OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East

Host Greg Iwinski is joined by CBS New York writer-producer Kathy McGee and CBS Chicago writer-producer Beth Godvik for a conversation about their work in the Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News sector. They discuss the winding paths that make a career, trusting your instincts in a fast-paced news environment, and keeping up with a constantly evolving media landscape.

Kathy McGee is a news writer-producer at WCBS-TV with more than 30 years of experience in broadcast journalism ? and over 20 years of experience as an active leader in the WGAE. She writes stories about theater and cultural arts, has served as shop leader at CBS News New York since 2007, and was on the negotiating committee for four CBS contracts.

Beth Godvik is a news writer-producer at CBS Chicago, WBBM-TV, where she has worked since 2004. Beth currently works on the 4:30 to 7 A.M. show cut-ins and 9 A.M. and 11 A.M. newscasts, and she designed the format for WBBM-TV?s weekend morning shows. She?s a union co-steward in her newsroom and has served on three negotiating committees for CBS News contracts.

Kathy and Beth also both serve on the WGAE Council ? Beth as a Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News sector councilmember, and Kathy as the Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News Vice President.

This episode of OnWriting is hosted by Greg Iwinski. Greg is an Emmy-winning comedy writer and no-award-winning performer whose writing includes LAST WEEK TONIGHT and THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT. He recently finished writing the first season of GAME THEORY WITH BOMANI JONES on HBO, and can be found on Twitter @garyjackson

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole sits down with documentarian John Wilson to discuss How To choose episode titles that will make for good stories, How To make your writers room feel like a therapy session, How To find serendipitous interview subjects, and more.

John Wilson is a New York City-based documentary filmmaker known for creating and hosting the acclaimed comedy-docuseries, How To with John Wilson.

How To with John Wilson chronicles self-proclaimed "anxious New Yorker" John as he films his fellow New Yorkers while attempting to give advice on topics ranging from ?how to watch birds? to ?how to put up scaffolding.?

The HBO series premiered in October 2020 and has received widespread critical acclaim and several accolades, including Primetime Emmy and Writers Guild Award nominations. The third and final season concluded in September 2023, and all three seasons are available to stream on HBO Max.

This episode of OnWriting is hosted by Geri Cole, a writer and performer based in New York City. She is currently a full-time staff and interactive writer for SESAME STREET, for which she has received Writers Guild Award and two Daytime Emmys. She also performs sketch and improv at theaters and festivals around the country.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

To kick off a brand new season, host Taffy Brodesser-Akner sits down with Succession creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong to discuss how he staffed and ran his writers? room, the importance of maintaining distance and perspective in your artistic endeavors, what's next for Jesse now that Succession is over, and much more.

Jesse Armstrong is a screenwriter, showrunner, and producer known for his work on several critically acclaimed television series. He rose to prominence as co-creator and writer of British sitcoms Peep Show and Fresh Meat, as a writer on the first three seasons of The Thick of It and cowriter of its 2009 feature adaption, In the Loop, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Most recently, Jesse served as creator and showrunner of the HBO black comedy Succession, for which he received ? among others ? four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, three Golden Globes, and two Writers Guild Awards for Drama Series.

Succession centers on the ultra-wealthy and ultra-dysfunctional Roy family, owners of global media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo, and their fight for control of the company amidst uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch. The series?which is nominated for the 2024 Writers Guild Award for Drama Series?concluded its fourth and final season concluded last year, and the entire series is available to stream on Max.

This episode of OnWriting is hosted by screenwriter, journalist, and author Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Taffy is the creator and showrunner of the FX on Hulu miniseries Fleishman Is in Trouble which is based on her 2019 novel of the same name. She has previously worked as a freelance writer and as a contributor for GQ and The New York Times, where she is currently a staff writer. You can follow Taffy on Twitter at @taffyakner.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

 

Host Alison Herman talks to writer-director Sarah Polley about finding a balance between reality and allegory in a film adapted from a fictional novel based on true events, how her process has changed since becoming a parent and recovering from a head injury, what writing (and rewriting) this film taught her about rigor, and much more.

Sarah Polley a writer, director, and actor. She wrote and directed the 2006 film AWAY FROM HER, which earned her first Academy Award nomination for adapted screenplay, as well as the 2011 film TAKE THIS WALZ, the 2012 documentary STORIES WE TELL, and is the writer of ALIAS GRACE, the 2017 miniseries adaptation of Margaret Atwood?s novel.

Most recently, Sarah is the writer and director of WOMEN TALKING. The film is adapted from the Miriam Toews novel that was inspired by true events, and stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, and Frances McDormand as a group of women who have only two days to decide how to take action against a group of men who have been arrested for years of abuse toward the women in the remote and isolated Mennonite community.

WOMEN TALKING premiered in December 2022 and is currently nominated for the Academy and Writers Guild Awards for Adapted Screenplay, as well as the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Alison Herman hands it over to guest moderator Judd Apatow for a live conversation with Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner about their latest collaboration, THE FABELMANS.

Steven Spielberg a screenwriter, director, producer, and studio executive. In a career spanning over four decades, Spielberg has directed nearly three dozen feature films and written or cowritten the screenplays for four.

His directorial work has covered many themes and genres?from science-fiction and adventure films to subjects like the Holocaust, the Transatlantic slave trade, war, and terrorism. He has been the subject of widespread critical acclaim, and numerous awards and accolades including 19 nominations and 3 wins at the Academy Awards, multiple Golden Globe and Emmy nominations and wins, and the 2015 United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, among many others.

Tony Kushner is a celebrated playwright, author, and screenwriter who is perhaps best known for writing the acclaimed play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes?and its TV miniseries adaptation?as well as for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg as screenwriter of MUNICH, LINCOLN?both of which earned him Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay?and the 2022 adaptation of WEST SIDE STORY.

Angels in America earned Tony both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1993, and he received Emmy and Writers Guild Awards for its onscreen adaptation. He also received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2013.

Together, Steven and Tony cowrote the screenplay for THE FABELMANS, which Steven also directed. The semi-autobiographical story of Spielberg's own adolescence follows a young Sammy Fabelman as he falls in love with movies after his parents take him to see "The Greatest Show on Earth." Armed with a camera, Sammy starts to make his own films at home, much to the delight of his supportive mother - and discovers how the power of films can help him see the truth about his dysfunctional family and those around him.

