The ISA Podcast

Emily Wahlund was raised on television (in a good way), initially gravitated towards acting before realizing how important writing was to her personal creative pull. She's currently a mom who writes features, pilots and for video games.

Ryan Shrime has gone through just about any high-end acting training you can name. He's taken that knowledge of acting and character to successfully applied it to his screenwriting career.

Cassie Carpenter regularly leads tours of Haunted Los Angeles and Hollywood. After attending a haunted University in Southern California to major in theatre, it's only fitting! In this episode, we discuss a number of her favorite haunted LA locations.

A later-in-life writer, Marcus writes comedies and dramas across different genres, primarily focuses on exploring the oddities of complex relationships between people in every day walks of life.

Desa Larkin-Boutte's screenwriting journey has taken her working on set, in post-production & in the writer's room for beloved shows including Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead & Westworld, the later of which she is a credited writer.

Annika's impressive and still blossoming career started behind the Berlin Wall. Making her way to America, she's has worked in front of and behind the camera, also working as an assistant to James Cameron.

Multi-hyphenate, Yolanda T. Ross tried to do the corporate life, but creativity and the entertainment industry beckoned her back. After establishing herself as an actress, writing her own stories became her next drive.

Melissa Birks, a past Fast Track Fellow for the ISA is fascinated by history and isn't afraid of macabre history as she's frequently featured serial killers in her writing. Hear how she's used contests to advance her career.

Carlos Gutierrez & Michael Goldenberg are all about taking chances. They aren't afraid to take a big swing or try something edgy in their screenwriting. Carlos & Michael let ya know there's nothing wrong with the occasional 'stunt script.'

Comedy director Jason Woliner has worked on some of our favorite comedies, from What We Do in the Shadows & Last Man on Earth to New Girl & the Borat sequel. He's back with the infinitely fascinating crime mystery Paul T Goldman, now streaming on Peacock.

One time Fast Track fellow and ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch, Peres Owino, has come a long way bother in her career and literally as the LA-based, African-born writer is celebrating the release of a show on Netflix, "African Queens."

Performed in Park City, UT during Sundance. An ambitious painter vaults to fame when Marie Antoinette selects her as a portraitist, but the impending French Revolution threatens her career, her family, & her friendship with the hated Queen

We sit down with Emerging Screenwriter Lindsey Galloway during the Sundance Film Festival as her screenplay was about to make its 'premiere' during a staged live reading as the Grand Prize Winner of Table Read My Screenplay.

Rachel K. Caulker loves telling genre stories with her unique West African background, having shunned 'traditional' employment for the entertainment industry. She's made contests work for her while pursuing deeper education & making contacts.

Shayna and Max spend the bulk of the episode discussing audience response to films, both in terms of box office hits and misses and why critics and audiences often have drastically different viewpoints of films. They take a deep dive into Damien Chazelle's Babylon.

Jason Goldberg has already produced "Glorious" for Shudder & served as writer/producer of "Stay Out of the F*ing Attic." He's got a large & growing resume as a producer who loves finding new talent while developing his own writing career.

Max & Shayna look back at the Golden Globes while taking a deep dive into writing spec scripts and what your expectation should be when writing them. Finally, they discuss some current series and the Weinermobile.

Successful and further emerging screenwriter, Lisa Garvey, made the shift into novel writing as part of her screenwriting journey.

Max & Shayna kick off the new year with a look ahead to the movies that should make waves in 2023 and unfortunate news about diversity among film directors. Plus, diving into some basic screenwriting issues with "Glass Onion."

Sci-Fi & horror writer-director Christopher Hatton joins us to discuss a variety of topics including Edgar Allan Poe, Singapore spiritual beliefs, Area 51, his own terrifying ghost story & his newest movie: Shudder's paranormal mystery "Raven's Hollow."

With countless productions under his belt as an assistant director, Ted Campbell has always wanted to tell his own stories. Now, he's directing his own screenplays. He was also once an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch.

We sit down with producer and former studio executive Navid McIlhargey to discuss the state of the industry and the current challenges and opportunities for feature filmmakers and writers.

Shayna & Max take on one of the most controversial Christmas movie topics, react to the Golden Globe nominations and discuss their favorite holiday films.

Table Read of the award-winning pilot script, The Work, by Adelita Lopez and Amanda Lopez, directed by Princess Monique Filmz w Q&A after. View program here: https://tinyurl.com/ISA-TRMS

Jasmine Leyva embraces life to the fullest, which then influences her writing. She's not afraid to take the plunge, whether that's fostering a child or becoming a mermaid, all of which has lead to a unique, celebrated writing voice.