Austin Film Festival's On Story

On this week’s episode, second generation actor Ed Begley Jr. talks about what he looks for when choosing new projects, finding the pain in a character, working with Christopher Guest and other comedy legends.

Ed Begley Jr. has performed in hundreds of movies and television shows, including An Officer and a Gentleman, St. Elsewhere, This Is Spinal Tap, Batman Forever, Pineapple Express, Better Call Saul, and Best in Show. He is most recognized for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series St. Elsewhere for which he received six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award Nomination. He is a recurring cast member in several of the mockumentaries written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy. Barbara Morgan spoke with Ed Begley at the 23rd Annual Austin Film Festival in 2016. 

Direct download: Ed_Begley_Jr_REFEED.mp3
Category:Film and Television -- posted at: 3:53pm CDT

This week on On Story, we’ll hear from podcast pioneers on breaking into a new medium and adapting audio stories for television. And later, we’ll hear from rising television talent, Misha Green, on her work co-creating the critically acclaimed, genre-bending drama Underground.

Narrative fiction podcasts have updated the radio drama with a modern, streamable twist. This new medium has attracted storytellers who, until recently, never considered telling strictly audio stories. Writers Lauren Shippen and Jenny Turner Hall discussed their transition into podcasting and the new opportunities that their shows have provided them at the 2017 Austin Film Festival.

Next up we’ll hear from television writer and showrunner Misha Green. Green began her career as a staff writer on FX’s hit drama Sons of Anarchy and NBC’s cult sci fi series, Heroes. Green later went on to co-create Undergound, which chronicled a group of Georgia slaves who escaped bondage to find freedom via the Underground Railroad. The series broke ratings records for the WGN network and was nominated for several awards. Misha Green spoke with filmmaker Ya’ke Smith at the 2017 Austin Film Festival.

Clips of Underground courtesy of: Safehouse Pictures, Get Lifted Film Company Sony Pictures Television, Safehouse Pictures

 

Direct download: MISHA_GREEN_REFEED.mp3
Category:Film and Television -- posted at: 1:54pm CDT

This week, the indie filmmakers behind Transformer, Don't Talk to Irene and  Mr Fish: Cartooning From the Deep End discuss their journey from initial concept to ultimately producing and screening their award winning films in Austin Film Festival's film competition this past year.

We begin the show with last year's  powerful Documentary Feature Jury Award and Hiscox Insurance Audience Award  winner (tied with Mr. Fish): Transformer. Written and directed by Michael Del Monte, the film follows former U.S Marine and world-record powerlifter, Matt “Kroc” Kroczaleski as he sets out to become a woman. Outed as being transgender and banned from competition Janae, attempts to find her place in society. Transformer world premiered at the Austin Film Festival in 2017. Film Competition Director, Harrison Glaser spoke with  Del Monte and Janae at a special screening of the film hosted at the Alamo Drafthouse Village earlier this year.

Next up, our 2017 Comedy Vanguard Feature Jury and Audience Award winner: Don't Talk to Irene. Written and directed by Pat Mills, Don't Talk to Irene is Mills' second feature. The film's script first won Austin Film Festival's Best Comedy Screenplay Competition in 2013 and follows, Irene - the fattest girl in high school – as she gets suspended, and endures two weeks of community service at a retirement home. Mills, sat down with me to discuss the film at a special screening hosted earlier this year at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. Additionally, the film director, screenwriter and actor was also named one of MovieMaker Magazine's 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2018.

Finally, we wrap the show with the other Documentary Feature Audience Award winner last year: Mr Fish: Cartooning From the Deep End (tied with Transformer). The film follows, adult themed editorial cartoonist, Mr. Fish as he navigates his often controversial profession during a time when the industry is on the way out. Directed by Pablo Bryant, the documentary reveals the struggles Mr. Fish endures to stay true to his creativity in a world where biting satiric humor has an ever-diminishing commercial value. Film Competition Director, Harrison Glaser spoke with Bryant, Mr. Fish and Diana Day at a special year round event screening of the film at the Alamo Drafthouse Village earlier this month.

 

Direct download: INDIE_FILMS_CUT_3_6-11-18.mp3
Category:Film and Television -- posted at: 11:16am CDT

This week, we talk with Ed Solomon, the comedic screenwriter behind Hollywood classics Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Men in Black, and Now You See Me.  Solomon looks back on his long journey working on Men in Black, and discusses working with industry icons such as Barry Sonnenfeld, Tommy Lee Jones, and Will Smith.

Ed Solomon is the co-writer for the screenplays Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and its sequel, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, and also wrote on It’s Garry Shandling’s Show for its first three seasons.  He then penned the screenplay for Men in Black, and many others, including the first X-Men (uncredited).  Since then he’s worked on all sorts of films, including Levity, which he also directed. He wrote the Lion’s Gate film Now You See Me, Now You See Me 2, Sony Picture’s How to Disappear Completely, and Colossus for Universal Studios.

 

Direct download: OnStory_EdSolomon_06062018.mp3
Category:Film and Television -- posted at: 11:39am CDT

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