Act Two Podcast

Don't Send That Script Yet: Rewrites, Feedback & Knowing When Your Screenplay is Ready

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman field a listener question about Rewrites. Do you really need to rewrite your drafts before sending them to managers and agents? Will that slow momentum? How many scripts should you revise before you can start querying reps? Do you need a portfolio of scripts, or just one solid script?

 

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Is the Screenwriting Life Worth It? Yes - Here's Why (Part 2)

In Part Two of a series about the Screenwriter's lifestyle, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman dig into all the ways being a professional Screenwriter is exactly the dream you imagine it to be, and more. If you think you can't handle the Ugly Truths of the previous episode, maybe this will change your mind.

 

TWIW: Tasha had to brainstorm horror movie ideas from scratch; where did she start?

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Is the Screenwriting Life Worth It? The Ugly Truth (Part 1 of 2)

Being a Screenwriter is a worthy dream that is attainable. But the dream is much different than we imagine. In this Part One of a series, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the realities of a professional Screenwriter's lifestyle, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

 

TWIW: What to do when a studio wants to make a movie from a terrible book? 

 

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

We Read Our Old Script Coverage (and It's Brutal) | 2025 Oscar Nominee Reactions

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman read real studio script coverage of their old specs, and it's... painful. Plus, they discuss some of this year's Oscar nominees, their predictions, their reactions, and why!

TWIW: Josh has a breakthrough by writing an Act One with no plan / Tasha wrote a movie treatment in a single day and has never felt so alive / We watched & discussed ET for February's Patreon Zoom Q&A and learned so much! / Tasha re-read a script she just submitted to her agents and is now questioning everything

 

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

What TV Execs Wish You Knew: Pitching, Development & Breaking In With Legendary's Anna Halligan

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit with Executive Director of Scripted Series at Legendary, Anna Halligan, to get a behind-the-scenes look at her day-to-day as a TV executive, including how she works with writers and what she wishes writers knew. Anna shares her insights on everything from generals, pitching, developing scripts at the studio level, and her unique journey to finding TV development.

 

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Screenwriting Q&A: Free Work, Producer Conflicts & February: Are You Excited?

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman field listener questions on free work, working on spec with a producer on your own original idea, and how to approach a producer when you don't like their ideas. 

Also included: Are You Excited?!: February Edition

TWIW: Tasha is inspired to take karate after watching this Oscar movie / Josh has an AI scare

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Inside Studio Coverage: How Story Analysts Evaluate Scripts at Major Studios

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down with long-time Universal Pictures Story Analyst, Ray Kolasa, to chat about the process a script goes through when it's sent to a studio, from submission, development to production. What do studios look for, what scripts work and don't work, and what writing lessons are there to learn from someone whose read thousands of scripts at the studio level?

 

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Selling Out Isn't Wrong -- It's a Strategy

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss Franklin Leonard's much-debated post: The Moral Case for Selling Out and whether "selling out" is the key to having a Screenwriting career in Hollywood.

 

TWIW: Sam Raimi's SEND HELP is quite the theater experience / Is Marvel's WONDER MAN the most accurate depiction of life as an actor in Hollywood? / A listener demands to know why Tasha did not like Oscar-nominated Frankenstein

 

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Free Work as Screenwriters: How to Decide, Set Boundaries, and Protect Yourself

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman field a listener question about Free Work, the nemesis of all Screenwriters, and the particular bane of up-and-coming Screenwriters. They talk about their own experiences with Free Work early in their careers and now, how they dealt with them, how best to protect yourself against endless unpaid drafts, and what's realistic about Free Work and our careers as Screenwriters.

 

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist

Why You? - The Question Every Screenwriter Needs to Know How to Answer

Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the question we've all gotten from execs -- "Why you?" They discuss why they ask this question, what it means, and how best to answer it, including examples from real-life situations. 

 

TWIW: Tasha just finished her spec adaptation of a book! What next? / Josh battles a coyote, and gets a new story idea / Has Tasha seen all the Oscar movies yet? / Tasha's new mantra: Just Do It!

 

Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com

Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist