Episodes
Jason Lubin – Literary Manager/Producer – First Story Entertainment
A wonderfully candid interview from the point of view of a literary manager. Jason discusses: – What he looks for in a script– What he thinks un-signed writers should...
Networking
Check out my take on the do's and don't's of networking in the film industry. For more information on networking, check out Bob Saenz's book “That's Not The Way...
Bill True Part II
A continuation of a conversation with Bill True! Bill discusses:– his writing habits– developing projects in Hollywood– when he writes– Time Travel Bill and more…
Shane Black – Writer/Director Iron Man 3, The Predator, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Writer Lethal Weapon
A wonderful conversation with legendary Screenwriter Shane Black!Shane discusses:– Writing Lethal Weapon– Dealing with writing anxiety and imposter syndrome– Writing and Directing Iron Man 3– Writing and Directing Kiss...
Bill True – Part I – Screenwriter, Mentor, Teacher
A wonderfully candid conversation with Bill True, Department Chair of the Scottsdale School of Film + Theater and Winner of the Austin Film Festival.Learn: – How Bill dealt...
Recap of the Austin Film Festival and the American Film Market
I had the pleasure of being a moderator at the Austin Film Festival and an attendee at the American Film Market over the last few weeks and just wanted...
Jen Haire & Gilana Lobel – Authors of “Keys to the Production Office”
Jen and Gilana have over 40 years of Film/TV production experience. They've written this book to help you learn:– How a production office works– How physical production on Film/TV...
John Truly – Author, Mentor, Screenwriter
Learn all about John's new book – The Anatomy of Genres! Learn why: GENRES have more to do with how your story works than any other element — any...
Lovinder Gill – Screenwriter, Mentor, Author
In this episode, Christopher Vogler (The Writer's Journey) guest hosts and interviews me, Lovinder Gill, about my new book Scriptcake Secrets: The Top 10 Mistakes Novice Screenwriters Make and...
Dr. Bill Indick, Author of Psychology for Screenwriters
In this episode, learn:– about the Heroine's Journey– what western's the Mandalorian is based on– what a cowboy's true love really is– how a man on a horse is...
Will Akers – Screenwriter, Author, Mentor
William M. Akers is a Lifetime Member of the Writers Guild of America and has had three feature films produced from his screenplays. He has written scripts, series television,...
The Rule of Opposites
The Rule of Opposites is an effective way to help design characters, acts and scenes. Listen to learn all about it.
Interview with Pinckney Benedict – Author, Screenwriter, Mentor
From teaching me screenwriting in grad school to writing for Francis Ford Coppola to being on the cutting edge of VR, Pinckney has done it all. Listen and learn...
Bob Saenz Part II – Screenwriter, Author and Mentor
It took almost a year, but we, finally, have part two of the Bob Saenz interview. In it, we talk about the second half of Bob's book, “That's Not...
Organic Screenwriting
I think it's a good idea for novice screenwriters to develop their screenplay organically. What does that mean, exactly? Listen and find out.
Andy Silverman – Screenwriter/Producer of Cyst, Producer of Seclusion
Andy Silverman is a screenwriter who specializes in writing and producing low budget features. His latest film “Cyst”, which he co-wrote and produced, is available on VOD, Amazon Prime,...
Interview with Dale Pollock – Producer, Author, Professor, Film School Dean and more.
Dale M. Pollock is a film professor, writer and filmmaker with a 22-year career in Los Angeles as an award-winning newspaper reporter and feature film producer, with 13 movies...
Story vs. Concept
I think this is the biggest mistake novice screenwriters make before they write their screenplays.
Interview with Jim Mercurio – Author of “The Craft of Scene Writing”
Jim Mercurio is a filmmaker, writer and author whose screenwriting instruction has inspired tens of thousands of writers around the world. Creative Screenwriting ranked him as one of the...
Want vs Need
One of the first major decisions I make when starting a new project is figuring out the difference between a protagonist's want and their need. Take a listen and...
Interview with Jen Grisanti – Story/Career Consultant, Author of StoryLine: Finding Gold in your Life Story
International speaker Jen Grisanti is an acclaimed Story/Career Consultant at Jen Grisanti Consultancy Inc., 13-year Writing Instructor for Writers on the Verge at NBC, and a former 12-year studio...
