The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

It's a scary and unprecedented time for our industry, but we're immensely proud of our guild's fight for the basic dignities of its members: writers. As negotiating committee members, our guests Michele Mulroney and David A. Goodman have been on the front lines of this historic strike and are here to help us understand exactly what writers are fighting for, why the stakes are higher than ever, and...

Curits Gwinn has worked on some of the most acclaimed shows of the 2010s including The Walking Dead, The Leftovers, and Stranger Things, but he's the first to admit that each room has been a valuable learning experience, even for a writer as seasoned as he is. In this candid conversation, Curtis opens up about the lessons he learned across multiple writers rooms, how to stay spiritually grounded i...

When Charlie got to post-production of his feature writer/director debut, he was crushed to discover that the film simply didn't work. At that point, he was faced with two choices: ditch the movie and move on, or dig in, dive into his lava, and head back to set for reshoots. He chose the latter, and his new film FOOL'S PARADISE, drops in theaters next week! On today's show we also talk about the g...

How did Kelly Fremon Craig manage to convince Judy Blume to let her adapt Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? Tune in to find out! We're thrilled to be joined by award-winning writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig. She's the award-winning writer and director of two feature films: The Edge Of Seventeen starring Hailey Steinfeld, and Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, which will be released in theat...

However you feel about Starz' award-winning show BLINDSPOTTING, one thing is for sure, you've never seen anything like it. Today's guest, showrunner Rafael Casal, likes it that way: confronting his audiences with genre-breaking, even medium-breaking decisions in the production. For Rafael, as long as the writing remains deeply committed to truth and honesty, the writer is entitled to "break the ru...

Jump behind the scenes with us to experience the highs and lows of producing one of Pixar's most celebrated and subversive films: Turning Red from the minds of Domee Shi and Julia Cho, who wrote it. Domee Shi began as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios in June 2011, and was soon hired as a story artist on the Academy Award-winning feature film INSIDE OUT. In 2015 she began pitching ideas fo...

Jane Anderson is an award-winning writer of plays, television, and movies, with over three decades of produced material, some of which she herself directed. Jane's work is known for its rich and complicated depictions of female life, with films like THE WIFE, which was Oscar-nominated, and shows like OLIVE KITTERIDGE, which won multiple Emmys, including two for Jane.  ANNE LAMOTT EPISODE: https://...

John Lee Hancock is an award-winning writer/director whose extensive career includes writing and directing The Blind Side, directing Saving Mr. Banks, and most recently writing and directing Mr. Harrigan's Phone for Netflix. Across nearly three decades of his career, John has worked as a producer, writer, and director in multiple genres including stirring sports biopics, high concept genre movies,...

Every writer should experience set life at least once in their life, whether they're directing their own work, supervising production on their episode, or even just helping out as a PA. Every set has it's own rules and universe, so today, we wanted to unpack those with our own stories and advice! JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

CALL US WITH YOUR PITCHING HORROR STORIES: 440.305.0690 Kelly Edwards' multi-faceted career has multiple phases: she has worked in development, platforming shows like LIVING SINGLE, GIRLFRIENDS, and MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE. She has also worked as a diversity executive for studios like HBO and NBC Universal, ushering in diverse creative talent for NBC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and Telemundo. Now Kelly has t...

It's a TSL first as we explore a crossover episode with Matt Enlow and Oren Kaplan of the popular JUST SHOOT IT PODCAST to discuss pitching, free work, social media, and what directors are really looking for when it comes to the page. TO SUBSCRIBE TO JUST SHOOT IT: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-shoot-it-a-podcast-about-filmmaking/id995859414 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

All of us have goals in our career, but how do build the steps to actually get there? Or perhaps more importantly, how do we be intentional about budling the steps to get there? Not only is scaffolding an essential part of career-building, but also in our work. JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Robert Cole, known for marathon writing sessions, has a simple litmus test to assess his own work: how does this make me feel? He calls it "Method Writing," and it's an essential part of his process. Joe Robert Cole is an award-winning writer/director of both television and features. He has co-written two Oscar-nominated movies with Ryan Coogler for Marvel, BLACK PANTHER and last year's BLACK...

Though Dana Stevens wrote one of 2022's buzziest and most exciting movies, The Woman King, she has decades of experience in both film and television. On today's show, we discuss how Dana got involved in The Woman King, how she approached the film's extraordinary action set pieces on the page, and what she learned while showrunning. JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife Learn more...

Jeremy Doner is a co-writer on one of 2022's most exciting movies: EVLIS, directed by Baz Luhrmann. For his work on the script, Jeremy is nominated for an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award. Before Elvis, he was staffed on two critically acclaimed TV crime dramas: DAMAGES and THE KILLING, writing multiple episodes and scoring WGA-award nominations for both shows. On today's sho...

Dustin Lance Black is an Oscar-winning writer/director, known for writing the films like Milk and J. Edgar, in addition to creating the award-winning 2022 crime miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven, starring Andrew Garfield. Black is a fierce LGBTQ rights advocate, serving as a founding board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, and writing 8, a courtroom drama reenacting the overt...

Allison Tolman's first major television role made waves in the industry, even scoring her a Critics Choice Award for her portrayal of Molly in FX's acclaimed debut season of Fargo. She has worked in Network TV on shows like Brooklyn 99 and Good Girls, Streaming TV, starring in Marc Cherry's Why Women Kill, and Premium Cable Fare, recently guest starring in Starz' Gaslit across Julia Roberts. Aliso...

Constanza and Doménica Castro are the founders of 271 Films, which tells stories that bring meaningful perspectives to an audience, that connect them to their humanity and their emotional intelligence. Today we discuss what they look for as they vet work, and how they found the courage to tell their OWN stories. WE ARE HERE: https://271films.com/we-are-here-fyc 271 WEBSITE: https://271films.com/ R...

271 Films Founders Constanza and Doménica Castro coming to you this FRIDAY! Thanks for your patience - it’s worth the wait! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are some lessons that can only be learned through experience, time, and let's be honest - failure. Today, tons of professional writers anonymously share their ups and downs in the business by sharing what they wish they knew early in their career. It's a must-listen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is it that the New Year so often invites trepidation, fear, and panic as we consider our achievements as artists? We consider that question today, while rethinking new years resolutions as a concept to feel more generous, achievable, and thoughtful as we approach the new year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re closing out 2022 with a LIVE panel from our time at the Austin Film Festival. Thanks to Joe Forte for joining! TO JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's that time of year when hundreds of Holiday Movies air on screens all over the world. Whether its Hallmark, Lifetime, Disney+, Netflix, or Apple, or even Theaters, it's one of the hottest markets around for emerging and professional writers, and for Holiday screenwriting Queen Eirene Tran Donohue, one of the best ways to break in. Listen to her break down why! Learn more about your ad choices....

Diving back into your work after a round of notes can feel overwhelming, especially when we get thoughtful notes that can feel contradictory. How can we possibly incorporate every suggestion into our next draft? Spoiler alert: you can't. Instead, focusing on one ELEMENT of your rewrite can be the ticket to moving forward. Keep it simple; pick a pony.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

It's becoming and increasingly common (and important) question: are we allowed to tell stories about characters whose lives don't reflect our own? On today's show, UCLA psychologist Dr. Yalda T. Uhls answers this question, in addition to addressing questions around TV programming for kids and adolescent viewers, and unconcious bias in our writing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....