The Oscar- and Writers Guild Award-nominated film was released in November 2022 and is now available on most major SVOD platforms.

Moderator Judd Apatow is a writer, director, comedian, and producer known for his work writing and directing films such as THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, and FUNNY PEOPLE, among many others. In 2012, he received the Writers Guild of America, East?s Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

 

Host Greg Iwinski talks to Tony Gilroy about ANDOR, how his music career influenced his work as a screenwriter, why empathy is the key to imagination, the similarities between being a showrunner and a dairy farmer, and more.

Tony Gilroy is a writer, director, and showrunner known for his numerous screenplays, including THE CUTTING EDGE, the JASON BOURNE franchise, and his 2007 acclaimed directorial debut MICHAEL CLAYTON, for which earned received Oscar, BAFTA, and Writers Guild Award nominations for Original Screenplay.

Currently, Tony is the showrunner and executive producer of the Star Wars series ANDOR. The show, which he also created, serves as a prequel to both the 2016 spin-off ROGUE ONE as well as the original 1977 STAR WARS film. The Writers Guild Award-nominated series follows Cassian Andor, a Rebel spy during the formative years of the Rebellion, and chronicles his difficult missions for the cause.

ANDOR premiered in September 2022 and is in production for its second season. Season one is currently available to stream on Disney+.

Greg Iwinski is an Emmy-winning comedy writer and no-award-winning performer whose writing includes LAST WEEK TONIGHT and THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT. He recently finished writing the first season of GAME THEORY WITH BOMANI JONES on HBO, and can be found on Twitter @garyjackson (external - opens in a new window)

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman talks to David Magee about writing three films that were released in the same year, adaptation as a form of translation, exploring the deeper cause of pain and bitterness in both Chatterley and Otto, and much more.

David Magee is the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of FINDING NEVERLAND, THE LIFE OF PI, MARY POPPINS RETURNS and many more.

His credits in 2022 include an impressive three feature films: THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, now streaming on Netflix; an adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER, also streaming on Netflix. And finally, A MAN CALLED OTTO, and an adaptation of the Swedish novel and film, A Man called Ove, which is now streaming in theaters.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman talks to Sharon Horgan about how she kept her stories straight when writing across two timelines, her tips for pitching a project, the universal ideas at the heart of a story about four sisters failing spectacularly at attempting murder, and more.

Sharon Horgan is an acclaimed writer, actress, producer, and director, best known for her multiple award-winning sitcom?CATASTROPHE,?which she co-wrote and starred in?with Rob Delaney.

Her other writing credits include the BBC comedy series PULLING, the comedy series SHINING VALE, and the BBC sitcom MOTHERLAND. As an actress, Sharon is known for her roles in feature films like GAME NIGHT,?DATING AMBER, THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT, among others.?

Her latest project is?BAD SISTERS, which she co-created, wrote, and stars in. The ten-part comedy thriller follows a group of five sisters (the Garveys) and the promise they make to always protect each other after their parents? premature death.

The Writers Guild Award-nominated series premiered in the US in August 2022 and is available to stream on Apple TV+

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Greg Iwinski talks to Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole about their collaboration process for BLACK PANTHER and BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER, rewriting a screenplay while ? and as part of ? grieving, space-saving ways to write a half-dozen languages into your script, and more.

Ryan Coogler is a writer-director whose credits include the 2013 biopic FRUITVALE STATION and the CREED franchise.

Joe Robert Cole is a writer-director who has written for the series THE PEOPLE VS. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORY, and wrote and directed the feature film ALL DAY AND A NIGHT.

Ryan and Joe cowrote the screenplay for BLACK PANTHER as part of Phase Three of the MCU. The film was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Adapted Screenplay and became the first superhero film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER ? their latest project together and the sequel to the 2018 film ? follows Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M?Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje during their fight to protect Wakanda from intervening world powers in the wake of King T?Challa?s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.

The film was released in November 2022. It?s currently playing in theaters and will be available to stream on Disney+ starting February 1, 2023.

Greg Iwinski is an Emmy-winning comedy writer and no-award-winning performer whose writing includes LAST WEEK TONIGHT and THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT. He recently finished writing the first season of GAME THEORY WITH BOMANI JONES on HBO, and can be found on Twitter @garyjackson.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Greg Iwinski talks to Rian Johnson about his latest project, the rich tradition of destination vacation murder mysteries, the joys of the theatrical experience, and the value of a good notebook.

Rian Johnson is a writer and director who made his feature film debut with the 2005 neo-noir mystery BRICK. He went on to write and direct several critically acclaimed films, including the caper dramedy THE BROTHERS BLOOM in 2008, the sci-fi thriller LOOPER in 2012, and STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI in 2017. In 2019 he returned to the mystery genre with KNIVES OUT (2019), which earned him Academy and Writers Guild Award nominations for Original Screenplay.

His latest writing-directing credit is GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT STORY. In this sequel to the 2019 film, famed detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic crew of friends.

GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT STORY was released in theaters in November 2022 and on Netflix in December 2022, and is currently available to stream on Netflix.

Greg Iwinski is an Emmy-winning comedy writer and no-award-winning performer whose writing includes LAST WEEK TONIGHT and THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT. He recently finished writing the first season of GAME THEORY WITH BOMANI JONES on HBO, and can be found on Twitter @garyjackson.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman talks to writer and director Noah Baumbach about the adaptation process, how his frequent collaborators influence and inform his work, and much more.

Noah Baumbach is the writer/co-writer and director of more than a dozen feature films, starting with KICKING AND SCREAMING in 1995. His 2005 film THE SQUID AND THE WHALE and his 2020 film MARRIAGE STORY were both nominated for the Academy and Writers Guild awards for Original Screenplay.

Most recently, he wrote and directed the absurdist dramedy WHITE NOISE. An adaptation of the 1985 Don DeLillo novel of the same name, the film follows college professor Jack Gladney, whose comfortable suburban life is upended when a nearby chemical leak causes "The Airborne Toxic Event," releasing a noxious black cloud over the region that forces the Gladney family to evacuate.

WHITE NOISE was released in November 2022 and is available to stream on Netflix.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Katie Rich talks to TOONING OUT THE NEWS co-creator and showrunner RJ Fried about how animation can help us address uncomfortable subjects, the challenges of covering topical issues on a streaming platform, and his transition from professional hockey player to professional writer.

