Wed, 29 December 2021
![]() In this special 2-part episode of Write On we talk to Flatbush Misdemeanors staff writer and co-writer of Hip Hop Family Christmas Saeed Crumpler about his career transition from rapper to screenwriter: "Coming from music, I used to look at each song as a ball of clay that had to be sculpted. I look at scripts the same way, even more so. I feel like you get even more time to make it better. I feel like in music, you only have a certain amount of time but with screenwriting, you have a lot of time to make it better, so why not make it better?" Saeed gives advice for how to make your screenplay the best it can possibly be: "Get [notes] early and often. To me, the sooner you can get notes on something, the better because then you don't get attached to it… if you wrote something in a month, and somebody gives you notes, it's like, 'All right, cool.' But if you've been working on it for six months or a year, then it's way more personal."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Saeed_Crumpler_Ep._2_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:19pm PST |
Mon, 20 December 2021
The hit Netflix series starring Henry Cavill returns! Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. Showrunner Lauren tells Write On: "I think I always think about keeping all of [the] fans in mind while also laying out a world that people who have never heard of The Witcher can follow and can enjoy. The way that I did that, alongside the writers, was to make sure that any person who wanted to watch the show felt like they were represented in the show." Lauren goes on to talk about her career, writing process, and how she assembles a writer’s room. "When I was putting together the writer's room for season one, season two, and season three, I looked for a real mix of people. I think that everyone has to love genre somehow; everyone has to be able to tell me that they love science fiction, they love fantasy, they love comic books, they love something - something that feels not of this world necessarily."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Lauren_Schmidt_Hissrich_for_The_Witcher__mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:31pm PST |
Thu, 16 December 2021
![]() In this special 2-part episode of Write On we talk to Flatbush Misdemeanors staff writer and co-writer of Hip Hop Family Christmas Saeed Crumpler about going from rapper to screenwriter: "I had to make a change; I always loved film, and I just went back to school. I took $5,000, invested it in myself, took a UCLA online writing course… and I came out of there with two specs and an original pilot, and that original pilot is the one that's getting me jobs." Saeed goes on to talk about collaborating with other writers: "When you're co-writing, you go through so many drafts, so many polishes. We worked so well together that I don't remember [who wrote what]. To me, when you're writing with a partner, it should feel like that, where at the end of the day it becomes a cohesive thing."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Saeed_Crumpler_Ep._1_v2_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:35pm PST |
Tue, 14 December 2021
![]() The late night TV writer talks to Write On about breaking in and his early inspirations: "I was kind of the weird kid who at, like, 11 was watching David Letterman… [the realization] came to me in my very early teens like, 'Oh, this guy's not just saying jokes off the cuff, there are people writing there?'" Robert goes on to give advice to writers aspiring to work in late night: "I would say to folks out there who want to do a late night packet that you should do one! It's intimidating - especially your first one - but you can do it. You can sit down for six hours and make your packet really perfect and good."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Robert_Kornhauser_for_Desus__Mero_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 4:08pm PST |
Fri, 10 December 2021
![]() Kelly is a development executive turned writer and author of ‘The Executive Chair: A Writer’s Guide to TV Series Development.’ She spoke to Write On about her decision to leave the executive world after 30 years and pursue her passion: "[Writing] was my own little private secret; I'd go home, and I'd write, and I'd enjoy the little worlds that I'd create and the short stories that I would write and the scripts that I would write, but I wasn't really actively pursuing it." Kelly goes on to discuss what she learned as an exec and how it can be applied to the work: "It's really not about the concept. You need material that shows how good of a writer you are and how deep a thinker you are and how emotive you can be on a page… if you can be as honest and authentic and as deep and as rich with your characters as you possibly can, people will respond to that."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Kelly_Edwards_mixdown_1.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:34pm PST |
Tue, 7 December 2021
![]() Tracey talks to Write On about tackling the life story of music icon Aretha Franklin: "I began to live, breathe, eat Aretha 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I listened to nothing but her music, everything I read was about her; I just completely submerged myself into that world." Tracey goes on to talk about her writing process and how she fosters her own creativity: "Part of the beauty of writing is that you evolve with it. As you change, your writing changes. The most important thing is you being in touch with your feelings and conveying that honesty and conveying that passion through the writing."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Tracey_Scott_Wilson_for_RESPECT_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:01pm PST |
Fri, 3 December 2021
![]() An elite squad of Navy SEAL's, on a covert mission to transport a prisoner off a CIA black site island prison, are trapped when insurgents attack while trying to rescue the same prisoner. Co-Writer/Director James Nunn talks to Write On about what it takes to make an action movie: "When I'm reading an action movie, I think what separates the [direct-to-video] stuff from the stuff that gets a wider release is concept, predominantly, and character. If there's a really unique concept for an action movie, hold onto it and make it; those are the ones that are really going to transcend a normal fight movie." James goes on to discuss his filmmaking career and what inspired him to get behind the camera: "I knew [I wanted to be a filmmaker] when I saw Jurassic Park when I was nine. I was just like, 'Right, I can be a paleontologist or I can be a moviemaker…' Something hit me in that screening where seeing a dinosaur and having this level of storytelling come to life transcended the movie, and it was like, 'Wow, I want to do that.'" Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_James_Nunn_for_One_Shot_mixdown_1.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:33pm PST |
Mon, 29 November 2021
![]() A soldier has been tasked with preventing an imminent terrorist threat to the Vatican in this action thriller from filmmaker Abel Ferrara starring Ethan Hawke. "[The film is a] real inside take on the CIA but it's also the understanding of truth,” Abel tells Write On. “We're living through the pandemic, so it's news, it's fake news, it's Photoshop, it's images, it's 'What's the truth?' What are you seeing?" Abel goes on to talk about his writing process: "I'm writing [the script], and I don't know where the film is going. I'm writing it, and I’m feeling it, and I'm feeling it organically from scene to scene. I don’t have anything structured, I don't have any outline; I'm letting it surprise me." Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Abel_Ferrara_for_Zeros_and_Ones_mixdown_1.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:55pm PST |
Tue, 23 November 2021
![]() Screenwriting career coach and guru Carole once again joins us on the podcast to talk about her system of networking as a screenwriter: "This business is based on relationships, and it's risk-averse. They want to hire people they know or hire people who've been referred to them by someone they know, so your job in addition to being a kickass writer has to be to build your community of mutually beneficial relationships." Carole goes on to discuss how you can make the most of every opportunity that comes your way: "The business, in terms of succeeding, is a lot about preparation and opportunity. You have to be ready, and one way, in terms of the opportunity part of it, is to know a lot of people because the more people you know, the more opportunities you're going to find out about."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Carole_Kirschner_Ep._3_mixdown_1.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 2:42pm PST |
Tue, 23 November 2021
![]() The 47 Meters Down filmmaker talks the latest installment of the phenomenally successful Resident Evil horror franchise and how he tackled it: "I find it quite intimidating at times. There is a lot of pressure to get this right. I'm always wary about making something for someone, making a movie for the fans because who knows, really, what they want? So you really just have to do it for yourself." Johannes talks about staying faithful to the Resident Evil video games and how he managed to make a movie that was also personal: "I created this movie with love, and it's a very unusual franchise movie in that… it feels like a retro 70's thriller. You can tell my personality in that movie; it's a very quirky, odd, but hopefully hugely scary movie."
