Behind-the-Scenes of the Business and Craft of professional Screenwriting.
Episodes
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down the structure and writing lessons Screenwriters can learn from Act One of SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, including how to use blocking and silence to tell your story, how to maximize spare dialogue, and how to use action to advance your story and hide exposition.
TWIW: the structure and writing lessons of WAR OF THE WORLDS, and if you were to fire your rep, should you do it during or after the strike?
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Monday Aug 28, 2023
Monday Aug 28, 2023
Eliza Clark (Showrunner, Y: THE LAST MAN) wrote a document for her writers on what to do once they were on set to produce their episode of television. The document highlights the incredible importance of a writer on set, and how imperative episodic writers are for Showrunners in production.
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down Clark's list of writer duties on set, and further elucidate the important, unique and difficult job that a writer has in production.
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down with Screen and TV writer Jeff Howard (HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, MIDNIGHT MASS, OCULUS, GERALD'S GAME) to talk about his unique story of how he got started (including meeting the Terminator), how he became director Mike Flanagan's writing partner, his own career struggles, and the realities of working in a TV room.
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Jumping off an article posted by NoFilmSchool.com, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss what Screenwriting imperatives one can learn from dissecting INDIANA JONES movies, including everything from how to introduce characters in an impactful way and how to keep your story moving with an active protagonist.
TWIW: Josh was told his characters sound like him, so what is voice and how do you find it in a character? Tasha's TMNT reactions. Tasha's takeaway re: simple storytelling vs. complex storytelling after writing for TV.
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down with Alyssa Alvarado, the Screenplay Department Director of the Austin Film Festival, to chat about what makes AFF the best festival in the US for Screenwriters and what writers can expect by both applying and attending the festival, including tips on networking successfully while in Austin.
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Monday Jul 31, 2023
It is the Midpoint of the 2023 Summer Blockbuster season! Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the Barbenheimer phenomenon and what's been good, bad and ugly so far this Summer at the theaters.
TWIW: Act Two's Idea Creation Night, Why studios hire A-list writers when a lower-level writer could do the job for cheaper, Favorite MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE titles and why they do/do not work.
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Monday Jul 24, 2023
Monday Jul 24, 2023
Back by popular demand, Screenwriter Dan Kunka (12 ROUNDS) talks with hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman about his journey through arbitration for his latest film, LIFT, based on his spec, and why more writers need to learn that being rewritten is simply part of the job.
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Music by 414Beg
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Screenwriters have been inspired for a long time by JJ Abrams's "Mystery Box" TED Talk from 2007. It gave a glimpse into JJ's genius as a writer whose movies and shows were irresistible and impossibly engaging. In this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman walk through JJ's TED Talk and how and why the "Mystery Box" could make you a better writer.
TWIW: SAG-AFTRA has joined the WGA on strike, "Elemental", breaking in through temp agencies, and an Act Two Patreon?
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Music by 414Beg
Monday Jul 10, 2023
Monday Jul 10, 2023
As huge genre fans, hosts Tasha Huo & Josh Hallman discuss their thoughts on FLASH and INDIANA JONES: DIAL OF DESTINY. *Spoilers definitely ahead, beware!*
TWIW: Quiet Writers vs. Loud Writers in a TV Writer's Room, that time Josh saw INCEPTION with Christopher Nolan, and NO HARD FEELINGS (with Jennifer Lawrence)
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Music by 414Beg
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Scott Glassgold, founder of management & production company Ground Control, has recently made waves in Hollywood for finding short stories on Reddit and turning them into high-profile sales for new writers. Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman walk through that process with Scott and discuss the potential of the short story market for writers in any stage of their career.
Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com
Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Music by 414Beg