Sat, 28 August 2021
Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard on the hit show Ted Lasso, talked to Write On about writing the second season of the series along with his co-creators Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, and Joe Kelly: "I think we were very fortunate that we had our first season under our belt pre-lockdown because part of why we were still able to do, hopefully, a half-decent job on Season 2 was that we had the whole crew back plus one, so we knew each other, and we had a sense of each other… it was not preferable, but we made it work." Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Brendan_Hunt_for_Ted_Lasso_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:30pm PST |
Thu, 26 August 2021
Our Lady J speaks to Write On about the challenges of creating a show like POSE. "Writing a lot of these storylines for POSE was challenging for my mental health because they were so triggering of experiences that were really hurtful to me and experiences that changed me as a person. But being able to not be triggered while I'm writing, and to work through that was key to the success of getting those stories onto the page and onto the screen.” Our Lady J goes on to speak about getting her first Emmy nomination, selecting the music featured on the show, and her creative process. "The more we know ourselves, the better artists we are, the better storytellers we are, and the more honest we're able to be in our storytelling and in our relation to others. For character writing, you absolutely cannot think you're better than the character. For story writing, you can't be afraid to go places that might be scary. You really have to know who you are to be able to get to that place as a storyteller."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Our_Lady_J_for_POSE_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:00pm PST |
Tue, 24 August 2021
Ali talks to Write On about how she selects writers for the Paramount + original series. "For a lot of people, it's about the specificity of 'Can they write for my show?' For me, it was a little bit more 'Can they write?'… Some of the writers that we met with, I just loved the concept of their script, and I felt like they could bring that weirdness that we were going to want." Ali goes into the specifics of what it takes to craft a TV show for tweens. "You can't try to pander… even with kids - they'll smell it from a mile away. For us, it was 'Does this make us laugh? Does it feel true to the show?' We tried not to overthink it."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Ali_Schouten_for_iCarly_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:19pm PST |
Thu, 19 August 2021
Stacie was a Grand Prize Winner in 2020 for her feature film script Clementine. Big Break Contest Director Kala Guess talks to Stacie about what it was like winning the contest, how her network has expanded since then, and what it takes to get a screenwriting career going. "You really, really don't know when your script is going to connect with people, so just believe in what you're writing and write what you love, write what you're passionate about." Stacie also discusses how being bi-racial informs her work: "I am bi-racial, and I feel like people who are bi-racial can connect with each other so much more in regards to identity, regardless of what our racial makeup is because we have so many feelings of not belonging to whichever side or we identify too much with one and not so much with the other, and there's always someone else who's trying to define our existence." Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes! Now available on Google Podcasts!
Direct download: Write_On_with_BB_Winner_Stacie_Gancayco-Adlao_mixdown_v2.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 2:17pm PST |
Mon, 16 August 2021
Following a tragic car accident in Greece, Beckett, an American tourist, finds himself at the center of a dangerous political conspiracy and on the run for his life in this Netflix thriller. The writer and director discuss what it was like to collaborate. Writer Kevin A. Rice explains: "What was great about the process was Ferdi and I clicked very early, and we just met over lunch. It was very, sort of, informal… at the time, Ferdi had, like, a page description of what he was shooting for with this movie, and I was given that, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, I'd love to work on something like this.'" Director Ferdi Cito Filomarino goes on to talk about the central character of Beckett and how he subverts the useful thriller tropes. "We set [Beckett] in a way that is basically the worst possible character type to be in a man-hunt-thriller in some ways: the type of person that he is, the type of demeanor that he has, and attitude… By the end of the movie, he basically has to confront all of that."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Ferdi_Cito_Filomarino_and_Kevin_A._Rice_for_Beckett_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:30am PST |
Fri, 13 August 2021
