Austin Film Festival's On Story

This week on On Story, a conversation with screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, on the years-long labor of love that brought Wicked from the stage to the big screen.   Wicked takes us back in time to before the events of the classic film The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The story follows Elphaba Thropp, played by Cynthia Erivo, a misunderstood outcast who was born with green skin, and magical powers that she can't always control. While escorting her younger sister to her first day at university, Elphaba accidentally uses her powers in an emotional outburst. The university's Dean of Sorcery s...

This week on On Story, we're taking a trip back in time to an interview with writer, creator, and showrunner Graham Roland, as he discusses developing his AMC series Dark Winds. Roland joined us to share the origins of the project, the creative challenges behind adapting Tony Hillerman's iconic novels, and what excited him most about bringing these characters to the screen. Let's dive into his conversation and hear his thoughts on crafting Dark Winds.

This week on On Story, Clint Bentley will talk to us about his work writing and directing Train Dreams. 

Train Dreams recounts the life of Robert Granier, an early 20th century logger and railway construction worker played by Joel Edgerton. Granier works in seasons, and his work keeps him separated from his family for months at a time. Throughout the story, Granier is haunted by the violence he's witnessed in the course of his work, and he spends his life searching for meaning in the face of a world that seems to destroy and reconstruct itself around h...

This week on On Story, we're joined by screenwriter Austin Kolodney for a conversation on the historical crime thriller Dead Man's Wire. 

The film is based on the true story of a 1977 kidnapping carried out by Tony Kiritsis. Kiritsis believed that his mortgage broker, Richard O. Hall, was conspiring to unjustly seize Kiritsis' property for himself. On a cold February morning in 1977, Kiritsis went to Hall's office and wired the muzzle of a sawed-off shotgun to Hall's neck. The trigger of the gun was connected to Hall by a "dead man's wire" meaning that if Hall tried t...

This week on On Story, we're joined by a titan of the action genre, Christopher McQuarrie, for a behind the scenes deep dive into Top Gun: Maverick. 

But before we ride into the sunset, we recommend you follow On Story wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes finishing your screenplay can feel like trying to land an F-14 Tomcat with a blown out engine and an empty gas tank, but, armed with a wide range of experience writing across film and television, our amazing guests are here to bring you home. 

This week on On Story, we're talking to Rian Johnson about his process writing and directing Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. 

This third installment of the Knives Out series follows an ambitious young Catholic priest, and former boxer, named Jud Duplencity. Jud teams up with detective Benoit Blanc after the divisive Monsignor of his small, rural parish is murdered mid-sermon. 

Outside of the Knives Out series, Johnson has two decades of experience writing and directing in the mystery and sci-fi genres. He made his directorial debut in 2005 with Brick, a neo-noir mystery se...

This week on On Story, a conversation on the prestige miniseries with Craig Mazin and Marissa Jo Cerar.   Craig Mazin is the creator, writer, and executive producer of HBO's Emmy-winning limited series Chernobyl. Chernobyl is a five-episode historical drama following the events leading up to the Chernobyl disaster and the cleanup efforts that followed. Mazin is also known for co-creating and co-writing HBO's The Last of Us, and for his work on comedy films such as Scary Movie 3, and Identity Thief.    Marissa Jo Cerar is the creator of the NAACP Image Award-winning miniseries Women of the Movement. Women of the Mov...

This week on On Story, we're joined by Susan Soon He Stanton for a look inside the writers room of the hit HBO drama, Succession.

Succession centers on the Roy family, the ultra-rich owners of a global media conglomerate called Waystar RoyCo. The family business is spearheaded by aging patriarch, Logan Roy. As Logan's ability to lead the company becomes more and more uncertain, his adult children fight to out-maneuver their Father, and each other, to seize control. Each of the Roy children enters this fight for power carrying baggage from their bizarre upbringings within this cold...

This week on On Story, a conversation on the animated tragicomedy series Bojack Horseman with two of its writers, Alison Flierl and Joe Lawson.   The series follows Bojack, a washed-up former sitcom star who's trying to stage a comeback in Hollywood, while fighting against his own addiction and self-destructive tendencies. Bojack is also an anthropomorphic horse inhabiting a world where humans and animals live side-by side. The series, which ran for six seasons on Netflix, features the voice acting talents of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Aaron Paul, and a rotating cast of celebrity cameos.    Before writing for Bojack Horseman, Joe Law...

