On The Page

Writer/directors Dave Merlino and Dustin Sweet set out to document the stories of the men who served in the 9th Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. But what they ended up with was a documentary about the need to talk through trauma. Here they discuss their years-long journey making and distributing Apache Blues: Welcome Home. 

From providing a performance space for the UCB in New York to contributing to "Second Draft” evenings in Los Angeles, writer Ellen Ancui continually brings together groups of creatives and builds her own supportive writing community.

Writer Crescent Imani Novell won the Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship in 2018 and has been writing on an animated shows like Dreamworks' Fright Krewe, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Mattel's Barbie: It Takes Two. She’s got excellent advice about story, character and dialogue, with a little personal hustle thrown in.

Writer Seth M. Sherwood (Leatherface, Light as a Feather) discusses common horror themes from “screwed by the system” to “man plays God” as written about in his new book, The Scary Movie Writers Guide.

Writer Nick Smith joins Pilar and her husband Pat Francis in a discussion about Hammer Films, the production company that made Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy and much more! 

From writers' room minimums to guaranteed second steps, career coach Lee Jessup talks about the “exceptional” gains made by the WGA as a result of the 148-day writers’ strike.

Writer/director Nico Casavecchia has made award-winning movies and short films with everything from VR to carbon monoxide molecules. Here he discusses his approach to telling story through unconventional mediums and ways to think of AI as a potential creative tool.

Last time writer/actor Michael-Leon Wooley was on the podcast his script Hey Wait A Minute had just gotten the attention of UTA. Two years later UTA is repping another script, Witch Please, and both have been optioned and packaged by major production companies. His ultimate goal? To write "everyone’s favorite movie."

Leigh Medeiros, co-founder and co-director of the Hollywood Climate Summit’s Pitchfest for Film and TV, talks about how climate screenwriting equals good storytelling and gives “ten reasons why the time is now for screenwriters to help save the planet."

Daniel Augustin and Sh’Kia are actors, writers, musicians and spouses. Listen to how they learned production from music, acquired filmmaking skills from auditioning and started writing directing and starring in their own projects to keep it all alive.