RJ Fried is a writer and performer. He co-created OUR CARTOON PRESIDENT, was the head writer on PROBLEMATIC WITH MOSHE KASHER, a writer on THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, and wrote on the Writers Guild Award-winning series TRIUMPH?S ELECTION WATCH 2016.

He?s currently showrunner for the animated satirical news program TOONING OUT THE NEWS, which he co-created with Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht, and Tim Luecke. The show features a cast of animated characters, led by anchor James Smartwood, who lampoon top news stories and interview real-world guests, newsmakers and analysts.

Seasons 1 and 2 of TOONING OUT THE NEWS can be streamed on Paramount+. Season 3 can be streamed on Comedy Central, and new episodes air on Wednesdays after THE DAILY SHOW.

Katie Rich is an Emmy-nominated, WGA and Peabody award-winning writer, actor and producer who attended Northwestern University before joining Chicago?s Second City. After Second City, Katie joined the writing staff of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, where she worked for seven seasons. She has also written for and consulted on many award shows such as The Emmys, The Academy Awards, The Golden Globes, The ESPYs, and NFL Honors. You can hear her writing on NPR's LIVE FROM HERE or actually hear her voice on Showtime's OUR CARTOON PRESIDENT, HBO?s BATMAN: THE AUDIO ADVENTURES and Netflix?s CHICAGO PARTY AUNT, on which she also served as co-creator and executive producer. Katie currently lives in Los Angeles where she is co-executive producer on the spin-off of HBOMax?s HARLEY QUINN. Follow Katie on Twitter at @katiemaryrich.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman is joined by Lena Dunham to talk about the challenges of adaptation, the impact of success at an early age, discovering a love for outlining, and how it all comes back to the writing.

Lena Dunham is the writer and director of several feature films, including TINY FURNITURE and SHARP STICK, as well as the creator and star of the acclaimed HBO series GIRLS. Most recently, she is the writer and director of CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY.

CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY is an adaptation of the 1994 novel of the same name by Karen Cushman. The film follows Catherine (known as Birdy), the daughter of a financially destitute Lord in medieval England, and her efforts to thwart her father's plans to marry her off to a wealthy suitor.

The comedy film premiered in September 2022 and is available to stream on Prime Video.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman talks to THE MENU co-writers Will Tracy and Seth Reiss about the transition from satirical newspaper to late-night to feature writing, finding humor in sadness, the shared qualities between restaurant kitchens and writing rooms, and much more.

Will Tracy and Seth Reiss are veterans of late-night shows like LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER and LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS, and before that, the satirical newspaper The Onion.

Their first-ever feature screenplay is THE MENU, a horror satire that is set in the world of fine dining. The film was released in November 2022 and is now playing in theaters.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Marina Fang is joined by SHE SAID screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz to discuss the process of collaborating with Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, how screenwriting compares to the world of theater, creating a realistic depiction of journalism on screen, the importance of giving a voice to survivors, and more.

Rebecca Lenkiewicz is a screenwriter and playwright. Her plays have been performed in London and internationally including at London's Royal National Theatre, and she has written numerous productions for BBC Radio.

As a screenwriter, she is known for co-writing the 2013 drama IDA, the 2017 romance DISOBEDIENCE, and the 2018 biopic COLETTE, as well as for her work on TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL, THE EDDY, and SMALL AXE.  

SHE SAID is based on the groundbreaking New York Times investigation by reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and their editor Rebecca Corbit, as well as Jodi and Megan's book of the same name. The film follows Twohey and Kantor through the process of publishing the story that exposed sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein?and became a launching pad for the #MeToo movement, shattering decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault and harassment.

The film premiered in September 2022 at the New York Film Festival, and will be released in theaters in the US on November 18, 2022.

Marina Fang (she/her) is a senior culture reporter at HuffPost, based in New York. She primarily covers film and television, examining their intersection with politics, race and gender. She can be found on Twitter at @marinafang.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman talks to writer and director James Gray about his upbringing as a secular Jew in Queens, attempting to empathize with Maryanne Trump, the purpose of art in encouraging empathy across class and racial lines, and more.

James Gray is the writer and director of eight feature films, beginning with his 1999 debut LITTLE ODESSA, as well as films like the 2007 crime thriller WE OWN THE NIGHT and the 2013 drama THE IMMIGRANT, and the 2016 biopic THE LOST CITY OF Z. Most recently, he directed Brad Pitt in the 2019 space drama AD ASTRA, which he co-wrote with Ethan Gross.

His latest project as writer-director is the semi-autobiographical drama ARMAGEDDON TIME, in which he returns to New York and more specifically Queens for an intimate portrait of social class, assimilation and coming of age.

ARMAGEDDON TIME was released in late October 2022 and is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Alison Herman talks to writer and director David O. Russell about themes like love and loyalty in AMSTERDAM, his long collaboration with actors like Christian Bale, his real life work with organizations like Ghetto Film School to increase representation in Hollywood, and more.

David O. Russell is a writer and director known for films like THE FIGHTER, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, AMERICAN HUSTLE, and JOY. He has received numerous accolades for his screenplays, including three Academy and Writers Guild Award and two Golden Globe nominations, and two BAFTA and Independent Spirit Awards. He has also received multiple nominations and wins for his directorial work.

His latest project is the period mystery film AMSTERDAM, which he wrote and directed. The comedy follows three friends and World War I veterans who witness?and are subsequently implicated in?the murder of a U.S. Senator and wind up uncovering one of the most outrageous plots in American history.

The film will be released in theaters on October 7, 2022.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Marina Fang talks to Jessica Knoll about the extensive process of adapting her own book, how her personal experiences shaped the film, why Gillian Flynn is her guiding light, and so much more.

Jessica Knoll is a screenwriter and novelist known for her thrillers Luckiest Girl Alive, and The Favorite Sister. In 2021, she was named a screenwriter to watch by Variety, and in 2019 her original script, 'TIL DEATH sold to Amazon and made The Black List.

Her feature screenplay debut, LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, is an adaptation of her first novel (of the same name). The mystery-thriller stars Mila Kunis as Ani Fanelli, an up-and-coming writer at a glossy magazine who is set to get married at a lavish Nantucket wedding. But when a director of a documentary urges Ani to go on camera to tell her side of a school shooting that took place when she was a teenager, Ani is forced to confront the dark truths of her past that threaten to unravel her meticulously crafted life.

