Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast

Coming off of an enormously successful eight-season run on ABC, Black-ish follows Andre 'Dre' Johnson (Anthony Anderson) as he tries to create a sense of cultural identity for the members of his family while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood. Showrunner Courtney Lilly discusses the expectations of being a showrunner: "Your job when you're running a show is essentially accountability; that's it. Whether it's the story, whether it's the budget, whether it's casting, the buck needs to stop with you. And you say, 'Here's what we're doing, this is why you're paying me this money. This is my job, and this is how I know how to do it.'" Courtney goes on to discuss his hope for similar shows to be made in the future and the impact the series has had on the world of television: “People have a lot going on, and they want to laugh, they want to get to know characters, and my hope is that… there’ll be a moment where everybody will recognize that [Black-ish is] actually just traditional in the way that people want to watch television, and we'll see more stuff like what we’re doing now.”   Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!  

Inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter's unprecedented "texting-suicide" case, The Girl from Plainville starring Elle Fanning is a Hulu miniseries that explores Carter's relationship with Conrad Roy III and the events that led to his death. Show creator Liz Hannah (The Post, Mindhunter) talks about tackling the true crime case: "I think the reaction from the media, the reaction from the general public towards Michelle and towards the case was very vitriolic, very much making her the villain... I'm very interested in the gray area of people and morality and ethics... as you start to peel away the layers, you realize just how little was talked about of what actually happened in this case, and what actually happened between these two people and the sort of mutual toxicity between the two of them." Liz goes on to talk about how to handle the pressures of writing: "I think I would say just don't take things too seriously, and that doesn't mean that you shouldn't take it seriously.... I take my job very seriously. I feel incredibly fortunate and incredibly lucky to have this job and to be able to tell the stories that I've gotten to tell, and hopefully will continue to tell. I think earlier in my career, everything felt like the beginning or end of the world, and that's just not a good way to be creative at all."

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!   

Based on the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria that resulted in her husband, Russ' conviction, though he insisted he did not kill her. This brutal crime set off a chain of events that would expose a diabolical scheme deeply involving Pam Hupp, played by Renée Zellweger. Creator/Showrunner Jenny Klein talked to Write On about bringing this true crime story to life: "We had a heavy research phase, and talked to as many of the real-life people as possible. And of course, this is a dramatic retelling, and some elements were fictionalized like timelines or composite characters. But we really did need to understand the facts to the best of our ability." Jenny goes on to talk about her writing process: "Writing is rewriting. I feel like when you're starting out as a writer, I would love my first draft, and it's like, no, that's not the thing. It's going to go through so many phases and just try to find the joy in the rewrite the same way you did with the first draft. Now I love rewriting, and I can't wait to get notes and hear what other people read into it and do the next pass."

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!   

King Richard tells the story of how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard Williams, played by Will Smith. Academy Award® nominated screenwriter Zach Baylin talked to Write On about getting the depiction of Richard Williams right for this biopic: "Richard was just such a dynamic guy. It was what you look for in any kind of protagonist. [He had] had a very distinct voice… really driven, had very clear goals that he wanted to achieve. But he could be incredibly self-defeating and self-sabotaging, and he could get in his own way and in other people's way... that just felt like such a compelling character to me." Zach goes on to talk about getting his start as a screenwriter later in life: "I didn't sell scripts until I was 34… when I was writing from the time I got out of college to when I moved to New York and started working in film production solely with the purpose of getting a job as a writer. But I didn't really meet a ton of other writers, and I did it very in isolation. I would say that was a big mistake. I don't know if I was being too private about the fact that I wanted to do it, or that I felt I wasn't ready to show people, but I realize now that just having that network around you of other people who are doing it, who can give you feedback and also give you encouragement -- the whole networking aspect of it is so frustrating, but it's so necessary."

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!   

