The ISA Podcast

SYS episode 130

Remy Auberjonois talks about his new film, Blood Stripe.

SYS 129

Paul talks about his new action / horror script The Horde.

SYS episode 126

Podcaster and screenwriter Dave Bullis talks about networking and building a screenwriting career when you don't live in Hollywood.

The good and bad of 2016 movies at the half-way mark.

The first six months of 2016 films was a period mostly marked by event movies underwhelming. Audiences, by and large, stayed home rather than attend sequels that weren't particularly in demand to start with. Has Hollywood churned out too many franchise chapters and superhero movies that failed to take flight? And what failures of basic storytelling are at the core of these duds?

The old saying "If it's not on the page, it's not on the stage" applies to any movie, particularly those launching with hopes of having a colossal summer season. The films that have stood out so far this year have been those that are new, fresh, or at least find more unique angles on their continuing sagas. What can the industry learn from the successes of "Zootopia", "Deadpool", and "Love & Friendship"? Plenty. And so can screenwriters hoping to write scripts that resonate with audiences.

"Me Before You" serves up affecting and unabashed melodrama.

It's shocking how few romantic movies there are at the Cineplex these days, and despite critics not seeming to enjoy them much, the better ones do tend to break through with an audience. Such is the case with "Me Before You" based on the bestselling book by Jojo Moyes. She adapted this hit film for the big screen herself and her first-hand knowledge of her characters and their unusual journey together make for one very satisfying melodrama, no matter if most cynical male critics couldn't get onboard this "chick flick."

And indeed, the two romantic leads here do have a lot of substantial things working against them. Will is paralyzed from the neck down after a motorcycle accident, and Louisa is an unemployed young woman who agrees to take care of him only because she's desperate for the money. Will is cold to her, and doesn't see much point in living in his limited capacity. But as she starts to become his caretaker, and then friend, he warms up and even embraces life again. He comes to have great feelings for her, but is it enough? Ultimately, the true love story here is about Louisa and how she learns to embrace herself and what the future holds for her.

A powerhouse producer and showrunner for well over a decade, Natalie Chaidez has made a name for herself within the science fiction world with shows such as Heroes, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, as well as 12 Monkeys and Syfy’s, Hunters. But while we discuss what makes for great sci-fi and fantasy, the insights offered up here in terms of the business of writing, producing, and the TV industry as a whole are enough to get me very excited about where things are headed.

"We all have a disability of some kind. A handicap. A flaw, or for most of us, a series of flaws - a whole host of issues, really. We deal with them on a daily basis, whether they're literal and physical, or mental and emotional. We're imperfect. And most of the time our beliefs surrounding our issues or handicaps are even more debilitating than the actual handicap itself. So what I want to talk about here is something a bit more esoteric than what I usually cover, that being the craft of writing and the process of developing a story. That process is a relatively finite one. We have an idea, we beat it out, we outline and prepare, and then we write it as a story. There are steps to that process. There is a beginning, middle, and an end to the process itself, just as there is to the story you're telling.

But in life, and in this endeavor of developing yourself, it's much more difficult to notice the beginning, middle and end. It's not easy to break down your life to a process because life isn't lived in a straight line, even though it may seem that way at times. We go from year zero to life's end. Sure, you could argue that that is technically a straight line that takes you from point A to point Z, but we all know how much of a zig zag life really is, and we all know that each step of the way can lead us toward entirely different directions. While I could quite easily compare life to the writing process, I'm trying to steer clear of that metaphor here - I've touched upon that metaphor in past podcast episodes, and I've mentioned it in the online class I manage. What I want to focus on instead is perspective, and though I talked about perspective in my podcast episode all about Voice and developing your personal story and writing perspective, let's just drop the metaphors entirely. Let's just drop all of it, at least for a few minutes, because I need to be candid here with you all."

Being a Chicago native myself, I loved bringing on writer and producer, Michael Brandt. He's not only delivering quality stories that all take place in the Chicago area, but he's bringing a boon to the production industry in Chicago, and that isn't an exaggeration. He has recently developed and created the shows, Chicago PD, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and the upcoming Chicago Justice. We jumped into this interview with a look back on how Michael got his start in the industry, and as we review in out talk, it's a testament to talent meeting a little bit of luck. And like Michael says with his advice at the end of the interview, luck can get you your first job, but talent will create longevity in your career.

My favorite part of this interview was Michael's remark about how challenging this industry really is, and how some comments about how difficult it can all be can seem negative. It really isn't. There is a big difference between offering critical or negative advice, and simply being real. We all chose to work in this profession, and no one is forcing us to do it. So we all need to consistently remind ourselves that it's all about keeping and holding on to the love of the process, otherwise it will just seem too hard.

Being first in line of a bunch of new interviews focused around the world of television, I recently brought on long-time TV director and producer, Matthew Penn. From NYPD Blue, Law & Order, House and so many more, Matthew has recently directed episodes of Orange is the New Black, Damages, and he is the Co Executive Producer of the upcoming USA drama, Queen of the South, which from the sounds of it, will be an intricate character driven story and likely a hit among audiences.

We pulled back the curtain on so many topics in this interview, but his advice for young writers...and what he's learned from working with legends like Glenn Close, and his multiple Oscar nominee father, (Arthur Penn of Bonnie & Clyde, and The Miracle Worker), the knowledge that can be gleaned from this podcast is, dare I say, priceless.

Michael Hauge is a long-time story and script consultant, having consulted and worked with writers and filmmakers in Hollywood for over 30 years. But he's also one of my favorite people. So intelligent, and so articulate, he's the consummate coach, and if writers ask me who I can recommend when they ask about the consultants in the industry, I usually offer up Michael's name and services. There are so many consultants in town, and each of them have their own level of expertise.

Michael Hauge is an expert on story - whether it's TV or film, he's quite literally one of the best. And like our recent June Masters Series workshop we had with Jen Grisanti, we are hosting another one with Michael as our guest consultant. He will be presenting an all-day workshop here in Los Angeles specifically titled, "Uniting Story Structure and Character Arc". In this podcast that you're about to listen to, we go through the elements of what will be discussed in his upcoming workshop, but also dive deep into how plot and character intermingle and help create one of the most important aspects of a screenplay - emotion on screen.