After leaving her role as a co-founder at the software company CompuLaw, Revelations Entertainment CEO and PGA Board Member Lori McCreary returned to her love of storytelling as Executive Producer of the CBS Series ‘Madam Secretary.’

Lori discusses her transition from producing film to TV, how Madam Secretary went from idea to 100+ episodes on CBS and future projects.

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Aquaman writers Geoff Johns, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, and Will Beall discuss their paths to becoming writers (including Beall's stint as a homicide detective), their creative process and their advice for aspiring screenwriters.

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SAGindie Executive Director Darrien Michele Gipson, formerly VP of Development at DEF Pictures, discusses navigating the waters of independent filmmaking and hiring professional actors through SAG-AFTRA’s low-budget contracts.

You can find Darrien speaking on various filmmaking panels, workshops, festivals and more around the world, or reach out to her team at SAGindie HERE for more information.

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Screenwriting consultant and former studio executive Jen Grisanti discusses crafting stories that resonate, finding your voice as a writer and building a network of professional relationships.

With experience as a story consultant, TV staffer, and mentor in the CBS Diversity program, Jen Grisanti is dedicated to helping writers make it as working film & TV professionals through the Jen Grisanti Consultancy. 

Learn more about her new 10-week STORYWISE TV Writing Tele-seminar and training series HERE.  

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"I've seen what you witness in Tyrel many times and it's definitely not comfortable and it carries a lot of hidden tension and hypocrisy."

Award-winning Chilean writer-director Sebastián Silva talks about his love of Sundance, his filmmaking process, and his films, including Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner The Maid (2009) and his latest release, Tyrel (2018).

Information on Tyrel can be found HERE!

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“Getting in there and trying to find what’s compelling about these stories and then communicate that and grab people and bring them into the theaters…That job I love.”

Josh Singer, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Spotlight, discusses his start in children’s entertainment, breaking into the industry through writing spec scripts and transitioning from working in TV to writing research-heavy features like First Man, now in theaters. 

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"[Austin Film Festival] will make you feel less alone as a writer who’s trying to break into the business. There’s wonderful networking and camaraderie here…”

This past October, screenwriting and industry professionals from around the world came together for the 25th Austin Film Festival. We spoke with writers Kat Candler (Queen Sugar), Carly Wray (Westworld, The Leftovers) and Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4) along with Grace Moss, Director, Talent Development & Inclusion at NBC about their experience at AFF.

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Acclaimed playwright and filmmaker David E. Talbert discusses his 25-year career in theater, honing his cinematic skills by learning on the job, and how his experiences growing up influence the stories he tells.

David is currently developing an original half-hour comedy for ABC and his next feature will be an original live-action musical for Netflix staring Forest Whitaker slated for release in 2020. Follow David on Instagram and Twitter and visit his website here!

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Acclaimed writer-director Patrick Wang discusses his transition from economy major at MIT to filmmaker, how he feels his way through the editing process to find structure in his scripts, and how he used the idea of community for the one-hundred speaking parts in his two-part dramedy feature A Bread Factory.

The limited theatrical screenings schedule for A Bread Factory can be found here! 

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Writer Matt Bai discusses his start as a journalist at New York Times Magazine, his novel All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid and how he later adapted his work into his new film The Frontrunner.

Written by Matt Bai, Jason Reitman and Jay Carson, The Frontrunner stars Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga and J.K. Simmons and is scheduled for limited release on Nov. 6th - the first film to ever be released on an election day. The film will see a nation-wide release on Nov. 21st.

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Emmy-award winning producer/director Chris Olen Ray (The First Purge, Circus Kane) and writer/director/producer Seth Sherwood (Hell Fest Movie, Light As a Feather) discuss their collective careers and share their insight on the horror genre in front of a live audience at the New York Film Academy of Los Angeles. 

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Aya Tanimura shares how she got her start as a storyteller, her first break directing music videos for Katy Perry, and how writing for the music business differs from writing for films. 

To give a better understanding of the steps directors take to pitch a music video concept, Tanimura has shared her treatment for Disney's Dream Big, Princess campaign - a re-imagining of the Disney Princess franchises. You can download the PDF here!

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We recently chatted with writer/producer/director Jenni Gold about her love of storytelling, when she first realized people with disabilities were not fairly represented and how she hopes her latest film CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion will inspire screenwriters to write those roles in their scripts.

CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion is an investigation into the way media portrayals impact the actual inclusion of people with disabilities in society and will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and more on October 5th!

