TV & Film
Showrunner Mary Laws joins host Jenny Curtis to discuss her career, writing, and her new anthology series on Hulu, MONSTERLAND. Throughout the conversation they discuss: 0:37 - Finding her way to the arts as a young child. 2:20 - Receiving some harsh but beneficial advice from a teacher in undergrad. 3:36 - Starting out as a playwright and the first play she wrote, FINGAL’S CAVE. 4:50 - Tina Howe’s observation of Mary 5:35 - Going to NY and working at Rattlestick Playwright’s Theater 6:21 - Not giving up on getting into Yale 7:39 - Studying with Paula Vogel and taking lessons from her to MONSTERLAND. 8:51 - Going from playwriting to writing NEON DEMON with Nicolas Winding Refn. 11:55 - Writing with other people and creating now for a visual medium in film & TV. 15:36 - The experience of being a first-time showrunner. 16:43 - Adapting from Nathan Ballingrud’s book NORTH AMERICAN LAKE MONSTERS. 19:34 - The choice in naming the episodes after the locations they were set in. 21:07 - Staffing the writers room and creating an open environment. 24:24 - The first day on MONSTERLAND and challenges with wind. 25:33 - Creating one world that the anthology series exists in. 26:20 - The monster Mary is the most proud of and using practical effects. 29:11 - Wrap day on MONSTERLAND and the challenges of doing an anthology series 32:24 - The exciting opportunities of working in television. 34:55 - What storytelling has done for Mary on a personal level. ----------------- Learn More: Hollywood Unscripted Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter Hosted and Produced by: Jenny Curtis Co-Produced and Edited by: J Whiting Executive Producer: Stuart Halperin Theme Music by: Celleste and Eric Dick A CurtCo Media Production See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.