 This week on On Story, a conversation with award-winning screenwriter, director, and author Amy Talkington. In 2020, she wrote the series finale episode of Hulu’s Emmy-nominated hit series Little Fires Everywhere, which she also co-executive produced. 2020 also saw the release of Valley Girl, a musical remake of the 80s cult film, which Talkington wrote. Sarah Lawrence professor Fred Strype, spoke with Talkington about Little Fires Everywhere and her career starting out as an independent filmmaker at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of Little Fires Everywhere courtesy of ABC Signature Studios, Be Sunshine LLC, and Disney Enterprises Inc

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL'S ON STORY PODCAST

A Conversation with Amy Talkington

 This week on On Story a conversation with Gina Prince-Bythewood. Prince-Bythewood is an award-winning writer, director, and producer who has been working in film and television for over 20 years. As a writer/director Prince-Bythewood has released three feature films; Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, and Beyond the Lights.   Clips of Love & Basketball courtesy of New Line Cinema, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks Clips of Beyond the Lights courtesy of BET Films and Relativity Media Clips of The Old Guard courtesy of Netflix

A Conversation with Gina Prince-Bythewood

From Austin Film Festival this is On Story, a look inside the creative process from today’s leading creators, writers and filmmakers. I’m your host, Barbara Morgan.   Academy Award-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie’s films include Jack Reacher, The Way of the Gun, and the two most recent Mission: Impossible films – Fallout and Rouge Nation.  His writing credits include Edge of Tomorrow, Top Gun: Maverick, and The Usual Suspects. The Usual Suspects garnered McQuarrie an Academy Award and the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay, as well as the Edgar Allan Poe and Independent Spirit Awards. It has since been named one of the 100 greatest screenplays of all time by The Writers Guild of America. I spoke with McQuarrie at an Austin Film Festival virtual event that was co-presented by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A Conversation with Christopher McQuarrie

From Austin Film Festival this is On Story, a look inside the creative process from today’s leading creators, writers and filmmakers. I’m your host, Barbara Morgan.   From Christmas classics to modern holiday hits, the magic of storytelling seems to be stronger during the holiday season. We spoke with the writers behind some of the most celebrated modern Christmas films to discuss writing stories set during the most wonderful time of the year. Karen Schaler wrote 2017’s A Christmas Prince which was Netflix’s first original Christmas film and spawned two sequels. Matt Lieberman wrote 2018’s The Christmas Chronicles, also released by Netflix, which starred Kurt Russell. Lieberman also wrote the sequel, The Christmas Chronicles 2. David Berenbaum wrote the 2003 holiday hit Elf which stars Will Ferrell. The three writers spoke with moderator Fabienne Harford at the Austin Film Festival.

Writing in a Winter Wonderland

From Austin Film Festival this is On Story, a look inside the creative process from today’s leading creators, writers and filmmakers.  Ric Roman Waugh is a director, writer, producer, and former stuntman. As a writer/director, Waugh’s work include Felon, Snitch, and Shot Caller. In 2019, he co-wrote and directed Angel Has Fallen, the third film in the Fallen film series, with Gerard Butler reprising his role as Secret Service agent Mike Banning. In 2020, Waugh directed the apocalyptic disaster film Greenland, which also stars Butler as a family man trying to find sanctuary from a planet-killing comet that threatens to destroy Earth. I spoke with Waugh about the film after an advance screening in Austin, Texas.

Greenland

From Austin Film Festival this is On Story, a look inside the creative process from today’s leading creators, writers and filmmakers. I’m your host, Barbara Morgan. In 1989, screenwriter Ron Bass won an Academy Award for co-writing Rain Man. The iconic road trip film stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman and took home 4 Oscars – including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, in addition to Bass’ award for writing. Bass’ other writing credits include My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Joy Luck Club, and Stepmom. Over his 35-year career Bass has written 211 scripts which span a variety of genres. Ron Bass spoke about his illustrious career with former AFF Creative Director Erin Hallagan at the 26th Austin Film Festival where he was awarded the Bill Wittliff Award for Screenwriting.   Clips of What Dreams May Come courtesy of Polygram Filmed Entertainment & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Clips of Rain Man courtesy of United Artists & 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Clips of My Best Friends Wedding courtesy of TriStar Pictures & Sony Pictures Entertainment Clips of The Joy Luck Club courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment Clips of When a Man Loves a Woman courtesy of Touchstone Pictures Clips of Black Widow courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

A Conversation with Ron Bass

From Austin Film Festival this is On Story, a look inside the creative process from today’s leading creators, writers and filmmakers. Phil Hay is a screenwriter and producer. Hay’s writing partner Matt Manfredi and director Karyn Kusama made the 2019 Los Angeles crime drama Destroyer which starred Nicole Kidman. In 2015, the three made the horror film The Invitation – the film follows a man as he becomes increasingly suspicious of his ex-wife’s motives while attending a dinner party hosted at their old house. Hay spoke about the film at the 26th annual Austin Film Festival with moderator Maya Perez.

A Conversation with Phil Hay

This week on On Story, from suspenseful scares to urban legends and classic movie monsters, horror stories rely on the psychology of fear to thrill and chill us with the things that we fear most. Paul Alvardo-Dykstra discusses the scripts behind the scares with Akela Cooper, the writer behind the Conjuring spinoff, The Nun 2 and American Horror Story, and horror writer/director and author Owen Egerton.