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Raamla Mohamed shares details about her early career as a USC film student, becoming a Disney/ABC TV Writing program fellow, and how that opened the doors for her at Shondaland. Raamla recently secured an overall deal with ABC and is working on a new pilot with Issa Rae at HBO.

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Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith (‘Misfit City’ for BOOM! Studios), Shannon Watters (Senior Editor at BOOM! Studios and Co-writer of ‘Lumberjanes’) and Christina Weir (‘Bad Medicine’) discuss their respective writing careers, how they started writing graphic novels, and their advice for new creators looking to get their own work out there. 

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Writer-director Andrew Bujalski discusses learning guerrilla filmmaking at Harvard, making his first film Funny, Ha Ha and the tricky tone of his latest film Support the Girls which takes place in a sexist sports bar. 

Support the Girls is about the general manager (Regina Hall) of a "sports bar with curves" who manages to have optimism and faith in her staff and customers throughout the course of a very challenging day. 

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Writer-director Crystal Moselle recently chatted with us about her new film Skate Kitchen, how she develops characters before story, and her advice for new writers. 

Skate Kitchen is a drama about a teenage skateboarder who makes friends with a local New York skateboarding gang and quickly learns the hard way about loyalty after falling for a rival gang member

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Emmett Jack Lundberg (writer/director) and Sheyam Ghieth (producer) share how they each got their start in the film industry, the benefits of employing Seed & Spark for fundraising and streaming their content, and their advice for getting your own story made.

Brothers is a critically-acclaimed short-form narrative series that follows a group of transgender male friends, exploring what it means to go up against traditional societal gender roles. You can find Brothers on Amazon, Vimeo On Demand and Seed & Spark. 

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Being the only writer to hold the coveted distinction of being a two-time Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition winner, Troy Anthony Miller attributes his affinity for screenwriting to the life-long lessons he picked up through traveling abroad, working in other careers and maintaining a determined and collaborative work ethic.

We speak with Troy about his feature scripts, The Hitch, a thriller focusing on a young Alfred Hitchcock, and the female centric sports comedy, The Olympian, and more from his career.

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Recently named by The New York Times as an "Artist to Watch," Evette Vargas is an award-winning, cross-platform storyteller who is at the vanguard of the digital and virtual reality landscape. 

Evette recently spoke with us about becoming a multi-hyphenate artist and creator, her Web Development Studio, Digital-Reign, and about the enormous opportunity for filmmakers she sees in the emerging virtual reality markets. 

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“It seems to me that there are so many ways to tell a story that it doesn’t necessarily need to be just through writing. It can be through acting; I’m writing my own music right now; there’s a lot of different facets of storytelling which interest me so I try to explore as many as I can.”

Known for his work in 'Little Men' and 'True Places Never Are,' Actor-Writer-Director Theo Taplitz is wise beyond his years and shows no signs of slowing down. We recently spoke with him about his process both behind and in front of the camera, and more.

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Kelsey Scott is a screenwriter that has worked on shows such as Hollywood Girl as well as a creator of her own content. We sat down with Scott to learn more about how she went from child actress to scribe under the influence of her grandmother. 

Kelsey Scott is known for her acting roles in projects such as How to Get Away with Murder, 12 Years a Slave and HBO's Insecure, to name a few.

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Greta Heinemann is the Big Break feature winner for her thriller, Anatomy of a Breakdown. 

In this special edition of our podcast, Greta is interviewed by screenwriting career coach Lee Jessup. The two discuss Greta's incredible journey to the United States from Germany, her current role as writer/producer on NCIS: New Orleans, and how her contest win has impacted her career. 

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Hana and Charles Callaghan are the mother/son writing team that won over our 2017 Big Break jury of agents & managers with their one-hour diversity TV pilot, Portia's Law.

The writing duo discuss their experience collaborating on the winning script, how their own relationship mirrors that of their central characters, and what they've been up to since their Big Break win.

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Up and coming writer Alexa Garster talks with us about her feature script MADMAN - an adaptation of Caleb Jenner Stephen’s book Worst Seat in the House: Henry Rathbone’s Front Row View of the Lincoln Assassination. She also discusses her process for writing and rewriting, having the confidence to know when you’re script is ready to be sent out, and more.

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Writer and producer Nevin Densham recently shared stories from his career, discussed how he broke into the industry, and answered questions from the live audience.

Altered Carbon, from Netflix, is a futuristic drama about a prisoner who returns to life in a new body and must solve a mind-bending murder to win his freedom.

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Steven DeKnight, writer-director of Pacific Rim: Uprising chats with us about breaking into the industry later in life, honing his skills in the writers’ room, and bringing a new perspective to an existing IP.

