OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East

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. --- 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. -- 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. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- 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. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri is joined by Lang Fisher—co-creator and showrunner of the Netflix series NEVER HAVE I EVER—to discuss creating a comedy that's rooted in grief, writing teen characters who sound like real teens, how casting tennis champion John McEnroe as narrator helped tie the whole series together, and more. Lang Fisher was a staff writer for The Onion and started her TV writing career at THE ONION NEWS NETWORK. Since then, she's written on hit comedies like THE MINDY PROJECT, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, and 30 ROCK. While at 30 ROCK, she co-wrote the episode "A Goon's Deed in a Weary World," which was named in Variety's "25 Best TV Episodes of the Decade (2010-2019)." Her latest project is NEVER HAVE I EVER – a coming-of-age dramedy co-created by Fisher and Mindy Kaling. The series follows Devi, an Indian-American high school student, as she grapples with the death of her father, her Indian identity, and trying to improve her social status at her school. The series premiered in 2020 and was recently renewed for a third season. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents the fourth and final week of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For the fourth and final installment in the series, OnWriting host Geri Cole speaks with Steven Canals, the co-creator and executive producer of the FX drama series POSE. After receiving an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, Steven Canals began his professional writing career as a research assistant at Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black's production company Hungry Jackal Productions. He then went on to serve as a staff writer on the Freeform supernatural horror series DEAD OF SUMMER while also writing the short film "Afuera." In 2018, he started his tenure as co-creator and executive producer of POSE. POSE is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons and ferocious house mothers of New York's underground ball culture, a movement that first gained notice in the late 1980s. The series follows Blanca Rodriguez, who, after receiving an HIV positive diagnosis, is forced to confront her mortality and dedicates herself to leaving a legacy by founding her own House of Evangelista and supporting her new found-family. POSE, which recently concluded its third and final season, features the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles and the largest recurring cast of LGBTQ actors ever for a scripted series. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Netflix, and the third season is available on FX. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents week three of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For our third installment in the series, Geri speaks with Nikole Beckwith, the writer and director of TOGETHER TOGETHER. Nikole Beckwith is a writer, director, and pen-and-ink artist. As a playwright, her work has been developed and performed in on stages in New York, Chicago and London. She made her feature film debut with STOCKHOLM, PENNSYLVANIA, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive numerous accolades including a Women's Image Award for Best Screenplay and nomination for Best Director, a Satellite Award for Best Film for Television, and three TV Critics Choice Award. Her latest project is TOGETHER TOGETHER – a story about the ups and downs of surrogacy and the power of platonic love. The film follows 26-year-old Anna and single, middle-aged app designer named Matt, two self-described loners who gradually open up to each other, give in to the intimacy of their admittedly finite shared experience, and forge an unlikely friendship over the course of Anna's time as Matt's gestational surrogate. The film premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and is currently available to rent or buy through major SVOD platforms. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

OnWriting presents week two of OnWriting Pride: a series of live-recordings of the podcast in honor of Pride Month, presented by the WGAE LGBTQ Salon. Each episode features LGBTQ+ screenwriters and the LGBTQ+ stories they tell. For our second installment in the series, Geri speaks with Kimberly Peirce, the writer and director of BOYS DON'T CRY. BOYS DON'T CRY is the 1999 film based on the true story of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man trying to live and find love in Nebraska. On the film's 20th anniversary, it was selected for preservation at the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. -- 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 first part of our OnWriting Pride Month series, Geri is joined by Emma Seligman, writer and director of SHIVA BABY, to discuss the challenges of writing and directing a low-budget first feature, the ways Judaism and a love of cinema have shaped her storytelling, and how the film uses anxiety and a horror soundtrack to heighten the tension and the comedy. Emma Seligman is a Canadian filmmaker. While studying film at NYU, she made a number of short films, including "Lonewoods," "Void," and her thesis project, "Shiva Baby," which had its world premiere at the 2018 South by Southwest film festival. SHIVA BABY is the feature-length adaptation of that project, and Seligman's feature debut. The film follows Jewish, bisexual college senior Danielle as she—along with her family, her ex-girlfriend, and, to her shock, her sugar daddy—attends a shiva for a barely-remembered relative. The film—which premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and has since received widespread critical acclaim, including the Best Screenplay award at Outfest 2020—is now showing in select theaters in the US and is available to rent on most major streaming platforms. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast

Geri welcomes the Bodega Boys Desus Nice and The Kid Mero to the show to talk about what they do—and don't do—to put together their show; their unique approach interviewing illustrious guests; and why it's so important to be real and stay real with the people you work with… no matter how strong the brand. Desus Nice & The Kid Mero are former Bronx schoolmates who—while building their respective followings as formidable comedians in their own right—reconnected on Twitter and quickly became known for their shared affinity for complaining about their dissatisfaction for their jobs coupled with pointed and funny pop culture commentary. The re-connection of the quick-witted duo led to stints on Complex (DESUS VS. MERO), their current podcast (THE BODEGA BOYS), and a critically acclaimed late-night show on Viceland— all while continuing to amass an enthusiastic following for their smart and comedic off-the-cuff musings on life's greatest topics. They have also contributed their voices to Ezra Koenig's (Vampire Weekend) animated series NEO YOKIO and NEO YOKIO PINK CHRISTMAS. DESUS & MERO is the third talk series co-hosted by the duo. In each episode, Desus, Mero, and a variety of illustrious guests speak about important topics and chat about pop culture, sports, music, politics—among many other things. The Showtime series is the network's first-ever late-night talk show. New episodes air on Mondays and Thursdays. -- Read shownotes, transcripts, and other member interviews: www.onwriting.org/ -- Follow the Guild on social media: Twitter: @OnWritingWGAE | @WGAEast Facebook: /WGAEast Instagram: @WGAEast