Direct download: Johannes_Roberts_for_Resident_Evil_Welcome_to_Raccoon_City_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 8:23am PST |
Sun, 21 November 2021
![]() A team of wildly talented high school girl soccer players becomes the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the Ontario wilderness in the Showtime series. Showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson talk to Write On about the journey it took to get the series to screen. "We took [Yellowjackets] out to fifteen networks; we pitched so many times,” Ashley said. “It was all fully scripted and memorized because that's how we have to pitch - especially when there are two of us. If we don't have it scripted, it's just too easy to step on each other or have a weird gap, so we just memorized 35 minutes word for word and then pretended it was all off the cuff." Ashley and Bart go on to talk about their collaborative process. According to Bart, "Learning how to write or be a writer is something that you will always feel like you are so far behind on, and you are so incomplete, and the way that you do this is insane and weird, and not only is it okay, but you can continue to be adjusting that approach. Be okay with it feeling weird and hard."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Ashley_Lyle_and_Bart_Nickerson_for_Yellowjackets_v2_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:54am PST |
Thu, 18 November 2021
![]() Dexter is back! Showtime’s beloved serial killer returns in a new limited series, and original showrunner Clyde Phillips wants to right some of the wrongs of the controversial season finale. "It's no secret that the final season was a great disappointment,” Clyde tells Write On. “In fact, if you look up 'Worst series finales ever,' Dexter will show up on every top ten list… we felt, collectively, that we owed a very faithful fanbase another shot." Clyde goes into detail about what it takes to write a show like Dexter: "By the time we start really breaking down the show, we know how it's going to end, and it's what I call 'Putting your nose against the white board' where the ending is and walking backwards. All of these doors are on either side like a hotel hallway, and each one of those doors is an episode, and then you get back to episode one - room one - and you start building the show."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Clyde_Phillips_for_Dexter_New_Blood_v2_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:53am PST |
Fri, 12 November 2021
![]() The animated adventure comedy is the story of Barney, an awkward middle-schooler, and Ron, his new walking, talking, digitally-connected device voiced by Zach Galifianakis. "When I start a film… I need to know the big idea,” Co-Writer/Director Sarah Smith tells Write On. “In this case, the idea that everyone has a walking, talking device, and this kid has one that doesn't work. I need to know what it's really about, and what it's really about is friendships in the world of algorithms." Sarah goes on to talk about writing movies for kids: "To me, the biggest threat to cinema is not streamers; it's actually not giving kids intelligent enough movies that make them love the cinema. That's my aim in life - give our kids movies that are as interesting and entertaining to them as really good books are, and then we'll have a cinema in the future."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Sarah_Smith_for_Rons_Gone_Wrong_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:27pm PST |
Wed, 10 November 2021
![]() Kourtney talks rebooting the beloved TV classic Doogie Howser, M.D. but with a twist for Disney+: "I think in this day and age, folks get excited about IP; they just do. [It's] something solid that everybody can believe in. What I was then tasked with is 'How do you make this reboot worth doing?' and then 'What's my special sauce that I can put into it? What's the story I want to tell that makes this a story worth telling for me?'" Kourtney goes on to discuss the importance of diversity both in front of and behind the camera: "It's important to have more folks of color and diversity in front of the camera, but where I think you can really make a difference is the folks behind the camera, the people in charge, the people who are making the show, who get it."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Kourtney_Kang_for_Doogie_Kamealoha_MD_v2_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:51pm PST |
Sun, 7 November 2021
![]() Set in contemporary Washington D.C., Really Love is about a rising Black painter who strives to break into the competitive art world, while balancing a bittersweet romance he never expected. Co-Writer Felicia Pride talks to Write On about her screenwriting career: "My core is I'm a writer. I went to school for business because it sounded like a way to get a job, so I had a degree in marketing. I was very quickly bored at my first marketing job so I started writing on the side." Felicia gives advice on how to approach your writing career without fear. "Don't run from your gift… I've lived many lives and had many careers, and thankfully, they all now have helped me in some way in my current career, but the truth of the matter is that I was running from writing, I was running from my gift because I was scared to realize it." Really Love is now screening on Netflix.
