On this episode of On Story, Die Hard screenwriter Jeb Stuart and Lethal Weapon screenwriter Shane Black discuss their two action classics, followed by screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen on his long-standing collaboration with filmmaker Luc Besson and their work creating the The Fifth Element, The Transporter and Taken.

The 1987 blockbuster Lethal Weapon is the first writing credit in Shane Black’s filmography. He went on to act in, write or write and direct over 30 films including The Long Kiss Goodnight, Iron Man 3, and The Nice Guys. Black’s latest film, will be a remake of his 1987 sci-fi film, entitled, The Predator is slated for release August of 2018. Shane Black’s popular Lethal Weapon franchise has currently evolved into a TV show on Fox of the same name and stars Damon Wayans. Season 2 of the TV show is slated for early 2018.

Jeb Stuart wrote the screenplay for the action classic, Die Hard. The film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards® and voted the Best Action Film of All Time by Entertainment Weekly in 2007. Jeb Stuart’s other credits include the screenplays for The Fugitive, nominated for 7 Academy Awards® including Best Picture and the action-comedy Another 48 Hrs.

I spoke with Shane Black and Jeb Stuart in 2015 as part of the 22nd Austin Film Festival. Portions of this half of our episode were recorded at the Q&A session following a special screening of Die Hard at the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin Texas in 2015.

Robert Mark Kamen’s screenwriting credits begin with the script for the 1981 film Taps which was adapted from Devery Freeman’s novel Father Sky, and which stars George C Scott, Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn and Tom Cruise in his first major role in a motion picture.

He went on to create The Karate Kid, starring Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio, and collaborated with filmmaker Luc Besson on The Fifth Element, as well as the Transporter and Taken franchises.

I spoke with Robert Mark Kamen on July 12th 2015 at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin Texas.

On this week’s On Story we’ll hear from Everybody Loves Raymond Executive Producer and Somebody Feed Phil creator and host Phil Rosenthal on the common thread between travel shows and sitcoms, the unifying power of food and the late great Anthony Bourdain. And later, Rosenthal discusses his comedy documentary, Exporting Raymond. 

In 1995 Phil Rosenthal created the hit CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond. He served as Showrunner and Executive Producer for all nine years of the series run which earned more than 70 Emmy nominations. Rosenthal’s new Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil follows Rosenthal as he travels the globe taking in the local cuisine and culture. I sat down with Phil to discuss food, family, and the new season of Somebody Feed Phil, which is out July 6th on Netflix.

Clips of Somebody Feed Phil courtesy of Netflix, Inc.

Following the creation of the hit CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond, Rosenthal is asked to adapt the series for Russian TV. He chronicles this journey through the comedy documentary, Exporting Raymond. The film follows Phil as he travels to Moscow to recreate the show for Russian audiences as Everybody Loves Kostya. Throughout the film, Rosenthal faces a series of challenges. Eventually, Rosenthal and the Russian creators come to an understanding despite the obvious culture and language barriers. The documentary premiered at the 17th annual Austin Film Festival in 2010. Rosenthal spoke with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang writer/director Shane Black at the Historic Paramount Theatre during the 17th annual Austin Film Festival in 2010.

Clips of Exporting Raymond courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

This week, Andrew Lanham co-writer of The Glass Castle, discusses adapting the New York Times Best Seller memoir of the same name followed by Life of Pi and Finding Neverland writer David Magee discusses writing for imaginative worlds, and using language to translate stories to the screen.

Andrew Lanham received his MFA in screenwriting from The University of Texas at Austin. In 2010, he won the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting, as well as the Drama and Latitude screenwriting awards at the Austin Film Festival, for his script The Jumper of Maine which tackles Lanham’s Tourette’s syndrome. Lanham helped co-write Jeannette Walls memoir and New York Times Best Seller, The Glass Castle. The film stars Academy Award® winning actress Brie Larson as Walls, Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson.

David Magee is an Academy Award nominated screenwriter known for adapting the beloved novel by Yann Martel, Life of Pi. He also co-wrote the screenplay for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Finding Neverland. His screen adaptation of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and earned director Ang Lee an Oscar for Best Director.

Magee is also the screenwriter for the next Chronicles of Narnia film, The Silver Chair and is currently writing the screenplay for the Disney musical Mary Poppins Returns.

David Magee spoke with me during a special year-round event held in the Harry Ransom Center in 2013. Clips from this episode copyright: Dune Entertainment III LLC, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, and Miramax Film Corporation.

This week, writer-director Ric Roman Waugh and producer Jonathan King discuss their film, Shot Caller, followed by Oscar® nominated writer Frank Darabont detailing the process behind adapting Stephen King’s novel turned award-winning iconic film, The Shawshank Redemption.

Ric Roman Waugh has written numerous studio-based feature film screenplays for producers such as: Jerry Bruckheimer, Barry Josephson, Jim Sheridan just to name a few. This includes his latest screenplay, Currency, which Ric will direct next for producer Steve Golin and Participant Media. Ric also wrote and directed the critically acclaimed film, Felon, for Sony. The prison-based drama starred Val Kilmer. He followed that film with the dramatic-thriller, Snitch, which he also co-wrote and directed. He also recently produced and directed the documentary, That Which I Love Destroys Me. His film, Shot Caller, which Waugh produced and directed from his own screenplay for Bold Films and Participant Media.

Three-time Oscar® nominee Frank Darabont has made a name for himself as a screenplay writer, most famously for his adaptations of horror novelist Stephen King’s books The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, and The Mist. Darabont is also credited with creating the wildly popular AMC television series, The Walking Dead. Darabont’s accolades include Oscar® nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay in both, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption.

On this week’s special podcast, Everybody Loves Raymond Executive Producer and Somebody Feed Phil creator and host Phil Rosenthal – will discuss the common thread between travel shows and sitcoms, the unifying power of food and the late great Anthony Bourdain.

In 1995 Phil Rosenthal created the hit CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond. He served as Showrunner and Executive Producer for all nine years of the series run which earned more than 70 Emmy nominations.

Rosenthal’s new Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil follows Phil as he travels the globe taking in the local cuisine and culture. I sat down with Phil to discuss food, family, and the new season of Somebody Feed Phil, which is out July 6th on Netflix.

Clips of Somebody Feed Phil courtesy of Netflix, Inc.

This week, Oscar®-nominated writer Randall Wallace reflects on his  iconic and Academy Award®-winning film, Braveheart followed by screenwriter, Jeb Stuart who dissects the screenplay for his classic thriller The Fugitive, and fills us in on the story's journey from script to screen.

Randall Wallace is the Oscar®-nominated creative force behind many box-office hits such as Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, Pearl Harbor, Secretariat, and The Man in the Iron Mask. After drawing the interest of director and star Mel Gibson Braveheart became Wallace’s first produced screenplay and ended up the film success story of 1995, winning the Academy Awards® for Best Picture and Best Director, Writers Guild Award for Best Screenplay, as well as garnering Oscar® and Golden Globe nominations.

AFF Executive Director, Barbara Morgan spoke with Wallace at a retrospective screening of the film in at the 21st annual Austin Film Festival in 2014. Clips from this episode copyright: B.H. Finance, CV, Icon Productions and Ladd Company.

Jeb Stuart is the writer/producer responsible for the screenplays of several blockbuster films including Die Hard, The Fugitive, Fire Down Below, Another 48 Hours and Switchback which he also produced. Jeb Stuart spoke with No Film School contributor, Christopher Boone at the 22nd annual Austin Film Festival in 2015. Clips from this episode copyright Warner Brothers, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, LP.

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. 

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

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.

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.