Screenwriters' Rant Room

Hilliard & Chris get together in person for the first time in over a year (after both being fully Vaccinated), and have an intense discussion about writing TV/Film in Hollywood and the affect and toll it takes on you, myths in the writers' room, working through depression, signs of it and so much more! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to help...

Hilliard & Lisa chop it up with Rapper/Music Producer/Filmmaker Jack Spade and Rapper/Comedy Writer Saeed Crumpler about writing from afar, licensing their music and beats to Film/TV, working with artists, creating avenues for residual income and even The Nickelodeon Writing Program! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to help writers succeed - v...

Hilliard, Lisa & Chris talk with Jeanne Veillettte Bowerman (Executive Pipeline Media Group, Editor-in-Chief Pipeline Artists) and Matt Joseph Misetich (Senior Executive / Partner, Pipeline Media Group) about all of the amazing things they have going on for screenwriters, novelist, and artists on their newly launched PipelineArtists.com site! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line S...

In this episode Hilliard and Lisa look back with actor Dwayne Barnes and the controversial role he played as a crack head in the hit film Menace II Society. Sparked by a  conversation that went viral on Deadline between Jay Baker agent at CAA and black Literary Manager Jewerl Keats Ross — disgustingly ties in Dwayne’s scenes in Menace — which Jay used against Jewerl with racial...

In this episode, Hilliard & Lisa chop it up with TV/Film Executive Donna-Marie Reid and Filmmaker/Creator of the Digital Series "QT" Tamieka Briscoe, about their amazing journeys, working in Hollywood as black, female content creators, utilizing ClubHouse to the fullest, building allies and so much more! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to hel...

In this ep, Hilliard, Lisa and Chris talk about the many "assumptions" writers have in Hollywood - particularly with actor Shia LaBeouf who's been submitting his screenplays and placing in open screenwriting competitions (known for advancing Emerging Writers) over the past few years and the controversy the Writing Community and Social Media has around it! This episode is brought to you by The Fini...

Hilliard has a one-on-one with actor-model-filmmaker and star of the Emmy Nominated TVOne Series about black love -- "TOUGH LOVE." Eric talks about his amazing journey from Detroit doing construction, to modeling on runways of NY Fashion Week, to moving to LA and acting in a hit TV series! You can find Eric on all Social Media @EricJordonTidwell This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Sc...

Hilliard & Lisa talk with head writer BEN JOHNSON JR., about writers' rooms, features and shooting in South Africa. Ben is a multi-talented, business-minded filmmaker who is professional in his conduct, serious about mastering his craft and passionate about telling authentic, emotionally compelling African stories. This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are...

This week Hilliard and Chris are joined by big bro, TV/Film director Carl Seaton to talk about the obstacles of directing episodic television during Covid. So much game dropped in this episode y'all! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to help writers succeed - visit https://finishlinescriptcomp.com for more information! If you want to check out Fini...

Chris drops another bottle episode to talk about the 1 year anniversary of the COVID shutdown, the future of the movie industry, the importance of hustle, and writing outlines for TV episodes! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to help writers succeed - visit https://finishlinescriptcomp.com for more information! If you want to check out Finish Line...

Hilliard and Chris are joined by Bianca Sams, TV writer and co-chair of the WGAW Committee of Black Writers to discuss “Black Bodies on Screen” with a look at the popular Think Tank Inclusion and Equity Factsheet that went out to the industry: research-driven one-pagers to help guide writers rooms, writers, and all content creators toward better representation in their stories! You can find the In...

In this episode, Hilliard & Chris talk with Literary Manager/Producer Rachel Miller about her viral Twitter Thread that came out a few weeks ago listing some do's-and-don'ts that herself and showrunner uncovered while staffing their new Streamer thriller series which is a month into the writers' room!  This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to...

In this super fun episode, Hilliard, Chris & Lisa sat down over Skype with four amazing Emerging Writers on the come up: Keena Ferguson, Amadou Diallo, Danielle Nicki and Larry Solidarity. We literally drop two hours of nothing but industry game y'all! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to help writers succeed - visit https://finishlinescriptcom...

