The Writers Hangout

Hang out with Sandy and Terry as they go through Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time! From Seventies sitcoms with expository jams to modern prestige classics with experimental scores, from 'Sanford and Son' to 'Succession,' from 'Match Game' to 'Game of Thrones.' 

Will your favorite make the list? Enjoy, and get to humming.

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

In honor of the late writer, director, and actor Adrienne Shelly, we are reposting The Writers' Hangout Episode dedicated to her story in the month she passed. This is an opportunity to get to know this talented and amazing woman whose life was cut short by a tragic event.

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

On today's show, Kevin Bacher, the winner of the 2018 Page Awards Grand Prize, is here. Kevin was a guest on The Writers Hangout last Spring, Episode 69, where we discussed his movie, THE INHABITANT, starring Dermot Mulroney and Leslie Bibb. THE INHABITANT was released last year in theaters and can be found on Amazon Prime and Hulu. 

 Besides being a screenwriter, Kevin is an EMMY-winning WGA documentary director/writer. If you have watched The Discovery Channel, you must have seen his work. In this episode, we discuss Kevin's new short story collection, DREAD: 22 Tales of Terror, which reveals the darker side of nature.

 DREAD is a collection of tales that offer horrifying reasons why thousands of people have gone missing in the wild. Kevin, an Emmy-award-winning National Geographic cinematographer, has swum with sharks, climbed the peaks of mountains, and explored the darkest of forests. In DREAD, he weaves together terrifying true stories from his real-life adventures with twisted fiction from the depths of his frightening imagination. Flip the pages to indulge in the dark side of nature— haunted forests, tree demons, monstrous snakes, and a search-and-rescue team terrorized by the ghosts of those they couldn’t save.

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

Happy Halloween!!

Hang out with Sandy, Terry, and special guest screenwriter Mark Steen as they recap "Ghost and Mr. Chicken," starring Don Knotts from "The Andy Griffith Show" fame.

 Directed by Alan Rafkin and written by James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" is about a timid typesetter who hasn't a ghost of a chance of becoming a reporter - until he decides to solve a murder mystery and ends up spending a fright-filled night in a haunted house.

 You don't need to watch the movie to enjoy the show, but we encourage you to do so since it's a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy.

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

Thanks for hanging out with us!

In this episode, Sandy and Terry discuss a Twitter thread that provides valuable insights into how signed writers found their representation—special thanks to Tyler Clair Smith, the writer on X who inspired this episode. Follow Tyler Clair Smith @tclairsmith - we certainly did!

In this episode, we discuss helpful internet programs for screenwriters. The Writers’ Hangout Podcast did not receive payment for our opinion.

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

We discuss Terry’s love of The Marx Brothers and his appreciation of improvisation.  The Marx Brothers were a famous comedy act that succeeded in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures between 1905 and 1949. The American Film Institute selected five of the Marx Brothers' fourteen feature films as among the top 100 comedy films. Critics, scholars, and fans widely regard the Marx Brothers as some of the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century. They perfected the art of improvisation during their time, making their comedy timeless and unforgettable to Terry and the world.

 Research for this episode includes:
20 Famous Movie Scenes That Were Actually Completely Improvised by Thomas Delatte for thethings.com/famous-movie-scenes-actually-completely-improvised/#jar-of-dirt-pirates-of-the-caribbean 
Wikipedia
IMDB
editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/marx-brothers/

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

Hang out with Sandy and Terry in their discussion about the 20th anniversary of School of Rock and the process of generating creative ideas when a screenwriter begins to write a movie. We find the process intriguing - from when an idea strikes the writer, often while in the shower, to how they shape it based on their life experiences.

Research for this episode included:
One Great Rock Movie Can Change the World: An Oral History of ‘School of Rock’ written by Angie Martoccio rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/school-of-rock-anniversary-oral-history-jack-black-1234822127/
How a Script for a Friend Turned into a Cross-platform Classic written by Nicole Bitette paramount.com/news/content-and-experiences/school-of-rock-oral-history
Wikipedia, and IMBD.

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

Hang out with Sandy and Terry as they discuss what is going on with the writer's strike, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and writing in winter in Vilnius. 

Research for this episode relied heavily on the NIH National Institute of Mental Health.

nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder

 Other resources: 

thealaskafrontier.com/do-you-get-paid-to-live-in-alaska/#:~:text=Since%201982%20every%20qualified%20Alaskan,it%20sustainably%20for%20the%20future.

vox.com/culture/2023/9/24/23888673/wga-strike-end-sag-aftra-contract

If you are distressed or thinking about hurting yourself, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You also can text the Crisis Text Line (HELLO to 741741) or use the Lifeline Chat on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website.

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

 Hang out with Sandy and Terry as they discuss the "big idea" - a high-concept premise that can persuade studio executives to read your script and turn it into a movie. Terry shares his opinion on the best pizza in the San Fernando Valley, while Sandy gets serious about New York bagels.

 The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Creator/Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards

Sandy and Terry hang out and discuss Sandy being sexually harassed and bullied but still pitching a Humanitas Prize-nominated idea to Disney/ABC/ RECESS with her former writing partner.

👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts. 
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment, please get in touch with us @[email protected] 
You can follow us on Twitter @pageawards.com and Facebook @pageawards