Writers, we are so happy to have Emmy-winning writer/director/ playwright and major league baseball announcer KEN LEVINE hangs out with us.   Ken’s credits include M*A*S*H, WINGS, CHEERS, FRASIER, and ALMOST PERFECT, which he created with his writing partner, DAVID ISAACS. He voiced Dan Hoard in THE SIMPSONS as well as co-wrote the episode.  Ken has directed over 60 TV episodes, co-wrote the Tom Hanks movie VOLUNTEERS, and has a popular podcast called Hollywood and Levine.

Ken shares excellent tips on how to get your spec to the top of the pile, a gem of an idea on the way to make sure your writing sample stands out, and the best crew gift he ever got.

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Spooky Season continues with Sandy and Terry as they discuss the life and gruesome death of Al Adamson, a horror film director and writer. Al worked on the fringes of Hollywood during the golden age of drive-ins and grindhouse films. Al died in 1995 in a manner so dreadful it could have been a scene from one of his movies.

The 2019 documentary discussed in the episode:
BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON
vudu.com/content/movies/details/Blood-Flesh-The-Reel-Life-Ghastly-Death-of-Al-Adamson/1325672

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PAGE Awards’ Judge Nate Adams hangs out with us!!!

Nate is an award-winning writer, Director, and Producer with over 20 years of experience in entertainment. His career started as an actor but quickly transitioned to screenwriter, where Nate was re-writing and polishing scripts for some of the biggest producers in Hollywood. In 2006, Nate started directing and producing, and he hasn't looked back.

Nate shares his experience of killing his screenplay, from getting made to buying props at Home Depot to get the perfect shot.

We also put Nate through the paces with a pop quiz entitled YOU PRODUCED THE MOVIE BUT DO YOU KNOW THE MOVIE!

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Sandy and Terry discuss Poltergeist, one of America's most beloved horror films. 

Released by MGM on June 4th, 1982, and written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor, POLTERGEIST is rumored to be cursed for using real human skeletons during a pivotal scene. The curse is blamed for three lives lost in brutal and devastating ways. 

POLTERGEIST just might be the most cursed film in Hollywood history.   

We'll also be talking to writer and actor Michael McManus who played Ben Tuthill in POLTERGEIST, the neighbor next door, and get the real story of what happened.  

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Sandy and Terry discuss screenwriter Robert Riskin who spent most of his career working with legendary director Frank Capra. Over the years, Capra's name has overshadowed Riskin's enormous contribution to their collaborative work. And in the end, one of these men didn't show up at the other's funeral.  

Robert Riskin was like a character from one of his films, a self-made man who didn't graduate from a prestigious college. He didn't go to college at all. 

Join us as we put Robert Riskin into the spotlight where he belongs.  

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On the next episode of The Writers' Hangout, we discuss the ending of CHINATOWN, written by Robert Town. You don't have to watch CHINATOWN to listen and enjoy the episode, but we thought we'd give you a heads-up just in case you'd like to watch it.  

Gotta get off, gonna get
Have to get off from this ride
Gotta get hold, gonna get
Need to get hold of my pride

When did I get, where did I
How was I caught in this game
When will I know, where will I
How will I think of my name

Roberta Flack/20th Century Fox Records/Johnny Williams · Barbara Parkins · Dory Previn

Hang out with Sandy and Terry as they chat about Valley of the Dolls, one of the best-selling books in publishing history written by Jacqueline Susann.  VALLEY OF THE DOLLS chronicles the rise and fall of three young women in show business. Written by three very different writers, Harlan Ellison, Helen Deutsch and Dorothy Kingsley, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS will always have a place in the history of Hollywood.

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The hardest thing for new writers, and many seasoned pros, is to sit down and start writing your screenplay. Sure, you’ve been contemplating and telling everyone who will listen what a great idea you have for a script for months but haven’t written anything down. 

 Then, you see a movie trailer that looks exactly like the movie you have in your head, and you want to curl up in a ball and punch yourself in the face. 

Writers, in this episode, Sandy and Terry focus on “how to begin” with tips by Dean Orion. He wrote the book Live To Write Another Day, A Survival Guide for Screenwriters and Creative Storytellers.  You can find Dean's book on Amazon. 

 We pick a card from the Woracle Deck, created by writers for writers; the Woracle Cards are an essential tool to help writers generate ideas for new or existing stories. The purpose of the cards is to inspire and rejuvenate the creative juices to get the words flowing back on the page.

Hello Writers, come hang out with Sandy and Terry as they talk about Ted Bergman, a 40-year veteran comedy writer with a long list of credits, including THE MUSTERS, HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, ALL IN THE FAMILY, SANFORD AND SON, WHAT'S HAPPENING, GIMME A BREAK, and THE GARY SHANDLING SHOW. Find out how Ted's Auntie Lee started his long writing career with a favor. Plus, we take you behind the scenes for a week at comedy legend Redd Fox's hit show SANFORD AND SON.  

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