This week on On Story, Alex Tse (co-creator Wu-Tang: An American Saga), David Gleeson (writer Tolkien), and Micah-Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster (co-writers A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) discuss strategies for writing an effective biopic and the art of balancing fact and fiction while staying true to the heart of your subject’s story.

If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Austin Film Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work.

Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

This week on On Story we’ll bring you conversations with two comedy titans. VEEP showrunner and Seinfeld writer David Mandel will discuss the widely successful HBO series that wrapped in 2019 and legendary screenwriter Daniel Petrie, Jr. will examine the 1985 comedy classic Beverly Hills Cop which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Clips of Veep courtesy of Home Box Office, Inc

Clips of Beverly Hills Cop courtesy of Paramount Pictures Corporation

On Story is part of a growing number of programs in Austin Film Festival’s On Story Project, including the On Story PBS series, The On Story radio program and podcast and the On Story book series. To find out more about On Story and Austin Film Festival, visit onstory.tv or austinfilmfestival.com

On Story is brought to you in part by the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, a Texas family providing innovative funding since 1979.

This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the US Institute of Museum and Library Services and Texas Library and Archives Commission.

This program is also made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas the state affiliate for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

On Story is supported in part by DePaul University's School of Cinematic Arts.

The show is produced by myself, Barbara Morgan, our associate producers are Colin Hyer, Maya Perez, and Kaetie Turner. Our editors are Jamal Knox and Travis Neeley. Audio capture by Travis Kennedy. Music is by Brian Ramos. Production assistance comes from Sound Lab Inc. Travis Kennedy and KUT 90.5 in Austin. Go to AustinFilmFestival.com to find out more about the Austin Film Festival & Conference in October.

This week on On Story, we’re exploring action & description with the writers behind 22 Jump Street, Watchmen, and Jurassic World 3.

If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Austin Film Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work.

Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

This week on On Story, the writers behind The Terror, The Chi, Mudbound, and NCIS: New Orleans explore how a location and time period can influence the tone of your story.

If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Austin Film Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work.

Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

This week on On Story, Jason Fuchs (co-writer Wonder Woman), David Lowery (writer/director A Ghost Story), and Kay Oyegun (writer This Is Us) discuss the importance of dialogue in your script – when to ‘show’ and when to ‘tell’ and why something we do every day can be so difficult to get down on the page.

If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Austin Film Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work.

Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

This week on On Story the writers behind Westworld, Insecure, Hook, and Queen Sugar explore the tools for writing compelling characters and why character building is so vital to the success of your story.

If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Austin Film Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work.

Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

This week on On Story we're kicking off our new series AFF AT HOME. Spark your story with Ashley Miller (Thor), Amy Louise Johnson (The Long Road Home) and Herschel Weingrod (Trading Places) as they discuss tips for tackling the blank page. 

If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Austin Film Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work.

Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

This is On Story from Austin Film Festival. I’m your host Barbara Morgan.

Over the next few weeks we will be releasing a new series titled AFF AT HOME. Austin Film Festival’s mission has always been to further the art and craft of storytelling. When we started the script competitions and festival in 1994, it was with the intention of creating a community for writers to engage with one another and to create a network that connects craft to career.

Times of uncertainty and conflict often bring out the best stories. We truly believe that now is the time for storytellers to work through everything that is happening. If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Our Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work.

To Kick-Off our new series we’re bringing you audio from Austin Film Festival’s 2019 Opening Remarks. Screenwriter Ed Solomon joined our staff to kick off the Conference and discuss sparking your story by examining the writers mindset and freeing yourself from misconceptions and obstacles that can prevent you from future opportunities.

Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

This week on On Story Matt Dy, discusses the journey of navigating competitions to careers with Austin Film Festival screenplay competition alumni, Eric Haywood, co-executive producer of FOR LIFE; Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis, co-writers of THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA; and Charmaine DeGraté, writer and co-executive producer of DAISY JONES & THE SIX.

Austin Film Festival’s script competition is currently accepting submissions for 2020. March 27 is the early deadline, April 17 is the regular deadline, and May 15 is the late deadline. All entrants receive free reader comments and advancing writers will be afforded exclusive panels, workshops, and networking opportunities at Austin Film Festival’s annual writers conference this October 22 - 29. For more information and to submit please visit www.austinfilmfestival.com

This week on On Story we’ll hear from some of the writing team behind the first season of the immensely popular Fox drama series EMPIRE and later we’ll hear from veteran television writer and producer Virgil Williams who was nominated for a 2018 Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for the film MUDBOUND.

Clips of Empire courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Television

Clips of Mudbound courtesy of Netflix and MMC Joule Films LLC

Clips of 24 courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Walt Disney Television.

On Story is part of a growing number of programs in Austin Film Festival’s On Story Project, including the On Story PBS series, The On Story radio program and podcast and the On Story book series. To find out more about On Story and Austin Film Festival, visit On Story.tv or austinfilmfestival.com.