First up, a conversation with Kemp Powers on his experience co-directing Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to the 2018 Oscar-winner, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The second installment continues the story of friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Miles Morales, as he is catapulted from his home in Brooklyn, through the multi-verse. In a neighboring universe, Miles encounters a multi-dimensional network of Spider-People, known as the Spider-Society. When Miles clashes with the other superheroes, he has to set out on his own to save the ones he loves. 

Co-director Kemp Powers began his career in journalism, before pursuing playwriting. He wrote t...

This week on On Story, a conversation with Nicole Perlman and Jodi Hildebrand on their experiences as writers and producers working with existing intellectual property, or IP. 

Nicole Perlman is best known for working as a co-writer on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain Marvel, as well as Detective Pikachu. For eight years, Perlman has worked as a Creative Advisor at the Sundance Screenwriting Labs, in addition to mentoring for Global Media Makers, Women in Film, the BlackList, and more. She is currently developing television projects for Fox Searchlight, Amazon Studios, and Netflix. 

Jodi Hi...

This week on On Story, a covnersation with writer-director Rian Johnson on his love of genre media from noir to sci-fi, and the long process of outlining which allows him to craft intricate stories without getting lost in the second act.

Johnson made his directorial debut in 2005 with the neo-noir mystery, Brick. Set against the backdrop of a suburban high school, Brick draws inspiration from classic noir mysteries while adding a coming-of-age twist. Johnson dove into the sci-fi genre with his time-travel action-thriller Looper, released in 2012. Starring Bruce Willis, Looper follows the work of contract killers who...

This week on On Story, a conversation with Julie Plec on her love of YA storytelling, and her experience co-creating and co-showrunning The Vampire Diaries.

The Vampire Diaries is a supernatural, romantic teen-drama which ran for 8 seasons from 2009 to 2017. The show follows the life of a mortal teen girl, Elena Gilbert, as she navigates grief, love triangles, small town politics, and supernatural threats from ghosts, to werewolves, to evil doppelgängers. The success of The Vampire Diaries allowed Plec to expand this magical world into two spinoff shows, The Originals, and Legacies. 

Plec began her ca...

This week on On Story, a conversation with Gia Coppola on her process directing The Last Showgirl.

This dazzling drama follows the sunset years of Shelly Gardner, a middle-aged Las Vegas showgirl, played by Pamela Anderson. Shelly faces an uncertain future after the iconic revue she's been starring in for decades stages its final performance. At the same time, Shelly must navigate her relationships with her fellow dancers, and her estranged daughter, played by Billie Lourd. The film had its Texas premier at the 2024 Austin Film Festival, and went on to receive nominations at the Golden Globes...

This week on On Story, a conversation with screenwriter Mark L. Smith on writing Twisters – the 2024 summer film that took audiences by storm…literally! The action-packed, thrilling adventure directed by Lee Isaac Chung is a standalone sequel to the 1996 film Twister starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton and produced by Austin Film Festival awardee Kathleen Kennedy. Yet, as the plurality suggests, stakes are raised in Twisters as meteorologist Kate Copper, played by Daisy Edgar Jones, tests a groundbreaking storm tracking system. Copper's world spirals when she crosses paths with cowboy, social media superstar Tyler Owens, played by Glen Powell as t...

This week on On Story,  a conversation with the creator and showrunner Tanya Saracho on her process crafting the hit Starz television series Vida.

Saracho is a critically-acclaimed playwright and television writer known for featuring authentic latine storylines. In fact, Saracho co-founded the Untitled Latinx Project (ULP), whose mission is to increase Latine representation in television through content created by Latine writers and directors. Further, Saracho also launched the Ojalá Ignition Lab, an incubator program aimed to nurture, amplify, guide, and empower intersectional Latine voices. 

With her roots in Theatre, Saracho formed Chicago's Teatro Luna in...

This week on On Story, a conversation with screenwriter Meg LeFauve on her career as a writer at Pixar, where she co-wrote Inside Out and Inside Out 2, as well as The Good Dinosaur.

