The Writers Hangout

On this episode, we invite you to hang out with Sandy as she takes a look at Hollywood's most iconic landmark, the Hollywood Sign.  Originally built as “Hollywoodland” as an advertisement to lure in real estate investors, it has seen tragedy, facelifts, and even a couple of good pranks over the decades. The Hollywood Sign is celebrating its 100 Anniversary throughout 2023.  

We dive deep into the 1980s class miniseries V. V: The Original Miniseries is a two-part science-fiction television miniseries written and directed by Kenneth Johnson. V aired in 1983 and initiated the science-fiction franchise concerning aliens known as the "Visitors" trying to gain control of Earth and of the ways the populace reacts. Alone, the behind-the-scenes exploration of V: The...

We are back!  The Writer’s Hangout is back with a brand-new episode.  We break down the current WGA Writers’ Strike and whether A.I. can write a screenplay better than a human.  We introduce A.I. Theater, where Terry reads from three scripts written by bots.  Writers, we challenge you not to laugh at these delightful screenplays.  The scripts are all written by bots and can be found on the Instagr...

Rewind -- British screenwriter Ian Mackintosh's plane went missing on July 7, 1979, nineteen days before his thirty-ninth birthday, over the Gulf of Alaska. What happened remains a mystery. Join us as we tell the story of Lieutenant Commander Hamish Ian Mackintosh, a British Royal Navy officer, a writer of thriller novels, and a screenwriter for British television.  Ian's series, THE SAN...

We wanted to “jump on the mic,” as the kids say, and give you a Writers’ Hangout update.  Terry and I have been working on some projects that took our time away from recording, but we’ve been working behind the scenes on future episodes and are excited about hanging out with you soon. I miss you guys a lot.  In the meantime, here’s a favorite episode of mine and Terry's entitled; WRITING REAR...

REWIND of two more PAGE Awards Judges, Dwayne Smith and Mike Kuciak continue the conversation on how they evaluate your screenplay. Mike Kuciak has two movies coming out in 2022; he's the writer-director and writer-producer of the other. He's a producer on a third film scheduled to begin production in late 2022. He has served as a producer and executive producer on several independent fi...

Rewind of Episode 3 -- Sandy and Terry Sampson discuss the little-known mystery of the 1997 disappearance of screenwriter Gary Devore . Gary was returning home after working out the ending of his latest script, which he claimed would blow the lid off government secrets when he disappeared without a trace. Did Gary step out to "buy a pack of cigarettes," or was he met with foul play? We&a...

  We are rewinding episodes 17, 18, and 48 -- The Unbelievable True Story of Elisabeth Finch and Grey's Anatomy.   Rising star and television writer Elizabeth Finch wrote many emotional scripts for GREY'S ANATOMY, exploring cancer, abortion, and sexual abuse using her life experience. In March of 2022, Grey's Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch was investigated by Disney and placed on ad...

We have a fantastic show for you as we continue celebrating our sponsor, The PAGE AWARDS' 20TH Anniversary, with 2018 Page Awards Grand Prize winner Kevin Bachar . Kevin's screenplay - THE INHABITANT- starring Dermot Mulroney & Leslie Bibb came out last year in theaters and can be found on high-end streamers like Amazon Prime and Hulu.   Kevin was a Senior Producer at National Geogra...

Time for some housekeeping plus an announcement from our sponsors, The PAGE Awards, on their upcoming deadline.  We play a fun round of NAME THE MOVIE -- A fun game that will challenge your film knowledge and keep you on the edge of your seat.  Sandy reads the synopsis of a movie one sentence at a time. How many sentences will it take before you can NAME THE MOVIE!!  If you're up for the chal...

Part two and the conclusion of last week's episode with author Carrie Freeman.  If you have listened to part one, I recommend you go back and listen to Episode 66, HANGING OUT WITH THE COMIC'S DAUGHTER CARRIE FREEMAN. In this first episode, we covered Carries fascinating younger life, and in this episode, we chat with Carrie about her writing journey and the mentors who helped her get wh...

We have a terrific show with guest Carrie Freeman.  Born in Dallas, Texas, Carrie Freeman is the third in a generation of writers, columnists, and performers, dating back to 1905, when her great uncle, Sime Silverman, launched the entertainment bible, Variety. Carrie is an accomplished actress with an extensive background in performing, theatre directing and teaching.  A truly talented and gifted...

