Act Two Podcast

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 

Development Hell is part of every Screenwriter’s career, great and small. In this first in an ongoing series about real-life development stories, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman kick things off with a break down of just how a writer gets caught in Development Hell, what exactly that means, and even tell a few epic stories of how some hellish development stories have produced movies we all know an...

Chances are, the Screenwriters of your favorite movies have hired a Ghostwriter to do everything from joke punch-ups to full on writing of your favorite scenes and set-pieces. Ghostwriting is one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood Screenwriting. In this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman go full investigative journalist and bring to light real stories from real working Ghostwriters in Ho...

The Walt Disney Television Writing Program is one of the most sought-after programs for up-and-coming writers because of its extremely high success rate in transitioning its program participants into working staff writers on Disney/ABC TV shows. In this interview with 2020 alums Adrian Viña and Allyson Philobos, we break down how the program works and why it's so successful. We discuss everything...

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman talk with spec master Daniel Kunka to discuss his latest script: LIFT. Kunka’s spec created a frenzy that resulted in him teaming up with Netflix, Simon Kinberg, and Matt Reeves. The Act Two Podcast loves (LOVES) specs, and it was great to have Kunka offer inspiration while sharing his insight.    Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com -- Edited by Paul Lundqu...

Fireside Chats are where hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman pose real situations from real-life working Screenwriters, and ask "What would you do?" In this chat, they discuss everything from What would you do if an exec fell asleep in your pitch to How would you gracefully fire your manager?   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com -- Edited by Paul Lundquist -- Music by 414beg 

"That writer has a great voice," is a comment often uttered by producers and reps when talking about writers they love. And it's what buyers and producers look for in hiring the best writer for the job. Using examples from masters of voice in the industry (JJ Abrams, Shane Black, Mike Flanagan, and others), hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down what the hell "voice" even means, why your voic...

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman watch the 4-hour Snyder Cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE and both rant and rave about it, while also bringing it back to writing -- How do you write good mythology, and what are some of the pitfalls to avoid if you are creating your own mythology in a script?   Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com -- Edited by Paul Lundquist -- Music by 414beg 

Screenwriting is an isolating career by its very nature, but in Act Two, we believe that it doesn't have to be. If we support one another, we are all supported. For that reason, Act Two has partnered with Coverfly to connect up-and-coming writers with professional Screenwriters in the Act Two community for a 6-month career & industry mentorship program where new Mentees will be chosen every month...

TED LASSO deserves all the awards (all the things!), so say hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman. In this Breakdown episode, they break down how writers Jason Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence introduced the now iconic characters in the Pilot of their hit show on Apple TV, how they created "villains" in a feel-good dramedy, and how they flip expectations to keep you leaning in. *SPOILERS AHEAD* (but also, yo...

Being a professional Screenwriter doesn't mean you're just good at writing scripts. You must become a master/mistress of a slew of other document types, from Format Documents to Scriptments and Bibles, all of which have different definitions depending on who you ask. In this practical-use episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman wade through the minefield and break down the definitive WGA definit...

It's a big month in the news for co-host Tasha Huo, who has been hired to create and executive produce the animated series TOMB RAIDER for Netflix, and to adapt the comic RED SONJA for Millennium. So in this episode, Josh Hallman forces Tasha to finally talk about herself and discuss the process behind getting both those jobs, and what comes next.   Questions/comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com - th...

In this Fireside Chat, join hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman in discussing three real-life stories from Screenwriters this week -- A new writer who has sent loglines to a studio executive and hasn't heard back, a mid-level writer who is struggling with endless free rewrites, and an advanced writer who failed to deliver a solid draft and left his producer in a bind.    Questions/comments: ActTwoWri...