On The Page

Daniel Pyne, screenwriter (sum of all fears, manchurian candidate, pacific heights) and novelist, drops by the OTP Studio to chat about noir tropes, writing authentically, and the challenges of inaccurate IMDB descriptions.

Pilar and guest co-host Jason Levy (winner of the 2016 Log Line Contest) listen to the movie and TV pitches of writers Cat Alvarado, Barbara Cole, Julianne Eggold, Darius Garland, Misha Klein and Ryan Nanni. 

Writers Ayser Salman and Lena Khan talk about the challenge and promise of writing Muslim characters for film and TV. 

TV and film choreographer Courtney Miller reveals the way on-screen dance contributes to story. 

Brian Pope, Mike Musa, Nina Berry and Pat Francis join Pilar for their annual discussion of the nominees for best screenplay and best adapted screenplay.

Kim Zubick, producer of "The Zookeeper's Wife," reveals the movie's long road from book to screen.

Author Pamela Jaye Smith talks about the structure, characters and different kinds of love found in the movies curated in her new book, "Romantic Comedies: These Films Can Save Your Love Life."

Brian Kalata and Stephen Andrzejewski, the producers of the documentary "Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike," look back at the issues that created the strike and discuss the changes in the industry since its resolution. We then rebroadcast Episode 10 of the On the Page Podcast, originally recorded on the eve of the Writers Strike.

Career coach Lee Jessup returns to talk about the interviews she conducted for her new book "Breaking In: Tales From The Screenwriting Trenches."

Screenwriter Giz Gewirtz, co-founder of Seismic Games, discusses the possibilities and limitations of virtual reality narratives.

Kathryn Renee Thomas and Caitlin Barlow, creators and stars of "Teachers" on TV Land, school us in the improv techniques they use to build characters and find "the game of the scene."

Jim Churchman, stunt coordinator for Marvel movies, discusses what lifts off the page and onto the screen to create great action sequences.

Pilar and members of her Tuesday-night Writers Group pour champagne, look back on 2016 successes and discuss goals for the new year. (Stick around for Pilar's 5 Writing Resolutions for 2017. They might surprise you.)  

What do pro-wrestling and good screenwriting have in common? Writer, actor and wrestling fan Sam Benjamin explains it to you.

This week Pilar is on a business trip teaching on the East Coast, so please enjoy a rebroadcast from December 16, 2011. A twelve day writing guide from logline to pages. Sing along with Pat and Pilar!

Filmmaker Kim Adelman shares tips on short film writing and low-budget filmmaking from her book, "Making It Big In Shorts," now in its third edition.

Actor Kevin E. West gives an actor's perspective on the script and discusses how the 7 Deadly Sins get in the way of artists' success.  

Nadia Madden, Pilar's "most improved" writer of 2016, talks about navigating the Austin Film Festival, the benefit of notes and classes and how much she secretly hates pumpkin pie. 

English writer/director Mark Heywood and Irish writer/director and Tribeca shorts programmer Niall McKay talk about the different story telling approaches here and abroad.

Can we still have a good laugh after this election? Kelly Hudson and Jocelyn Richard of "Funny or Die" are here to help.

Writers Judalina Neira and Sarah Fahey talk about the different roads that led them from college in Boston to writing for shows like "Hit the Floor" and "The Flash."

Pilar goes it alone this week to help you polish up your script before giving it to an important reader. E-mail her at inquire@onthepage.tv to get the list!

Comic book writer Eric Freitas (Judge Dredd, Regular Show, Godzilla), reveals how he uses movie structure to write his comic books, then uses the scripts he's created to write feature films.

Sometimes a creator's got to create in order to create more. Filmmaker Noel Orput and web series producer Sarah Hawkins explain how they made it happen for themselves.

Academy award-nominated animation supervisor David Schaub shares the analysis of three-act structure he used when creating his structure app, "The Three Act Compass."