Naked Singularity, based on the novel by Sergio De La Pava, is about an idealistic young New York City public defender burned out by the system who decides to rob a multi-million drug deal of one of his clients. Chase talks to Write On about adapting the novel for the screen. "The unifying voice of the film, I hope, comes from the book, which is the reason I wanted to do this. The author, Sergio De La Pava, is a public defender of 20 years; his wife, Susanna, is a public defender of 20 years, and he wrote this book that is a very well observed, funny, absurdist, kind of outraged novel that juggles in all of these different genres, but there's something very specific about his voice. It was like a new way into a discussion about social justice, and it was sort of a new way into seeing a story about a young public defender." Chase goes on to discuss the challenges of adapting: "With [adapting] a book, the first thing is 'What's the spirit of the book?' and trying to really get into your head, like what do you love about it? And what's the spirit of it, before even getting into the nuts and bolts of what characters are you going to cut and consolidate and plot points? It's just sort of understanding what you're writing from the book or what are you extracting tonally from it."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Chase_Palmer_for_Naked_Singularity_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:45am PST |
Thu, 12 August 2021
Mira won Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest in 2020 for her TV Pilot Beirut. She talks to Write On about what it takes to win a screenwriting contest: "I personally suffer from perfectionism, but the most important thing is to get [your script] done, get it to a place so you can actually submit it on time. What also helps is getting lots of feedback. That's one of my favorite parts of the process of writing, is sharing it with other people, getting their opinions, and having them help me punch it up." Mira goes on to talk about her role as a Script Coordinator on the show Lucifer, and how being support staff led to her first on-screen story credit. "Being in support staff positions has been such a learning curve for me. I wouldn't be the writer I am today without all that experience, without being invited to sit in the room and listen, being invited to pitch, getting opportunities to write outlines and write story documents.”
Direct download: Write_On_-_BB_Winner_Mira_Z._Barnum_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:00am PST |
Sat, 7 August 2021
‘Nine Days’ is the story of a reclusive man who conducts a series of interviews with human souls for a chance to be born. Edson Oda talks to Write On about the challenges of being a Writer-Director: "You have to think with different hats. An instructor at Sundance just told me you wear two hats: one hat while you're writing, and then when you're directing, another hat, another color… and not think of that piece as something you wrote, but as something that's there, and now you can change whatever you want." Edson goes on to discuss how it is important to love the process of creating: "Do it not because of the result, but more because you love doing it. Write a story as only you can write… if you could just make one movie, and nothing else, what movie would you make? And don't care about what people say, just do it."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Edson_Oda_for_Nine_Days_mixdown_v2.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:00pm PST |
Thu, 5 August 2021
Gary Goldstein is known for producing such hits as Pretty Woman, Under Siege and The Mothman Prophecies. He is also known as the author of the book Conquering Hollywood: The Screenwriter's Blueprint for Career Success. Gary talks to Write On about coaching writers, collaborating, and what makes a great story: "I just want something that is, all at once, a journey that's really going to, on some deeper level, be very satisfying to an audience because ultimately, we're all in the service of that - not money, not the distributor, we're in the service of being the storytellers for our culture, so I want something that comes from a place of such depth and truth and authenticity that no one else could have written it." Gary goes on to give advice on the writing life and the importance of nurturing your own talent: "Believe in yourself. Give yourself the gift of self-belief. Don't care what others think, don't play by the rules - do what your gut tells you is true for you.”
Direct download: Write_On_-_Gary_Goldstein_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:00pm PST |
Tue, 3 August 2021
Carole talks to Write On about how to prepare for submission to a fellowship or mentorship, and how to use what she calls the “Four Pillars of Success” to your advantage. "Throughout my career, I've been really fortunate to work with some very successful people, and I was always curious about what separated the successful people from the people that gave up and went back to Ohio and sold insurance. So I studied the successful people, and I thought, 'What do they have in common?' and I came up with four things, and I call them the Four Pillars of Success." Carole gives great advice on networking and how to build relationships effectively over time. "People get in their mind this idea that only one person is going to make or break their career, and they've gotta get to that person. You're starting out in the business, you're growing up with a group of people… start these relationships early, and they're going to end up being people who hire you or that you work with, or they recommend you, and as everybody moves up, they bring each other up."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Carole_Kirschner_Ep._2_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 4:11pm PST |