Austin Film Festival's On Story

Hey podcast listeners, I’m Barbara Morgan and you’re listening to Austin Film Festival’s On Story Podcast. This week on On Story we’re joined by Shang-Chi and Wonder Woman 1984 writer Dave Callaham for a conversation on writing blockbusters intertwined with personal experiences. Dave Callaham is a screenwriter and producer. He co-wrote the screenplay for the highly praised Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a superhero film adapted from the Marvel comic series, and Wonder Woman 1984, a superhero film based on the DC Comics character. Callaham attended the Austin Film Festival in 2021. Shang-Chi tells the story of a martial arts master who is forced to revisit his past when he is confronted by members of a secret organization called the Ten Rings. A mix of action, adventure, and fantasy, Shang-Chi was not only an outstanding commercial success, but also a huge breakthrough in cinema as it marked Marvel’s first film with an Asian lead, director, and predominantly Asian cast. Moderator Casey Baron sat down with Dave Callaham for a panel about his work at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings courtesy of Marvel Film Studios. Clips of Doom courtesy of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

This week on On Story we’re we’re taking a look at the work of screenwriter Chase Palmer who co-wrote It: Chapter One.  Chase Palmer is a screenwriter and director known for co-authoring the screenplay for IT: Chapter One with Cary Fukinaga, as well as 2021’s Naked Singularity starring John Boyega. His two award-winning short films, Neo-Noir and Shock and Awe, have played at film festivals worldwide with his feature film debut being the adaptation of the PEN-prize winning book A Naked Singularity by by Sergio De La Pava, with Ridley Scott as a producer.   I sat down with Chase Palmer for a panel about his work at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of It: Chapter One courtesy of Warner Brothers Entertainment Clips of Naked Singularity courtesy of 150 Degrees Pictures

This week on On Story we’re joined by the showrunner behind The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Michael Schur. Michael Schur is a screenwriter, producer and character actor. He got his start writing for Saturday Night Live before becoming a producer and writer for the comedy series The Office. Schur then went on to co-create Parks and Recreation with Office producer Greg Daniels for seven seasons, ending in 2015. Later, he created The Good Place, and co-created the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Schur was also a producer on the Netflix series Master of None, starring Aziz Anzari. I spoke with Michael Schur about his work at a panel at the Austin Film Festival.   Clips of The Office, The Good Place, and Parks & Recreation courtesy of National Broadcast Company

This week we’ll hear from David Kessler, writer & producer of the docu-drama Minamata starring Johnny Depp. David Kessler began his career as a stand-up comedian in the early 2000s before quickly deciding to focus on writing. After penning a spec script for Will & Grace, he switched over to drama, and optioned the life rights and book titled Minamata, written by Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith.  The film stars Johnny Depp as W. Eugene Smith, an American photographer who documented the effects of mercury poisoning on the citizens of Minamata, Kumamoto, Japan in the early 1970s. The film went through various stages of development over many years before finally getting picked up by Johnny Depp’s production company. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with David about the film’s journey to the big screen following it’s US release.  Clips of Minamata courtesy of Minamata Film, LLC

This week on On Story we’re joined by The Humans writer & director Stephen Karam for a conversation on adapting a play for the big screen. Stephen Karam is a playwright, screenwriter, and director. His plays Sons of the Prophet, a comedy-drama about a Lebanese-American family, and the subject of today’s episode, The Humans were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2012 and 2016, respectively. The Humans won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play, leading to Karam adapting the play for the big screen in 2021. The film was shown at the 2021 Austin Film Festival. Set inside a pre-war duplex in downtown Manhattan, The Humans follows the course of an evening in which the Blake family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving. As darkness falls outside the crumbling building, mysterious things start to go bump in the night and family tensions reach a boiling point. Moderator Casey Baron sat down with Stephen Karam for a panel about his work at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of The Humans courtesy of A24.

