John welcomes legendary screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, A Star is Born, Dune) to discuss his writing practice and how he gets in the head of his characters. We answer audience questions on how to trust your voice and approach adaptations. Finally, in our bonus segment for premium members John and Craig discuss election night […]
Directors
Casting a blind teenage actress
The hero of the film I’m planning to direct is a 15-year-old girl named Abby. She’s stubborn, resourceful and anxious. She is also blind. I’m looking for a blind actress to play this role.
We’re all starring in our our show
Structured an an Instagram-like Story, the season opener of Broad City pushed comedy grammar forward.
How Can This Possibly End Well?
Christopher McQuarrie makes a great point about action sequences: the question isn’t how it will end, but how it can possibly end well for the hero.
Professional Realism
John welcomes Derek Haas (Chicago Fire, 3:10 to Yuma, 2 Fast 2 Furious) to talk about writing accurate portrayals of different jobs, and when to sacrifice reality for storytelling. They also share their time-management strategies in honor of those New Year resolutions to get writing done.
Double Ampersand
John sits down with Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens to discuss their new film Mortal Engines, and their approach to writing as a team, worldbuilding, and rewriting through production, because one does not simply walk into Mordor. We also answer audience questions about the difference between ideas for television and movies, and working […]