Writer / Director Richard LaGravanese is known for the screenplays to The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County, The Ref, Beloved, Behind the Candelabra, Water for Elephants and Unbroken.  Among his directing credits are the films Beautiful Creatures, The Last Five Years, P.S. I Love You, and the documentary A Decade Under The Influence. Today’s episode was recorded on October 23^rd 2014 at the twenty first Austin Film Festival. 

Dallas Buyers Club depicts events in the life of Ron Woodroof who was diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s.  In order to obtain treatment for the disease, he began smuggling and distributing drugs that had not yet been approved by the FDA into the United States.

Craig Borten never imagined that after spending time with Ron Woodroof in 1992, the resulting script, Dallas Buyer’s Club, would take twenty years to get made. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards® including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and garnered Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards for Mathew McConaughey and Jared Leto respectively.

This panel was recorded on October 24^th 2014 at the 21^st Austin Film Festival.

John Ridley's credits include the novels Those Who Walk in Darkness, A Conversation with the Mann, and Stray Dogs, the graphic novel The American Way and the screenplays for the films Red Tails,U Turn,Three Kings,and Undercover Brother.  His script for 12 Years a Slave won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and he’s currently the showrunner for the much anticipated ABC series, American Crime which is due to premiere in 2015. This conversation was moderated by screenwriter and Austin Film Festival favorite, Alvaro Rodriguez.

This episode begins our third season and by popular demand, we'd like to open with a completely uncut panel titled The Ten Hour Movie: Anthology Television with True Detective's Cary Fukunaga and Fargo's Noah Hawley. This panel is moderated by none other than Austin Film Festival Founding Executive Director, and our own Executive Producer, Barbara Morgan.

Academy Award® nominee John Whitney Stillman is best known for his films Metropolitan, Last Days of Disco, Barcelona and Damsels in Distress. Most recently, he wrote and directed the pilot for the Amazon original series The Cosmopolitans, which is available to stream now. Today’s podcast was recorded on October 20^th 2011 at the 18^th Austin Film Festival.

In anticipation of the twenty-first Austin Film Festival this October 23^rd through the 30thWe’ve prepared a series of episodes featuring returning panelists. 

Randall Wallace is the Oscar®-nominated screenwriter behind such critical and box-office hits as Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, Pearl Harbor, Secretariat, and Heaven is for Real. Randall Wallace will be joining us for a special screening of Braveheart and two panels at the conference this year.

24 Creator and X-Files alum Howard Gordon, the Academy Award® winning screenwriter of Silence of the Lambs, Ted Tally, and Austin Film Festival favorite and screenwriting icon Shane Black. Today’s podcast was recorded on October 21^st 2005 at the 12^th Austin Film Festival.

Noah Hawley is the showrunner for the FX series Fargo, which is based on the Cohen brothers film of the same name. He was a writer and producer on the series Bones, and created the shows, The Unusuals, and My Generation. We begin with Noah Hawley giving us some background, and discussing writing for Hollywood outside of Hollywood.

 Novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer Caroline Thompson is credited with the screenplays for Tim Burton's films Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Corpse Bride as well as adaptations of The Secret Garden and Black Beauty, which she also directed. Caroline Thompson begins by describing her background, early writing experiences and her first film, Edward Scissorhands.

Among their many other credits, Ray McKinnon and Christopher Cantwell are the showrunners of the Sundance Channel's Rectify and AMC's Halt and Catch Fire, respectively. Mark Johnson, who has numerous film and T.V. credits is the executive producer working to pull together both of these fantastic cable television shows. This episode, we look at the dynamics that make it all happen and gain insight on the process of making great television.

Today on Austin Film Festival’s On Story Podcast Writer Producer Michael Green, Thor and X-Men First Class screenwriter Ashley Miller, The Avengers and The Incredible Hulk screenwriter Zak Penn and writer Producer John Turman.