Inside Out follows the personified emotions of Riley, a young girl who struggles to fit in after her family relocates from Minnesota to San Francisco. Riley's emotions are stored as memories, and her most impactful experiences become core memories, which each define a central part of her personality. The story follows the chaos that ensues after Joy and Sadness go missing in the depths...

This week on On Story,  a conversation with director Juel Taylor and writer-producer Tony Rettenmaier on the making of their debut, genre-bending feature, They Cloned Tyrone. The science fiction-comedy-myster-thriller stars John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx (who also served as producer) as this unlikely trio attempts to uncover a government cloning operation. The film first premiered at the American Black Film Festival before a successful Netflix release. Ever since, the film has wowed audiences and critics alike with its poignant socio-political commentary and ability to break out beyond typical genre boxes. 

Longtime writing partners, Taylor and Re...

This week on On Story, a conversation with science-fiction extraordinaire Ronald D. Moore on his process creating and showrunning the Battlestar Galactica series.

The 2004 Syfy episodic is a fresh take on the 1979 series created by Glen A. Larson. Set in a distant star system, a civilization of humans live among a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Together, they must navigate attacks from their enemies, the Cylons, whose primary goal is to eliminate the human race. Through four critically-acclaimed seasons, Moore crafted the series for a modern audience all while paying homage to...

This week on On Story,  a conversation with screenwriter Guinevere Turner on her process writing American Psycho. Though polarizing upon its release, for over two decades American Psycho has remained a cornerstone of horror cinema.  

Turner herself has a dynamic career as a writer, director and actor.  Beyond American Psycho Turner wrote the films The Notorious Bettie Page, Charlie Says and her upcoming feature The Highway that Eats People. Turner also served as a story editor and played the recurring character Gabby Deveaux on Showtime's hit queer television series, The L Word. 

AFF Moderator and...

This week on On Story, AFF Senior Film Programer Andy Wolk sits down with writer-producer Clint Bentley and producer Monique Walton to deep-dive into the making of Sing Sing. Based on the real-life Rehabilitation through the Arts program at New York's Sing Sing Maximum security prison, the powerful film follows a group of incarcerated men who find purpose and creativity through their prison theater troupe. The feature earned wide-spread critical acclaim, not only for the feature's moving portrayal of change and exploration of human expression, but also for the cast's inclusion of real-life formerly incarcerated men who were alumni...

This week on On Story, a conversation with writer, director, producer and industry frontrunner, Craig Mazin.

Mazin is perhaps best known for his Emmy award-winning historical Drama, Chernobyl. The HBO miniseries captivated audiences with its story of the aftermath of the 1986 disaster and earned Mazin the Emmy for Outstanding Writing on a Limited Series. Prior to his television work, Mazin gained recognition as a sharp comedy writer through features such as Scary Movie 3 and 4, Superhero Movie, The Hangover parts 2 and 3, and Identity Theif.  The prolific writer is a long-time friend of Austin Film Festival and often hosts live...

This week on On Story, a conversation with legendary producer, Katheleen Kennedy on her impressive producing career.  Kennedy has produced or executive-produced more than 70 feature films, which have collectively garnered 120 Academy Award nominations and 25 wins. Among her credits include blockbusters and classics such as Jurassic Park, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, The Sixth Sense, the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Goonies, Poltergeist, Empire of the Sun,  Schindler's List, and The Color Purple….just to name a few! Not to mention, Kennedy has collaborated with some of Hollywood's most infamous directors including Steven Spielberg, David Finc...

This week on On Story, AFF moderator Casey Baron speaks with leading TV writers Damon Lindelof and Dan Erickson on the art of world building.

Damon Lindelof is a three-time Emmy Award-winning writer and producer, best known for creating and showrunning hit supernatural and science-fiction dramas such as ABC's Lost, the HBO series The Leftovers and Watchmen, as well as Peacock's limited series Mrs. Davis. Prior to showrunning, Lindelof wrote on the crime dramas Nash Bridges and Crossing Jordan. One of television's most prolific and pre-eminent writers, Lindelof has created some of TV's most captivating worlds, such...