Direct download: Write_On_-_Felicia_Pride_for_Really_Love_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:00pm PST |
Fri, 5 November 2021
![]() In The Beta Test, a married Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter for an anonymous sexual encounter and becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lying, infidelity, and digital data. Writer-Director Jim Cummings tells Write On: "I had the idea for the letter service, and I called PJ and I was like, 'What would you do if you got a letter in the mail, personally, that invited you to a no-strings-attached sexual encounter?' And he said, 'I wouldn't go because that would be insane,' and then I thought, 'Yeah, but what if you were somebody that would?'" Writer-Director PJ McCabe goes on to discuss their collaborative process: "It's really just the two of us with our laptops out in [Jim's] garage, and we'll just walk around acting it out, and we'll do it a million different ways until we find the way we do it that makes us laugh… and the best setup and payoff in a scene that keeps it the most interesting and moves it, logically, to the next step in the plot."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Jim_Cummings__PJ_McCabe_for_The_Beta_Test_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:40pm PST |
Tue, 2 November 2021
![]() The latest film from director Edgar Wright is about an aspiring fashion designer who is mysteriously able to enter 1960s London. Wright tells Write On: "[I started] having daydreams about being a kind of cultural time traveler, about how great it would be to go back to that decade. But then the more I would have these dreams, the more it would start to nag at me that that was a problem. Was nostalgia itself a retreat? Was it a failure to deal with the present day?" Co-Writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns details the collaborative process between her and Wright: "We both worked together in the room. I think the first draft took us about six weeks. There was a lot of writing, throwing things back and forth, sharing your deep dark secrets - the terrible things that have been said to us over the years and the things that have stung and distilling them into the characters, and then every so often stretching our legs around Soho. It was a very wonderful and holistic process."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Edgar_Wright__Krysty_Wilson-Cairns_for_Last_Night_in_Soho_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 5:11pm PST |
Sun, 31 October 2021
![]() There’s Someone Inside Your House is a Netflix horror movie based on the YA novel by Stephanie Perkins. Shazam! writer Henry Gayden adapted the book and talks to Write On about tackling the horror genre and injecting it with emotion: "I've always liked slasher movies, but they've been my least favorite subgenre because you never really get emotionally invested in them… [Stephanie Perkins] comes from a YA romance background. [There's Someone Inside Your House] was her first horror book, so she created all these characters that were great, and I loved them, and there was a love story inside of this slasher book, and I really responded to it. And because I was emotionally invested, I suddenly wanted to write a slasher movie." Henry goes on to give advice on taking your time developing a career: "I think a lot of people are in a rush to succeed right away when they're just not mature enough, mentally and also as a writer, to handle what you've gotta go through."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Henry_Gayden_for_Theres_Someone_Inside_Your_House_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:00pm PST |
Fri, 29 October 2021
![]() The Netflix drama series created by Ava DuVernay and famed football player Colin Kaepernick explores Kaepernick's high school years and the experiences that led him to become an activist. Showrunner Michael Starrbury talked to Write On about how the writers' room was assembled: "If you put good people in the room together, and they really care about what you're trying to accomplish, then good things will come out of it. I wasn't really looking for 'TV writers;' I was looking for people who could write TV." Michael goes on to discuss what it takes to have a career in writing. "Have your own goals. Don't let anybody gas you up and tell you that you're doing great when you have your own measurement for greatness… I can't control the yes's and no's in Hollywood, but what I can do is I can make adjustments for myself in order to reach my goal."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Michael_Starrbury_for_Colin_in_Black_and_White_v3_revised_intro_mixdown_1.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:00am PST |
Thu, 21 October 2021
![]() Chucky is back! Everyone’s favorite killer doll is soon to have his own TV series on SYFY, and writer Kim Garland talked to Write On about what it took to get on the writing staff: “I sat down one weekend, and I watched all seven films in a row, just back-to-back-to-back. I binged it hard, and a lot of it was I really wanted to take the full journey and compress what [creator Don Mancini] had done in 30 years." Kim goes on to discuss why she thinks Chucky has remained popular as a character for so long. "I think part of what's so fun is [Chucky] is this guy who has given up on trying to go back in a human body and is fully embracing the doll, but it's still a person in there that's living and evolving and changing."
Direct download: Write_On_with_Kim_Garland_for_Chucky_mixdown_V2.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:55pm PST |
Tue, 19 October 2021
![]() Mike talks to Write On about his work as a mentor and the founding of his organization Black Boy Writes: "I have 11 mentees; they're all great, and they all span different genres. [We're] just breaking that myth that Black people are monolithic, we can only write one thing or we all experience the same thing, when that’s not true. We live varied experiences, and we write many types of things." Mike discusses getting his first writing job with Issa Rae, and gives advice for the aspiring writer. "You have to remember that you're only as good as your last writing sample. You're only as good as your last project, so you have to keep the momentum. You have to keep writing. . . if I wasn't writing all the time, I would not have the opportunities that I have now.” |
Fri, 15 October 2021
![]() Sera talks about the latest season of the hit Netflix series starring Penn Badgley as the obsessive and murderous Joe Goldberg: "We [gave] ourselves total permission to go in a new direction. This is not one of those premises that you can repeat in the same way for more than one season. We knew when we were making season one, we will never be able to tell exactly this kind of story again because now the viewers are onto us, and this show is only really fun if it's surprising, so we're forced to step outside of the previous box every time." Sera goes on to talk about how she goes out building a writers’ room: "I really like building a room where people come from dramatically different writing backgrounds… I think of the Tetris as being about finding people who are interesting and different and have really different points of view about the world, and then put them all together because they're going to have a really rich discussion about this subject matter." The third season of You is now streaming on Netflix. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Sera_Gamble_for_You_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:30pm PST |
Thu, 14 October 2021
![]() Gloria talks to Write On about her process for choosing a writers’ room. "For One Day at a Time, we wanted a heavily Latino room because we were doing Latinx storylines, and we wanted to make sure that we were specific because it was a Cuban family, but also, it was great to hear from all the other Latinos in the room that were not Cuban that were like, 'Oh my God, my family did that too!'" Gloria goes on to discuss what makes a good TV staff writer: "Ultimately, if you are on a staff, you are there at the service of the showrunner. You are there to help them make the show they want to make, so how can you help them? What idea can you give them so that we can all go home? What thing are you going to do that's going to crack it? I think once that became crystal clear, everything became much, much easier for me." Gloria’s new series, With Love, will premiere on Amazon later this year.