On Writing Horror

This week on On Story we’ll hear from screenwriter Liz Hannah whose first screenplay, The Post, became an Academy Award nominated film. And later Oscar and Emmy nominated producer Sarah Green discusses her approach to producing and her frequent collaborations with filmmakers Jeff Nichols and Terrence Mallick.

Liz Hannah + Sarah Green

This week on On Story we’ll talk with science fiction writers and filmmakers to discuss writing futuristic, out of this world stories. The team behind Skyman will discuss the freedom behind shooting a faux-documentary film. And later the writers behind Rogue One and Jurassic World: Dominion will talk about their experience writing big budget franchise films.

On Writing Sci-Fi

This week on On Story we’ll look at how true stories are told on the screen. From narrative films adapted from true events to documentaries that explore real individuals and incidents. We’ll talk with filmmakers and writers about the challenges behind balancing fact and fiction while staying true to the heart of the subject’s story.   Kieran Fitzgerald is a writer behind several projects based on true stories. He wrote the screenplay for 2016’s Snowden which depicted the events of American whistleblower Edward Snowden and co-wrote the miniseries Wormwood which examined the mysterious death of scientist and CIA employee Frank Olson in 1953. In 2007, Fitzgerald wrote and directed the documentary The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez. The film, which is narrated by Tommy Lee Jones, investigates the killing of Esequiel Hernandez Jr. who was shot and killed by an active United States Marine near the US-Mexico border. The 1997 incident marked the first time an American civilian had been killed by an on duty military personal since the 1970 Kent State shootings. I recently spoke to Fitzgerald about the research required behind bringing true stories to the screen and films ability to highlight the emotional truths behind real events. Next up, screenwriters behind biopics and true-life narratives discuss the power that films have to drive change. David Rabinowitz, who won an Academy Award for co-writing BlacKkKlansman, Barbara Stepansky writer of Flint, and Doug Atchison writer of Brian Banks spoke with moderator Matt Dy at Austin Film Festival in a panel co-presented by Screen Craft and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Power of True Stories to Drive Change

This week on On Story we’re bringing you discussions with the creative teams behind two hit comedy series. Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch will discuss their Netflix series – GLOW, which chronicles the lives of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling - a 1980’s women's wrestling circuit. And later, creators Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom join filmmaker Katie Hyde to discuss the musical comedy series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and the documentary Oh My God I Think It’s Over - which chronicled the creation of the final season. Clips of GLOW courtesy of Netflix Clips of Crazy Ex Girlfriend courtesy of  CBS Studios Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc, and The CW Network On Story is part of a growing number of programs in Austin Film Festival’s On Story Project, including the On Story PBS series, The On Story radio program and podcast and the On Story book series. To find out more about On Story and Austin Film Festival, visit www.onstory.tv or www.austinfilmfestival.com On Story is brought to you in part by the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, a Texas family providing innovative funding since 1979. This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the US Institute of Museum and Library Services and Texas Library and Archives Commission. This program is also made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas the state affiliate for the National Endowment for the Humanities. On Story is supported in part by DePaul University's School of Cinematic Arts. The show is produced by Barbara Morgan, our associate producers are Colin Hyer, Maya Perez, and Kaetie Turner. Our editors are Jamal Knox and Travis Neeley. Audio capture by Travis Kennedy. Music is by Brian Ramos. Production assistance comes from Sound Lab Inc. Travis Kennedy and KUT 90.5 in Austin. Go to AustinFilmFestival.com to find out more about the Austin Film Festival & Conference in October.

GLOW + Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

This week on On Story, Scott Rosenberg (writer Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Victoria Strouse (writer Finding Dory), and Jeffrey Lieber (writer Lost) discuss finishing scripts, trusting your gut, and finding your ‘Fade to Black’.

AFF at Home: Wrapping Up

This week on On Story, join Netflix’s Seis Manos co-creators Alvaro Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series), Brad Graeber (CEO, Powerhouse Animation), and director Willis Bulliner for a conversation on writing, developing, and animating the adult anime series. In this podcast, the team will discuss the collaborative process for creating an animated series. If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Austin Film Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work. Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

AFF at Home: Animation

This week on On Story, Alex Tse (co-creator Wu-Tang: An American Saga), David Gleeson (writer Tolkien), and Micah-Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster (co-writers A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) discuss strategies for writing an effective biopic and the art of balancing fact and fiction while staying true to the heart of your subject’s story. If you are looking for a little inspiration or motivation to get back to your script – We are here to help.  Austin Film Festival has over 26 years of archived panels that we will be curating and releasing every Wednesday to help you work through challenges you might be facing in your work. Looking for more resources? Check out austinfilmfestival.com for more audio, streaming suggestions, writing prompts, and more. See you next week.

AFF at Home: Fiction & Nonfiction Adaptation

Austin Film Festival's On Story Podcast is the companion to Austin Film Festival's television show, On Story. Get an uncensored inside look at the creative process of film making through the eyes of some of the entertainment industry's most prolific writers, directors and producers.

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AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL'S ON STORY PODCAST

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