In the second half of our show, Rodrigo Garcia who has directed several award winning independent films as well as episodes of many major television series including Six Feet Under, Carnivale and Big Love and In Treatment. Rodrigo Garcia’s next film Last Days In The Desert is now in post-production and is slated for release later in 2014. Rodrigo Garcia answers the question, “How does a writer make it work?”

Actor, Producer, Director Sydney Pollack has over one hundred film credits spanning six decades. He directed a number of highly memorable films including Tootsie, Michael Clayton, The Firm and Out Of Africa, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director. Austin Film Festival honored Sydney Pollock with the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award in 2006.

In addition to working on sixty-nine episodes of Hill Street Blues, Writer/Producer David Milch also created the shows, Deadwood, NYPD Blue, Luck, The Big Apple and John from Cincinnati. He got the Outstanding Television Writer Award at the Austin Film Festival in 2006.

Writer director Shane Black redefined the buddy movie genre in the late 1980’s with the screenplay for Lethal Weapon. He later became known for creating memorable and complex characters not usually associated with the action genre and in his own distinct cinematic voice, gave us the screenplays to The Last Boyscout, and The Long Kiss Goodnight, as well as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang  and Iron Man 3, both of which he also directed. Shane Black earned Austin Film Festival’s Distinguished Screenwriter Award in 2006.

Recommended Viewing: Lethal Weapon, Out Of Africa and Deadwood.

Literary works have always been fodder for the screen and with the summer film and television season in full swing, we dug around in the vault for some of the writers who've adapted two of the most exciting releases out now. We even found Tom Perrotta who, with screenwriter Damon Lindelof, has adapted his own novel The Leftovers for HBO. 

We also feature Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver who breathed new life into the Planet of the Apes franchise which was originally adapted from the novel La Planète des singes by novelistPierre Boulle.

Today on Austin Film Festival’s On Story Podcast, The Writer Director, with Steve Zallian, and the late, great Paul Mazursky.

Steve Zaillian is responsible for the screenplays to a large number of great films including Awakenings, Schindler’s List, The Gangs of New York and Moneyball. As a Writer/Director, he’s given us the films, Searching For Bobby Fischer, A Civil Action and All the King’s Men.

Actor, Writer, Director Paul Mazursky passed away in June. His career spanned more than fifty years with over two hundred film credits. He was nominated for an Academy Award® five times including once for Best Picture in 1978 for his film, An Unmarried Woman, which he wrote and directed. We were fortunate to have him on hand way back in 2000 where we honored him with the Distinguished Screenwriter award at the Seventh Austin Film Festival, and where he sat down with Steve Zaillian for this panel.

George Pelecanos is the author of  more than 20 crime novels and is also known for his work on HBO’s The Wire, Treme and The Pacific. Peter Craig's filmography includes 2010's The Town starring Ben Affleck and two forthcoming installments of The Hunger Games. Writer Director Rian Johnson's films include Brick, The Brothers Bloom and Looper. He's slated to write and direct Star Wars Episode VIII.

Today's podcast was recorded at the Taking the Write out of Crime panel at the 20^th Austin Film Festival in 2014.

Academy Award winning screenwriter Eric Roth is responsible for such films as Forrest Gump, The Insider, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Munich, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Ali, The Good Shepherd and many others.  Eric Roth received the 2012 distinguished screenwriter award at the 19^th annual Austin film festival.  

Jeff Nichols is the writer director behind the films Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter and last year's critically acclaimed Mud Starring Mathew McConaughey, Ray McKinnon Sam Shepard and Michael Shannon. His next film, “Midnight Special” is now in post-production and is slated to open in 2015. Jeff Nichols talks about his process when creating what he calls "experimental" films.

Two of the most talented showrunners in the business talk about what it is to make a great show.

Today's Podcast was recorded at KLRU studio 6A during our On Story Season 4 release party and live taping on April 16^th 2013.

Writing competitions can be a lucrative venue to break into the industry and have yielded countless success stories. Special thanks to the Writer's Guild for their collaboration on this episode.