DeKnight is also known for his work on hit shows like Daredevil, Spartacus and Dollhouse,  to name a few. 

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We chatted with Literary Manager Markus Goerg of Heroes and Villains, who recently signed two 2017 Big Break Finalists to his roster: Nicola Pinzon (Feature, Diversity) and JJ Bailey (Hour-Long, TV). Goerg shares what it takes to be a story-focused content and management company, how to get his attention with your material, and the importance of knowing your brand.

Founded in 2007, Heroes and Villains Entertainment is a leader in content creation and talent management. Specializing in film, TV, video games, and more, Heroes and Villains boasts a vast slate of content and creators that continues to grow.

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2017 Big Break Grand Prize Winner in the feature-drama category, Julia Mogerman, talks about her writing process from outlining, constructing characters and finding sources of conflict to connecting with her new manager, Jeff Portnoy of Bellevue and gaining inspiration through travel.

The 2018 Big Break contest regular deadline is around the corner. Is this your year? Learn more about the contest that launches careers and our winners' continued success stories here! 

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Zach Cannon (Script Coordinator, Preacher), Marc Gaffen (Script Coordinator, Here and Now) and Leslie Simon (Business Representative, IATSE Local 871) discuss the importance of these two roles in a writers' room, unionizing with IATSE and more, live at The Cat & Fiddle. 

Follow us on social media to find out more about our May 2018 event! 

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Lynn Shelton, known for such films as Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister, talks about breaking into the industry after debuting her first feature at the Slamdance Film Festival, writing unconventional stories from personal experience, and her collaboration with Jay Duplass on her new film Outside In.

The original drama follows an ex-con’s (Jay Duplass) struggle to readjust to life in his small town and the intense bond he forms with his former high school teacher (Edie Falco). The film is available for download on YouTube and Google Play. 

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Hot off her recent directorial-debut, Noël Wells, who also wrote and starred in her film, Mr. Roosevelt, chats with us about her start in entertainment, finding the essence of characters and her creative process while working on and off set.

Writer/director Sally Potter, whose credits include Orlando, Yes and Rage talks about her experiences as an independent filmmaker, her writing process and her new film, The Party

In Potter’s new dark comedy, Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) is hosting an intimate gathering of friends in her London home to celebrate her political ascension, when her husband suddenly makes explosive revelations. 

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The 15:17 to Paris screenwriter, Dorothy Blyskal recently chatted with us about her start as a web series character blogger, going back to school at UCLA Extension's Writers Program while climbing the corporate ladder and how she left the security of her weekly paycheck to eventually adapting the screenplay for Clint Eastwood.  

The true story is about three Americans who discover a terrorist plot aboard a train while in France, based on the book The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train and Three American Heroes by Spencer Stone, Alex Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler. 

You can see The 15:17 to Paris in theaters nationwide. 

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Adam Novak is Head of Story at William Morris/Endeavor in addition to being a novelist. His latest book, Freaks of the Industry, explores the angels and demons of Hollywood. 

Novak chatted with us about his start as a Reader, becoming the Head of Story at WME and the incredible story of his novel going straight to print, without notes. 

You can find Freaks of the Industry at www.booksoup.com

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Howard A. Rodman, past President of the Writers Guild, West comes from a family of writers and entertainers; his father was a screenwriter, his mother a script coordinator and his step-mother a soap actress. 

In this interview, he takes us through his early years as a novelist, transitioning to screenwriting and ultimately becoming a champion for the screenwriting community, from educating inmates of MARCY to the students of University of Southern California and the Sundance Institute. 

Final Draft is proud to induct Howard A. Rodman into our Hall of Fame on February 8, 2018 at Paramount Studios, Hollywood.

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Stephen Chbosky is the writer/director of Wonder, based on the New York Times best-selling novel about a 10-year-old boy with facial deformities who has to confront the challenges of attending a mainstream school, starring Julia Roberts and Jacob Tremblay.   

 Chbosky shares the fatherly advice that inspired him to write for film, how taking eight months off to focus on family elevated his script for Beauty and the Beast, and four steps to uncover your best ideas (The Chbosky Method). 

Wonder is playing in theaters nationwide!

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Screenwriter, Vanessa Taylor recently chatted with us about her latest project, The Shape of Water, which she co-wrote with Guillermo del Toro. Taylor takes us inside the process of how the two collaborated on the acclaimed film.

Vanessa also discusses following in her mother's footsteps as a writer, the advice she wishes she had taken and her experience in writers rooms, such as Game of Thrones and Alias. 

Shape of Water is now playing in theaters, nationwide.

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