Austin Film Festival's On Story

Hello podcast listeners, I’m Barbara Morgan and you’re listening to Austin Film Festival’s On Story. This week on On Story we’re taking a trip out west with Babaloo Mandel and Lowel Ganz, the screenwriting duo behind the classic American Western comedy, CITY SLICKERS. Lowell Ganz and Marc “Babaloo” Mandel are long-time screenwriting partners that began their careers writing for comedic television in the 1970s. The two New Yorkers met in a Hollywood comedy club where Mandel worked as a joke writer. Having both served on the writing staff for the sitcom THE ODD COUPLE they discovered that they had a lot in common, including their off-beat sense of humor and a love of Billy Wilder. Their creative partnership began with collaborations on Laverne and Shirley and the duo made their feature screenplay debut with the black comedy NIGHT SHIFT. They would go on to write hits such as PARENTHOOD, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, and the subject of today’s episode, CITY SLICKERS. I spoke with the pair at a year-round event presented by the Austin Film Festival.    Clips of City Slickers courtesy of Castle Rock Entertainment Clips of Night Shift courtesy of The Ladd Company Clips of Parenthood courtesy of Universal City Studios, Inc., and Imagine Films Entertainment, Inc. Clips of League of their Own courtesy of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

This week on On Story writing duo, David Benioff & D.B. Weiss joins Catherine Reitman & Sarah Green in conversation about the Art of Storytelling. Catherine Reitman is a screenwriter, and actress known for her roles on Black-ish and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Most recently, Reitman served as the creator, executive producer, writer, and star of the CBC comedy series Workin' Moms. Sarah Green is a producer, known for her work on Terrance Malik’s The Tree of Life, and Jeff Nichols’ Mud, and Loving. Benioff and Weiss created GAME OF THRONES. Under their supervision the series ran for 8 seasons, won 59 Emmys, and became one of HBO’s most popular programs. Producer Barry Josephson spoke with them on a panel about the Art and Craft of Storytelling at the Austin Film Festival.

This week on On Story we’ll hear from television writers, David Benioff & D.B. Weiss on their process of adapting the Emmy Award-winning HBO television series GAME OF THRONES. Benioff and Weiss created GAME OF THRONES, the HBO adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s series of books ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. Under their supervision the series ran for 8 seasons, won 59 Emmys, and became one of HBO’s most popular programs. 

Hi podcast listeners, I’m Barbara Morgan and you’re listening to Austin Film Festival’s On Story. This week on On Story we’ll hear from screenwriter and director Doug Atchison. Atchison is a writer-director best known for the 2006 film, Akeelah and the Bee which stars Keke Palmer and Laurence Fishburne. In 2000 the Atchison’s script won a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting and the film later earned him a win at the 2007 Image Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Feature Film. Atchison went on to pen the screenplay for the 2018 biopic Brian Banks for which he won a Humanitas award. Moderator Alex Mitchell spoke with Atchison after a screening of Akeelah and the Bee at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of Akeelah and the Bee courtesy of LionsGate Films Hi podcast listeners, I’m Barbara Morgan and you’re listening to Austin Film Festival’s On Story. This week on On Story we’ll hear from screenwriter and director Doug Atchison. Atchison is a writer-director best known for the 2006 film, Akeelah and the Bee which stars Keke Palmer and Laurence Fishburne. In 2000 the Atchison’s script won a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting and the film later earned him a win at the 2007 Image Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Feature Film. Atchison went on to pen the screenplay for the 2018 biopic Brian Banks for which he won a Humanitas award. Moderator Alex Mitchell spoke with Atchison after a screening of Akeelah and the Bee at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of Akeelah and the Bee courtesy of LionsGate Films

Hello podcast listeners, I’m Barbara Morgan and you’re listening to Austin Film Festival’s On Story. This week on On Story we’ll hear from award-winning screenwriter, playwright, producer and director, Kemp Powers. Kemp Powers is a Golden Globe-award winning, playwright, producer and director. In 2020 he co-directed and wrote the Academy Award Winning Pixar animated feature, Soul. He later wrote the critically acclaimed Amazon feature, One Night In Miami, which he adapted from his 2013 award-winning stage play. He was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2021 Academy Awards. The film is a fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcom X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered to discuss their roles in the Civil Rights Movment of the 60s. I spoke with Kemp Powers about his journey as a writer at a year round Austin Film Festival event that was co-presented with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Educational Initiatives.   Clips of One Night in Miami courtesy of Amazon Studios. Clips of Soul courtesy of  Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios.

This week on On Story we’ll hear from screenwriter Kelly Masterson as he takes on a journey from Script to Screen of the 2013 sci-fi action film, SNOWPIERCER, which was directed by Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho. The film follows the story of Chris Evans as Curtis Everett, one of the lower-class tail-section passengers of a train carrying the last remnants of humanity, as they rebel against the elite of the front of the train. Moderator Dennis Bishop spoke with Masterson on a panel at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of Snowpiercer courtesy of Moho Film & Opus Pictures

This week on On Story we’ll hear from writer-director Neil Jordan who gave us the cinematic classics THE CRYING GAME, MICHAEL COLLINS, and INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. Neil Jordan is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer whose credits include THE CRYING GAME, MICHEAL COLLINS and INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. In 1992 he won an Academy Award for best original screenplay for THE CRYING GAME. Most recently he wrote and directed 2018’s GRETA which stars Chloë Grace Moretz, as well as the television series RIVIERA. Producer Barry Josephson spoke with Jordan at the Austin Film Festival on a panel about his career as a writer-director. Clips of Mona Lisa courtesy of HandMade Films Clips of The Crying Game courtesy of Palace Pictures Clips of Interview with The Vampire courtesy of  Geffen Pictures

This week on On Story we’ll hear from three-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, producer, playwright John Logan, about his journey from writing for the stage to the screen. John Logan is a playwright, screenwriter, and television producer known for his work on Gladiator, The Aviator, and 2011’s Hugo. In 1999 he wrote Any Given Sunday which was directed by Oliver Stone. His other work includes Rango, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street for which he received a Golden Globe as well as the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre. Producer Barbara Morgan, spoke with Logan about his incredible journey on a panel at the Austin Film Festival.

This week on On Story we’ll hear from television writer & producer Howard Gordon on his process of creating a hit television series. Howard Gordon is a television writer and producer best known for his work on the Fox action series 24 and the award-winning Showtime thriller Homeland which he co-developed with Alex Gansa. Gordon first gained national attention for his award-winning work on Fox’s groundbreaking series The X-Files, for which he won multiple Golden Globes. His other credits include Tyrant, Legends, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Beauty and the Beast, Sisters, and Spenser: For Hire. Producer Barry Josephson spoke with Gordon at the Austin Film Festival at a panel about his process of writing for hit television. Clips of Homeland, The X-Files, and 24 courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

This week on On Story, award-winning writer and director Brenda Chapman discusses how female perspective, a love of art, and an understanding of flawed characters influenced her writing in the animated classics The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt, and Brave. Brenda Chapman is an American writer, storyboard artist, and director. In 1998, she became the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major studio, DreamWorks Animation's The Prince of Egypt. In 2012, she co-directed the Disney/Pixar film Brave with Mark Andrews, becoming the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Writer and Professor Greg Garrett spoke with Chapman about her process of taking ideas from the drawing board to the screen at the Austin Film Festival. Clips of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King & The Rescuers Down Under courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures Clips of The Prince of Egypt courtesy of DreamWorks, LLC Clips of Brave courtesy of Pixar & Disney Enterprises, Inc.