Unnecessary Supporting Characters
Too often I read screenplay with unnecessary supporting characters. Well, how do you know if they are necessary or not? Take a listen.
Joey Tuccio, Founder/CEO of Roadmap Writers
Roadmap Writers is a screenwriting education and training platform for Career Writers looking for a guided path to success. Their programs are hosted by working industry executives and are...
Audience Manipulation
Many screenwriters don't think about how their story will impact an audience on a scene-by-scene basis. Listen to this podcast to understand how to bring your scenes to life.
Interview with Christine Conradt – Screenwriter, Producer, Director with over 70 produced screenplays
With more than 70 screenwriting credits, Christine Conradt has been writing for television for almost two decades. Her TV movies have aired on Showtime, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Hallmark,...
Interview with Chris Riley – Co-Author of “The Defining Moment – How Writers and Actors Build Characters”
Christopher Riley is a professional screenwriter who co-wrote the award-winning German language courtroom thriller “After the Truth” with his wife, Kathy Riley . The Rileys have written scripts for...
Interview with Aadip Desai Part II – TV Writer, Disney Fellowship Winner, BAFTA Breakthrough Artist, Sundance Institute Educator
This is the second part of a great conversation with Aadip Desai where he goes into detail about his experience as a Disney/ABC Writing Fellow as well as his...
Emotion Pushes Action
Developing your story from an emotional point-of-view instead of an action first ideology can really help you tell layered, nuanced stories. Listen and find out how Emotion Pushes Action...
Avoid a Weak Protagonist
Lately, I've seen a lot of screenplay ideas get pitched with weak protagonists. As a result, the odds are that the screenplay is not going to be very good...
Interview with Tim Albaugh – Screenwriter, Mentor, Teacher and Producer
Tim Albaugh is a writer/producer and a graduate of the UCLA MFA screenwriting program. Tim has taught screenwriting at UCLA, UC Irvine, Hollins University, Pixar Animation Studios, and Walt...
Interview with Aadip Desai Part I – TV Writer, Disney Fellowship Winner, BAFTA Breakthrough Artist, Sundance Institute Educator
Aadip Desai is a 2020-2021 BAFTA Breakthrough Artist, Advisor/Educator at The Sundance Institute, runs the LA TV Writers Facebook Group, is an Alum of the 2019 Disney/ABC TV Writing...
Cinematic Subtext
Subtext is an important part of storytelling. Most writers to a great job writing subtext in their dialogue but few writers write Cinematic Subtext. Listen to this podcast to...
SC-8 Bob Saenz – Screenwriter, Author, Mentor – Part 1
An amazing interview with Bob Saenz. It was so good that we are going to have to split into to podcasts with Part 2 coming soon.
Designing Scenes
How do you design scenes? What do you think about before you begin writing? Here's a quick look at how I approach writing a scene.
Interview with Hal Ackerman – Author of ‘Write Screenplays that Sell – the Ackerman Way”
Hal Ackerman is a screenwriter, published author, and playwright. He taught screenwriting at UCLA for 30 years and was the co-chair of the Screenwriting program for the last 10...
Designing Antagonists
One of the weakest elements in a novice screenwriters script is a weak antagonist. Learn how to make the antagonist represent so much more than just being the ‘bad...
How do you know how to write what you know?
I’m sure you’ve all heard that screenwriting adage – write what you know. I heard it in my very first screenwriting class but it took me years to truly...
Interview with Christopher Vogler, Author of ‘The Writer’s Journey’
Christopher Vogler is a Hollywood development executive, screenwriter, author and educator, best known for working with Disney and his screenwriting guide, ‘The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers.’ He...
Why does my story run out of steam?
In this short podcast, I answer a question that I’ve been asked 100s of times – Why does my screenplay fizzle out after 20-25 pages? I identify what is...
Interview with Screenwriter, Professor and Author David Greenberg
David is an accomplished Screenwriter of over 60 screenplays with 15 screenwriting credits on IMDb. David teaches screenwriting at Drexel University and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia....
Emotional Act Breaks
This podcast explains why your act breaks have to be emotional. There are two great benefits of writing emotional act breaks. Listen to find out what they are!