Act Two Podcast

If you are a working Screenwriter, you will receive Submissions from Producers as a regular part of your job. Screenwriters Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss how to handle those submissions, what producers are expecting of you when they submit to you, and how to succeed in the submission game.   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman chime in on some of the most hotly-debated topics on Screenwriting Twitter going on right now.   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman surprise each other with popular Film prompts that they have to, on the spot, pitch as a TV show. It's an exercise in how to think about adaptation, about the difference between TV and Film, and how to jumpstart the idea process when thinking about your own original TV ideas. How would YOU adapt your favorite movie as a TV show?   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@...

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss where they get their ideas and inspiration from, what tricks they use in Act Two, and how to start asking more questions about your world to get the brain juices flowing.   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg

To write for free or not to write for free, that is the oft-asked Screenwriter’s question. So, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss situations in their own careers when they’ve been asked to do free work, what that looked like and why they did it. They also discuss the various ways free work can come up for Screenwriters, and debate whether writers should or should not engage.   Questions/Comm...

Austin Film Festival 2021 runs from October 21 - 28, so host Tasha Huo chats with co-host Josh Hallman who has been to AFF twice. First in 2014, when he won the Fade to Black Award for his action-comedy I F****d James Bond and also met his Agent, and again in 2019 with his festival favorite short, Robu (now available on YouTube starring Emmy winner, Jharrel Jerome). Act Two’s resident expert on AF...

Host Josh Hallman makes co-host Tasha Huo tell the story of how she became a Showrunner on TOMB RAIDER: THE ANIMATED SERIES, what the job entails, what surprises there were, and steps writers can take to prepare for the job.   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg

Sit down with hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman as they chat about a new slew of real-life problems and complications that have come up for Screenwriters working in the industry right now, and how the Screenwriter overcame them.    Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg

Knowing how to break your ideas and scripts into Notecards can be an extremely valuable tool in your writer’s tool chest, and is key to understanding a career in TV development. In this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman get into the nitty gritty of what developing with Notecards looks like, lessons they’ve learned about the process, and how to make them useful in your own Screenwriting car...

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss a topic every screenwriter loves... your reps! Specifically, how to maintain a good relationship with your reps and what a working relationship looks like. This episode is a companion piece to a previous episode, which you can find here: How to have a good relationship with your reps.    Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist...

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman dish on their week in Screenwriting, including writing advice from an Emmy-award winning casting director, how writing a fan letter to an author could lead to a job, what happens when you get a note you don't want to address, and more!   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman hang out with September Act Two Mentor, Mr. Monty Bennett, to discuss the daily life of a staff writer in a TV room. They share stories on everything from when you're expected to file in for the day, what's the snack situation, room politics, and how to pitch a good idea.   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down and talk about their favorite thing -- action setpieces in movies. Breaking down iconic action sequences from four different films, they discuss how story structure, reversals, and character development are all key ingredients to crafting an action scene. Turns out, action is so much more than just punching someone in a really cool way.    Questions/Commen...

Part II of the Notes Commandments series, wherein hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down the best, most effective (and simultaneously, the kindest) way to GIVE notes to Screenwriters, and what Screenwriters should expect in their own notes meetings with producers and executives.   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com   Edited by Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down with Screenwriter James Stoteraux, Executive-Producer of "Batwoman", after his thread about his volatile experience at Columbia's graduate film program went viral on Twitter. We get honest with James as we all share our Film School experiences, how we feel Film School failed us, where film academia excels, and how to make the most of your program if you ar...

Some Screenwriters think Open Writing Assignments (OWAs) are a waste of time and a product of the Devil, other Screenwriters build sustainable careers off of them, and still others believe they are a unique gateway for up & coming Screenwriters to get their foot in the door. Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman walk through what OWAs are, the different types, and the Pros & Cons to engaging on them. ...

A busy week of A-list writer meltdowns, reps pushing us to be selfish jerkoids, organization coming back to haunt us, and one TV writer’s tirade against film school — Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman dish on their This Week in Writing, in the life of a professional Screenwriter. Edited by the great Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg. Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

In this Screenwriter-nerd episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman get specific about how they and other professional Screenwriters organize their files. Easy and clear organization becomes extremely important as you receive notes that could take you through years of development on the same project. A clean organization of your documents will allow you to refer back to single scenes from months a...

A busy week of new discoveries, bizarre meetings and franchise opportunities -- Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman dish on their This Week in Writing, in the life of a professional Screenwriter.   Edited by the great Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg. Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down with screenwriter and master of the adaptation Evan Spiliotopoulos (Snake Eyes, The Huntsman: Winter's War, Beauty and the Beast) to discuss how he approaches adaptation vs. an original idea, and how his latest film, the horror movie THE UNHOLY, based on the novel "Shrine" by James Herbert, was a unique adaptation experience. Evan also opens up about what...

This was the description I wrote — Writing for the small screen is not the same as writing for the big screen. They are completely different skills. In this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down with feature writer David Levinson -- who is currently writing his first TV pilot -- to discuss the growing pains between writing for Film vs. TV, how each requires a different way of thinking...

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the personal stories they consider turning points in their Screenwriting careers.    Edited by the great Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg. Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

It turns out there is a crucial moment after you pitch -- the ten-minute window when the pitch is finished. In part four of this multi-episode series hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss this moment and how it can make or break your pitch. It's important and pitching is the greatest/worst!!!    Edited by the great Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg. Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

To have a sustainable Screenwriting career, you need to know more than just how to write a brilliant screenplay. Eventually, every Screenwriter is asked to revise. But taking notes and executing them effectively is a whole other part of the brain and a different skillset than simply writing a genius spec. For that reason, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman kick off their Notes Series with the “10 CO...

In this inaugural edition of WHY MOVIES WORK, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss three recently-released movies — NOBODY, MORTAL KOMBAT and THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES — and, more specifically, why these movies work on a screenwriting level. *Do be warned — SPOILERS AHEAD*   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com -- Edited by Paul Lundquist -- Music by 414beg