The film premieres on October 7, 2022 and will be available to stream on Netflix.

Marina Fang (she/her) is a senior culture reporter at HuffPost, based in New York. She primarily covers film and television, examining their intersection with politics, race and gender. She can be found on Twitter at @marinafang.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Greg Iwinski talks to Greg Mottola about leaning into the absurdity of the everyday, bringing a 70s-era whodunnit into the 21st century, our rediscovered love of murder mysteries, and much more.

Writer and director Greg Mottola began his career with his 1996 indie dramedy film THE DAYTRIPPERS, for which he received a Golden Camera nomination at the Cannes Film Festival for best first feature film. He then went on to direct the hit 2007 coming-of-age comedy SUPERBAD, then wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2009 film ADVENTURELAND, which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay. Since then, he has gone on to direct other film projects like PAUL and KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES.

Mottola has also directed episodes of several hit television series, including the pilots of FX?s DAVE and HBO?s THE NEWSROOM, as well as episodes of the THE COMEBACK, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, UNDECLARED, and THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS.

He most recently wrote and directed the crime comedy film CONFESS, FLETCH, which is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Gregory Mcdonald and a reboot of the hit 1980s series starring Chevy Chase.

CONFESS, FLETCH stars Jon Hamm as the roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit - from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch?s Italian girlfriend. Crime, in fact, has never been this disorganized.

The film will be released simultaneously in limited theaters and on paid digital streaming platforms on Friday, September 16, and will be available to stream on Showtime starting October 28.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
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Host Alison Herman talks to OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH showrunner David Jenkins about the creative freedoms that come with a virtual writer's room, why the true story of pirates Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard makes the most sense as a romance, the labor implications of ratings transparency in the streaming age, and much more.

David Jenkins is a television writer, showrunner, producer, and playwright. He?s known for creating the 2016 TBS sci-fi comedy series PEOPLE OF EARTH, and for his work as creator and showrunner of the acclaimed HBO Max pirate workplace rom-com series OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH.

OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH is a (very) loose adaptation of the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet. After trading in the seemingly charmed life of a gentleman for one of a swashbuckling buccaneer, Stede becomes captain of the pirate ship Revenge. Struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, Stede?s fortunes change after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard. Stede and crew attempt to get their ship together and survive life on the high seas.

The series, which was recently renewed for a second season, premiered on HBO Max in March 2022. The full first season is available to stream on HBO Max.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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Host Marina Fang talks to Phoebe Robinson?the creator, writer, and star of EVERYTHING?S TRASH?about the experience of writing "TV Phoebe,? balancing studio notes with your creative vision, the importance of portraying realistic New York City living, and much more.

Phoebe Robinson is a writer, comedian, and actress known for her work as the co-creator and co-star of the hit podcast-turned-HBO series 2 Dope Queens and critically acclaimed podcasts including Sooo Many White Guys and Black Frasier, as well as for her starring roles in the films IBIZA and WHAT MEN WANT. 

She?s also the nationally bestselling author of Please Don't Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes, You Can?t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain, and Everything?s Trash, But It?s Okay, the latter of which is the basis of her comedy series EVERYTHING?S TRASH.

EVERYTHING?S TRASH follows Phoebe, an outspoken podcast star, who is forced to start her journey into maturity when her older brother launches a political campaign while navigating life, love, her career, and living Brooklyn.

The comedy series, which premiered on Freeform in July 2022, airs Wednesdays on Freeform and is available to stream on Hulu.

Marina Fang (she/her) is a senior culture reporter at HuffPost, based in New York. She primarily covers film and television, examining their intersection with politics, race and gender. She can be found on Twitter at @marinafang.

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Host Greg Iwinski is joined by Late Night?s Seth Meyers to talk about the spirit of 12:30 and how a diverse writing staff is essential to success ? and to take a closer look at A Closer Look.

Seth Meyers is a writer, comedian, and author known for his work on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and as the host/writer of NBC?s LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS.

He was named one of the 2014 TIME 100, Time magazine?s 100 most influential people and has received numerous awards and accolades, over 30 Writers Guild and Emmy Award nominations altogether, a 2009 Peabody Award, and back-to-back Critics? Choice Awards for Best Talk Show in 2020-21.

LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS is the fourth incarnation of the LATE NIGHT franchise. Each episode features monologues and news segments that add a comedic lens to that day's biggest alongside a slate of guests that includes both A-list celebrities, as well as people not seen anywhere else in late night like political figures and other interesting newsmakers. 

The series, which recently received its first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Variety Talk Series, airs weeknights on NBC at 12:37 AM.

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Host Greg Iwinski talks to Ziwe, creator, host, and writer of the comedy-variety sketch series ZIWE, about coming up in the Chicago comedy scene, the importance of Stephen Colbert?s White House Correspondents dinner speech, and how she puts together the show, the writers? room, and its voice.

Ziwe'a current project is the comedy-variety sketch series ZIWE, now in its second season on Showtime. The show is a no-holds-barred mix of musical numbers, interviews and sketches that challenge America's discomfort with race, politics, and cultural issues. 

She previously wrote for shows such as THE RUNDOWN WITH ROBIN THEDE and DESUS AND MERO, and publications such as THE ONION, REDUCTRESS, and THE NEW YORKER. She created the YouTube comedy show BAITED WITH ZIWE, as well as its reincarnation on Instagram Live.

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Host Marina Fang talks to Joel Kim Booster, writer and co-star of FIRE ISLAND, about the film?s Austenian origins, the boundaries between real-life and fiction throughout the writing process, and navigating issues of racial and sexual representation and the intersections of privilege.

This episode is presented by the WGAE's Asian-American and LGBTQ+ Salons, in partnership with The Lower East Side Film Festival.

Joel Kim Booster is a Los Angeles-based actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He co-produced and wrote for the acclaimed comedy series BIG MOUTH and THE OTHER TWO and has appeared on series such as SHRILL, SEARCH PARTY, and SUNNYSIDE as an actor. In 2022, his stand-up special JOEL KIM BOOSTER: PSYCHOSEXUAL released on Netflix.

His most recent project is the Hulu romantic comedy film FIRE ISLAND, an unapologetic, modern day rom-com showcasing a diverse, multicultural examination of queerness and romance. Inspired by Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice, the film centers around two best friends, Noah and Howie, who set out to have a legendary week-long summer vacation on the iconic and historic gay cultural hub of Fire Island with the help of cheap rosé and a group of eclectic friends.