Direct download: Write_On_-_Gloria_Calderon_Kellett__mixdown_v2.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:40am PST |
Tue, 12 October 2021
![]() The Hulu series starring Michael Keaton takes viewers to the epicenter of America's struggle with opioid addiction. Creator Danny Strong talks about putting the show together in the midst of the pandemic: "One of the ways that I dealt with [having a virtual writer's room] was that I just started doing my own outlines, so I would be showrunning and working as a writer's assistant at the same time, and it would sort of confuse the staff. They'd be like, 'Are you sure?' and I'd be like, 'Hold on, I'm just writing this down!'" Danny goes on to discuss how he crafts stories based on real life. "A technique I use in nonfiction dramatic storytelling like this is that there are scenes that are there as a conduit - a fictional scene - that's there as a conduit to get true facts out. So the goal of the scene is to get real, true information out, and yes, if the scene is fictionalized in order to do so, it's fine because at the end of the day, what the scene is about is a truthful concept, idea, something along those lines."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Danny_Strong_for_Dopesick_mixdown_v2.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:12pm PST |
Fri, 8 October 2021
![]() TV and feature writer Eileen Jones talks about her career with screenwriting coach Lee Jessup. Eileen Jones made her entry into screenwriting through the Warner Brothers' Television Workshop, which led to being staffed on the TV series Lethal Weapon. Eileen has since moved into feature films, penning the original female-led action western Highwayman after participating in the inaugural Lucky Exports Pitch Program. She is currently writing the female-led spy movie Marks for New Line Cinema, The Safran Company, and Hodson Exports. Eileen talks about breaking in, sustaining her career, and how to stay inspired: "What makes you excited? What is going to be fun for you to sit down and write every day? I've certainly had experiences where I wrote a script where I was like, 'This is small, it's really personal, I just need to write it, so I'm gonna do it,' and that's been valuable. But for me, now, I'm really thinking about, 'How do I have that meaningful conversation with as many people as possible?'" Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Lee_Jessup__Eileen_Jones_mixdown_1.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:20am PST |
Tue, 5 October 2021
![]() After suffering a stroke, Judith Albright moves into a historic nursing home, where she begins to suspect something supernatural is preying on the residents in this Amazon Original Movie. Writer-Director Axelle Carolyn talks about how her personal family experiences shaped the story: "I saw my dad and my granddad both go to nursing homes, and I saw how it changed them, and it changed the way that people look at them and speak to them, and I think that when people address you a different way, you become someone else." She goes on to discuss the horror genre and the films that inspired her to be a filmmaker. "It was a combination of David Cronenberg's The Fly, which kind of taught me the power of characters and emotion in a horror movie… and Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator, and it just felt like working on that set would have been the most fun thing in the world."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Axelle_Carolyn_for_The_Manor_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:34am PST |
Wed, 29 September 2021
![]() Taylor Orci is a TV and screenwriter known for their work on Vida and the Emmy-nominated series Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts on Netflix. Taylor is also known for creating the web video ‘Bitchy Resting Face’ that went so viral it got the term in the dictionary! Taylor talks about how they navigated their writing career and forged their own path: "If I followed all the well-intended advice that people looked me straight in the eye and said, 'I'm trying to help you,' I wouldn't have a job right now. I wouldn't have a career." Taylor goes on to discuss the need for more diversity in the industry, especially in positions of power: "You need to have more queer people and POC people occupying levels of authority… from mid-level to upper level to the executive level and beyond… We need to be seeing more representation and more butts in seats because different decisions are going to be made when you have those people in the room."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Taylor_Orci_mixdown_2.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:09pm PST |
Tue, 21 September 2021
![]() The feature comedy is about an aimless ne'er-do-well who becomes a tour guide in a historic estate and winds up befriending the manor's resident ghost. Co-writers, directors and brothers Justin and Christian Long talk to Write On about collaboration. Christian says: "We happen to agree a lot creatively, so there's usually not a lot of conflict. We definitely have different approaches as people in that Justin… has a really big personality. I'm a little more reserved, a little more shy, so it takes me a minute to open up to people." Justin talks about how writing the movie helped reconnect him with his brother: "I was working in London and kind of lonely, it was kind of a lonely job… [collaborating on the script with Christian] was a way to feel like I was back with my brother, and it was an easy way to bond from a distance, and it always made me laugh to get these scenes from him, and then he would get my scenes, and he'd punch them up and make them better, and I would try to make his better, and that's kind of how we worked."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Justin_Long_and_Christian_Long_for_Lady_of_the_Manor_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:24am PST |
Thu, 16 September 2021
![]() The Disney Plus Original series is about a young Cuban-American girl who embarks on a journey to become the future president of the United States. Creator Ilana Peña talks about the very personal origins of the main character, Elena Cañero-Reed: "Elena is very much based on me… I wanted to write about that nerdy, type A, messy middle school girl that I hadn't really seen." Ilana goes on to discuss finding universality in her own personal story. "We're all human beings, and that's what I want to present on the screen while also honoring my identity and my background. I didn't wake up every day and say, 'Another day as a Latina!' I woke up and I was like, 'Did I forget my social studies assignment?'" Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_On_-_Ilana_Pea_for_Diary_of_a_Future_President_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 4:20pm PST |
Tue, 14 September 2021
The biopic about televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker is based on the documentary of the same name. Writer Abe Sylvia talks about what drew him to the project: "I grew up in Oklahoma in the 80s, and that's right in the middle of the Bible Belt, and while I wasn't raised religiously, it was all around me, and when that scandal first hit, it was everywhere. I wasn't familiar with [Tammy Faye] before that but it certainly made a huge splash in the neighborhood." Abe also dives into the process of writing and researching a biopic. "I think there's a little bit of osmosis that happens from watching so many hours of footage… the important part of the research was to get it into my own DNA and to separate that from 'How do I include all of these facts?' I think that was the ultimate value of the research."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Abe_Sylvia_for_The_Eyes_of_Tammy_Faye_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:50pm PST |
Fri, 10 September 2021
![]() Eliza talks to Write On about how she approached adapting a 20-year-old comic book series for FX: “I really wanted to update the way we talk about gender and the diversity of gender in this landscape… it's a more nuanced look at the diversity of the gender spectrum and also making clear that gender and chromosomes are not equal to one another." Eliza goes on to discuss how she built her writer's room for the show. "We had playwrights [in the writer's room], we had TV writers, we had a novelist, and it was a really exciting group of people who kind of all brought pieces of themselves to the table. The writer's room is one of my favorite parts of television. I really love the collaborative aspect of TV."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Eliza_Clark_for_Y_The_Last_Man_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:09am PST |
Tue, 7 September 2021