This week on On Story we’re taking a retrospective look at Donnie Darko with screenwriter Richard Kelly.  Richard Kelly is a screenwriter and director best known for writing the 2001 cult film, Donnie Darko. Known for its mind-bending themes and enigmatic ending, along with a stellar ‘80s soundtrack, Donnie Darko remains a cult phenomenon. Featuring a young, up-and-coming Jake Gyllenhall and exploring elements of time travel, mental health, and even a scary bunny-man, Richard Kelly’s 2001 film was not an immediate success but slowly wormed its way into the minds of teenagers all across the nation. Moderator Christopher Boone spoke with Richard Kelly about the film at a panel at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of Donnie Darko courtesy of Flower Films

This week on On Story we’re joined by The Sopranos creator David Chase for a conversation on writing a hit television show. David Chase is a screenwriter, showrunner, director, and producer, best known for writing and producing the HBO drama The Sopranos. Chase has also produced and written for such shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He created the original series Almost Grown and has won seven Emmy Awards. Chase's film debut came in 2012 with Not Fade Away, followed by 2021’s The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel film to The Sopranos.   The Sopranos ran for six seasons from 1999 and 2007, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest television shows of all time. It is the first cable show to ever be nominated for, and win, the best drama series Emmy, and it helped to put HBO on the map and ushered in what some regard as the platinum age of television, which featured a slew of new shows and showrunners that could hold their own against the big screen.   Moderator Barry Josephson spoke with Chase about his work on the show at the Austin Film Festival.   Clips of The Sopranos courtesy of Home Box Office Television.

This week on On Story we’ll join Breaking Bad creator & showrunner Vince Gilligan for a retrospective look at the 1971 cult-classic The French Connection.    Based on a true story, William Friedkin's 1971 hit The French Connection, gave audiences its first taste at what a truly realistic cop film could be. Starring Gene Hackman as detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, the film follows the story of a driven New York cop whose intuitive street sense allows him to sniff out the secret players in a colossal heroin import operation, bringing the drugs into New York from Marseille. At a time where drug addiction was at an all time high, The French Connection brought a sense of realism to Hollywood’s law enforcement films by throwing the proverbial book at them.   Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, an avid fan of Friedkin’s work, sat down with me after a retrospective screening of the film at the Austin Film Festival.   Clips of The French Connection courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

This week on On Story we’ll hear from screenwriter Craig Borten on writing the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club which starred Matthew McConaughey. Borten is best known for his Oscar-nominated script for the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club.    After hearing about Ron Woodroof, the original founder of the "Dallas Buyers Club" for the distribution of unapproved HIV medications, in the early 1990s, and interviewing Woodroof in 1992, Borten decided to write a screenplay about Woodroof and his buyer's club. He successfully sold the script in 1996, but shortly afterward the production company that had bought it dissolved. In 2001, he rewrote the script with Melisa Wallack and in 2009, Borten and Wallack were able to cast Matthew McConaughey and secure funding for the film's production. The film was released in 2013, more than two decades after Borten met Woodroof, and more than 15 years after selling his first version of the script. Dallas Buyers Club received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.   Moderator Fred Strype spoke with Borten at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of Dallas Buyers Club courtesy of Truth Entertainment & Dallas Buyers Club, LLC

This week on On Story we’ll hear from screenwriter April Shih who has worked on shows like Dave, You’re The Worst, and This is America and Tripper Clancy who wrote the script for 2019’s Stuber, and has worked on Netflix’s I Am Not Okay With This.   April Shih is a screenwriter and producer, known for You're the Worst, Mrs. America,starring Cate Blanchett and most recently served as supervising producer on FX’s Dave, which follows the semi-autobiographical story of American rapper Lil Dicky. April has also produced several films and plays including the Ovation Award-winning revival of Kiss of the Spiderwoman: The Musical.   Tripper Clancy is a screenwriter known for writing the scripts for Stuber which starred Kumali Nanjiani and Dave Bautista as well as Die Hart starring Kevin Hart and John Travolta. After working in the Fox Writers Studio in 2011, Tripper went on to write comedies and dramas of all shapes and sizes for Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Amazon, and is currently a writer on season one of I Am Not Okay With This, a half-hour show for Netflix.   Moderator Harrison Glaser spoke with the pair about their journeys as writers at the Austin Film Festival.   Clips of Dave courtesy of FX Productions, LLC.   Clips of You’re The Worst courtesy of Bluebush Productions, LLC.   Clips of I Am Not Okay With This courtesy of Netflix Studios, LLC.   Clips of Stuber courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.