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Host Alison Herman talks to Meredith Scardino, the creator, showrunner, writer, and producer of GIRLS5EVA, about the show?s writing and songwriting process, what you learn from mentors like Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, and Robert Carlock, and why so much of this series is about having agency over your own life.

Meredith Scardino is a New York-based screenwriter, showrunner, and producer. After working on the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN in the mid-2000s, she went on to write for television comedies such as THE COLBERT REPORT and UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT. She also served as a co-executive producer in the final two seasons of the latter show.

Her current project is the Peacock musical comedy series GIRLS5EVA. The series centers on four women who were part of a girl group named Girls5eva, which was briefly popular around the year 2000 before fading into one-hit-wonder status. Now unfulfilled in their various lives, the women are offered an unexpected chance at a comeback when their song is sampled by an up-and-coming rapper and decide to reunite to reclaim their prior success.

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Host Geri Cole talks about the Netflix series RUSSIAN DOLL with co-creator, writer, producer, director, star Natasha Lyonne, and writer-producer Alice Ju They discuss how the series uses religious philosophy to work on both literal and metaphorical levels, taking the show from ?Groundhog Day? to ?Quantum Leap?, and exploring the nesting doll of dealing with grief. Warning, there are spoilers.
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Host Alison Herman talks to Amy Schumer, creator and star of the comedy-drama series LIFE & BETH, about how motherhood changes your perspective as a writer, why she loves writing in bed and the differences between writing a sketch show like INSIDE AMY SCHUMER versus a scripted show like LIFE & BETH. Amy Schumeris a New York-based comedian, actress, and screenwriter. From 2013 to 2016, she was the creator, co-producer, co-writer, and star of the Comedy Central sketch comedy series INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, for which she received a Peabody Award and was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Variety Sketch Series in 2015. Schumer wrote and made her film debut in a starring role in TRAINWRECK, for which she received nominations for Writers Guild and Golden Globe Awards. In 2022, she co-hosted the 94th Academy Awards alongside Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes. Her current project is the Hulu comedy-drama series LIFE & BETH. In this semi-autobiographical series, the seemingly-perfect life of Beth, a Manhattanite wine distributor, is upended by an unexpected incident that forces her to engage with her past. In a single moment, her life changes forever, leading her on a journey to discover how she became who she is and what she wants to become. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews:
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Host Greg Iwinski talks to Michael Waldron, writer of DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, about the Harmon Story Circle, how the worlds of wrestling and comic books are similar, and the cultural obsession with spoiling things. (Speaking of which, this episode does contain some spoilers. Proceed with caution!)

Michael Waldron is a writer and producer who started his career in film & TV as a PA on the fifth season of the hit NBC sitcom COMMUNITY. After his time at Greendale Community College, he served as a writer/producer for the animated series RICK & MORTY ? for which he and his colleagues received an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, showrunner for the Disney+ series LOKI, and creator/co-showrunner for the Starz drama series HEELS.

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS is the latest feature film from the Marvel cinematic universe, and the sequel to the 2016 film DOCTOR STRANGE. The film follows the titular Doctor Strange as he teams up with a mysterious teenage girl from his dreams who can travel across multiverses. Along the way, the duo battles multiple threats, including other-universe versions of Stephen Strange, which threaten to wipe out millions across the multiverse.

The film premiered in early May 2022 and is now playing in theaters.

Host Greg Iwinski is an Emmy-winning comedy writer and no-award-winning performer whose writing includes Last Week Tonight and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. He recently finished writing the first season of Game Theory with Bomani Jones on HBO, and can be found on Twitter @garyjackson.

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Entertainment Weekly?s Derek Lawrence sits down with Danny McBride?the creator, writer, executive producer, and costar of the dark comedy series THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES.

Danny McBride is a writer, actor, comedian, and producer. He wrote and starred in the HBO television series EASTBOUND & DOWN and VICE PRINCIPALS, both of which he co-created with Jody Hill. He's also known for his appearances in films like PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and TROPIC THUNDER as well as for his voice acting roles in films like THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES.

His current project is the HBO dark comedy series THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES. The show tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work.

THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES premiered in August 2019 on HBO. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on HBO Max, and the show was renewed for a third season in early 2022.

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Host Geri Cole talks to David Simon, co-creator and showrunner of the new HBO miniseries WE OWN THIS CITY, about how he sees the mini-series as the coda to his legendary show, THE WIRE; the lessons he learned as a journalist that have helped him as a television writer; and why the drug war is one of America's worst policies and needs to end.

David Simon is a Baltimore-based screenwriter, journalist, author, and television producer. A former crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun, he is the author of two books of narrative nonfiction?Homicide and The Corner?and is the creator of the celebrated HBO series THE WIRE, which depicts the political and socioeconomic fissures in an American city. His other television credits include the NBC drama HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET and HBO?s THE CORNER?both adaptations of his nonfiction books?as well as HBO?s GENERATION KILL, TREME, and THE DEUCE. He was a 2010 MacArthur Fellow and has received numerous accolades over the course of his career, including an Edgar Award and multiple Emmy and Writers Guild Awards.

His latest project is the crime drama miniseries WE OWN THIS CITY. Based on the nonfiction book of the same name by fellow Baltimore Sun alum Justin Fenton, the show details the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force and the corruption surrounding it.

The six-part miniseries premiered in April 2022 on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.

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Geri hands it over to guest host Melissa Silverstein, the founder and publisher of Women in Hollywood, for a conversation with THE DROPOUT creator and showrunner Liz Meriwether.

Liz Meriwether is a writer, showrunner, and producer known for her work as the creator and showrunner of the hit comedy series NEW GIRL and the sitcom BLESS THIS MESS, as well as for writing the screenplay for the 2011 romcom NO STRINGS ATTACHED.

Guest moderator Melissa Silverstein is the founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood, an initiative and website that educates, advocates, and agitates for gender diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and the global film industry.

THE DROPOUT is a Hulu limited series based on the ABC podcast of the same name. The series follows the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos.

The series premiered in March 2022 and is available to stream on Hulu.

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Host Geri Cole speaks with Jonathan Tropper about The Adam Project's eight-year journey to the screen, how to write a great action scene, the rules of writing time travel, and why you don't tell Bob when to drink the Coke.

