This week on On Story, a conversation with The Queen’s Gambit co-creator, Scott Frank and Chernobyl researcher Mimi Munson. Frank is an Academy Award nominated screenwriter whose recent project, The Queen’s Gambit, won Best Miniseries at the Golden Globes. I spoke with Frank and Munson at the 2020 virtual Austin Film Festival about their frequent collaboration and how research plays a crucial part in developing projects.

This week on On Story, Emmy-award winning television creator and screenwriter Damon Lindelof joins us for a conversation about the HBO series Watchmen. The series was nominated for 26 Emmy awards - ultimately winning 11, including Best Limited Series.

Clips of Watchmen courtesy of DC Comics, Home Box Office, and Warner Brothers Television

Clips of The Leftovers courtesy of Warner Brothers Television and Home Box Office

This week on On Story, critically acclaimed writer, Kevin Willmott, joins us for an in-depth conversation on balancing messages of social justice with entertainment. His filmography includes collaborations with filmmaker Spike Lee on Da 5 Bloods, Chi-Raq, and  BlacKkKlansman – which one the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay 2019. Greg Garrett spoke with Willmott at the virtual Austin Film Festival.

Clips of The Searchers courtesy of C.V. Whitney Pictures, Warner Brothers, and HBOMax

Clips of Destination Planet Negro courtesy of Candy Factory Films

Clips of BlackKklansman courtesy of Focus Features, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Clips of the 24th courtesy of New Slate Ventures and Vertical Entertainment

Clips of She’s Gotta Have It courtesy of 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks and MGM Home Entertainment

Clips of Chi-Raq courtesy of 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks and Amazon Studios

Clips of Da 5 Bloods courtesy of Netflix

This week on On Story, filmmakers Stanley Kalu and Ali Leroi discuss the journey of bringing The Obituary of Tunde Johnson from a screenplay competition to the screen. The film follows an African-American teenager that is trapped in a terrifying time loop after being shot to death by police. Ali LeRoi is an Emmy Award-winning writer who is best known for co-creating the hit series Everybody Hates Chris. Stanley Kalu, is a screenwriter and former USC student - Tunde Johnson is his first produced screenplay. The pair spoke with Senior Film Programmer, Casey Baron, at the 2019 Austin Film Festival.

Clips of The Obituary of Tunde Johnson courtesy of Wolfe Releasing.

This week on On Story, a conversation with industry veteran, Akiva Goldsman. Goldsman has written across multiple genres -- from superhero movies to biographies tackling mental health issues. Some of his most recognizable film credits include Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, The Client, The Da Vinci Code, and the four-time Academy Award Winner A Beautiful Mind, which earned Goldsman a win for Best Adapted Screenplay. Recently, Goldsman has worked as a writer, director, and producer for the newest addition to the Star Trek television franchise, Star Trek: Picard.

This week on On Story, John Lee Hancock discusses writing and directing The Little Things. The film stars Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, and Rami Malek, and follows two police officers in pursuit of a serial killer terrorizing Los Angeles in the 1990s.

This week on On Story, a conversation with award-winning screenwriter, director, and author Amy Talkington. In 2020, she wrote the series finale episode of Hulu’s Emmy-nominated hit series Little Fires Everywhere, which she also co-executive produced. 2020 also saw the release of Valley Girl, a musical remake of the 80s cult film, which Talkington wrote. Sarah Lawrence professor Fred Strype, spoke with Talkington about Little Fires Everywhere and her career starting out as an independent filmmaker at the Austin Film Festival.

Clips of Little Fires Everywhere courtesy of ABC Signature Studios, Be Sunshine LLC, and Disney Enterprises Inc

This week on On Story a conversation with Gina Prince-Bythewood. Prince-Bythewood is an award-winning writer, director, and producer who has been working in film and television for over 20 years. As a writer/director Prince-Bythewood has released three feature films; Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, and Beyond the Lights.

Clips of Love & Basketball courtesy of New Line Cinema, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Clips of Beyond the Lights courtesy of BET Films and Relativity Media

Clips of The Old Guard courtesy of Netflix

From Austin Film Festival this is On Story, a look inside the creative process from today’s leading creators, writers and filmmakers. I’m your host, Barbara Morgan.

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie’s films include Jack Reacher, The Way of the Gun, and the two most recent Mission: Impossible films – Fallout and Rouge Nation.  His writing credits include Edge of Tomorrow, Top Gun: Maverick, and The Usual Suspects. The Usual Suspects garnered McQuarrie an Academy Award and the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay, as well as the Edgar Allan Poe and Independent Spirit Awards. It has since been named one of the 100 greatest screenplays of all time by The Writers Guild of America. I spoke with McQuarrie at an Austin Film Festival virtual event that was co-presented by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

From Austin Film Festival this is On Story, a look inside the creative process from today’s leading creators, writers and filmmakers. I’m your host, Barbara Morgan.

From Christmas classics to modern holiday hits, the magic of storytelling seems to be stronger during the holiday season. We spoke with the writers behind some of the most celebrated modern Christmas films to discuss writing stories set during the most wonderful time of the year. Karen Schaler wrote 2017’s A Christmas Prince which was Netflix’s first original Christmas film and spawned two sequels. Matt Lieberman wrote 2018’s The Christmas Chronicles, also released by Netflix, which starred Kurt Russell. Lieberman also wrote the sequel, The Christmas Chronicles 2. David Berenbaum wrote the 2003 holiday hit Elf which stars Will Ferrell. The three writers spoke with moderator Fabienne Harford at the Austin Film Festival.