This week on On Story, a conversation with lauded TV writer, Noah Hawley, whose expansive writing career includes creating and showrunning the FX series Fargo and Legion.

Fargo, the award-winning anthology series, is Hawley's adaptation of the 1996 film of the same name. Each season of the comedy-crime series follows murder investigations in various midwestern towns. Since the series debuted in 2014, the star-stacked cast has included Jon Hamm, Chris Rock, Jessie Buckley, Ben Wisham, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ewan McGregor, Patrick Wilson, Jean Smart, and Kirsten Dunst, to name just a few. The series, now with five seasons released...

This week on On Story, AFF moderator Harrison Glaser speaks with Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof and writer Cord Jefferson about the collaborative process of adapting the beloved comic book and writing the series' Emmy Award-winning episode. Watchmen, a critically and commercially celebrated limited series, tells the story of racially motivated violence and vigilantism in the world of Alan Moore's graphic novel by the same name.

Damon Lindelof is a WGA, PGA, and Emmy award-winning writer who has created some of television's most iconic shows, including Lost and The Leftovers. A master of smart, character-driven science fiction, Lindelof share...

This week on On Story, a conversation with the up and coming visionary, So Young Shelly Yo. 

Shelly is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has been supported by HBO, CAAM, SFFILM, the Sloan Foundation and others. Shelly's feature film, SMOKING TIGERS, was the winner of Tribeca x AT&T's Untold Stories and was awarded best screenplay, best performance and a special mention for the Nora Ephron prize at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. Prior to SMOKING TIGERS, Shelly wrote and directed many short films including SOFT SOUNDS OF PEELING FRUIT and MOONWALK WITH ME. She is currently in d...

This week on On Story, we explore finding the source material for a period piece, making decisions about historical accuracy versus creative liberties, and successfully marrying a modern audience with a bygone era.

AFF moderator Fabienne Harford speaks with Alison Eakle, Chief Content Officer at Shondaland and executive producer on Bridgerton, and Evan Romanksy, co-creator of Ratched about what it takes to research and create period pieces that maintain integrity and entertainment.

Alison Eakle oversees all Netflix streaming content for Shondaland. She joined Shondaland in 2013, helping develop the ABC dramas "How to Get Away with...

This week on On Story, we're joined by the film industry experts who connect Texas filmmakers with funding and resources including President of the Texas Association of Film Commissions, Drew Mayer-Oakes, Director of the Texas Film Commission, Stephanie Whallon, Director of the San Antonio Film Commission, Kimberly LeBlanc, and Director of the Houston Film Commission, Alfred Cervantes. The discussion of their professional histories and organizational goals shines a light on the many different ways these structured bodies provide support for Texas creators while simultaneously invigorating local economies. 

This week on On Story, a conversation with Lee Eisenberg about the launch of his comedy writing career. Eisenberg and his writing partner Gene Stupnitsky broke into the industry with their adventure-comedy screenplay, Year One, an irreverent retelling of the Book of Genesis in which they collaborated with the iconic comedian and filmmaker, Harold Ramis, who went onto direct the film for the Apatow Company.

In tandem writing with Year One, Lee and Gene were staffed on season two of the notorious comedy television hit, The Office, where they wrote for five hilarious seasons. Masters of craft...

This week on On Story, Austin Film Festival moderator Harrison Glaser speaks with Karyn Kusama about her filmography, the evolution of her storytelling, and her focus on strong female protagonists.

In her debut feature, Girlfight, Kusama drew from her own experiences training in a boxing gym and living in New York City, building Michelle Rodriguez's character from young women she encountered on the subway. Kusama discusses connecting to their guarded nature and writing a protagonist that her audiences could root for. 

After the release of Girlfight, Kusama received critical praise and went onto direct her f...

This week on On Story, a conversation with Jeff Nichols, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Mud and Loving, to discuss his most recent film The Bikeriders, a moving character drama based on journalist Danny Lyons' photobook by the same name. The Bikeriders chronicles the rise and fall of a Chicago motorcycle gang in the 1960s through the lens of bikerider wife Kathy, an open book played by Jodie Comer. Led by the strong and silent Johnny, embodied by Tom Hardy, the club devolves from a surrogate home for outsiders with no place to go to a violent crime organization. Its...

