On this week’s On Story we’ll speak with the writers behind Mad Men, Westworld, and 11.22.63 to explore audiences fascination with film and television set in the past and the challenges writers face when tasked with telling stories set in a different time. We’ll also hear from some of today’s top romantic comedy writers on the lasting influence of filmmaker Nora Ephron.

From Lawrence of Arabia to The Crown, audiences have always been intrigued by stories set in the past. But what considerations do writers have to make when telling a story in a different time and what liberties can they take when they are writing about real events or real people? Screenwriter Alvarao Rodriguez spoke with 11.22.63 creator Bridget Carpenter and Mad Men writer Carly Wray to discuss research, authenticity, and the dangers of nostalgia.

Sleepless in Seattle. When Harry Met Sally. You've Got Mail. Julie & Julia. It’s undeniable that Nora Ephron was one of the greatest romantic comedy writer/directors Hollywood has ever seen. Professor Greg Garrett spoke with Man Up writer Tess Morris and (500) Days of Summer writer Scott Neustadter to discuss how Ephron’s films continue to entertain audiences and how her writing has influenced their own work.

Clips of Westworld courtesy of Home Box Office (HBO), Warner Brothers Television, and Bad Robot

Clips of 11.22.63 courtesy of Warner Brothers Entertainment

Clips of Mad Men courtesy of Lionsgate Television & American Movie Classics (AMC)

Clips of Silkwood courtesy of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

Clips of Sleepless in Seattle courtesy of TriStar Pictures, Inc

Clips of Julie & Julia courtesy of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc 

Clips of When Harry Met Sally courtesy of Castle Rock Entertainment

Clips of You've Got Mail courtesy of Warner Brothers, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, LP

This week on On Story we’ll hear from documentary storytellers Chapman and Maclain Way on their Emmy award winning Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country. The six part series tells the true story of a controversial Indian guru and his attempt to build a utopian city deep in rural Oregon in the 1980’s.

Wild Wild Country explores the true story of an Indian guru who attempted to build a Utopian community on a ranch in rural Oregon in the 1980’s and the impeding conflict that resulted with the locals. The series was created by documentary filmmakers Chapman and Maclain Way and went on to be nominated for 5 Emmys including a win for Outstanding Documentary Series. Journalist Michael MacCambridge interviewed the Way brothers at the 25th annual Austin Film Festival.

Clips of Wild Wild Country courtesy of Duplass Brothers Productions & Netflix, Inc.

On this week’s On Story we’ll hear from playwright and screenwriter Graham Gordy on his new film Antiquities and the third season of HBO’s True Detective. Later we’ll hear from veteran screenwriter Tony Gilroy whose work on the Matt Damon starring Bourne series revitalized the spy genre and whose movie, Michael Clayton, was nominated for seven Academy Awards®.

Graham Gordy is an award-winning playwright whose work has been produced and performed by Naked Angels, The New Group and The Royal Court. As a television writer, Gordy wrote for the Sundance series Rectify and co-created the Cinemax drama Quarry. Most recently, Gordy was a writer and consulting producer for the third season of HBO’s True Detective and the co-writer of the independent comedy Antiquities. Trailer for Season 3 of True Detective courtesy of Home Box Office, Inc.  

Tony Gilroy is a screenwriter and director who has been working for over 25 years. His writing credits include the first three films in the Matt Damon starring Bourne series, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Beirut. As a writer/director Gilroy was behind the fourth installment in the Bourne franchise – The Bourne Legacy and 2007’s Michael Clayton which was nominated for seven Academy Awards® including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. I spoke with Tony Gilroy at the 25th Austin Film Festival where he was accepting 2018’s Distinguished Screenwriter Award. 

Clip of Michael Clayton courtesy of Clayton Productions, LLC. 
Clips of The Bourne Identity courtesy of Kalima Productions, GmbH & Co. KG 
Clips of The Bourne Supremacy courtesy of Motion Picture Theta Productions, GmbH & Co. KG and Universal City Studios, LLLP
Clips of The Bourne Ultimatum & The Bourne Legacy courtesy of Universal City Studios Productions, LLLP
Clip of Proof of Life courtesy of Warner Brothers, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company LP & Bel Air Pictures, LLC

Gilroy also wrote the screenplay for Dolores Claiborne, The Cutting Edge, and Proof of Life. Most recently, Gilroy co-wrote Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and served as a consulting producer on Netflix’s hit series House of Cards during the show’s third and fourth seasons. 