Matt Weiner and Mike Judge each talk about their paths to creating great television.

We are heartbroken at the recent passing of Filmmaker Harold Ramis who made us laugh for more than a generation. His iconic films are an enormous part of the American comic vocabulary- from Animal House to Ghostbusters and Vacation to Groundhog Day. Today’s podcast was recorded in 2005 at the 12^th Austin Film Festival.

Filmmaker Terry George discusses writing, directing and his body of work.

Rob Thomas, Chris Lowell and the forthcoming Veronica Mars Movie.

Jason Reitman, Barry Josephson, Callie Khourie, Eric Roth and Oliver Stone.

House of Cards season 2 is right around the corner. We talk with screenwriter and showrunner Beau Willimon.

Jonathan Demme describes his filmmaking journey in a conversation moderated by fellow Director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Film legend Ron Howard talks writing, film making and a lifetime in the movie business.

2013 Outstanding Television Writer Awardee Vince Gilligan talks writing, THE X FILES and BREAKING BAD.

In anticipation of the debut of Frank Darabont's Mob City on TNT this Deceber 4th, we speak with one of our favorite Writer/Directors.

We talk filmmaking with one of our favorite writer/directors.

Paul Feig moderates a conversation with the creator of one of our favorite shows!

The Duplass Brothers talk about their journey from indie underdogs to bug budget filmmakers.

Michael Green, Ashley Miller, Zak Penn, John Turman

The screenwriters  behind the films THOR, THE AVENGERS, HULK, X-MEN  and more discuss origin stories, Comic book dynasties and writing super hero blockbusters for the big screen.

Maggie Carey talks about writing, directing and her new film, The To Do List.

At a time when Hollywood has seen a reimagining of the “Horror” genre, we examine the nature of terror , the craft of making films that play on audience’s primal fears and the state of an industry that is sometimes confused about things that go bump in the night. Filmmaker and screenwriter Mick Garris is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories and as the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror. British-born writer-producer-director Pen Densham gave us television revivals of The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone. Eric Heisserer is the emerging screenwriter behind the reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street with contributions to John Carpenters prequel to The Thing and the fifth film in the Final Destination franchise.

Screenwriters, Scott Rosenberg, Terry Rossio and Ashley Miller, discuss the creation of the emotional "hook" that can make or break a film pitch.

We talk with writer/director and cast about the creation of this indie hit!

Screen comedy genius, Paul Feig talks television, writing, directing and his roots in comedy.

Writer/Producer Damon Lindlof discusses everything from Dante to Star Trek.

Damon Lindleof talks "Lost". Spoiler Alert!

Writer Director Shane Black talks about the creative process and his philosophy as a screenwriter.

Academy Award winning screenwriter, film producer and director Brian Helgeland is best known for the screenplays for L.A. Confidential, Mystic River and A knight's Tale. Today's podcast was recorded on April 10th 2013 at a special screening of the recent hit biopic "42" which Helgeland wrote and directed. "42" tells the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Larry Wilmore started his career as an actor and stand-up comedian before writing and producing on early nineties classic television shows such as “In Living Color,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and “The Jamie Foxx Show.” He later co-created “The PJs” with Eddie Murphy and “The Bernie Mac Show.” Wilmore was consulting producer and appeared in “The Office” and returned to performing in earnest as the Senior Black Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stuart and numerous other acting roles.  In January 2009, Hyperion published Wilmore's I'd Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts, a political humor book described by Booklist as "a faux collection of articles, essays, radio transcripts, and letters exploring the more ludicrous angles on race."  In 2012, Wilmore hosted the Showtime series Race, Religion and Sex, a "town hall" style comedy special where Wilmore prescribes to a "passionate centrist" point of view, allowing him to instigate a provocative dialogue as he dissects race, religion and sex in America.

Today’s podcast was recorded at the 14^th annual Austin Film Festival on October 12^th 2007.