This week on On Story, a conversation with the team behind The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, a western that follows a ranch foreman's extraordinary trek to Mexico to bury his best friend's body in his hometown.

Actor and director Tommy Lee Jones worked with writer Guillermo Arriaga to develop a moving, character-driven story inspired by true events about the shared border between Texas and Mexico. Jones, alongside 1st Assistant Director Phil Hardage, Unit Production Manager Eric Austin Williams, Post-Production Supervisor Larry Madaras, and actor Julio Cedillo discuss their decision to tell the story in a non-linear...

This week on On Story, we're having a conversation with Katrin Benedikt.

Co-writer of the non-stop political action thrillers Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, and Expendables 3, Benedikt lends a behind-the-scenes look into the realities of breaking into Hollywood as a writer, from pitching the same story for years on end, navigating relationships with co-writers, agents, and producers, to completing last-minute rewrites on set. A true lover of action movies, Benedikt discusses crafting characters for star-studded casts and working with genre experts Antoine Fuqua and Sylvester Stallone.

Olympus Has Fallen clips courtesy of Film District.<...

This week on On Story, a conversation with Brian Helgeland, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter who penned acclaimed movies including L.A. Confidential and Mystic River, and the director who brought to life beloved films such as A Knight's Tale and 42. He lends a behind the scenes look at the making of Finestkind, a film mined from his relationship with his father and their experiences as deep sea fishermen.

The film, set in Helgeland's own hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts, tells the story of two estranged brothers' navigating a splintered relationship in the high-stakes world of commercial fishing...

This week on On Story, AFF moderator Harrison Glaser speaks with Celine Song about her feature debut, Past Lives. Inspired by Song's own experiences, Past Lives tells the story of two childhood friends who reunite as adults and reckon with the nature of the enduring bond between them. This multi-language film is a deeply personal exploration of the modern immigrant experience, unflinchingly confronting the "what-ifs" that plague lost love and paths not taken. 

Celine Song began her writing career as a playwright in New York City, and joined fantasy series The Wheel of Time as a staff wri...

This week on On Story, a conversation with Cord Jefferson on adapting the novel Erasure into his strikingly sharp debut feature American Fiction.

Cord Jefferson is an Emmy-winning writer who earned his chops on some of television's most formative shows in recent years: Master of None, The Good Place, Succession, and Watchmen. His debut feature, American Fiction, won the Audience Award at the 30th annual Austin Film Festival.  

American Fiction is an adaptation of Percival Everett's novel Erasure. The film introduces us to Thelonius Monk, played by Jeffrey Wright, a weary writer frustrated by the pu...

This week on On Story, a conversation with Joanna Calo, showrunner of the character-driven dramedy The Bear.

Joanna delves into her experience sharing showrunning duties with creator Christopher Storer, and discusses their approach to incorporating real life events into the show's deeply grounded characters and high stakes world. 

As a television veteran, Joanna's writing credits include Bojack Horseman, Hacks, Beef, and today's subject, The Bear. The Bear tells the story of Carmy Berzatto, played by Jeremy Allen White, an award-winning chef who returns home to Chicago in the wake of his estranged brother's suicide to find t...

This week on the On Story Podcast a conversation with James V. Hart, writer of the science fiction drama Contact directed by Robert Zemeckis.

In his decades-long career, Hart has written beloved films including Hook, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Tuck Everlasting, and August Rush. Hart discusses the process of adapting Contact from Carl Sagan's novel about a scientist who discovers definitive proof of extraterrestrial life. From working with the author to discern his original intent and establishing a thematic purpose, to embedding a story with high stakes and finding the story's emotional core, Hart lends us a close look a...

This week on On Story, a conversation with writer-director Shane Black about the making of Iron Man 3.

Shane Black, the original creator of the Lethal Weapon franchise, is well-known for his irreverent comedic style and witty dialogue, as well as turning established genre tropes on their head. Black does just that in Iron Man 3, a superhero film that sets aside hero's bravado to dissect the man inside the suit.

Barbara Morgan sat down with Black to discuss finding larger-than-life characters' interiority, navigating fan expectations, and working within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Clips of...