Writer/Director Marie-Emmanuelle Hartness comes from a personal place in her work and asks the same of her students at Emerson College.

John and Craig welcome Aline Brosh McKenna to look at what writers mean by a “voice,” and how it develops. Some screenwriters’ voice develops long before their craft, leading people to label them as “promising” even though the scripts themselves are a mess. Other writers get all the technical stuff right from the start, but have a hard time finding…

Host Jeff Goldsmith interviews writer-director Michael Sarnoski about A Quiet Place: Day One. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.netBy Jeff Goldsmith

Writer and “good witch,” Glenda L. Richardson describes her process for capturing voices and crafting stories for celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Taraji P. Henson.

John welcomes Simon Rich (Man Seeking Woman, Miracle Workers) to look at how he crafts a comedic premise. Using his work on SNL, his time writing Inside Out at Pixar and his plethora of short stories, they look at how he develops a funny idea into a story with narrative and emotional punch. We also follow up on the Harry Potter TV series, and answe…

How does the unreliability of a narrator impact the way a story is told? In this episode, Stu and Mel (sans Chas!) take a deep dive into FIGHT CLUB and its use of the unreliable narrator. This is a bridging episode between our previous episode on VOICEOVER and our forthcoming episode on TALKING TO CAMERA as Fight Club does both. We dissect the film…

Entertainment attorney and composer Corey Field sees his work as helping writers and creators achieve their dreams. Here he explains the difference between sales, options and work-for-hire and discusses potential gains and traps along the way.

John welcomes back Aline Brosh McKenna to help figure out how to say goodbye… in your story. Using examples from some of their favorite movies, they explore how farewell scenes work, what sets them apart from the average see-you-later, and leaving a lasting effect on your characters and the audience. We also look at the summer box office, George Ga…

Writer Delondra Mesa (American Rust, Pretty Little Liars) talks about her approach to discovering story and creating content even as the industry experiences “The Great Contraction.”

In this compendium episode, John and Craig fast-forward to the third act to talk about endings. How do they work? What makes them great? And how do you fix them when they’re not working? They look at how to connect your ending to your characters, crafting a twist that surprises (but doesn’t confuse), the function of the climax, the importance of th…

Director Dans Karagannis and Writer Liz Renner discuss their journey meeting in an On the Page class and joining together to make their short film Damned If You Do, currently screening in major festivals.

John and Craig decode the current state of software in the film and television industry. With dozens of programs needed for every project, they look at why bad and outdated programs continue to have a hold on the industry, why it’s so hard to build something better, and how these programs find financial success in such a small and specialized marke…

Host Jeff Goldsmith interviews writers-showrunners David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo about 3 Body Problem. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.netBy Jeff Goldsmith

Writer Suha AL Khalifa is a senior writer at the Saudi Giant MBC Studios (Rashash, Devil’s Promise) and also wrote the region's first female super-hero film. She talks about how her experience as a psychotherapist and as a "cultural hybrid" (Bahrain, UK, and US) has informed her writing and storytelling.…

Host Jeff Goldsmith interviews producer Claire Mundell and director Tali Shalom-Ezer about The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.netBy Jeff Goldsmith

John welcomes Meredith Scardino (Girls5eva) and Jen Statsky (Hacks) to discuss the highs and lows of writing the third season of a hit comedy. But how do you push a series forward without violating the premise or retreading familiar terrain? Are the shows still the shows they pitched? How has streaming changed since their shows first went on the ai…

Joe Gold’s “Shakespeare Inc.” offers sixteen variations of a story. Hear how he wrote it, how “choose your own adventure” storytelling is structured and how this approach can work for video-game and screenwriting.

Host Jeff Goldsmith interviews co-writer/directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes about Late Night with the Devil. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.netBy Jeff Goldsmith

How can you use Voiceover without it feeling like a cheat? In this episode, we finally delve into the world of VOICEOVERS (as part of our larger series exploring craft tools that allow characters & storytellers to talk directly to the audience). Chas, Stu and Mel deep dive into the VERONICA MARS pilot, Disney’s THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE, and the Mic…

John and Craig explore one of the most powerful and versatile tools in episodic television: the cold open. But how does it work? What kind of scenes does it showcase best? How can it play with point of view, perspective and time? What makes it memorable? And how do you make it work for your story? We also discuss new requirements for loan-out corpo…

Emily Harris is not only an award-winning writer-director (Carmilla), she also has an amazing “day job” as the Curator of Film at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

John joins Mike Birbiglia on his podcast Working It Out to share direct, practical screenwriting advice that you’ll actually use, whether you’re an aspiring screenwriter or you want to pursue creative work of any kind. They explore John’s screenwriting process, from defining his expression “breaking the back of the script,” through the different fo…

When writer-director GG Hawkins had access to a unique location for a limited amount of time, she “planted a flag and figured out a way to do it,” writing, producing and directing an indi-feature called I Really Love My Husband.

In this compendium episode, John and Craig demystify the the relationship between writers and the people who represent them, looking at how to acquire, work with and (if necessary) fire your agents and managers. How do you get an agent or a manager? What are they looking for in a potential client? What frustrates them? How do you position yourself …

Host Jeff Goldsmith chats with writer-director-producer Ed Zwick about his memoir: Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.netBy Jeff Goldsmith

Filmmaker/ professor Michele Meek shares her thoughts about changing sexuality in teen films, how rom-coms often rely on a non-consent premise and about her wish that writers put their sex scenes on the page.