![]() Alissa and Alyson talk to Write On about creating the adult animated comedy series for Adult Swim starring Maria Bamford and Tim Robinson. Alissa explains: "I had this thought, somehow, that [animation] is easier than live-action, and that is not true at all… and I feel so lucky that I was able to do this with Alyson and that we have the incredibly talented team that we do because, I mean, it's not for wimps." The collaborators go on to discuss what it’s like working together in the animation realm. "I actually didn't even understand how hard [animation] was until we set out on the journey,” says Alyson, “but it also is really fun to write because you can do anything, and it's a way to be silly… the two of us together made more sense for it to be animated."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Alissa_Nutting_and_Alyson_Levy_for_Teenage_Euthanasia_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 2:47pm PST |
Wed, 1 September 2021
![]() The playwright turned screenwriter talks about what it’s like to write material based on real people for the FX TV series. "My job was to adopt 20-something Monica [Lewinsky]'s point of view… and so I wrote based on Monica's story, and then I had the incredible asset of Monica Lewinsky herself reading my scripts and giving me feedback, so I basically trusted that in the writing of it, the scripts would reflect on how Monica experienced it." Sarah talks about her beginnings as a writer and how it doesn’t matter where you’re from. "You need something that's good on the page; that's all you need. You can live in Idaho, you can live in Ottawa, you don't have to live in The East Village or Santa Monica… if you are in any position to be able to write, I do think that having faith in what you put on the page is really what matters."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Sarah_Burgess_for_Impeachment_American_Crime_Story_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:18am PST |
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 |
Fri, 30 July 2021
Joshua talks to Write On about being a writer on the original iconic series and how it has been updated to reflect current times. "We are looking at how social media has changed the landscape of who we say we are and how we put ourselves out in the world, and so a new Gossip Girl rises, much like Game of Thrones… and targets a new crop of young students at the Constance Billard school." Joshua discusses how he runs a writers room and the creative benefits of being in that environment. "I always tells writers, 'Get in a writer's room…' Be a part of someone else's creation; that's how you learn. I learned so much. I thought I knew everything, but I learned so much."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Joshua_Safran_for_Gossip_Girl_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:00pm PST |
Wed, 28 July 2021
![]() Eric talks delving into the history of the elusive Black Widow: "We approached it with the lens of 'This is a Natasha Romanoff story.' I wanted to see what it's really like inside the most mysterious Avenger - the Avenger that intentionally closes herself off from people socially and emotionally. What's the best way to bring that out of her - the part of her emotion and her heart that she can't really control the way she controls everything else?" On coming on board after two writers have already worked on the script, Eric explains: "You just kind of have to go in and give your honest opinion. You're the custodian of the script; you're the one in charge of that document, and you're the one who has to make sure that we're being true to our characters and our story and that everything kind of makes linear sense and that what our characters are doing makes sense to their characters."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Eric_Pearson_for_Black_Widow_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:00am PST |
Tue, 20 July 2021
Thomas is Director of Development for Los Angeles-based production company Branded Pictures Entertainment and talks to Write On’s Phil Galasso about what the company looks for in a screenplay. "I think the [scripts] that really stand out are when something is sort of attacked in a very different way in a singular voice. That's something that you can't mimic or copy. Everyone has their sort of unique take and perspective on how to tell the story." Thomas talks about his approach to producing and the importance of supporting your creative team. “You always want to make sure, as a good producer, that at any stage in the process, you're supporting your creative team's vision. That there's a shared and collective vision, whether you came up with the idea or the writer did, or a director-writer did."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Thomas_Pettinelli_with_clip_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:39am PST |
Tue, 13 July 2021
Navot talks writing the explosive female-driven action-thriller starring Karen Gillan and Carla Gugino: "When you strip down this [assassin] genre… it's got this rich history of this hitman following this code and laws of the underworld… but, like in all of these movies, there's always someone innocent introduced into this equation that puts our hero into a dilemma: do I keep the code, or do I go with my heart?" Navot talks about his process with his writing partner Ehud Lavski and how a screenplay is never a fixed object. "A script is a living thing, and you have to be aware of it every step of the way… the worst thing you can do is be fixated on something, and I have to compliment my writing partner [Ehud Lavski], who is always on his toes, always thinking, and once I have an idea, we just jump at it."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Navot_Papushado_for_Gunpowder_Milkshake_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 3:55pm PST |
Tue, 6 July 2021
The famed Bill & Ted writer talks working with director Steven Soderbergh on the HBO Max crime thriller No Sudden Move: "I was asking Steven [Soderbergh] what style of film I should watch, because a lot of times when he and I work together on stuff, he'll say, 'Watch these six movies,' and I always love that because then you get into a kind of mindset." Ed goes on to discuss his lengthy, varied career, and how he stays inspired. "The only way to stay writing, I think, is a combination of reinvention but, like, real reinvention. How do you reinvent yourself in a way that keeps you in your wheelhouse but just outside your comfort zone so you're… constantly pushing in ways that, mostly, you can succeed in?"
Direct download: Write_On_-_Ed_Solomon_for_No_Sudden_Move_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:15pm PST |
Tue, 29 June 2021
False Positive is a horror-thriller about a mysterious and possibly dangerous fertility doctor that tackles some serious themes relating to pregnancy. Director John Lee explains: "'Mommy brain' is a real thing. Postpartum is a real thing, and prepartum is a real thing, and so in the movie, we just wanted to point out how we don't actually talk about it or support it or, like, actually do anything about it. We give it a cute phrase." John also offers advice on how to complete your first draft: "Get past the first act. Don't keep rewriting the first act. When you go in to rewrite or you go to write the next day, don't start on page one; start on the page you left. So if day one, you write page 1-14, whatever it is, the next day, don't even read it. Just start on page 14 and go forth… You have to get to the end, and then you have to basically destroy and rebuild and support as much as possible after that."
Direct download: Write_On_-_John_Lee_for_False_Positive_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:48am PST |
Thu, 24 June 2021
Award-winning writer, actor and director Josh Ruben burst onto the horror scene with the immensely popular Scare Me. His follow-up, Werewolves Within, is a feature adaptation of a videogame about werewolves attacking a small town. Josh talks about how he landed the gig and offers advice on how to show passion for your project. "The easiest way to describe how to pitch a film… is take a film that you love and that you know, and write down what happens as if you were talking to your best friend describing what happens in that movie in under 10 minutes, and for a total of 15 minutes, tack on an intro where you talk about why you're the best person to make this movie and why it's personal to you."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Josh_Ruben_for_Werewolves_Within_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:55am PST |
Tue, 22 June 2021
Good on Paper is a romantic comedy that tells the ‘mostly’ true story of finding Mr. Right but discovering he may be too good to be true. Writer and star Iliza Shlesinger talks about how being a stand-up comic informed her writing process. "As a comic, you're so sensitive to cadence and syllables, and those really can make or break someone laughing or not laughing… and then there's also putting it in other people's voices… it's up to the actor to bring it to life." Iliza talks about how important it is to practice your craft to get it right. "Each time you write, you get better and better, and the more screenplays you read, the more things you audition for, you see what… doesn't translate."