Jonathan Tropper is a screenwriter, novelist, and producer. He is the internationally-acclaimed author of six novels, the two most recent of which?This Is Where I Leave You and One Last Thing Before I Go?were both New York Times bestsellers. His screenwriting credits include THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU (the 2014 film adaptation of his novel), the 2017 feature KODACHROME, showrunner of the sci-fi series SEE, co-creator and showrunner of the action series BANSHEE, and creator and showrunner of the martial arts drama series WARRIOR.

Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for the sci-fi adventure film THE ADAM PROJECT. The film follows time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed who, after accidentally crash-landing in the year 2022, must team up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future.

The film was released in March and is now streaming on Netflix.

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Host Geri Cole is joined by PACHINKO showrunner, writer, and producer Soo Hugh to talk about how the writers adapted the acclaimed novel to keep it focused on family over colonialism; the process of crafting a complex, authentic story that couldn't have been told the same way a decade ago; and the power inherent in telling extraordinary stories of ordinary people.

Soo Hugh is a writer and producer whose past credits include sci-fi and horror drama series like CBS sci-fi mystery UNDER THE DOME, ABC sci-fi drama THE WHISPERS (which she created) and AMC horror anthology THE TERROR (for which she was co-showrunner), among others.

She is currently serving as creator, writer, showrunner, and producer of the Apple TV period drama PACHINKO. Based on the acclaimed novel by author Min Jin Lee, PACHINKO chronicles the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family. The story begins with a forbidden love, and crescendos into a sweeping saga that journeys between Korea, Japan, and America to tell an unforgettable story of war, peace, love and loss, triumph and reckoning.

The series? first three episodes premiered in March 2022, and new episodes are streaming weekly on AppleTV+.

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Host Geri Cole talks to writer-director Mariama Diallo about the uncanny?and all-too-real?experience of navigating predominately white spaces as a Black woman, the complexities of identity, the importance and necessity of your community, and more.

Mariama Diallo is a writer and director whose short film ?Hair Wolf? premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival?where it won the Short Film Jury Award?and was then released on HBO and the Criterion Channel. Diallo also co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in the short film ?White Devil,? which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and is a writer-director on the Peabody Award-winning HBO series RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS.

Her latest project?and feature debut?is MASTER, a supernatural horror film about three Black women striving to find their place at a prestigious New England university whose frosty elitism may disguise something more sinister.

The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will arrive on Prime Video (and in select theaters) starting March 18.

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Host Geri Cole welcomes THE HANDMAID?S TALE creator, showrunner, writer, and EP Bruce Miller and writer and EP Yahlin Chang to the show to talk about how real-world refugee stories give the show inspiration and guidance, the ways in which writing can be both cruel and cathartic, and how the show encourages everyone?both above and below the line?to bring their A-game.

** - Please note: This episode comes with a spoiler alert as well as a content warning for a discussion of sexual violence against women and other traumatic topics. - ** 

Bruce Miller is a television writer and producer who, before HANDMAID'S, was well known for his work as showrunner and writer for popular sci-fi series like EUREKA and ALPHAS. For his work on The Handmaid's Tale, Miller won the 2017 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.

Yahlin Chang is a writer and producer who wrote on several series including DIRTY SEXY MONEY, PAN AM, and SUPERGIRL, before joining the writers' room of THE HANDMAID'S TALE. She was nominated for a 2021 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama for the series.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE is a dystopian television series based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name. The series portrays life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was the United States which is ruled by an ultra-religious fundamentalist regime. Faced with a world devastated by environmental disasters and a plummeting birth rate, the few remaining fertile women are forced into sexual servitude. One of these women, Offred, is determined to survive the terrifying world she lives in, and find the daughter that was taken from her.

The series?which has received multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, Writers Guild Awards, among many others?premiered on Hulu in April 2017, and is currently in production for its 5th season. Seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Hulu.

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Geri Cole turns it over to Michael Cyril Creighton for a special conversation with showrunners Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen to discuss their series, SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE.

Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen are a writing duo whose credits include HIGH MAINTENANCE, MOZART IN THE JUNGLE and DRIVEWAYS.

Moderator Michael Cyril Creighton is a writer and actor known for his recent performance as the cat-loving Howard Morris in ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING and his roles on HIGH MAINTENANCE and SPOTLIGHT, as well as for creating and starring in the Writers Guild Award-winning web series JACK IN A BOX (which, incidentally, Hannah and Paul also worked on).

SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE is a new comedy series that follows Sam, a true Kansan on the surface who, beneath it all, struggles to fit into the hometown mold. As Sam grapples with loss and acceptance, singing is her saving grace and leads her on a journey to discover herself and a community of outsiders who don't fit in, but don't give up, showing that finding your people and finding your voice is possible anywhere somewhere.

SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE is streaming now on HBO and HBO Max, and was renewed for a second season earlier this month.

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Host Geri Cole talks to Zach Baylin?screenwriter of KING RICHARD?about how a serendipitous meeting before heading to the US Open led to the script landing in the hands of Will Smith, his experience collaborating with the Williams family, and the importance of writing every day, because even a few lines can feel like a success.

Zach Baylin is a screenwriter whose script, KING RICHARD, was #2 in the 2018 Black List survey, and is his first produced writing credit. His next project is CREED III, which is currently in production for MGM.

KING RICHARD is the true story of how Venus and Serena Williams were raised and coached by their parents to become the tennis legends they are today. Zach's screenplay won the 2022 Black Film Critic Circle Award and is currently in the running for a Writers Guild Award, a BAFTA Award, and an Academy Award.

KING RICHARD was released in November 2021. It's currently playing in theaters and available to stream on VOD.

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Geri Cole turns it over to David O. Russell for a conversation with Adam McKay about his latest project, DON?T LOOK UP.

David O. Russell is the Oscar- and Writers Guild Award-nominated writer and director best known for his work on titles like FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, THREE KINGS, I HEART HUCKABEES, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, AMERICAN HUSTLE, and most recently, JOY.

Adam McKay is a writer, director, comedian, and co-founder of the comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade. He kicked off his film & TV career in the ?90s as a head writer for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE before rising to fame in the 2000s for his collaborations with fellow comedian and SNL alum Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the hit comedies ANCHORMAN, STEP BROTHERS, and THE OTHER GUYS.