Hulu's documentary PRETTY BABY : Brooke Shields reminds Sandy she spent time on the set of SUDDENLY SUSAN, the NBC half-hour sitcom, and walked away disappointed in something Brooke did to Kathy Griffin.  Terry asks a simple question that reminds Sandy of one of her biggest regrets.   You don't have to have watched PRETTY BABY: Brooke Shields to listen to this episode.  👍 If you enjoy t...

Did you know there was another SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE besides the animated blockbuster with Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, and Fred Armisen? The first SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE hit theaters in 1993 and was the first feature-length live-action film based on a video game. It follows brothers Mario Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi Mario (John Leguiza...

For today’s episode, we have a follow-up on Season One, Episode 61 entitled Can A.I. Write A Screenplay With Filmmakers Jon and Matt Firman, it came out last month.  You don’t have to go back and listen to episode 61, but things will make more sense if you do.  In the A.I. episode, we explored the benefits of using AI to help writers manage their process from idea to script and spoke to the creato...

You never know when your big break will happen.  In this episode co-host Terry Sampson share how he landed his big break compliments of Harold Ramis.  👍 If you enjoy the show please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts.  📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast 💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to make a comment please contact us...

We have a terrific show for you with today’s guests Jon and Matt Firman who are Baltimore, MD-based indie filmmakers. After spending more than eight years immersed in the local film community, brothers Jon and Matt saw a  need for writers to have an easier way of turning their ideas into stories.  So, the brothers decided to explore the benefits of using AI to help writers manage their process fro...

One of our most listened to episodes.  Two PAGE Awards Judges, Victoria Lucas and Laurie Ashbourne , talk about how they evaluate your screenplays, whether you're just starting or have a script in the competition. You do not want to miss this inside talk. ⭐️ Laurie Ashbourne began her film career in Disney animation, and over the past 20 years, she has worked as a story consultant, writer, a...

Our guest is screenwriter Matias Caruso who lives in Argentina.  Matias taught himself English and how to write screenplays — and after writing and working hard to develop his craft, he wrote an absolutely stunning script called CARNIVAL that won our Grand Prize in 2014.  After his win, Carnival was optioned by a PAGE judge and signed by an agent.  Matias continues to live in Argentina, and he nev...

We continue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our sponsor, The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, with our guest Angela Bourassa . Angela won the Gold Prize in the Science Fiction category for her script EVERYTHING IS RIGHT UNTIL IT'S WRONG, and under its new title, TURN ME ON; the movie was filmed last year, produced by Truant Pictures and Blue Creek Pictures, directed by Michael Ty...

We're going to pause on interviewing the PAGE Award-winning screenwriter series to bring you the latest on the Thelma Todd murder mystery we talked about last December.  If you haven't listened to the two-part episode called Thelma Todd's Inexplicable Death In Hollywood's Golden Age, I highly recommend you go back and listen.  The episodes aired on December 4th and 11th of 2022...

It is Super Bowl LVII weekend, and we have a treat for you. Our guest is television writer Jason Gavin , who got his big break when he got staffed on a show called Friday Night Lights. Kristin Iversen of Nylon wrote, "Friday Night Lights had achieved a rare trifecta in the world of prestige television: critical acclaim, cultishly adoring fans, and a genuinely wide audience (which, sadly, it d...

We continue celebrating the 20th anniversary of the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards with Davah Avena. Davah took home the 2006 Silver Prize for Best TV Drama Pilot and has risen in television from staff writer to Co-Executive Producer on shows like FIREFLY LANE and ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST. Plus Davah Avena plays YOU WROTE THE EPISODE BUT DO YOU REMEMBER THE EPISODE and might jus...

W e continue to celebrate our sponsor, The PAGE INTERNATIONAL Screenwriting awards 20 Anniversary Celebration, I spoke with our Grand Prize winner Alexandra Qin an independent filmmaker based in New York City with a background in technology, social justice, and visual/ performance art. Her first screenplay, ThirstyGirl, won the 2022 PAGE Grand Prize. A raw, intimate story about addiction, sisterho...

We continue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our sponsors, The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, by interviewing past winners. Today we have Larry Postel , who took home the PAGE Awards Grand Prize in 2005. Since then, Larry has written four original spec screenplays that have made. Including The Main Event, a Netflix Original; High Holiday, a Peacock Original; Flip Turn, an indie drama...