Marriage is hard. Writing is hard. Writing with your spouse? Easy as pie. On this special Valentine's day episode we'll hear from a panel of writers who tied the knot. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are best known for writing and co-producing the reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise including Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and it's third installment, War for the Planet of the Apes which was released in 2017. Jaffa and Silver are currently in production co-writing Avatar 2 & 3 with director James Cameron.  Cormac and Marianne Wibblerly have been writing together since the early 1990's and are credited writers on films including National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets and Bad Boys 2. Both couples recently sat down at the 25th Austin Film Festival to discuss the ups and downs, creative differences, and the different dynamic between married writing partners with Professor Fred Strype.

For every established Hollywood producer there are countless up-and-coming writers desperately trying to get their work read. Despite the odds of ‘making it’ these people continue to write. In our new podcast series, “Toiling in Obscurity” we hear from working writers on their day to day obstacles and what keeps them inspired to keep writing.

Revati Dhomse and Hector Lowe won the 2018 Austin Film Festival & Josephson Entertainment Screenwriting Fellowship for their feature screenplay, The Death of Colm Canter. Both dated before becoming writing partners. We spoke with the pair at the Austin Film Festival to discuss how they use their individual strengths to keep each other accountable as they continue pursuing their writing dreams.

On this week’s On Story, Emmy Award® winning television producer, actor, comedian and writer Larry Wilmore discusses the creation of the influential Bernie Mac Show and his recent collaboration with Issa Rae creating HBO’s Insecure.

Larry Wilmore has been an actor, comedian, producer, and writer for more than 25 years. Wilmore’s credits include writing for In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and The Office. In 2001 Wilmore created The Bernie Mac Show for comedian Bernie Mac. The series ran for five seasons and earned Wilmore an Emmy Award and Peabody. Wilmore was a writer for Fox’s groundbreaking In Living Color and created The Bernie Mac Show. In 2016, Wilmore co-created HBO’s Insecure with writer and actress Issa Rae. The comedy series was recently renewed for a fourth season. Wilmore spoke about his career with actor John Merriman in front of a live audience at the Austin Film Festival’s Writers Conference.

Clip of Bernie Mac courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Clip of The Original Kings of Comedy courtesy of Paramount Pictures Corporation

Clip of The PJ’s courtesy of Touchstone Pictures & Television, a.a.d.o Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Clip of An Evening at the Improv courtesy of A&E Network & TeleAmerica Entertainment, Inc.

Clip of Insecure courtesy of Home Box Office, Inc. & Issa Rae Productions, Inc.

On this week’s On Story podcast, a panel of veteran producers discuss what they look for in a screenplay and how they decide which writers to work with. And later, we hear from up and coming writer Wes Brown as part of our new podcast series, “Toiling in Obscurity” where we explore working writers on their day to day obstacles and what keeps them inspired to keep writing.

Nothing in Hollywood can get made without the guiding hand of a producer. They are the driving force behind getting any project off the ground and to be a successful writer you have to have one in your corner. A panel of veteran producer’s recently sat down at the 25th Austin Film Festival to discuss what they look for in a screenplay and how they decide which writers to work with. The panel included Michael Grillo who is the Executive Producer behind some of Marvel’s biggest hits including Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and the upcoming Avengers: End Game. Barry Josephson, President of Josephson Entertainment and the producer behind Enchanted, Dirty Grandpa, The Last Boy Scout and the Executive Producer behind a string of television hits including Amazon’s The Tick and Bones. And Jayme Lemons who is the Co-founder of Jaywalker pictures with actress Laura Dern and the producer behind Enlightened, Antiquities, and the Emmy nominated HBO film The Tale.

Wes Brown has written for AMC’s The Son and Fear the Walking Dead. In 2014 Brown won the Austin Film Festival AMC 1-Hour Drama Pilot award. We spoke with Wes Brown at the Austin Film Festival to discuss the years he spent pursuing his dream.

This week on On Story we’ll hear from writer, producer, and showrunner Graham Yost. Yost has been behind 90's action hits Speed and Broken Arrow, World War II epics Band of Brothers and The Pacific, and the suspenseful TV dramas Justified and the recent Golden Globe winning FX series The Americans. And later we’ll hear from husband and wife creators Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller on the second season of their Netflix comedy series Friends from College which stars Fred Savage, Keegan-Michael Key, and Cobie Smulders.

In the 1990’s he wrote the Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock action hit Speed. He followed the success of that film by writing a string of action hits that included Broken Arrow, and The Last Castle. In the 2000’s Yost returned to television writing two installments of the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning World War II series Band of Brothers and the Emmy Award winning follow up The Pacific. Most recently Yost was the showrunner of the Emmy winning FX series Justified, the Executive Producer on the Golden Globe winning series The Americans, and showrunner of the Amazon series Sneaky Pete which was co-created by actor Bryan Cranston. Clips of Justified courtesy of Sony Pictures Television Inc. & Bluebush Productions, LLC. Clips of Justifiedcourtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Corporation. 