In this episode, Hilliard & Lisa sit down with MATT DY to discuss his amazing career. Matt previously worked at Austin Film Festival (AFF) since 2008 where he rose the ranks to Director of Script Competitions and facilitated the evaluation of thousands of annual script submissions. In 2019, Matt joined LIT ENTERTAINMENT GROUP as a literary manager - utilizing his skills at AFF to service his s...

In this ep, Hilliard, Chris & Lisa chop it up with writer/dir/prod Geno Brooks and his partner, actor/writer/prod Myles Grier, in an amazing discussion about their journeys in the industry from indie work to network TV. We also go deep into their company, The Artistic Standard, a boutique media studio with a mission that specializes in developing, producing, and distributing disruptive, c...

Hilliard & Lisa chop it up with writer/actor/producer Jessie B. Evans and comedy writer Richard Scott of the popular HOLLYWOOD HERE on Twitter/IG/FB - a group that provides creatives with tools, knowledge & connections to become game changers regardless of their location! Hollywood uses the hashtag: #RaiseThePercentage This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! T...

In this episode Hilliard and Lisa have an absolute blast talking with KEMP POWERS, co-writer/dir of Pixars SOUL and also the writer/EP of the new hit film ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI directed by the great Regina King! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to help writers succeed - visit https://finishlinescriptcomp.com for more information! Get the  Rant R...

Hilliard, Lisa & Chris chopped it up with comedy writer Akilah Green. Akilah currently writes for Black Monday on Showtime and has a pilot in development at ABC. She has previously written for a number of shows including both seasons of HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show, which has received three Emmy nominations, NBC's Perfect Harmony, and specials like The 72nd Primetime Emmys hosted by Jimmy Ki...

Hilliard, Lisa, Chris and Emerging Writer Amber Brown talk about their upcoming goals/plans for 2021 that will help give writers a fresh start or new way of progressing into the New Year... and so much more! This episode is brought to you by The Finish Line Script Competition! They are here to help writers succeed - visit https://finishlinescriptcomp.com for more information! Get the  Rant Ro...

Hilliard, Lisa and Chris chat it up with Stepane Dunn, the 2020 Finish Line/Tirota Social Impact Screenwriting Competition and Jenny Frankfurt, former Lit-manager and owner of Finish Line Script Competition (also our new sponsor)! The conversation was jam packed full of game including, historical projects, writing while living in Atlanta, Morehouse College and so much more! This episode is brought...

In this episode, Hilliard, Lisa & Chris are joined by writer/prods Geoffrey Thorne and Lynelle White in a deep conversation about the state of Covid-19 and of course, we rant about writing Television and much more! Chris Derrick  on Twitter Lisa Bolekaja  on Twitter Hilliard Guess  on Twitter Lynelle White on Twitter Geoffrey Thorne on Twitter The Screenwriters Rant Room on...

Chris is solo for another Bottle episode to talk about Oscar season, the differences between television and cinema writing, how things translate from the page to the screen, and drops tons of fascinating insights! Get the  Rant Room T-shirt HERE !!! Check out the Screen Writers Rant Room website HERE ! Support the show via the  Patreon link . Remember support is love! We invest countless...

Hilliard and Chris have an amazing industry conversation with John Zaozirny, head of the popular Bellevue Literary Management! We talk shop about the current climate during Covid-19, writing assignments, Query Letters, The BlackList and so much more! Tune in to this Don't Miss episode y'all! Get the  Rant Room T-shirt HERE !!! Check out the Screen Writers Rant Room website HERE ! Support the...

In this episode, Hilliard, Lisa & Chris talk GENRE Writer Lauren Signorino - who recent worked on the Showtime limited series, THE GOOD LORD BIRD, starring Ethan Hawke... Previously on FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, where she was twice-nominated for both an Emmy Award and a Writers Guild Award, for her work on the critically-acclaimed short-form series FTWD: Flight 462 and FTWD: Passage, the latter fo...

Special guest host Lynelle White does a deep dive into the first 4 episodes of The Mandalorian! Check back soon for Part 2, and follow her on Twitter @LynelleWhite ! Get the  Rant Room T-shirt HERE !!! Check out the Screen Writers Rant Room website HERE ! Support the show via the  Patreon link . Remember support is love! We invest countless hours per week to deliver the actionable conten...