Bulletproof Screenwriting™ Podcast

The wait is over! This is what I've been working on for months. May I introduce you to IFHTV (Indie Film Hustle TV), the world's first streaming service dedicated to filmmakers, screenwriters, creatives and content creators. I wanted to create a place where film creatives and storytellers could be informed and inspired, no matter where you lived in the world. When I was younger I would hunt for an...

Today on the show we have Lucy V. Hay from Bang2Write. Lucy is an author and script editor, living in Devon with her husband, three children, and six cats. Lucy is the associate producer of Brit Thrillers Deviation (2012) and Assassin (2015) both starring Danny Dyer. In addition to script reading and writing her own novels, Lucy also blogs about the writing process, screenwriting, genre, careers a...

Have you ever really wanted to know what goes on behind the scenes at Hollywood's major production companies and studios? How do new screenplays get read, approved and pass on by the script reader? What are the politics behind the scenes that make it almost impossible for a screenplay to make it through the Hollywood System? Today on the show we have a former development executive, current script...

Today on the show we have author/veteran script consultant Jill Chamberlain who's book The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting has taken the screenwriting world by storm.  Jill Chamberlain discovered in her work that an astounding 99 percent of first-time screenwriters don't know how to tell a story. What the 99 percent do instead is present a situation. In order to ex...

Today episode is a CROSSOVER between the IFH Podcast and the Bulletproof Screenplay Podcast. I do this every 6-8 weeks when I find a guest that would be great on both podcasts. On this episode, we have Michael Tucker from Lessons from the Screenplay. LFTS is a YouTube channel that analyzes movie scripts to examine exactly how and why they are so good at telling their stories. I've become a HUGE fa...

Today on the show we have Hollywood Story/Career Consultant and former Studio Executive Jen Grisanti. Grisanti is also a Writing Instructor for Writers on the Verge at NBC, a former studio executive, a blogger for The Huffington Post and author of Story Line: Finding Gold In Your Life Story, TV Writing Tool Kit: How To Write a Script That Sells, and her recent book, Change Your Story, Change Your...

This week we have a returning guest, screenwriting guru Michael Hauge. On this episode, he discussed The Six Stages of Character Development. A very eye-opening episode. These videos on screenplay structure are from his best selling online course: Story and Screenwriting Blueprint - The Hero's Two Journeys. In more than 4½ hours of lecture, discussion and Q&A, Michael Hauge, author of Writing Scre...

For screenwriters, navigating the shark-infested waters of the Hollywood system can be a daunting task. You never know what the producer or studio is looking for. How do you pitch your story properly? So many questions. I hope today's guest can help guide you a bit through those waters. Scott Myers has been a professional Hollywood screenwriter for over 30 years. Since selling his spec script K-9...

Ever wanted to learn the dark craft of being able to pitch your story idea successfully? Stephanie Palmer has made it her life's mission to help people do just that. Stephanie Palmer is a former MGM Pictures executive and best-selling author of the book "Good in a Room: How To Sell Yourself (And Your Ideas) And Win Over Any Audience" Stephanie Palmer was the Director of Creative Affairs for MGM wh...

If you were a kid of the late 80s or early 90s then today's guest definitely had an impact on your life. Larry Wilson is the co-creator of the cult classic Beetlejuice (directed by Tim Burton), writer of Addams Family and worked on the legendary television show Tales from the Crypt. Larry Wilson was also a screenwriting teacher at UCLA, arguably one of the best screenwriting programs in the world....

Today's guest cracked open a door to a part of the industry I had no idea about, television. Matthew Doyle is a television lit agent at the Verve Talent and Literary Agency.  He's an up and comer in the industry and definitely a hustler. My co-host Sebastian Twardos and I wanted to get an "in the trenches" perceptive on the television market and Matthew delivered. He tells a great story on how he...

Have you ever wanted to learn how to write a screenplay fast? I know I do. This is why I invited on the show award-winning producer/director, best-selling author, film festival organizer and public speaker, Jeff Bollow. He is the author of Writing FAST: How to Write Anything with Lightning Speed. Jeff Bollow began as an actor at age 12 in his native Los Angeles (credits include Don't Tell Mom the...