Why are things so rough in Hollywood right now? John and Craig look at the industry’s current contraction, its historical analogues, and offer suggestions for what might fix it. We also follow up on streaming ad breaks and New York accents, before answering listener questions on being paralyzed, whether it’s by your second draft or writing professi…

Host Jeff Goldsmith chats with screenwriter Drew Pearce about The Fall Guy. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.netBy Jeff Goldsmith

From "safety nets” to “act three payoffs," Pilar goes solo to talk about what she’s learning while working with writers Story to Script.

What are the different ways a filmmaker can ask something of the audience? Chas and Stu are joined by recurring guest Mel in this prelude episode to upcoming episodes on Voice Over and Breaking the Fourth Wall. In this episode, we attempt to taxonomise the different ways filmmakers can ask something directly of their audience. To this end, we ident…

John and Craig investigate what characters know and how we know they know what they know. It’s something that can be as confusing as that last sentence was, but they offer clear guidance on building informed characters, audience expectations, and how to get everybody on the same page. We also look at how ad breaks in streaming are interrupting esta…

Writer/director Hilari Scarl discusses her latest multi-media work, Not Another Deaf Story, written and performed with deaf actors on stage and on screen.

John welcomes writer and comedian Alex Edelman to look at how he wrote his solo show Just For Us, and dig into the meaning of “write what you know.” They discuss finding your voice as a writer, developing your story with an audience, why Alex doesn’t write his shows down, and the sample that first got him staffed. We also answer listener questions …

Writers Chris Lawing and Alex Grossman have independently made the movies they’ve written and prepare to makes more! Here they talk about how they’ve pulled it off and what they’ve learned along the way.

John and Craig can’t help but look at intrinsic motivations — those specific internal drives that guide characters behavior. They discuss how to structure and expose that internal drive, the importance of an innate irritability, how it can stop your characters from becoming flat, and rewarding that intrinsic motivation with choice. But first, we fo…

Actor Joel Stoffer (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Stranger Things) stage-reads scene direction submissions from listeners as they showcase their writing skills! Who will win?

John and Craig lawyer up with criminal defense attorney Ken White (aka Popehat) to look at legal scenes in movies and TV, and separate the tropes from the truth. How do lawyers actually prepare a case? Will they meet a client in jail? Do they need to gather evidence themselves? And what happens when they go to trial? What are the rules for examinin…

Writer/producer Tracy Grant (Lincoln Heights, Lace) tells a personal story filled with highs and lows that led to a number of writing lessons and his confirmation that "you only need one yes."

John and Craig look at four unbelievable stories in the news and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include a finance journalist who was scammed out of her savings, men who offer dating bounties, a franken-sheep made of cloned animal parts, and how standardized tests changed one woman’s life. We also reveal which modern classics we’ve never se…

How and why should every scene have an emotional event? For the first episode of our tenth anniversary year, we are joined by Judith Weston to talk about Emotional Events. What is an emotional event? Well, it’s a way of thinking about scenes through relationships rather than plot. Instead of asking how a scene moves the plot forward, ask how the sc…

Did you write a prize-worthy piece of scene direction? Enter it in the On the Page Scene Direction Contest! Pilar explains the rules and gives the deadline.

A catch up with writer/comedian Laura House as she talks about the lean years and the ripe years, including running a British show in the middle of Covid and learning to feel “the right amount of proud” about her accomplishments.

Host Jeff Goldsmith chats with writer-director Luc Besson about Dogman. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.netBy Jeff Goldsmith

John welcomes back Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) to quietly ask: what’s with all the whispering in movies these days? They discuss trends and techniques in voice and volume, picking the right moment to whisper, and the value of voices across decibel levels. We also revisit Pamela’s work on Moana to look at what you can learn from reading …

Science through entertainment. Entertainment inspiring science. Filmmakers Tamara Krinsky and Taryn O’Neill co-founded Scirens to explore all of the possibilities.

John and Craig wring their hands and ask, how do you make sure the person you’re hiring isn’t a monster? They look at best practices for vetting colleagues, sussing out problematic people, and managing your own emotions when you’re the person with power. We also discuss writing for non-native English speakers, using three examples to illustrate the…

Writer Jimmy Miller reflects on a script that changed as he changed, ultimately leading to his current Nicholl Fellowship win.

John and Craig explore the counterfactuals of Hollywood history — the relatively small moments that, if the coin toss had gone the other way, would have massive ramifications on the world as we know it. What if Edison was allowed to keep his monopoly on motion pictures? What does our industry look like without the Paramount Consent Decree? What if …

We’re covering it all in this one: Six writing tips from Pilar’s list, some talk of movies that got overlooked at the Oscars and a discussion of writer Sam Benjamin’s new wrestling short film, Screwjob.

Host Jeff Goldsmith chats with Backstory Magazine journalists; Claude Chung, Jeff Bond, Danny Munso and James White about the 2024 Oscars. Download my podcast here Copyright © Unlikely Films, Inc. 2024. All rights reserved.For more great content check out Backstory Magazine @ Backstory.netBy Jeff Goldsmith