On The Page

By Pilar Alessandra

What's On The Page about?

ON THE PAGE: Join professional script consultant Pilar Alessandra as she demystifies screenwriting and answers your questions about script craft and story.

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On The Page episodes:

04.19.2024
878. Making It
Writers Chris Lawing and Alex Grossman have independently made the movies they’ve written and prepare to makes more! Here they talk about how they’ve pulled it off and what they’ve learned along the way.
04.12.2024
877. Scene Direction Contest 2024
Actor Joel Stoffer (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Stranger Things) stage-reads scene direction submissions from listeners as they showcase their writing skills! Who will win?
04.05.2024
876. Telling His Story
Writer/producer Tracy Grant (Lincoln Heights, Lace) tells a personal story filled with highs and lows that led to a number of writing lessons and his confirmation that "you only need one yes."
03.30.2024
875. Announcement: 2024 Scene Direction Contest
Did you write a prize-worthy piece of scene direction? Enter it in the On the Page Scene Direction Contest! Pilar explains the rules and gives the deadline.
03.29.2024
874. Keeping Creative
A catch up with writer/comedian Laura House as she talks about the lean years and the ripe years, including running a British show in the middle of Covid and learning to feel “the right amount of proud” about her accomplishments.
03.22.2024
873. Science and Scirens
Science through entertainment. Entertainment inspiring science. Filmmakers Tamara Krinsky and Taryn O’Neill co-founded Scirens to explore all of the possibilities.
03.15.2024
872. And The Nicholl Goes To …
Writer Jimmy Miller reflects on a script that changed as he changed, ultimately leading to his current Nicholl Fellowship win.
03.08.2024
871. Writing Tips, Wrestling and Al Pacino
We’re covering it all in this one: Six writing tips from Pilar’s list, some talk of movies that got overlooked at the Oscars and a discussion of writer Sam Benjamin’s new wrestling short film, Screwjob.
03.01.2024
870. Oscar Talk 2024
Pilar and her friends Brian Pope, Mike Musa and Alex Troxler get together for their annual discussion about the best screenplay and best adapted screenplay Oscar nominees.
02.23.2024
869. Writer Upgraded
Writer/Producer Christine Lenig worked hard and took notes for twelve years before her rom-com Upgraded was finally produced with Camila Mendes, Marisa Tomei and Lena Olin. Now it’s #1 on Amazon!
02.16.2024
868. Write Like a Poet
Writer/Scholar David Noller discusses his book Master Poetry Forms and talks about the ways that screenwriting and poetry are similar in terms of structure, form and craft.
02.09.2024
867. Advice From The Experts
Writer Andrew Zinnes provides nuggets from his new book, Screenwriters Advice, a “how to” as told through the interviews of successful writers of film and TV.
02.02.2024
866. Hidden Treasures
Spotlight on Robert Wooldridge and Kimberly Dilts, two talented On the Page writers with excellent material, ready for their big break!
01.26.2024
865. Multimedia Storytelling
Writer Allison McGevna talks about how the tools and narrative style she uses in her job as a multimedia storyteller and media executive help her as a screenwriter. Please note: This episode was originally recorded on January 20, 2024 before the recent...
01.19.2024
864: "None of That Boring Love”
Today’s glut of rom-coms: Why do we love them? What do they get right? What do they get wrong? Writer Elizabeth McKenzie has opinions!
01.12.2024
863. Proof of Concept
Writer/director Christy Stratton returns to the podcast to discuss her short film, The Runt (and to hear about Pilar’s horror-movie Christmas.)
01.05.2024
862. Comedy Expert
Jonterri Gadson went from "comedy nerd" to "comedy expert" when she earned fellowships with the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop and Kevin Hart’s LOL to land a show on adult swim and launch a career writing for The Upshaws, A Black Lady Sketch Show and the upcoming...
12.29.2023
861. 2023 Writing Year in Review
Career coach Lee Jessup returns to discuss the industry changes and writing trends of 2023 and shares what’s ahead for the new year.
12.22.2023
860. Logline Competition 2023: Part 2
Pilar reads and gives feedback on the loglines that didn’t make the top fifteen lists for the 2023 Logline Contest.
12.22.2023
859. Logline Competition 2023
Pilar and Aadip read, evaluate and vote on feature and TV loglines sent in by listeners. Dimwitted extraterrestrials. Time-traveling teachers. Felons at birthday parties. Who will win?
12.15.2023
858. Making Things Happen
A healthy “impatience” led writer Lenore Adediran to stop waiting and make a web series. Since then she’s sold a pilot, a feature and the Christmas movie, A Christmas Serenade, produced by Harpo Films and streaming on Max.
12.08.2023
857. Building a Better Mousetrap
Portuguese Script writer Miguel Simal spent years in telenovela writers rooms learning to be as creative as possible before going on to co-write the award-winning Netflix series, Glória.
12.01.2023
856. A Christmas Movie in 70 Beats
Writer Isabel Dréan talks about her shift from thrillers to holiday movies, leading to five of her scripts being produced in an 18-month period.
11.28.2023
855. Announcement: 2023 Logline Contest
Ready to submit for the annual On the Page logline competition? Pilar explains the rules and gives the deadline.
11.24.2023
854. Writing His Way Into a New Life
As he reaches his ten year anniversary of writing, Scotty Mullen returns to share his thoughts on what he’s learned from writing low budget horror, women in peril movies, Christmas movies and so much more. Bottom line: Writing has to...
11.17.2023
853. Action and Heart
Writer/Director Lee Whittaker spent years as a stunt man, stunt coordinator and second-unit director before setting out to make a feature film on his own. Hear what he learned from his experience and desire to make a movie with a...
11.10.2023
852. Telling Their Stories