In the 2010s, McKay ventured into more dramatic waters as co-writer & director of the 2015 dramedy/biopic THE BIG SHORT?for which he and Charles Randolph received the Academy and Writers Guild Awards for Adapted Screenplay?and as writer & director of the 2019 Oscar- and Writers Guild Award-nominated Dick Cheney biopic VICE.

 

His most recent project is DON?T LOOK UP, a comedy-drama and cautionary tale written and directed by McKay and based on a story by himself and David Sirota.

The film follows two astronomers who discover a comet orbiting within the solar system and which is set on a direct collision course with Earth. The problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. The astronomers embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff to the airwaves of upbeat morning show The Daily Rip. With only six months until the comet makes impact, the team struggles to manage the 24-hour news cycle and gain the attention of the social media-obsessed public?before it?s too late.

DON?T LOOK UP was released in December 2021 and is available to stream on Netflix.

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Host Geri Cole is joined by four writers from THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH: supervising producer and head writer Zhubin Parang, writers Kat Radley and Josh Johnson, and correspondent Roy Wood Jr.

The writers and Geri cover what it takes to put together an episode of THE DAILY SHOW? and to do it daily, how being encouraged to bomb creates a sense of community in the writers? room, and how segments like ?CP Time? help teach chapters of Black history you won?t find in a textbook.

THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH is the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning evening news program that examines the day's biggest news stories in politics, pop culture, entertainment, sports and more. In each episode, Trevor and his team of correspondents provide coverage of (and catharsis from) daily events through a sharp, reality-based lens.

Episodes of THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH air live on Comedy Central nightly.

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Host Geri Cole is joined by Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky?writers and executive producers of AND JUST LIKE THAT?to talk about how they first came to work on SEX AND THE CITY, their very intimate writing process for AND JUST LIKE THAT, and how success can sometimes feel like being lost in L.A.

Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky are long-time collaborators whose credits together include SEX AND THE CITY, SIX DEGREES, SMASH, ODD MOM OUT?where they also served as co-showrunners, and DIVORCE.

Their latest collaboration is on the new limited series AND JUST LIKE THAT. The ten-episode revival of SEX AND THE CITY follows Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.

AND JUST LIKE THAT premiered in December 2021 and is currently available to watch on HBO and HBO Max.

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Host Geri Cole kicks off a new year, and a new season of OnWriting, in conversation with celebrated screenwriter, playwright, and author Tony Kushner?the screenwriter behind the recent adaptation of WEST SIDE STORY.

Geri and Tony discuss the process of adapting one of the most famous musicals of all time, how in-depth research about New York's West Side added historical context and deeper meaning to the script, and how even the likes Tony Kushner get anxious looking at a blank page.

Tony Kushner is a celebrated playwright, author, and screenwriter who is perhaps best known for writing the acclaimed play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes?and its TV miniseries adaptation?as well as for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg as screenwriter for MUNICH and LINCOLN, both of which earned him Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Angels in America earned Tony both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1993, and he received Emmy and Writers Guild Awards for its onscreen adaptation. He also received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2013.

His latest screenplay (and most recent collaboration with Spielberg) is the musical romantic period drama WEST SIDE STORY. The film?based on the 1957 stage musical and a follow-up of the acclaimed 1961 film adaptation?explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds, as they explore the ever-shifting (and never-changing) landscape of New York.

WEST SIDE STORY was released in December 2021 and is now showing in theaters.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole is joined by Tracey Scott Wilson, writer of the Aretha Franklin biopic RESPECT, about writing the film?s screenplay on a very expedited timeline, how being a playwright has informed her film & television career, and her creative process ? which includes writing in longhand and starting each day reading scripts.

Tracey Scott Wilson is an accomplished television writer, producer and playwright. She served as a co-executive producer on FOSSE/VERDON and MORNING SHOW. Before that, she was co-executive producer on the award-winning series THE AMERICANS, where she wrote for 4 seasons and received two Writers Guild awards, two Peabody awards and a Golden Globe. Her plays include BUZZER, THE GOOD NEGRO, and THE STORY. She is the winner of multiple awards for her work as a playwright, including 2001 Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award, the 2003 AT&T Onstage Award, the 2004 Whiting Award, the 2004 Kesserling Prize, the 2007 Weissberger Playwriting Award, and the 2007 Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the O?Neil National Playwriting Conference.

Her latest project is the Aretha Franklin biopic, RESPECT. The film follows the rise of Aretha Franklin's career ? from a child singing in her father's church choir to her international superstardom ? and tells the remarkable true story of the music icon's journey to find her voice. The film was released in August 2021 and is available to rent or buy on major streaming platforms.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

For the latest live taping of OnWriting, Amanda Peet and Jennifer Kim join host Geri Cole to discuss their work on the new Netflix (academi)comedy-drama series, THE CHAIR.

Amanda Peet is the co-creator, showrunner, writer, and executive producer of THE CHAIR. You may also know her from her extensive acting credits, including DIRTY JOHN, BROCKMIRE, and TOGETHERNESS.

Jennifer Kim is a writer on THE CHAIR, as well as a staff writer for the upcoming Mel Brooks variety series HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART II, which was announced earlier this fall.

THE CHAIR is the story of Professor Ji-Yoon Kim?the newly appointed chair of the English department at the prestigious Pembroke University, and the first woman of color to hold the position. The first season of the comedy-drama series follows Kim?s efforts to meet the dizzying demands and high expectations of a failing English department all while trying to ensure the tenure of a young black colleague; negotiate her relationship with her crush, friend, and well-known colleague Bill Dobson; and parent her strong-willed adopted daughter.

The show was released in August 2021 and is available to stream on Netflix.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole talks to John Hoffman?co-creator and showrunner of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING?about the art of putting together a compelling mystery in a writers' room, how his own life experience shaped his connection to the series, and the creative value of staying in bed.

Spoiler Alert: This episode contains lots of big reveals. We recommend you watch the series before you listen.

John Hoffman is a writer, director, and actor who wrote and co-starred in the 1997 Disney Channel original movie NORTHERN LIGHTS before making his theatrical film debut (as both writer and director) with the 2003 MGM/Jim Henson Pictures comedy GOOD BOY!. Since then, his credits have included the 81st Academy Awards (for which he earned an Emmy nomination), the HBO series LOOKING, and the Netflix series GRACE AND FRANKIE.

