Fri, 27 May 2022
Starring Academy Award® winners J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek, Amazon Prime's Night Sky follows married couple Franklin (Simmons) and Irene York (Spacek), who discover a portal in their backyard that leads to a deserted planet. Series creator Holden Miller speaks on why he decided to use the sci-fi genre as a vessel for such an intimate character-driven story: "The story really takes on a life of its own, and all the themes that were of interest to me, like mortality and aging and enduring love - to tell that story about these characters seems to demand this science fiction aspect that could add a different level of grandeur and mystery and epicness to this very intimate story."
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Direct download: Write_On_-_Daniel_C._Connolly__Holden_Miller_for_The_Night_Sky_mixdown_v2.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:33pm PDT |
Wed, 25 May 2022
Disney+ is taking us back to a galaxy far, far away with its upcoming limited series Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Ewan McGregor reprising the titular role alongside Hayden Christiansen's Darth Vader. Star Wars superfan Joby Harold explains what drew him to writing the six-episode series for Disney and Lucasfilm: "I always thought [Obi-Wan] was this great, unexplored character when it came to canon because there is that gap between what Ewan had done with the character and what sir Alec Guinness did with the character... I was just, as a fan, eager to see what they were going to do. When I got to sort of be a part of it and figure out what they had done and what they were looking to explore, it just seemed like a really exciting opportunity." Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Joby_Harold_for_Obi-Wan_Kenobi_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 4:24pm PDT |
Mon, 23 May 2022
Commonly described as "anti-historical" historical fiction, The Great follows the comedic rise of Empress Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) and explores her marriage to Emperor Peter III of Russia (Nicholas Hoult). Series creator Tony McNamara shares how watching the show as it's being made affects his writing process: "I don't write the whole season. I write about half of it, which puts a lot of pressure on me as a writer. I've learned to watch the show and watch what's happening between characters while we shoot, and then that starts to be reflected in the writing." McNamara goes on to discuss the challenges of finding your voice and shares his tips for burgeoning writers: "I think you’re going to imitate who you like when you start writing, and there’s nothing wrong with that – that’s why you’re drawn to certain things… I think you imitate for a while and then you slowly lose that a little bit. I always think it’s too much pressure to [find] ‘your own voice…’ I think as much as finding your voice, you’ve got to find your process and then you’ll find your voice as well." Season 2 of The Great is now streaming on Hulu. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Tony_McNamara_for_The_Great_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 4:17pm PDT |
Wed, 18 May 2022
MST3K is back! Originally running from 1988 to 1999, Mystery Science Theater 3000 was revived in 2017 due to a crowdfunding campaign led by the show's creator, Joel Hodgson. The show follows a human test subject who is forced to watch "B" movies by evil scientists alongside a group of captive robots who provide colorful commentary on the films. Hodgson explains, "We have kind of a unique relationship with the audience because it's a unique format, and it behaves differently than most shows. For some people, that's very disorienting, and for what we call the 'right people,' it just totally makes sense." Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Joel_Hodgson_for_Mystery_Science_Theater_3000_mixdown_v2.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 4:35pm PDT |
Mon, 16 May 2022
Based on the incredible true story, Pam & Tommy tackles a major landmark in the early days of the Internet: the leak of Pamela Anderson's (Lily James) and Tommy Lee's (Sebastian Stan) sex tape. Co-showrunner D.V. DeVincentis discusses what surprised him the most while researching the backstory of the case: "Something that continued to come up was... how well [Pamela] dealt with it, considering she's obviously very upset by it. I would have completely lost my mind, and she really kept it together. That was surprising to me - the inner strength of this person that is most often not given a lot of credit." Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Robert_D._Siegel_and_D.V._DeVincentis_for_Pam__Tommy_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 5:15pm PDT |
Thu, 12 May 2022
Starring Karen Gillan and Aaron Paul, Dual follows a woman (Gillan) who has to fight a clone of herself to the death after she unexpectedly recovers from a terminal illness. Writer-director Riley Stearns discusses how he crafted the film's out-of-this-world sci-fi premise while staying grounded in reality: "I didn't want the world to feel like this futuristic sci-fi space. I wanted it to still feel like we could relate to it... It's like another alternate reality where everything's the same except for this... How do people interact with each other in a world where this procedure exists?" Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Riley_Stearns_for_Dual_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 4:30pm PDT |
Mon, 9 May 2022
Based on the insane yet shockingly true story, Gaslit, starring Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, delivers a modern take on the Watergate scandal that shines its light most prominently on Arkansan socialite Martha Mitchell (Roberts). Showrunner Robbie Pickering discusses what audiences can expect to take away from the series: "We made it for people who aren't necessarily Watergate geeks. It's really about the human dynamics and the scandal and the ways people destroy their own lives... and [become] complicit in dirty deeds for somebody in power." Robbie goes on to discuss what he learned as a first-time showrunner: "It's a lot harder [than directing]... but through trial and error, I had learned how to be a better leader, how to come into a room knowing that if you're the showrunner, you set the tone... when I went to become a showrunner, it was an easier transition than I thought, and being a staff writer had allowed me to let go of my ego in a way that directing really hadn't." Gaslit is now available to stream on Starz.
Direct download: Write_On_-_Robbie_Pickering_for_Gaslit_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:10pm PDT |
Fri, 6 May 2022
Coming off of an enormously successful eight-season run on ABC, Black-ish follows Andre 'Dre' Johnson (Anthony Anderson) as he tries to create a sense of cultural identity for the members of his family while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood. Showrunner Courtney Lilly discusses the expectations of being a showrunner: "Your job when you're running a show is essentially accountability; that's it. Whether it's the story, whether it's the budget, whether it's casting, the buck needs to stop with you. And you say, 'Here's what we're doing, this is why you're paying me this money. This is my job, and this is how I know how to do it.'" Courtney goes on to discuss his hope for similar shows to be made in the future and the impact the series has had on the world of television: “People have a lot going on, and they want to laugh, they want to get to know characters, and my hope is that… there’ll be a moment where everybody will recognize that [Black-ish is] actually just traditional in the way that people want to watch television, and we'll see more stuff like what we’re doing now.” Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Courtney_Lilly_for_Black-ish_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:45am PDT |