Winner of the Robert Altman Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, Mass is the story of the aftermath of a violent tragedy that affects the lives of two couples in different ways. Writer-Director Fran Kranz talks to Write On about his inspiration for the film: "It was the day of the Parkland shooting, where I got so overwhelmed. You know, this sounds like a strange thing to say, but there was a kind of timing to it, sort of a perfect timing of a vulnerability where I was just kind of a freaked out dad... feeling anxieties and concerns and fears that I had never felt before… and worried about the kind of country and things that she [my daughter] was going to growing up into. So I went down kind of a rabbit hole that started just mostly because I was sort of this concerned parent." Fran goes on to talk about his writing process, or lack of one: "I don't really have a process yet, necessarily. I wish I could just like go to a Starbucks and write. I have to, like, disappear, like I have to really go deep and I try to get up before dawn, like before the sun is up so that I'm ready to go... I need as much on my side as possible to get these emotions going."

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!   

Nominated for three Academy Awards®, Flee tells the extraordinary true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time. Filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen talks to Write On about the process behind making the documentary/animated feature: “It is about finding out when we go into the memories, which ones do you really want to see. Which one of those are kind of scenic? And when is it more about the emotion? It's really about trying to show as much as you can instead of just telling it.”   Jonas goes on to give advice to not only other creatives but also himself: “I would definitely say that I should trust my voice more. Not try to look too much at what other people do, but really trust what I have inside. And then just to surround yourself with people that could challenge you in a good way.”   Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!   

Promised Land is an epic, generation-spanning ABC drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California's Sonoma Valley. Showrunner and creator Matt Lopez tells Write On: “The show… tackles immigration, assimilation, what it means to chase the American dream, what it means to achieve the American dream, and the costs that are sometimes extracted from us when we try and achieve it or maintain it.”   Matt goes on to talk about how a writer’s room works and gives advice to up-and-coming TV scribes: “I would say the most frequent advice I give to writers is... if you haven't already developed a thick skin, develop one. The barriers to entry in screenwriting, television writing - they're extremely high, and it can be hard to bust in. But if you keep working and keep at it, I do believe eventually your talent will get recognized.”   Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!   

When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, a wild card CIA agent joins forces with three international agents on a lethal mission to retrieve it, while staying a step ahead of a mysterious woman who's tracking their every move in this action thriller directed by Simon Kinberg. Co-Writer Theresa talks about transitioning from playwriting to screenwriting: "I think you really have to have tremendous respect for the form of a screenplay. It's different from theatre in that… language needs to do less. One of the things you have to figure out is how to deliver character and movement of emotion in gesture."   Theresa goes on to discuss what it’s been like for her working as a female writer: "I started at a different time where, as challenging as it can be to be a woman in this industry, it was considerably worse. You felt, a lot of times, that you didn't have any options, you just had to put up with it, and it was extraordinarily painful and spiritually challenging, and I feel like the consequences of that stay with you longer than you think they will."   Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!   

Cyrano is a musical drama starring Peter Dinklage based on screenwriter Erica Schmidt’s stage play of the same name. Erica talks to Write On about transitioning from writing for the theater to screenwriting: "It was challenging because I didn't know the form, and I had to really learn the form. It was really exciting as well; I love movies, I've always loved movies, and I never would have started out with something so big so it was kind of a great way to jump off the board and into the pool."   Erica goes on to talk about the involvement of the band The National in contributing music for the project: "I listened to [The National's] music over and over again as I was writing the play, and that kind of necessitated making the language less and less to allow the music to be the heartbeat of the piece, but then when it was going to be a screenplay, I had a lot more freedom."   Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!   

Directed by Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan, A Journal for Jordan is based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, a soldier deployed to Iraq who begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Screenwriter Virgil Williams tells Write On: "It's really quite a remarkable love story… I used to say to Denzel [Washington], 'Look at us. We're doing all this work, all because these people loved each other.' That's astounding to me.”   Virgil goes on to give advice on forging a screenwriting career: "Work on your craft all the time. Make it part of what you are, and it doesn't mean that you're sitting at the keyboard all the time; the better part of writing is listening - listening to the way that people talk…  listening to your director, listening to your instinct, listening to your story because your story will tell you what it needs and wants."   Don’t forget to subscribe to the Write On Podcast on iTunes!   Now available on Google Podcasts!