Austin Film Festival's On Story

This week on On Story we're joined by the showrunner behind The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine , Michael Schur. Michael Schur is a screenwriter, producer and character actor. He got his start writing for Saturday Night Live before becoming a producer and writer for the comedy series The Office . Schur then went on to co-create Parks and Recreation with Office producer Greg Daniels for seven sea...

This week we'll hear from David Kessler, writer & producer of the docu-drama Minamata starring Johnny Depp. David Kessler began his career as a stand-up comedian in the early 2000s before quickly deciding to focus on writing. After penning a spec script for Will & Grace , he switched over to drama, and optioned the life rights and book titled Minamata, written by Aileen Mioko  Smith and W. Eugene...

This week on On Story we're joined by The Humans writer & director Stephen Karam for a conversation on adapting a play for the big screen. Stephen Karam is a playwright, screenwriter, and director. His plays Sons of the Prophet , a comedy-drama about a Lebanese-American family, and the subject of today's episode, The Humans were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2012 and 2016, respecti...

This week on On Story we're taking a retrospective look at Donnie Darko with screenwriter Richard Kelly.  Richard Kelly is a screenwriter and director best known for writing the 2001 cult film, Donnie Darko. Known for its mind-bending themes and enigmatic ending, along with a stellar '80s soundtrack, Donnie Darko remains a cult phenomenon. Featuring a young, up-and-coming Jake Gyllenhall and explo...

This week on On Story we're joined by The Sopranos creator David Chase for a conversation on writing a hit television show. David Chase is a screenwriter, showrunner, director, and producer, best known for writing and producing the HBO drama The Sopranos . Chase has also produced and written for such shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure . He created the original series...

This week on On Story we'll join Breaking Bad creator & showrunner Vince Gilligan for a retrospective look at the 1971 cult-classic The French Connection .    Based on a true story, William Friedkin's 1971 hit The French Connection , gave audiences its first taste at what a truly realistic cop film could be. Starring Gene Hackman as detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, the film follows the story of a d...

This week on On Story we'll hear from screenwriter Craig Borten on writing the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club which starred Matthew McConaughey. Borten is best known for his Oscar-nominated script for the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club .    After hearing about Ron Woodroof, the original founder of the "Dallas Buyers Club" for the distribution of unapproved HIV medications, in the early 1990s, and inte...

This week on On Story we'll hear from screenwriter April Shih who has worked on shows like Dave , You're The Worst , and This is America and Tripper Clancy who wrote the script for 2019's Stuber , and has worked on Netflix's I Am Not Okay With This .   April Shih is a screenwriter and producer, known for You're the Worst , Mrs. America ,starring Cate Blanchett and most recently served as supervisi...

This week on On Story we're taking a look back at the 1972 cult classic, Greaser's Palace with Legendary filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson & Jonathan Demme.   In 1972, following a succession of truly unruly underground films, including 1968's Putney Swope, Robert Downey Sr. gave the world a new take on the holy story of Jesus Christ in the form of the acid-western Greaser's Palace . Featuring a bril...

This week on On Story we'll join queens of comedy Katie Dippold, Liz Meriwether, & Paula Pell for a conversation all about writing for laughs.   Actress, comedian, and screenwriter, Katie Dippold, wrote for NBC's hit comedy series Park and Recreation as well as the comedy films, The Heat, starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, and the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot.    Liz Meriwether is a writer,...

Hi podcast listeners, I'm Barbara Morgan and you're listening to Austin Film Festival's On Story. This week on On Story we're joined by screenwriting duo Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis discussing their journey writing films such as Five Feet Below , and the recent Netflix adaptation of the J.A. White fantasy-horror novel, Nightbooks . Mikki Daughtry is a screenwriter and young adult fiction aut...

Hello podcast listeners, I'm Barbara Morgan and you're listening to Austin Film Festival's On Story. This week on On Story we're joined by The Terror writer, Dave Kajganich discussing the elements of scare. Kajganich is a screenwriter and producer. He has written several films in the horror genre, including 2009's Blood Creek and the AMC network television series The Terror, as well as 2018's Susp...

Hi podcast listeners, I'm Barbara Morgan and you're listening to Austin Film Festival's On Story. This week on On Story the writers behind I AM LEGEND, TRUE BLOOD & THE WALKING DEAD discuss bringing the undead to life on screen.  Mark Protosevich is a screenwriter known for his work on the films Poseidon, Thor, Oldboy and most relevant to today's episode, I Am Legend .  Alexander Woo is a screenwr...

