On this week’s podcast, we’ll hear from writer and director Susannah Grant. Grant is best known for writing Erin Brockovich, which earned her an Academy Award® nomination for best original screenplay in 2000. Grant also co-wrote the screenplays for Pocahontas, Ever After, 28 Days, In Her Shoes, and Charlotte’s Web. Grant spoke with Men in Black screenwriter Ed Solomon at the 21st Austin Film Festival in 2014.

This week, we’ll hear from television creator Alec Berg. Berg’s television credits include writing and executive producing Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Silicon Valley, which is currently in its fifth season. Later, we’ll hear from three screenwriters who have tackled the difficult task of adaptation. Sarah Gubbins co-created the Amazon series I Love Dick which was based on the 1997 novel of the same name, Marc Haimes wrote the 2016 animated film Kubo and the Two Strings and is currently working on adapting the graphic novel Nimona and the bestselling novel The Girl Who Drank the Moon, and Eric Heisserer who adapted the novella The Story of Your Life into the 2016 Oscar Nominated film Arrival.

Alec Berg has written for some of television’s most acclaimed comedies including Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Silicon Valley. He co-created the new HBO show Barry with former SNL star Bill Hader. The series follows Barry, played by Hadder, who is a depressed, low-level hit man looking for a way out. I recently spoke with Berg over the phone to discuss using research to help develop a story, avoiding clichés, and the evolution television comedies.   

Clips of Barry courtesy of HBO.

Next we’ll hear from three screenwriters who have tackled the difficult task of adaptation. Sarah Gubbins co-created the Amazon series I Love Dick which was based on the 1997 novel of the same name, Marc Haimes wrote the 2016 animated film Kubo and the Two Strings and is currently working on adapting the graphic novel Nimona and the best selling novel The Girl Who Drank the Moon, and Eric Heisserer who adapted the novella The Story of Your Life into the 2016 Oscar Nominated film Arrival. Gubbins, Haimes, and Heisserer spoke with me at the 24th Austin Film Festival to discuss translating themes and literary devices, collaborating with authors, and when to take creative liberties.

Clips of Arrival courtesy of Xenolinguistics, LLC. and Clips of I Love Dick courtesy of Amazon Studios and Topple Productions

On today's Oscars® Special we’ll year from Academy Award®nominated filmmaker Frank Stiefel. Stiefel’s short documentary Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 is nominated for Best Documentary Short at the 2018 Academy Awards®.

Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 is a portrait of Mindy Alper, a tortured and brilliant artist who lives with a mental disorder, acute anxiety and devastating depression.

I recently spoke with Frank Stiefel to discuss the long journey of his Oscar® nominated film.

This week, web series creator-turned cable TV sensation Issa Rae on her journey from YouTube to HBO, her desire for diversity on television and her hit series Insecure. We'll also hear from comedy impresario Larry Wilmore on his work developing Insecure with Issa Rae and his perspective on diverse new voices in comedy.

With her own unique flare and infectious sense of humor, Issa Rae’s content has garnered over 25 million views and more than 300,000 subscribers on YouTube. In addition to making the Forbes 30 Under 30 list twice and winning awards for her web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, Issa Rae has worked on web content for Pharrell Williams, Tracey Edmonds and numerous others. She developed a TV series with Shonda Rhimes for ABC and developed the HBO hit series, Insecure with legendary comedian Larry Wilmore. The series has garnered Rae a Golden Globe® nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in Television Series-Musical or Comedy for the second year in a row. The series pilot was written by both Rae and Wilmore and is slated for a third season this year. Screenwriter Pamela Ribbon spoke with Issa Rae at the 22nd Austin Film Festival in 2015.

Clips of the Season 3 trailer courtesy of: 3 Arts Entertainment and Home Box Office (HBO)

Clips of The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl courtesy of: Issa Rae Productions, Inc.

Rae developed the pilot for Insecure with veteran writer and comedian Larry Wilmore. He started his career as an actor and stand-up comedian before writing and producing on the early nineties classic television shows In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and The Jamie Foxx Show . He co-created The PJ’s with Eddie Murphy, The Bernie Mac Show and was consulting producer and guest star on the American version of The Office. Most recently, Wilmore was the host of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. We caught up with Wilmore by phone to discuss his collaborations with Issa Rae and other new voices in comedy.

