Act Two Podcast

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman chat with Zach Baylin about his career, process, tennis, different Hollywood jobs, and how he secured the job to write KING RICHARD. 

Questions/Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the great Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

Tasha's getting married! So this week, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman talk about love in the movies. What are their favorite romantic films, and why they make the cut from a writing perspective? Let's talk about love!

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

Pitching is terrible. But, it is a necessary evil. All pitches start from the mere seed of an idea and must be built into a pitch script that can dazzle and impress executives enough to pay you money (or, more likely, pay you their boss's money, risking their own jobs if you fail). 

So, in this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman do an impromptu brainstorming session on a surprise logline to illustrate how they build a pitch off of a small one-sentence idea.

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman bring back the Fireside Chat by answering specific questions from a college student on ways to break into the industry, and from a listener on the differences between a pitch for a rewrite job and an original. 

TWIW: Is Jurassic World: Dominion over-complicated?, how feature writers are treated poorly, and does the movie True Lies' convenient plot device work or feel campy?

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman go through their own Three Act exposure therapy adventure as they talk through a popular structure tool for Screenwriters - The 8 Sequence Story Structure - that at once excites them, aggravates them, then inspires them.

Script Structure is something all Screenwriters have to learn and think about to have successful careers. In TV, structure is often as precise as knowing when your turning points are going to be down to the minute. In features, knowing what page number your story takes new turns is key to crafting your script as well as producing it. So it's no wonder Structure is a hot topic. One that Tasha and Josh clearly have mixed feelings about...

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

This Week in Writing, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the Emmys, what makes a script unique, Don't Worry Darling, how Tasha broke through a new original spec, and how to juggle multiple projects for a more successful career.

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

In This Week in Writing, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss Only Murders in the Building and why episode hooks are important, the ending of Nope and how/if it works, one of Josh's projects that has come back years later, and how Minority Report is a master class in world-building exposition.

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

"Working hard" as a professional Screenwriter means more than just writing. It also means building your network and promoting your brand. But the way we Self-Advocate as writers is different than in many other businesses. In this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss what Self-Advocating means as a Screenwriter, and how to do it at any stage of your career.

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

From Jealousy and Self-Loathing to Depression and Spite, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss all the unhealthy writer thoughts that come up in their own heads and in their conversations with other writers, why they come up, and how to deal with them in a healthy way. 

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down the Meet Cute device used in some of their favorite romantic comedies and discuss how the writing makes you root for the heroes and their romance.

Questions / Comments: [email protected]

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Music by 414beg