Hoffman is currently the showrunner of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, which he co-created alongside Steve Martin. The mystery-comedy series follows three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. As they record a podcast of their own to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building which stretch back years, but the secrets they keep from one another might be even more explosive. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it?s too late.

The 10-episode first season is now streaming on Hulu, and the series was renewed for a second season in September 2021.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole speaks to PEN15 co-creators, co-writers, and co-stars Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle about how the duo met (at an experimental theater program in Amsterdam), how PEN15 has become even more honest and raw in its second season, and the curious case of writing for yourself as a 13-year-old.

Maya Erskine is a writer and actor known for her onscreen roles in several comedy series, including MAN SEEKING WOMAN, HEARTBEAT, CASUAL, and INSECURE.

Anna Konkle is a writer, actor, and director, known for co-starring in the Fox police procedural ROSEWOOD.

Together, Erskine and Konkle co-created, co-write, and co-star in the Hulu series PEN15. The "traumedy" follows fictionalized versions of Maya and Anna as teenage outcasts in the year 2000, during a period when the best day of your life can turn into the worst with just the stroke of a gel pen.

The series, which premiered in 2019, is available to stream on Hulu. Part two of Season 2 is scheduled for release on December 3.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole talks to Erica Saleh?writer & EP of ONE OF US IS LYING?about the process of developing the series for three different networks before finally finding its home on Peacock, how ?80s and ?90s nostalgia influenced the writers? room, and the importance of having faith in your ability to finish a draft.

Erica Saleh is a TV writer and playwright whose past television credits include EVIL, INSTINCT, WISDOM OF THE CROWD, and CHANNEL ZERO. As a playwright she is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, and her work has been produced and developed by multiple theaters across the NYC area. She also serves on the WGA East?s Council, as well as the Guild?s Committee for Inclusion and Equity.

Erica developed, writes on, and executive produces the new young adult mystery series ONE OF US IS LYING. Based on Karen M. McManus?s New York Times best-selling novel, the show tells the story of what happens when five high schoolers walk into detention and only four make it out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

ONE OF US IS LYING premiered in October 2021 and is currently streaming on Peacock.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole is joined by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve?two-thirds of the writing team behind DUNE?to discuss the challenges of writing a story that serves two audiences, relearning the lesson of focusing on the human element in science fiction, and just how much coffee it takes for three masters of filmmaking to collaborate on the script of DUNE (spoiler alert? it's a lot).

Jon Spaihts wrote the screenplays for PROMETHEUS, THE DARKEST HOUR, and MARVEL'S DR. STRANGE.

Denis Villeneuve is perhaps best known as the director of SICARIO, ARRIVAL, and BLADE RUNNER 2049.

Third co-writer Eric Roth?who, unfortunately, couldn?t join us because of technical difficulties?is the writer of titles like FORREST GUMP, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, and A STAR IS BORN, among many others.

DUNE?co-written by Spaihts, Villeneuve, and Roth and directed by Villeneuve? is a mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey adapted from the 1965 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. The film tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

DUNE is now playing in theaters, and can also be streamed on HBO Max.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole is joined by Jen Statsky?co-creator and showrunner of the HBO Max series HACKS?to talk about the show's journey from an idea on a road trip to a hit series, why writing about people's flaws can bring out the best in a character, and the challenges of writing a comedy series about writing comedy.

Jen Statsky is a TV writer and comedian who cut her comedy-writing teeth on Twitter. Her posts were popular, and she eventually found herself with enough of a following that, in 2011, the account helped her land her first TV writing job at LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON. Since then, she has written for a number of hit comedies, including BROAD CITY, THE GOOD PLACE, and PARKS & RECREATION (all while maintaining her Twitter account, of course).

She currently serves as the showrunner of the comedy-drama series HACKS. The series, which Statsky co-created with Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs, follows legendary stand-up comic Deborah Vance (played by Jean Smart) as she works to maintain relevancy through a reluctant partnership with struggling millennial comedy writer Ava.

The show premiered in May 2021, and was recently renewed for a second season. It's available to stream on HBO Max.

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Before it was a podcast, OnWriting was a print publication. Check out OnWriting: The Print Archives.

Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/

Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Host Geri Cole speaks with Danny Strong?creator and showrunner of the new Hulu series DOPESICK?about how he wove four stories across three timelines, writing stories that spark national conversations, and how falling into YouTube holes can be a part of the writing process.

Danny Strong is a writer, director, and actor. Though he was initially best known for his roles in TV shows like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and GILMORE GIRLS, he quickly made a name for himself as a screenwriter. He earned a Writers Guild Award for his debut feature screenplay, the 2008 HBO political drama RECOUNT, as well as for the 2012 HBO film GAME CHANGE. His credits since then have included co-creating the hit series EMPIRE, and writing the screenplays for THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY ? PART 1 and PART 2, LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER; and the 2017 biopic REBEL IN THE RYE.

His latest project is DOPESICK. The drama series, which Danny created is showrunner for, examines how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history. The eight-episode series, viewers to the epicenter of America?s struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Big Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA. Defying all the odds, heroes will emerge in an intense and thrilling ride to take down the craven corporate forces behind this national crisis and their allies.

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Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews:
www.onwriting.org/

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Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri is joined by Dan Perlman?co-creator and co-star of FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS?to talk about the show's journey from a short to a network series, how the real Dan and Kevin compare to their onscreen characters, and the importance of hearing judgment-free feedback.

Dan Perlman is a writer, stand-up comedian, and director. As a comedian, he has been featured on Comedy Central and was named one of the New Faces at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. He wrote and directed the 2020 short film CRAMMING, which won the Audience Award at the 2020 Brooklyn Film Festival and First Prize at the 2020 Rhode Island International Film Festival. Alongside Kevin Iso, Dan also co-created the award-winning web series "Flatbush Misdemeanors," the first installment of which received the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the 2018 Florida Film Festival.

Dan's latest project, FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS, is an adaptation of the original web series. The dark comedy stars Dan and Kevin as fictionalized versions of themselves ? young, up-and-coming comedians struggling to thrive in Flatbush, Brooklyn while tackling issues like race, gentrification, mental health and more. The series premiered in May 2021 and season 1 is available to stream on Showtime.

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Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews:
www.onwriting.org/

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Follow the Guild on social media:
Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast
Facebook: /WGAEast
Instagram: @WGAEast