Netflix’s original series Friends from College follows six Harvard alums living New York City in their 40s and the complicated relationships they have with each other. The series was created by husband and wife team Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller. Stoller is known for writing and directing comedy films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors, and Get Him to the Greek. The pair spoke about creating the comedy series after the Season 2 premiere at the 25 Annual Austin Film Festival. Clips and trailers of Friends from College courtesy of Netflix, Inc.

This week on On Story we’ll hear from screenwriting duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods on how the classic silent films of Charlie Chaplin and Jacques Tati and the board game Monopoly inspired 2018’s biggest horror hit A Quiet Place. Later we’ll hear from Veteran screenwriter Linda Woolverton who is responsible for writing some of Disney’s most beloved films; Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Maleficent.

Filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods first met as sixth-graders in their hometown of Bettendorf, Iowa. The two quickly began a creative collaboration that continues today.  Most recently the pair wrote the screenplay for A Quiet Place. The film stars Emily Blunt and John Krasinski as a husband and wife who are forced to raise a family in a post apocalyptic world surrounded by monsters who hunt anything that makes a noise.  The horror film was one of 2018’s biggest hits – it received critical acclaim and grossed over $300 million. Filmmaker Christopher Boone spoke with Beck and Woods about writing the genre script at the 25th Annual Austin Film Festival in 2018. Clips of A Quiet Place courtesy of Paramount Pictures Corporation.

Writer Linda Woolverton has built a career on telling family friendly stories. In 1991 she wrote her first animated feature, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The film won a Golden Globe and became the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards®. She continued her success with Disney by contributing to the scripts for The Lion King, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey and Mulan. More recently, Woolverton wrote the screenplays for Tim Burton’s live-action Alice in Wonderland and 2014’s Maleficent which starred Angelina Jolie. Story Bar Founder Erin Hallagan spoke with Linda Woolverton at the 25th Annual Austin Film Festival in 2018. Clips of Beauty and the Beast (1991) courtesy of the Walt Disney Company. Clips of Alice in Wonderland (2010) & Maleficent courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc.

On this week’s episode, we’re bringing you conversations with filmmakers and television creators behind new releases in film and television.  Actor Natalie Portman and filmmaker Brady Corbet will discuss  their pop culture focused Vox Lux, later writer/director Peter Hedges discusses his heart wrenching addiction drama Ben is Back, and finally creator Justin Marks will discuss his mind-bending espionage thriller series Counterpart which is currently in it’s 2nd season on the Starz network.

Vox Lux is the new film from actor turned filmmaker Brady Corbet. The film follows the rise and turbulent career of a pop star that is catapulted to stardom after surviving a violent tragedy as a teenager. Austin Film Festival’s Senior Film Program Director Liz Mims spoke with writer/director Brady Cobert and star Natalie Portman after a screening of Vox Lux at the 25th annual Austin Film Festival. Trailer of Vox Lux courtesy of Neon &Bold Films Productions, LLC.

Filmmaker Peter Hedges has written as a novelist, a playwright, and screenwriter. His film credits include What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, About a Boy, and Pieces of April. His newest film, Ben is Back, explores the relationship of a mother and estranged teenage son who is battling addiction. The film stars Julie Roberts and Hedges’ son, Lucas Hedges. I spoke with Peter Hedges after a screening of Ben is Back at the 25th annual Austin Film Festival. Clips of Ben is Back courtesy of: Roadside Attractions & LD Entertainment.

On this week’s On Story we’ll hear from filmmaker Faraday Okoro, a two-time Austin Film Festival alumni and featured in Moviemaker Magazine’s Screenwriter to Watch List. His first feature film Nigerian Prince was produced for $1 million as part of AT&T’s Untold Stories initiative. And later, we’ll hear from author Christopher Vogler, whose landmark book The Writers Journey has helped countless screenwriters shape their scripts by using the writings of mythologist Joseph Campbell.

31-year-old writer/director Faraday Okoro is a rising talent. Okoro’s first two shorts, Full-Windsor and Blitz screened at several major film festivals including Austin Film Festival and internationally. Okoro’s new film Nigerian Prince premiered at the 2018 Tribecca Film Festival. The film is a coming of age, heist thriller that explores the hidden world of Nigerian email scammers. I recently spoke with Okoro about the learning process behind making his first feature and the thematic elements that tie his work together.

Christopher Vogler is a veteran Hollywood story consultant and author who is best known for his landmark book The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers. Vogler’s book looked at the writings of mythologist Joseph Campbell and explored the universal narrative structures and character archetypes that all stories follow. As a story consultant for various studios, Vogler worked on The Lion King, Aladdin and Hercules, Fight Club, and The Wrestler. Professor Greg Garrett spoke with Christopher Vogler at the 24th Austin Film Festival in 2017.