The ScreenCraft Podcast

What do TV and studio execs want from you as a writer? Last week we brought you a panel from Scriptfest and we’ve got another one this week that will hopefully help to answer that question for you. Learn how to find financing for your film, and the elements you need for your film to move from script to screen. With Cameron Larson, Ben Fast, Rob Margolies, Jessica Pavao and Franco Sama.

Four amazing women writers reveal their paths to professional staffing on some of the hottest show on TV today. Tye Lombardi (Z Nation), Sue Chung (Gotham, Agent Carter), LaToya Morgan (Turn), and DeLondra Williams (Night of the Wild) give their unique perspectives on navigating the writer’s room, pursuing the projects of their dreams and the tools you need to get staffed.

Zach Gutin is an entertainment technology consultant and the former VP of Sales at Final Draft Inc. We had a chance to sit down and talk with him recently at Scriptfest in Burbank, Calif.

Gunnar Todd Rohrbacher is the co-founder of the Actor's Comedy Studio. Have you ever wondered why something is funny or maybe more importantly why something is not funny? Or if you’re me, Why does no one laugh at my jokes? Or the very sad why are they laughing at me when I’m not telling jokes. My guest this week is going to help answer these questions and maybe unlock the mysteries of comedy for us. Gunnar Todd Rohrbacher is an actor and writer and a scripted comedy coach, he’s a director and producer, and also the co-founder of the Actor’s Comedy Studio in Los Angeles, but don’t let the name fool you — if you’re a writer they have a whole spate of fantastic writing classes and trust me, these guys really, really know their stuff when it comes to comedy. Gunnar has taught at Disney, he was a character consultant on film like Meet the Robinsons and and Bolt. He’s also written for Dreamworks and Comedy Central among other things.

Daniela Garcia-Brcek is a literary manager at Circle of Confusion, one of the top management and production companies in Hollywood. We talk about what she looks for in new clients, how she finds those new clients and the one thing that drives her crazy in the scripts she reads. Follow Daniela on Twitter at @danielgarbrcek and visit Circle of Confusion at circleofconfusion.com.

How do you write a great spec or a pilot? How do you find your voice and create distinctive characters? And then once you’ve got a great script, what do you to do make your work work for you? Panelists Jeb Stuart, Frederick Mensch, Jacob Krueger and moderator  Max Timm (International Screenwriter's Association) cover tips from honing your craft and showcasing your voice to submitting your script to competitions and fellowships in this panel from the Nashville Writer's Conference.

Panelists Daniela Garcia-Brcek (Manager, Circle of Confusion), Adrian Garcia (Agent, Paradigm Talent Agency) and Keya Khayatian (Agent, United Talent Agency).

Last week ScreenCraft hosted its first ever conference for writers in Nashville in conjunction with the amazing Nashville Film Festival It was a weekend of panels, parties and networking with some of Hollywood’s top screenwriters, agents and producers. If you were there then you know how awesome it was. If you couldn’t make well, we’ve got you covered a little bit here. For this week’s show, we’re going play a recording of one of the conference’s most popular panels, the representation panel. We know so many of you have questions about representation: what’s a manager do? Do I need one? How do I get an agent? When should I start looking for these people? 

SEE ALL SCREENCRAFT PODCAST EPISODES HERE!

This week, our guest is really into big big monsters — we're talking about Godzilla, King Kong and the writer who’s bringing them back to the big screen: Max Borenstein. We talk with Max about what it’s like to adapt such great source material into something unique and fresh and that can justify it’s own existence apart from its previous incarnations and also, we might learn a little bit about being zen in the face of a roller coaster like industry.

Phil Hay is one-half of the screenwriting duo behind films like Aeon Flux, Clash of the Titans, R.I.P.D, Ride Along and Ride Along 2. In the very first Screencraft podcast, we talk with Phil about how important relationships are to your career and how to go about building those relationships if your uncle isn’t a famous producer or you haven’t been born into Hollywood royalty.

You can find Phil on Twitter at @phillycarly and his writing partner Matt Manfredi at @MattRManfredi.