Writer/directors Dave Merlino and Dustin Sweet set out to document the stories of the men who served in the 9th Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. But what they ended up with was a documentary about the need to talk through trauma....
11.03.2023
851. Creating a Community
From providing a performance space for the UCB in New York to contributing to "Second Draft” evenings in Los Angeles, writer Ellen Ancui continually brings together groups of creatives and builds her own supportive writing community.
10.27.2023
850. Crescent Dials In
Writer Crescent Imani Novell won the Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship in 2018 and has been writing on an animated shows like Dreamworks' Fright Krewe, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Mattel's Barbie: It Takes Two. She’s got excellent advice about story, character and dialogue, with a little personal hustle thrown in.
10.20.2023
849. Horror Themes
Writer Seth M. Sherwood (Leatherface, Light as a Feather) discusses common horror themes from “screwed by the system” to “man plays God” as written about in his new book, The Scary Movie Writers Guide.
10.13.2023
848. Hammer Time
Writer Nick Smith joins Pilar and her husband Pat Francis in a discussion about Hammer Films, the production company that made Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy and much more!
10.06.2023
847. The Strike is Over!
From writers' room minimums to guaranteed second steps, career coach Lee Jessup talks about the “exceptional” gains made by the WGA as a result of the 148-day writers’ strike.
09.29.2023
846. All The Things
Writer/director Nico Casavecchia has made award-winning movies and short films with everything from VR to carbon monoxide molecules. Here he discusses his approach to telling story through unconventional mediums and ways to think of AI as a potential creative tool.
09.22.2023
845. Calling Himself A Writer
Last time writer/actor Michael-Leon Wooley was on the podcast his script Hey Wait A Minute had just gotten the attention of UTA. Two years later UTA is repping another script, Witch Please, and both have been optioned and packaged by major production companies. His ultimate...
09.15.2023
844. Climate Screenwriting
Leigh Medeiros, co-founder and co-director of the Hollywood Climate Summit’s Pitchfest for Film and TV, talks about how climate screenwriting equals good storytelling and gives “ten reasons why the time is now for screenwriters to help save the planet."
09.08.2023
843. The Augustin Empire
Daniel Augustin and Sh’Kia are actors, writers, musicians and spouses. Listen to how they learned production from music, acquired filmmaking skills from auditioning and started writing directing and starring in their own projects to keep it all alive.
09.01.2023
842. Storytelling for Docuseries and Reality
Producers Trishtan Williams and KC Chan Haimes describe the storytelling process behind their new docuseries Why Not Us: Howard Golf and discuss their approach to finding narrative and character authenticity in all of their work.
08.25.2023
841. "What Is The Truth?”
Whether it’s the factual truth for documentary or the emotional truth for her fictional narratives, writer/director Alicia Ontiveros believes in truth and fairness in her work. Here she talks about what she’s learned from her work in docs over the...
08.18.2023
840. Metamodernism
What does Once Upon a Time In Hollywood and Barbie have in common? They’re both examples of “Metamodernism." Writer M. Elizabeth Eller explains it all!
08.11.2023
839. Are You Having Fun?
Writer Marc Haimes stresses the importance of creative collaborations and the need to have fun as he returns to the podcast to talk about his latest projects, Nimona, Ultraman and Lost Ollie.
08.04.2023
838. Feeling “Luckey”
Rocky (RaKenna) Luckey talks about how she took the skills she learned from “pressure cooker" jobs in music, production and film festivals to write a spec and land a job in television!
07.28.2023
837. Telling Positive Stories About Mental Health
Dr. Laura Erickson–Schroth, psychiatrist, writer and activist, discusses positive and negative portrayals of mental health issues in film and television.
07.21.2023
836. Zack Facts
Managers versus agents, packaging deals versus spec sales. Zack Zucker from Bellevue Management breaks it all down for us.
07.14.2023
835. Creating Together
Proving that a couple who creates together stays together, writer Elizabeth Musgrave and artist Frank Forte talk about their adventures turning features into plays, plays into short films and scripts into comic books.
07.07.2023
834. Independence Day
Pilar helps you “declare your independence” from a conventional screenwriting school of thought on outlining, branding, daily writing and more!
06.30.2023
833. Bringing a Trans-perspective to Storytelling
Actor/writer Scott Turner Schofield, Executive Producer of They/Them and consultant for Euphoria, talks about his work bringing complex and authentic stories of trans-characters to script and screen.
06.23.2023
832. Call to Action
Jon Fitzgerald, co-founder of Slamdance and author of Filmmaking for Change talks about ways to get attention at film festivals, the importance of a call to action in movies with a message and how his latest venture, Cause Cinema, highlights content with social impact.
06.16.2023
831. True to His Film School
Writer Bill True, Department Chair at the Scottsdale School of Film and Theater, talks about the specific factors that helped propel a community college in Arizona to Variety’s list of "Top Film Schools in North America.”
06.09.2023
830. The Great Tony McNamara
Bafta-winning, Academy Award-nominated writer Tony McNamara, (The Favourite, The Great, Cruella), talks about his approach to telling story and creating period pieces with a contemporary stamp.
06.02.2023
829. Learning on the Job
Jennifer Cram’s experience in casting helped her say “yes” to directing her first feature. Jen talks about the years-long journey of her soon-to-be-released feature film, Sick Girl, why it’s fun to write about unlikeable characters and how she’s learned to be...

