Getting in, staying in and consuming entertainment all take a certain amount of resources. We discuss how to prioritize where you put your time, money and heart into the entertainment industry, both as an artist and as a consumer. SHOW NOTES: None this episode
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Amazon has closed its deal to by MGM that it announced in May 2021. How will the purchase of the 98 year old studio impact Amazon Prime, Hollywood, consumers and, of course, writers. SHOW NOTES: THR: MGM’s Amazon Era Begins With Big, Unanswered QuestionsMGM Television ProgramsMetro-Golden-Mayer
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In this session, we talk with Lauryn Kahn, the screenwriter of “Fresh,” the new indie thriller starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan that took Sundance by storm. The film, produced by Adam McKay (“The Other Guys,” “Step Brothers”) and Searchlight Pictures, was acquired by Hulu. SPOILER ALERT! This interview contains pretty much all the big spoilers. So go watch the movie first on Hulu. SHOW NOTES:“Fresh” is available to stream on HuluLauryn on IG: https://www.instagram.com/laurynkahn/Lauryn on Twitter: https://twitter.com/youdonknowme Fresh premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2022, and is scheduled to be released on March 4, 2022, on Hulu by Searchlight Pictures. Indiewire
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This session, we have the multitalented Ken Atchity, a best-selling author, producer, literary manger, professor and editor who aptly goes by the moniker The Story Merchant. He got his B.A. at Georgetown, his Ph.D. at Yale. He was a tenured professor of comparative literature at Occidental College and a distinguished instructor at UCLA Writers program. He’s worked in publishing and filmmaking and is a member of the TV Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the Producer’s Guild. SHOW NOTES: Ken’s Blog: www.kenatchityblog.com “Writing Treatments that Sell”: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Treatments-That-Sell-Industry/dp/0805072780 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StoryMerchant/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storymerchanthttps://www.instagram.com/atchityproductionshttps://www.instagram.com/ken_atchity Twitter: https://twitter.com/storymerchanthttps://twitter.com/kennja
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This session, we’re excited to have with us James Vanderbilt, a screenwriter and producer with over 20 years of major feature film experience including blockbusters such as White House Down, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, and, one of Tom’s favorites, The Rundown. He is also the Chief Content Officer of Project X Entertainment. SHOW NOTES:James on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jamesthevanProject X Entertainment: https://www.projectxentertainment.comScream movie website: https://www.screammovie.com
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Streaming services have broken the mold on episode length. In this session, we discuss how they’ve changed the measuring stick on script length and where, when and if it still matters. SHOW NOTES: None this episode
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With shorter and shorter seasons, accelerated by streamers with big budget, high-quality event shows, has the era of 24 episode season containing the inevitable filler episode come to an end? And how would this change impact writers? SHOW NOTES: NY Times: Streaming TV’s Boom Is a Mixed Blessing for Some Hollywood Writers Vulture.com: The Business of Too Much TV 9 Best Clip Show Episodes On TV, Ranked According To IMDb Wikipedia: The Clip Show
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The end of an era. Tom is leaving Los Angeles and heading back to Cleveland, Ohio. We discuss his nine years in Hollywood, what he accomplished, learned, and what he’s taking with him to continue screenwriting outside of Tinsel Town. SHOW NOTES:Literary Cleveland: https://www.litcleveland.orgCleveland Film Commission: https://www.clevelandfilm.comCleveland Indie Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/clevelandindieclub
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With technology already able to create real actors in movies, and soon their voices, what’s next for A.I. in Hollywood? Experiments in A.I. screenwriting are ongoing. Should you worry?
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Like the pandemic that won’t go away, here is our COVID-19 One Year Later in Hollywood episode. What’s changed? What hasn’t? Where do we go from here? SHOW NOTES: Session #108 – Our first episode in lockdown
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