Why would you want to 'Save the Cat'? If you are a screenwriter or aspiring one you should have heard by now of Blake Snyder's game-changing screenwriting book. In his 20-year career as a film producer and screenwriter, Blake Snyder sold dozens of scripts, including co-writing Blank Check, which became a hit for Disney, and Nuclear Family for Steven Spielberg — both million-dollar sales. Named “on...

If you have seen Star Wars then you know Joseph Campbell's work. If you ever have seen The Lion King then you have seen one of Campbell's best student's, Chris Vogler, work. Chris Vogler wrote the game-changing book  The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. I read this book over 20 years ago and it changed the way I look at story. Chris studied the work and principles of the late master ...

Today we have a special crossover event between The Indie Film Hustle Podcast and The Bulletproof Screenplay podcast. Since I'm the host of both podcasts I thought it would be fun and educational to do these kinds of episodes every once in a while. Today's guest is best selling author K.M. Weiland, the author of Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot...

We all have heard about screenwriter selling a spec script for seven figures (see Max Landis) but who are the power brokers who are helping that process along? Enter Verve Literary Agent David Boxerbaum. David is a senior agent at VERVE Talent & Literary Agency, and his impressive client roster includes the likes of David Guggenheim, writer of Safehouse; Ken Marino, writer/producer of Wanderlust a...

You are in for a treat. This week's guest, MICHAEL HAUGE has been one of Hollywood’s top script consultants, story experts, and authors for more than 30 years. He coaches screenwriters, novelists, filmmakers, professional speakers, internet marketers and corporate leaders, helping transform their stories and their audiences using the principles and methods of Hollywood’s most successful movies. Mi...

So how marketable is your film idea or screenplay? I know so many screenwriters and filmmakers who spend months and sometimes years on an idea that is cool to just themselves. Depending on what you are attempting to achieve with your story, you should always figure out if you idea is marketable or if you have a fighting chance of selling the screenplay or final film. Paul Castro, the writer of the...

How to Make a Good Script Great with Linda Seger Linda Seger is a legend when it comes to screenwriting coaching and script consultant. She's been coaching for over 30 years and pretty much invented the job title. After reading her best-selling book, "Making A Good Script Great" I had to have her on the show. She's  best known for her method of analyzing movie scripts, which she originally develop...

How to Create an Emotional Impact in Your Screenplay with Karl Iglesias This week we were lucky enough to have as our guest best-selling author Karl Iglesias. He has written award-winning books including The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, Writing for Emotional Impact, and Cut to the Chase. (FREE AUDIO BOOK VERSIONS HERE) I discovered Karl Iglesias' work reading Writing for Emotiona...

How a Screenwriter Becomes a First Time Director with Kelly Fremon Craig I'm asked all the time "How does a screenwriter get the opportunity to direct one of their screenplays?" That is the question. In Hollywood, more times than not, writers don't have the power or ability to direct their own material. It took a few screenplays before Quentin Tarantino got the shot with Reservoir Dogs. Today's gu...

We've all read in Variety or The Hollywood Reporter of some no-name screenwriter selling his or her screenplay for a million bucks. Ever wonder how they did it? What structure did they use? What "tricks of the trade were" employed? May I introduce Paul Castro, the original writer of one of my favorite films August Rush. Paul Castro is a produced, award-winning screenwriter and world-renowned scree...

Today's guest is screenwriter/podcaster Ashley Scott Meyers from Sellingyourscreenplay.com. Ashley is a working screenwriter in Hollywood. He also spends his time running a popular screenwriting blog and podcast. His focus is on helping you sell your screenplay. Here's a bit of his philosophy in his own words: If you ask 100 different screenwriters how they broke into the business you’re going to...

Can you imagine having a front row seat to the start of the filmmaking careers of Will Smith, Bruce Willis and Michael Bay? Well this week's guest Screenwriter Doug Richardson did just that. In 1989 20th Century Fox hired Doug to adapt Walter Wager’s novel 58 Minutes into the first sequel to the hit franchise Die Hard. In 1990, it was released as Die Hard 2, Die Harder. Around the same period, Dou...

First Rule of Jim Uhls, YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT Jim Uhls! We I have a MAJOR treat for the tribe this week. I have no other than Jim Uhls, the master screenwriter behind David Fincher's "Fight Club", one of the greatest films in my generation, in my humble option. When Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club was making the rounds in Hollywood, it was a tough sale to be adapted for the screen. But then Brad Pitt...