This week we mark Veteran’s Day with a look at the depiction of war on screen with the writers behind The Pacific, China Beach, We Were Soldiers and Six.

Bruce C. McKenna is an award-winning screenwriter and producer.  He wrote on four of the ten episodes of HBO’s Emmy Award-winning mini-series Band of Brothers, for which he garnered a WGA Award, a Christopher Award and was a finalist for the Humanitas Prize for his episode, Bastogne. He created, co-wrote and co-executive produced The Pacific, the Emmy Award-winning Miniseries for HBO, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks on the Pacific Theater of the Second World War.  In addition to winning a producing Emmy, McKenna was nominated for his second writing Emmy, was again a finalist for the Humanitas Prize, and garnered a Producer’s Guild Award, a Critic’s Choice Award, as well as the Marine Corp Heritage Foundation Bill Broyles Image Award.  

Bill Broyles grew up in Baytown, Texas, attended Rice University and Oxford University, worked in the civil rights movement, and finished out the Sixties as a Marine infantry lieutenant in Vietnam. As a journalist he was the founding editor of Texas Monthly and from 1982 to 1984 was editor-in-chief of Newsweek. He was the co-creator of the Emmy-Award -winning television series China Beach. He wrote the original screenplay for the movie Cast Away and the screenplay for Jarhead. He co-authored six other screenplays, including Apollo 13, Unfaithful, The Polar Express and Flags of Our Fathers. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay for Apollo 13, which won the Writers Guild award for best screenplay.  He has been involved with the Austin Film Festival from the beginning.

Randall Wallace is the Oscar®-nominated creative force behind the epic storytelling of such critical and box-office hits as Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, Pearl Harbor, Secretariat, and Heaven is for Real.

David Broyles grew up in California, New York, and on a dude ranch in Bandera, Texas. He attended the University of Texas and Columbia University, and served as a Pararescueman (PJ) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Following his enlistment, he was recognized by the Governor of Texas for exceptional volunteer work and advocacy for disabled veterans. He has sold several screenplays and most recently co-created Six, an upcoming dramatic series for the History Channel. David has been involved with the Austin Film Festival for many years as a writer, director, and volunteer.

Today on Austin Film Festival’s On Story Podcast, A conversation with James Franco.

Actor, filmmaker, author and educator James Franco first rose to prominence on the cult sensation FREAKS AND GEEKS and has since followed with unforgettable roles in films both large and small. He won a Golden Globe early in his career for his portrayal of film icon James Dean and was nominated for an Academy award in the best actor category for his role in 127 hours.  In addition to his contributions in the industry, Franco teaches a course in short film production at the University of Southern California and a course in screenwriting at UCLA where he is an adjunct professor of English.

Today’s podcast was recorded at the 19^th annual Austin Film Festival as part of our ongoing “A CONVERSATION WITH” series.

With a career spanning more than 30 years in television, David Chase’s work as a writer, director and producer has cut a wide swath contributing to such shows as The Rockford Files and Northern Exposure and as creator of HBO’s The Sopranos. Portions of today’s podcast were recorded at the 7^th annual Austin Film Festival and at the 19^th annual Austin Film Festival as part of our on going A Conversation With series. Chase’s new film Not Fade Away is in theatres now.

Austin Film Festival’s On Story Podcast is brought to you by  Austin Film Festival. Our executive producer is Barbara Morgan. Today’s podcast was produced and edited by Brian Ramos. For more information on the podcast, On Story the television show, and Austin Film Festival, go to www.onstory.tv or www.austinfilmfestival.com.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, BODY HEAT THE BIG CHILL, SILVERADO, THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST, RETURN OF THE JEDI. Lawrence Kasdan  has written, directed, or produced more than twenty-four motion pictures, among them, some of the most successful films of all time. Today’s podcast was recorded at the 18^th annual Austin Film Festival on October 20^th 2011 as part of AFF’s on going “A Conversation With” series.

The heroes and monsters from the B-movies of yesteryear have experienced a rebirth as films like ZOMBIELAND and RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES reinvigorate the tried-and-true monster movie formula. Today on the the Austin Film Festival Podcast we’ll explore the evolution of the monster genre, and how filmmakers continue to find new ways to interpret to their old favorites.