Direct download: Write_On_-_Iliza_Shlesinger_for_Good_On_Paper_mixdown_1.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:30pm PST |
Mon, 14 June 2021
HBO’s Hacks explores a dark mentorship that forms between a legendary Las Vegas comedian and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old. "The story of this show, in a lot of ways, is about two women who come together and work together,” says Jen. “They make each other better as writers and comedians, and as people.” Jen talks about the challenges of starting out on her own writing journey and how she overcame them. "[As a writer] you're in a race with no one but yourself. I think early on in my career, I would look at what other people were doing, and it was really hard; someone's success felt like my failure, and that is such a trap that you can easily fall into in this industry. But it's so important to do the work to not fall into that because the truth is… the thing you want to say with your story? Only you can say it in that specific way, so there's no comparison to anyone else."
Direct download: Write_On_with_Jen_Statsky_for_Hacks_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:41am PST |
Thu, 10 June 2021
Showrunner Bruce Miller talks to Write On about what he looks for in a successful staff writer: "Being a staff writer, you have to be able to write, you have to be able to re-write based on notes, and you have to be able to contribute in the room… You want to develop a way to be in the room that's comfortable for you because the most important thing in the room is not talking; it's listening." He goes on to discuss the complexities of the show’s main character, June (played by Elisabeth Moss): "I don't know if I want people to cheer for [June]; I want them to understand her and kind of understand her point of view… the fact is, she's gone through a trauma that we can barely fathom… the road through trauma and back is very, very long, very difficult, and different for everybody."
Direct download: Write_On_with_Bruce_Miller_for_Handmaids_Tale_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 2:32pm PST |
Wed, 9 June 2021
Evan talks to Write On about how he used an existing IP, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, to get noticed in Hollywood, and ended up with a hit show. "Cuckoo's Nest was always one of my favorite movies and books. I loved that [Nurse Ratched] was this incredibly complex character but didn't have a backstory to her… so I wanted to do something with IP where I wasn't retelling; I was creating and inventing." Evan takes us through his obsessive outlining process, how he navigates the business, and what he does when he hits a creative wall. "It's so important to go through those days of writers' block where you are stuck, to keep going and keep trying to work your way out of it, and if something's not working, move onto something else - even a totally different project that you're in a different stage in, and even if you're just getting something small done on that, getting little victories is huge."
Direct download: Write_on_with_Evan_Romansky_for_Ratched_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:49am PST |
Fri, 4 June 2021
Alena Smith talks to Write On about the TV series that offers an inside look at the world of famed American poet Emily Dickinson. "Dickinson, at its core, is really just a family drama as well as the coming of age story of a young artist." Alena discusses the feminist overtones of Dickinson and how it relates to current day struggles. "This is the whole point Dickinson makes: in the 1860s, women were not allowed to vote; they were not allowed to legally own property; they belonged to their fathers; they belonged to their husbands. The idea of women as independent citizens with agency and college educations and careers is much newer than we realize, and we're still figuring it out."
Direct download: Write_on_with_Alena_Smith_for_Dickinson_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:15pm PST |
Thu, 3 June 2021
Write On talks with Little Marvin about his thought-provoking new show and how Lena Waithe boarded the project. "I wrote the pilot… probably three years back. I did the rounds; I got some agents, I did the rounds for a few months, and I got linked up with Miri Yoon, who's an executive producer at Vertigo with Roy Lee, and she asked me… 'Who would you like to sign on as a collaborator?' And I threw out Lena Waithe as kind of a dare almost, just like, 'Let's see what you can do about it…' and like two days later, I was sitting down with Lena." Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: Write_on_with_Little_Marvin_for_THEM_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 1:18pm PST |
Wed, 2 June 2021
![]() Jac Schaeffer talks to Write On about the challenges of crafting the unique and complex story that is the hit Marvel Studios show WandaVision. "I was so dazzled by the idea but I was also like, 'This is not gonna work. This is crazy!' But the challenge of it was so irresistible that I immediately set about trying to figure out well, okay, if this is the thing, how do you do it effectively? How do you do it in a way where you actually do care about these characters?” Jac discusses her process and how the show’s famous twists and turns came about. "First, I came at it from a way of, like, 'What's the most interesting watch?' And, for me, that's always when you're ahead of the audience for a while and then sort of blindside them and give them a lot of information and then jerk them in another way, so that was part of my design. And then it was about just remaining true to her authentic journey and tethering everything to the love story."
Direct download: Write_On_with_Jac_Shaeffer_for_WandaVision_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:47pm PST |
Thu, 27 May 2021
![]() Write On talks with legendary TV writer Marta Kauffmann about the highly anticipated Friends reunion and what makes the show still resonate today. "I think these characters [are] incredibly loveable, and you'd love to hang out with them and have a beer with them and invite them into your home. The show is kind of warm and cozy, and I don't know that that goes out of style." Marta also talks about her approach to showrunning and how to get the best out of writers. "The best way to lead is by collaborating, and as a showrunner, I feel like one of my jobs is I'm like the camp mom where everybody in the production camp are my campers; they're my kids, and I have a responsibility to make sure that they are happy doing this job. I work really hard for a happy crew." Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes! ![]()
Direct download: Write_On-Marta_Kauffman_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 2:38pm PST |
Wed, 26 May 2021
![]() Solos is a dramatic anthology series created by David Weil and produced by Amazon. The series features stars such as Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway and Helen Mirren, among others. David talks to Write On about the genesis of the project: “Solos was born out of a time of great disconnection and loneliness and solitude. I always wanted to tell a story that returned me to the origins of how I fell in love with storytelling.” David takes us through his career and the long journey from writing his first spec to becoming the creator of the Amazon Prime series Hunters. “All of the no’s will one day lead to a yes. I can't tell you how many no’s I had in the ten years it took from moving out to LA to then getting Hunters made… every script that is passed on will one day have its moment.”
Direct download: Write_On-David_Weil_for_Solos_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:03am PST |
Tue, 25 May 2021
Pete Goldfinger is no stranger to the Saw franchise, having previously penned Jigsaw about the eponymous villain of the series. He talks to Write On about servicing the fanbase and what it’s like to craft the set pieces the franchise is known for. "We always do the traps last… even though that's often the featured thing that you'll see in the trailers, mostly what we try to do, in our dreams, is more of a Usual Suspects kind of whodunit-y suspense sort of thing." Pete also delves into his own writing process and rituals. "Every Monday when I'm working on a project, no matter what, I read the entire project from the beginning. You might find new things that inspire you, that will help you, and then you're always on top of everything so you know what you're writing about."