Hello podcast listeners, I'm Barbara Morgan and you're listening to Austin Film Festival's On Story. This week on On Story , horror writers Akela Cooper and Owen Egerton discuss their love for the genre, setups and payoffs, emotional scares, and inspirational moments from classic horror films.  Akela Cooper is a television writer and producer whose work includes Hell Fest , American Horror Story ;...

This week on On Story we'll join veteran screenwriters Shane Black and Ric Roman Waugh as they discuss what it takes to write and direct a big-budget blockbuster.  Considered one of the pioneer screenwriters of the action genre, Shane Black made his mark with his 1987 screenplay, Lethal Weapon . Black went on to pen the screenplays for such films as Nice Guys, Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang , an...

This week on On Story we're diving behind the pages of the 1999 classic horror film The Blair Witch Project with screenwriter Daniel Myrick & his wife and research partner Julia Myrick. Daniel Myrick is a director and screenwriter, most known for co-directing and writing the 1999 psychological horror The Blair Witch Project with Eduardo Sánchez. Considered a seminal work in low budget, filmmaking,...

This week on On Story we're joined by Academy award winning screenwriter Ron Bass. In 1989, Bass won an Academy Award for co-writing Rain Man . The iconic road trip film stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman and took home 4 Oscars – including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, in addition to Bass' award for writing. Bass' other writing credits include My Best Friend's Wedding, The Joy Luck...

Hello podcast listeners, I'm Barbara Morgan and you're listening to Austin Film Festival's On Story. This week on On Story we're taking a trip out west with Babaloo Mandel and Lowel Ganz, the screenwriting duo behind the classic American Western comedy, CITY SLICKERS . Lowell Ganz and Marc "Babaloo" Mandel are long-time screenwriting partners that began their careers writing for comedic television...

This week on On Story writing duo, David Benioff & D.B. Weiss joins Catherine Reitman & Sarah Green in conversation about the Art of Storytelling. Catherine Reitman is a screenwriter, and actress known for her roles on Black-ish and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia . Most recently, Reitman served as the creator, executive producer, writer, and star of the CBC comedy series Workin' Moms . Sarah Gr...

This week on On Story we'll hear from television writers, David Benioff & D.B. Weiss on their process of adapting the Emmy Award-winning HBO television series GAME OF THRONES. Benioff and Weiss created GAME OF THRONES, the HBO adaptation of George R.R. Martin's series of books 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. Under their supervision the series ran for 8 seasons, won 59 Emmys, and became one of HBO's most...

Hi podcast listeners, I'm Barbara Morgan and you're listening to Austin Film Festival's On Story. This week on On Story we'll hear from screenwriter and director Doug Atchison. Atchison is a writer-director best known for the 2006 film, Akeelah and the Bee which stars Keke Palmer and Laurence Fishburne. In 2000 the Atchison's script won a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting and the film later earn...

Hello podcast listeners, I'm Barbara Morgan and you're listening to Austin Film Festival's On Story. This week on On Story we'll hear from award-winning screenwriter, playwright, producer and director, Kemp Powers. Kemp Powers is a Golden Globe-award winning, playwright, producer and director. In 2020 he co-directed and wrote the Academy Award Winning Pixar animated feature, Soul. He later wrote t...

This week on On Story we'll hear from screenwriter Kelly Masterson as he takes on a journey from Script to Screen of the 2013 sci-fi action film, SNOWPIERCER, which was directed by Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho. The film follows the story of Chris Evans as Curtis Everett, one of the lower-class tail-section passengers of a train carrying the last remnants of humanity, as they rebel against the eli...

This week on On Story we'll hear from writer-director Neil Jordan who gave us the cinematic classics THE CRYING GAME, MICHAEL COLLINS, and INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE . Neil Jordan is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer whose credits include THE CRYING GAME, MICHEAL COLLINS and INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. In 1992 he won an Academy Award for best original screenplay...

This week on On Story we'll hear from three-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, producer, playwright John Logan, about his journey from writing for the stage to the screen. John Logan is a playwright, screenwriter, and television producer known for his work on Gladiator , The Aviator, and 2011's Hugo . In 1999 he wrote Any Given Sunday which was directed by Oliver Stone. His other work incl...