years now, and I wanted to make a feature film. But I knew that I wasn't going to be able to find high-end financing to make my first one. So I wrote it to be shot inexpensively, focusing on performances and the story.

The subject matter of the film is based on some things that I've gone through in my life, though not as dramatically as in the film. Depending on your upbringing, a family vacation could be a great time, a terrible time, or both. A lot of my favorite movies deal with family dynamics, and I knew I could write something that's equal parts interesting and disturbing.

What unique perspective do you bring to the project?

Stephen: In a short film, you're often only dealing with a character for a couple of days. But in a full-length feature film, you're developing that character. And when you start shooting the movie, the character is different.

In my head, I always have a Rolodex of different movies going on. The way I want to tell the story is going to be true to my inspirations: I want to entertain people, but also scare them.

How did the project get started?

Stephen: Around this time last year, I started making some notes. I wrote the first draft pretty quickly, and then I showed it to our executive producer Sandra Dorst, who liked it. I told her, "This is the first draft, so it's going to change." And I kept tweaking it; it's been through about four major revisions.

In February I got it to a place where I felt we could start showing it to people. A lot of my friends already work in the filmmaking world. Bryon Evans, my cinematographer, does commercial work, but his dream is to make movies. I pitched it to him, and he was like, "We've got to do this!" Then we hit the ground running, finding other people for our crew. And then we found our two leads, who are amazing.

Arianne, how did you become attached to the project?

Arianne Zucker, Co-star: [Actor/director] Kristoffer Palaha is a friend of mine, and he's originally from Reno. He had called me to [act] this part in Mimics, which is coming out in theaters February 6. We shot it all in Reno and Lake Tahoe. The writer of that movie, Marc Oakley, is the co-producer of An Anniversary, so Mark and I started talking about this film. And because it's a psychological thriller, I started getting ideas: "Can I throw some input in?"

And he said, "That'd be great. Let me put the team together." So that's how I met Sandra and Bryon and Stephen and everybody on the team. And it became this lovefest where the energy feels so right. What we want to do in Northern Nevada is not just this movie, but to create a production company that is also a teaching company. We'll help young artists come up; we'd be more than happy to coach acting and walk people through what this industry is like, because it is changing so fast.

How did Shawn get involved?

Arianne: [laughs] I "hired" him! Sean and I rarely do anything together in movies, but I really wanted him to read for this part of my character's husband. And the team was like, "Umm..." But he did, and they were like, "He's so great!" This will be our first time playing husband and wife characters together.

What drew you to the script?

Arianne: I love a challenge. And there are some challenges in this script. My biggest thing, especially as a soap opera actress, is, "How am I going to connect to my viewer?" And as I read my character, I thought, "I want to be able to relate to somebody who might be going through the same things." What attracted me to An Anniversary is the rawness, and the psychological mental health aspects of this movie.

Shawn, do you think that you'll find ways to draw upon the dynamic of your experience as a married couple as you act in this film?

Shawn Christian, Co-star: One hundred percent yes! That's what fascinated me about the script: it unveils the real harsh truth -- one that many people will relate to -- which is that no perfect, cookie-cutter family exists.

A really harsh dark layer is revealed pretty early in the script. And I have to tell you, I thought, "That's unsettling. I like it." Because quite often these are the hard conversations that we're not willing to have. There's a really awkward, uncomfortable dynamic that often happens below the beautiful surface.

What's the current status of the project?

Stephen: We obtained a fiscal sponsorship through the Sierra Arts Foundation, which allows us to be classified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If someone donates money to us, the museum gets 5%, and we get the other 95%.

We know our shooting budget; we know how much we need to raise, and we're about a third of the way there right now. If we exceed our goal, that would go to technical upgrades like better lenses and cameras. Once we get the funding, I'm gonna do backflips! And then I can relax.

Bryon and I already have the whole thing storyboarded on my end, and we're planning to start shooting in May. We have to do all the pre-production, and we have to get approved by the SAG [Screen Actors Guild]; they don't let you do anything until you're approved; you can't even rehearse. And that process takes about a month.

When the film is completed, are you going to release it independently or will you shop it to larger studios?

Stephen: It would be amazing if we could find distribution through a reputable company, and we're going to try that by going to the American Film Market in Las Vegas or L.A. And there's also the film festival route. Especially with a feature film, that's important; it puts you in a different class. As far as streaming, we're in the process of meeting with those people.

How do you envision this film helping the northern Nevada region establish itself in the film industry?

Stephen: Some location film projects use local crews; they come here and use our resources and then leave. Our goal is to show that someone from here can make a film with the resources that we have right here. And we're giving creative people the opportunity to do that, on a real-life set with legit talent. We're hoping that will inspire people to jump in; they can see the process and realize that it's not as scary as it seems.

I want to make my movies, but I want to help other people make their films as well. If they want to write, direct, do camera work, sound, whatever, I want to introduce them to people who can help and guide them. Filmmaking is the hardest [field] to get into. I want to be one of those people who tears down a gate and comes at people with open arms: "Let's help you."

What are you most looking forward to once you get fully into the project?

Shawn: I can't help but want to inspire people; it's in my DNA. We've been through it all, from Warner Brothers lots to Sony lots to filming in other countries. And we're excited to take ourselves through this experience in Reno. There's unbelievable creative potential and talent here, and for Arianne and I to be able to foster that, to help them create something they're really proud of, I'm all about it.

For the most part, in film and television, it's a circus. We come to town, we put up our tent, we create a circus for a month. Then we pack up our tent, and everybody's off to the next town. So to be able to collaborate with a group of people who are inspiring -- each of whom has a beautiful, unique role in our production team -- is really exciting: "Let's take what we did one time and replicate it, do it again."

Arianne: It's such a wonderful feeling putting a team together that also coaches. Whenever I leave a set, I want to make sure: "If I ever called on you, if I ever have another project, would you work for me again?"

Stephen: I'm tired of talking about the movie; I just want to make it!

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