On The Page

Writers George N Koulouris and Will Amato talk about the fun and work that go into writing short, entertaining content for “vertical films.” 

Writer/producer David Simkins (Adventures in Babysitting, Charmed, Grimm, Blade, Roswell, Angel) talks about his start as a screenwriter and his evolving process of writing his “core story."

From development funds to film markets, Frederik Ehrhardt talks about what it’s like to write and produce in the United States and Europe.

The five writers selected for the 2025 CBS/Paramount Writers Mentoring Program talk about the craft and career lessons they’ve learned from the program and each other.

Bill Thompson discusses his exceptional arts non-profit Young Storytellers and the new report, Growing Pains, which centers around the concerns and tastes of Gen Alpha. 

From procedurals to features, writer David Loong (The Hunting Party) challenges himself to find the most creative way to tell a story. 

Pilar hijacks the Rock Solid Podcast listeners to curate a list of perfect songs from iconic movies.

Writer Troy Mann combines his Texas roots with his world travel and years of teaching experience to create genre scripts that are also intense morality tales.

Writer/director Josh Stolberg (Saw X, Spiral and Jigsaw) returns to talk about the July release of his next indi-horror movie Skillhouse.

Narrative and documentary filmmaker Oanh-Nhi Nguyen makes movies about her family, their past and the intergenerational experience. Here she talks about what she’s learned as a writer-director and how she makes sure that networking is a regular part of her process.

Award-winning documentary director Molly Bernstein discusses the process and narrative approach that went into researching, developing and directing her documentaries about Maus creator Art Spiegelman and magician Ricky Jay.

Screenwriter and major league baseball scout J.D. Elliby talks about the authenticity, character arcs, obstacles, and emotional moments that help create a great on-screen baseball story. 

Lenses, lighting, looks, and "oners.” What are the filming techniques that help tell the story beyond the page? Writer/director Jeremy Walton breaks it down for us. 

This episode was originally recorded in 2021 with director Philip Barantini, currently best known as the director of “Adolescence” a four-part series on Netflix. This episode focuses on his independent feature film Boiling Point, also shot in one take. Hear how he kept the camera moving while also telling a rich story of an intense night in a restaurant.

Up and comer Billy Zeinert talks about writing "smart popcorn," familiar stories with novel twists.

Married creative partners Joshua Dean and Jo Rochelle describe the shared teaching experiences that inspired the writing of the independent feature Dead Deer High and the adventures they encountered while making it. 

Writer/director Saraswathi (Vani) Buyyala talks about her journey from being a teenager in India to becoming the head of Rhythm and Hues Asia and eventually following her creative passions with her production company Dancing Atoms.

Pilar takes a moment to talk about the themes, triggers and ah-hah moments that work to create a strong act three in a feature film. Surprise announcement at the end of the episode!

Writer Craig T. Williams talks about his approach to making industry relationships, nailing interviews and about the fact that all of his opportunities, including his first writers room job, happened after the age of 50.

Pilar and her friends Brian Pope, Mike Musa and Alex Troxler get together for their annual discussion about the best screenplay and best adapted screenplay Oscar nominees.

Television writer Taylor Vaughn Lasley talks about her latest Peabody-award nominated project and the unique method of building story she teaches her students at Syracuse University's Newhouse School. 

On the Page “rising star" Tamar Feinkind has found stories from her dad, herself, her motherhood and her Jewish identity. Here, she talks about her projects, pitches and a pivotal name reclamation that helped change everything.

Political turmoil! Climate disasters! How can a comedy writer find the funny? Marc Warzecha, writer, comedian and director of The Sketch School, is here to help.

Writer Tiffany Bratcher worked her way up from writers PA to writer for the Amazon Prime series On Call and story editor for Chicago PD. Here she talks about writing procedural and half-hour drama, police ride-alongs and the need to always be pitching. 

Writer Jan Kimbrough discusses The Women’s List, a nonprofit spotlighting production-ready scripts by women writers.

Pilar and her husband Pat describe how their real life story felt like a movie story as they evacuated Los Angeles during the wildfires.

Filmmaker, author, comedian Sari Karplus made a movie with her kids on a lark and ended up winning film festivals! Listen to her take on working with kids, how she wrote four childrens' books and how taking time to “look at the trees,” might just be the key to a work / life balance.

Writer/director/educator Rae Shaw discusses her new book, The Short, emphasizing the many forms of short form storytelling and the different approaches that can be taken to writing it.

Pilar reads and gives feedback on the loglines that didn’t make the top fifteen lists for the 2024 Logline Contest.

Pilar and Aadip read, evaluate and vote on feature and TV loglines sent in by listeners!

Career coach Lee Jessup returns to discuss the industry changes and writing trends of 2024 and shares what’s ahead for the new year.

Writer/Director Coley Sohn talks about the fun and frustration of writing and directing her independent movie “Mudkey,” which satirizes the right/left divide during one miserable day on a Florida island.

Writer/Publicists Alexandra Grizinski and Jenny Beres talk about ways that screenwriters can mine their personal story to get interest in their scripts as well as the ways they can expand to different media to help them get work and get noticed.

It’s time for the annual On the Page logline competition!  Pilar explains the rules and gives the deadline.

Filmmaker Pooja Parvati Gupta’s experience in reality shows turned out to be excellent narrative training for creating compelling scripted stories. Hear how she made the choice to move from one to the other and how personal experience impacts her storytelling.

Writer Alan Jenkins created 1/6, a comic book based on the “what-ifs” of a successful insurrection. Now, he’s seeing many of those imagined scenarios play out in real time. Here he talks about the ways that comic books have taken political stands over the years and gives guidelines for writers to help them be more empathetic in their writing and creative workplace. 

Writer Aaron Kozak was a winner at the Austin Screenwriting Festival this year and a finalist in two other categories! Here he talks about the many ideas he’s put on the page, his ability to write a lot of material very fast and how moving away from Los Angeles has made him a better writer.

Virgil Williams, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Mudbound, talks about his latest feature film, an adaptation of the August Wilson playThe Piano Lesson, produced by Denzel Washington and directed by Malcolm Washington.

When actor/writer Mia Serafino was given the opportunity to audition for the Netflix show Beef, she knew this was a script worthy of changing her Christmas plans. Here she talks about what speaks to her in scripts and how this has informed her own journey as a writer.

Lynn Renee Maxcy, writer for The Handmaid’s Tale and The Complex talks about her love of sci-fi and speculative fiction where, no matter how dark it seems, a story can always provide hope.