Direct download: Write_On-Pete_Goldfinger_for_Spiral_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:59am PST |
Wed, 19 May 2021
![]() ‘Blackjack’ is the story of Brooklyn-native street basketball legend Jackie Ryan. Writer Antonio Macia is a self-proclaimed ‘basketball junkie’ who says writing this film was a dream come true. "The story takes place in the world of street ball and basketball, but it's really not about that. It's really about a young man trying to find his way, trying to deal with his family dynamics, trying to get out of his own way." Antonio talks about how he molded this true-life sports biopic. "I was able to work with Jackie [Ryan] quite a bit. I spent time with him, did extensive interviews talking to him about different periods in his life, and he definitely read over different drafts and would help navigate certain things. He was such a great resource because he was very open and vulnerable, especially dealing with his low points in his life."
Direct download: Write_On-Antonio_Macia_for_Blackjack_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:41am PST |
Tue, 11 May 2021
Feral State is the story of a misfit gang of runaways and orphans who are taken in by a dark and charismatic father figure and together wreak havoc throughout swamps and trailer parks in central Florida. Writer-Director Jon Carlo talks to Write On about how the film came about: “Location was the starting point for everything. This movie came about in such an untraditional kind of way where the money was there first before there even was a script, and part of the stipulations was to shoot in a specific area in Florida, so I went down to meet the producers and kind of scope out the scene, and the story kind of grew organically out of what I was seeing in the community.” Jon talks about his background as an actor, applying to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, and how hard work is the key to a successful career. “I think the one thing that I’ve learned that I think is the most important lesson is you have to do the work. There is no easy way around: you can’t just scribble something down and hope that it’s good. You have to write and rewrite religiously until it’s there.”
Direct download: Write_On_with_Jon_Carlo_for_Feral_State_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:05am PST |
Mon, 3 May 2021
Entertainment career coach, author, speaker, CBS Writing and WGA Showrunner Training Program director Carole Kirschner talks to Write On about mentorships, fellowships and training opportunities for writers and showrunners. “You cannot teach somebody how to be a showrunner in six Saturdays, but what you can do is… give an idea of what to expect." Carole breaks down the role of the showrunner and what it takes to be in charge of a TV show. “The job [of a showrunner] is all-consuming, and throughout, people say, 'This is an impossible job, this is a huge job, this is a terrible job, this is a big job,' and so I always have to say, 'Well, why would anybody do it then?' And then you hear the great parts about how wonderful it is to have a group of people create something together, how satisfying it is, how wonderful it is to be the person who gets to say, 'Yeah, we're gonna do it this way.'"
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Carole-Kirschner-Episode-1_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:57pm PST |
Fri, 30 April 2021
Since 2005, each December The Black List releases its annual list, a survey of the most liked unproduced screenplays of that year. The Black List also works to foster a large community of writers through screenwriting labs, online resources, and in-person events. Write On’s host Phil Galasso talks with The Black List’s Director of Community Kate Hagen about how The Black List supports writers and what she looks for in a script. “I think for me, two of the biggest things comes down to personal voice and tone. If you have a strong personal voice, I literally do not care what a script is about; but if you are giving me personality, if you are giving me a personal story world I have not seen before… I think that goes a really long way.”
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Kate-Hagen-The-Black-List_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:37am PST |
Mon, 26 April 2021
Moisés Zamora, creator of Netflix's Selena: The Series about the legendary singer, talks to guest host Lee Jessup about why it was important for this show to have a writers room primarily made up of Mexican American voices. "All of the writers I hired [for Selena] were Latinx because it was important for the storytelling… and within that Latinx monolith, there's a lot of diversity, and so I was really proud to be able to cultivate those sort of relationships with those writers and getting to know them and realizing there's so many more stories to tell, from the Latin American, Indigenous, Afro-Latinx point of view." Moisés takes us through his varied writing career, starting with writing novels in Spanish, working in advertising and marketing, to landing his first TV job on American Crime. "I don't think writing is, in any form, wasted. So if a pilot doesn't give you the results that you wanted, it doesn't matter! It just starts developing a layer of talent on top of another layer of talent, and without that pilot, maybe it doesn't lead to another project, so keep your mind open to always growing." |
Mon, 15 March 2021
The New York Screenwriters Workshop sponsored by Final Draft is a weekly intensive for early-career, New York City-based screenwriters who are under-represented in the film industry. Write On host Phil Galasso talks with one of the workshop’s fellows, Beanie Barnes, along with fellowship mentors Jim Hart and Anne Carey about the program. They are also joined by Brit Fryer from the WGA East. Beanie talks about what the program has done for her writing and career, and how she approaches her own work. “I was talking to someone about screenwriters being anthropologists. I tell my kids that as well; we’re kind of anthropologists and sociologists and psychiatrists, and we are really holding mirrors up, not just for the word but also for ourselves.” For more information on the workshop visit www.wgaeast.org/theworkshop/
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Beanie-Barnes-NY-Screenwriters_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 8:38pm PST |
Tue, 9 March 2021
Craig Brewer, Writer-Director of Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan and TV’s Empire, talks to guest host Sade’ Sellers about directing the sequel to Eddie Murphy’s hit comedy Coming to America. “I felt that there was a noble theme inside the sequel… and I was like we gotta stay strong with that because comedy - it’s hard to sustain. But if you have a beating heart for a theme that is relevant… I think the movie became more relevant as it came to being completed.” Craig also discusses TV Writers Rooms, the difficulties of doing comedy well, and the importance of the entertainment industry, especially in times like these. “Entertainment just might be an essential industry… I don’t know if I could have gotten through the pandemic without The Mandalorian, without WandaVision or Borat, or even Gordon Ramsay’s chef show on Amazon.” Coming 2 America is now available on Amazon Prime.
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Craig-Brewer-Coming-2-America_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:00am PST |
Thu, 4 March 2021
Mike Jones speaks to Write On host Phil Galasso about the unique process of writing for Pixar, and how he, Pete Doctor and Kemp Powers collaborated on Soul. “It was a great, kind of fantastic partnership because it's hard to force partnerships, and Kemp [Powers] was so open and willing and also so honest and so forthright with what he believed the script should be or what he believed, in particular, the character of Joe needed to be. That was just great to have his… confident voice alongside us.” Mike discusses his journey to becoming a screenwriter and how it wasn’t straightforward. “I did not grow up wanting to be a storyteller. I grew up loving story; I grew up with a dad who loved movies… and I grew up with a love of that kind of visual storytelling. But I grew up in south Texas, and that wasn't an option - being a screenwriter or working in the movies. It wasn't an option; it was like another world to me.” Soul is available to stream on Disney+.
