Austin Film Festival's On Story

This week’s On Story, actor Rob Huebel talks about his new hit show, Do You Want to See a Dead Body? followed by a conversation with the creator and executive producer of the Amazon show, The Tick. Later in our program writer/director, Ben Lewin talks about his latest film, Please Stand By.

Youtube Red’s original scripted series, Do You Want To See A Dead Body?, features alt-comedy veteran Rob Huebel as he entices his celebrity friends on mini-quests to find a dead body. Huebel is best known for co-creating and staring in MTVs sketch comedy series Human Giant with frequent collaborators Aziz Ansari and Paul Scheer; and his roles in Amazon’s Transparent and Alexander Payne’s The Descendants. Journalist Richard Whittaker spoke with star and creator Rob Huebel and producers Owen Burke and Jonathan Stern at the 24th Annual Austin Film Festival.

The Tick has taken on multiple iterations over the past 32 years. The super hero parody has appeared in comic books, cartoons, a video game, and two live action television series. Last year Amazon revived the character with a new origin story after a 14 year hiatus. Recently, I spoke with series creator Ben Edlund and executive producer Barry Josephson to discuss the characters long history and the second half of the first season which returns to Amazon on February 23rd.

Next up we bring you a discussion with Australian director Ben Lewin. Lewin’s films include The Sessions, Georgia, and his most recent film Please Stand By which stars Dakota Fanning as a young autistic woman who runs away from home in an attempt to submit her Star Trek manuscript to a Hollywood writing competition. Bart Weiss spoke with Ben Lewin at the Historic Paramount Theatre in Austin after the US premiere of Please Stand By during the 24th Annual Austin Film Festival.  

Direct download: OnStory_DeadBody_Tick_PleaseStandBy.mp3
Category:Film and Television -- posted at: 12:36pm CDT

This week, we hear from the teams behind Orange is the New Black, Casual, and Wet Hot American Summer as they discuss pushing boundaries through comedy and the new frontier of television distribution.

Jenji Kohan is a writer, producer and showrunner, whose writing credits include The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Mad About You, Sex in the City, and Gilmore Girls. She created the popular Showtime series Weeds, which garnered her a Writers Guild Award for ‘Best Episodic Comedy’. Kohan’s Netflix original series Orange is the New Black is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir by the same name, and follows Kerman’s 15-month sentence at a minimum-security federal prison. The following segment with Jenji Kohan was recorded in 2013 at the 20th Austin Film Festival. We also hear from Orange is the New Black staff writers Lauren Morelli and Stephen Falk as they take us deep inside the writer's room of the hugely popular series.

David Wain is the co-creator, executive producer, director and co-writer of the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. He directed and co-wrote the feature films Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten, Role Models, Wanderlust and They Came Together. Wain is the executive producer, writer, director and occasional guest star in the Emmy award winning Children’s Hospital, as well as the ongoing web series Wainy Days. Journalist Joe Gross spoke with David Wain at the 22nd Austin Film Festival in 2015.

The Hulu original series Casual was created by Zander Lehmann and developed by writer director Jason Reitman, producer Helen Estabrook and screenwriter Liz Tigelaar. The shows fourth and final season is due for release on July 31, 2018. Producer and manager Linnea Toney spoke with the show's producers at the 22nd Austin Film Festival in 2015.

Direct download: Refeed_OnStory_Radio_01242018.mp3
Category:Film and Television -- posted at: 1:08pm CDT

This week, American playwright and screenwriter Ted Tally discusses his film adaptations including the latest film, 12 Strong which stars Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon. Later in our program, Homeland and 24 TV showrunner, Howard Gordon joins Tally and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang writer Shane Black for a conversation on writing action and suspense. 

Ted Tally is an American playwright and screenwriter who began his career in Off-Broadway and regional theatre. Among his many screenplays, Tally is best known for adapting, The Juror, All the Pretty Horses, and The Silence of the Lambs for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay®. His latest project is the upcoming American war drama film 12 Strong, which Tally co-wrote with Peter Craig. The film stars Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon as U.S Special Forces sent to Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks and is set for release this Friday. This month, I spoke with Tally on the phone about 12 Strong and how the project came to him. 

Trailer and clips of 12 Strong courtesy of: Warner Brothers Pictures

Howard Gordon is an American television showrunner, writer and producer. He is known for his work on the Fox action franchise series 24 and the Showtime thriller, Homeland, which he co-developed with Alex Gansa and Gideon Raff. Gordon won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for writing the “Pilot” of Homeland. The series seventh season is scheduled to premiere Feb. 11, 2018. Gordon also served as writer and supervising producer on The X-Files. He also helped produce the sci-fi thriller, Awake and co-developed the FX political drama, Tyrant.

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.

Producer Barry Josephson spoke with Tally, Gordon and Shane Black at the 12th Annual Austin Film Festival in 2005.

Direct download: TED_TALLY.mp3
Category:Film and Television -- posted at: 2:09pm CDT

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.

 

 

Direct download: ISSA_RAE_LARRY_WILMORE_REFEED.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:46am CDT

This week, we talk with The Disaster Artist actor and filmmaker James Franco on the cult sensation Freaks and Geeks and many more of his unforgettable roles in films both large and small followed by Academy Award® winning actor Chris Cooper as he looks back on how he managed to navigate through his roles in iconic films and television.

Actor and filmmaker 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. His latest film, The Disaster Artist which he also directed chronicles the making of Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 cult film The Room, which is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made. The film stars both James and brother Dave Franco and is written by AFF regulars Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber. Franco’s portrayal of Wiseau has earned him 2 Golden Goble® nominations including Best Actor and Best Picture-Musical or Comedy. Producer Barry Josephson spoke with James Franco at the 19th annual Austin Film Festival in 2012.  

Chris Cooper is known for a board range of work in supporting roles from July Johnson in TV’s Lonesome Dove to Robert Hanssen in Breach, Colonel Fitts in American Beauty to Al Templeton in the Hulu original mini-series 11.23.63. Chris Cooper won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 2003 for his portrayal of John Laroche in the film Adaptation and his other film credits include August: Osage Country, Syriana, Jarhead, and Capote. Writer Michael Noll spoke with Cooper at the 22nd Austin Film Festival in 2015.

Direct download: JAMES_FRANCO_AND_CHRIS_COOPER_2018.mp3
Category:Film and Television -- posted at: 1:35pm CDT

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