What's On The Page about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

On The Page episodes:

878. Making It

877. Scene Direction Contest 2024

876. Telling His Story

875. Announcement: 2024 Scene Direction Contest

874. Keeping Creative

873. Science and Scirens

872. And The Nicholl Goes To …

871. Writing Tips, Wrestling and Al Pacino

870. Oscar Talk 2024

869. Writer Upgraded

868. Write Like a Poet

867. Advice From The Experts

866. Hidden Treasures

865. Multimedia Storytelling

864: "None of That Boring Love”

863. Proof of Concept

862. Comedy Expert

861. 2023 Writing Year in Review

860. Logline Competition 2023: Part 2

859. Logline Competition 2023

858. Making Things Happen

857. Building a Better Mousetrap

856. A Christmas Movie in 70 Beats

855. Announcement: 2023 Logline Contest

854. Writing His Way Into a New Life

853. Action and Heart

852. Telling Their Stories

851. Creating a Community

850. Crescent Dials In

849. Horror Themes

848. Hammer Time

847. The Strike is Over!

846. All The Things

845. Calling Himself A Writer

844. Climate Screenwriting

843. The Augustin Empire

842. Storytelling for Docuseries and Reality

841. "What Is The Truth?”

840. Metamodernism

839. Are You Having Fun?

838. Feeling “Luckey”

837. Telling Positive Stories About Mental Health

836. Zack Facts

835. Creating Together

834. Independence Day

833. Bringing a Trans-perspective to Storytelling

832. Call to Action

831. True to His Film School

830. The Great Tony McNamara

829. Learning on the Job