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Mike-Jones-Soul_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 10:33am PST |
Wed, 3 March 2021
Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, Minari is the story of a Korean family who start a farm in Arkansas in the 1980s. For Writer-Director Lee Isaac Chung, the film is deeply personal. “It’s really a family story… a journey that this family takes to understand each other a little better,” Lee tells Write On host Phil Galasso. “The story originated with an exercise that I was doing writing down as many memories as I could, from the age of about 5 years old up to 8 years old.” Lee discusses a writing method he uses that he learned from Steven Soderbergh, how he decided in his last year of college as a science major that he really wanted to be a filmmaker, and how he had no idea what would happen with the script for Minari after he wrote it. “I thought, maybe I’m just going to write this because it means so much to me, and I don’t know if it’ll get made, but at least maybe my daughter will read it one day.” Minari is now available on VOD and in theaters where it is safe.
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Lee-Isaac-Chung-Minari_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:00am PST |
Fri, 26 February 2021
Supernova is the moving story of Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci), who after Tusker’s dementia diagnosis travel across England in an RV to visit family, friends and places from their past. For Writer-Director Harry Macqueen, an enormous amount of research went into ensuring he did justice to the subject of dementia. “I think the key thing for writing this script really was several years of spending time with people who were living with this kind of dementia… Not only did I learn a huge amount about the medical side of dementia and the biology of it… but also, very, very importantly, the human element of it.” Harry discusses his writing process, how to develop complex characters while maintaining simplicity of narrative, and how important it is to have a close group of friends you can share your work in progress with. “I really think that filmmaking and scriptwriting is not about ego at all… it's about taking responsibility for the project, [and] for the script.” Supernova is now available on VOD.
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Harry-Macqueen-Supernova_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:00am PST |
Tue, 23 February 2021
Jesse Chatham talks to guest host Sade' Sellers about how his screenplay about a bereaved woman seeking out a new life off the grid went from placing in the Nicholl Fellowship to becoming a feature directed by and starring Robin Wright (House of Cards). “I placed in the top 50… and one of the readers, Lora Kennedy, was the VP of casting at Warner Bros. She read it, and she fell in love with the script, and she was able to lasso in a producer named Allyn Stewart, who was just on Sully.” Jesse discusses how his journey to writing Land began in 2013 when he had just turned 40. “I was unhappy with where I was… and I was always writing something, but it was never really screenplays. I kind of had this moment of mortality, and I was like, ‘You know what? I should think about what I want to look back on when I'm 65, 70. Do I want to look back at a life that didn't take any risks?’ I finally decided, I just want to go for it.” Land is now in theaters where it is safe and will be available on VOD on March 5. CONTENT WARNING: This podcast contains discussions of gun violence that some listeners may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised.
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Jesse-Chatham-Land_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:30am PST |
Wed, 17 February 2021
G.O. Parsons has written one of the wildest rides of the year with Wally’s Wonderland, a B-movie homage that pits Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage against a horde of demonic animatronics. “I went into writing Willy's Wonderland with the intention, the sole intention, of just shooting it myself in a friend's garage with absolutely no money,” he tells Write On host Phil Galasso. “If you can set your script in one location, and you can keep the budget low, and you have just stellar writing, stellar characters, and a fun story, you can get your movie made.” G.O. Parsons discusses his roots in playwriting, his daily writing process, and what it takes to keep going when the odds are against you. "No's do not change your life. Somebody tells you no, your life stays exactly the same. But one yes can change your life… and I got a million no's until Nicolas Cage said yes."
Direct download: WRITE-ON-GO-Parsons-WillysWonderland_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:06pm PST |
Fri, 12 February 2021
Oscar-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen talks to host Phil Galasso about his transition into writing and directing with Falling, a stirring drama he also acts in alongside Lance Henriksen. The film is about a man who along with his male partner and adopted daughter is visited by his aging father who possesses a very different world view and is also facing the onset of dementia. “Among other things, [Falling] is a story that explores communication - whether there are limits to it, whether there are people that you can't communicate with… (and) are there people who don't deserve to be communicated with?” Viggo discusses his writing process, how he makes progress every day and what he has learned from it: “You have to make mistakes in order to learn. That's just part of the process, and making a movie or writing a screenplay is about solving a series of problems, overcoming a series of obstacles. That's what life is, too.”
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Viggo-Mortenson_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 11:45am PST |
Tue, 9 February 2021
Will Berson had been haunted by the story of the murder of Black Panthers leader Fred Hampton by police since his hippy parents told it to him as a child. As Will watched events like the Ferguson riots unfold he realized Fred Hampton's story had to be told. After writing the script as a spec he discovered writer/director Shaka King had been working on the same story, and together they joined forces to make the powerful Judas and the Black Messiah. On this episode of Write On, Will Berson and guest host Sade' Sellers discuss Berson’s roots in comedy writing and his particular approach to historical drama: “Essential truths are more important to me than historical facts.” He talks about writing strong female characters, what it is like to write with multiple collaborators, and how to manage a career in Hollywood. “My advice would be to play the game a little more. Just realize how ridiculous this town is and embrace it. Act like you're in an improv scene and just go with the flow.” Judas and the Black Messiah releases in theaters and on HBO Max on February 12.
Direct download: WRITE-ON-WillBerson-JudasAndTheBlackMessiah_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 9:00am PST |
Wed, 27 January 2021
Showrunner, writer, and mentor Jeffrey Lieber and our host Phil Galasso discuss what Jeffrey looks for when putting together a writer's room, his transition from acting on the stage to writing for the screen, his work helping new writers gain meaningful access with #StartWith8Hollywood, and more! Jeffrey Lieber is the co-creator of Lost and has worked on shows such as NCIS: New Orleans, The Originals, and most recently, the reboot of Charmed. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Jeff-Lieber-StartWith8Hollywod2021_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 4:36pm PST |
Thu, 7 January 2021
Promising Young Woman writer-director Emerald Fennell and our host Phil Galasso discuss the tonal tightrope of the film, its use of music, her unconventional writing process, and more. Carey Mulligan stars in this darkly comedic thriller as Cassie, a young woman traumatized by an event in her past, seeking revenge on the "nice guys" that cross her path. CONTENT WARNING: This interview contains discussions of sexual assault that listeners may find upsetting. Listener discretion is advised. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!
Direct download: WRITE-ON-Promising-Young-Woman2021_mixdown.mp3
Category:screenwriting -- posted at: 12:51pm PST |