Writers Group Therapy

Dusk Wave Arts CEO, Vision Holder and Lead Writer Paul Graham brings attention to neurodiverse issues through digital audio comics and games. We discuss the development of his company and his stories.

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We’re back from our Summer break, starting off our 7th year of Writers Group Therapy, but the WGA, and now SAG-AFTRA, are still on strike. We catch up on all the latest and look towards a fall with no premieres. 

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NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to the WGA going on strike.

From their unusual start from a Twitter feed that became “S**t my dad says,” show runners Patrick Schumacker and Justin Halpern are celebrating the success of their shows “Abbott Elementary” and “Harley Quinn.” We discuss their unique start, juggling show running duties on two shows and what the future holds.

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We wrap up the 6th year of Writers Group Therapy (Can you believe it's been 6 YEARS!) with a discussion of Rachanee’s recently published third novel in the Kingdom Legacy Series: “Heir of Memory & Shadow,” a look at the first week of the writers strike, and our summer plans.

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Does your script need some TLC? Maybe a script doctor can help. Shannon Massey Smith shares the ins and outs of being, and working with, a script doctor.

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“Blindspotting” creator/writer/producer/director/actor Rafael Casal (Miles) talks about how touring with his music and poetry transformed into telling stories about his community in Oakland, CA in the award-winning Starz series.

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This session, we discuss what Tom learned about Stephen King and writing from his book “On Writing” including the tools and techniques King uses and recommends as well as revealing details about his journey to becoming a published author. 

Book Description from Amazon.com: Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. 

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Our guest this session is screenwriter, YouTuber, and podcaster Tyler Mowery who recently rebranded his YouTube Channel with 266,000 subscribers as “Top Development.” We talk about Tyler’s journey, process and script consultant services.

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In this session, we discuss promoting your written works and compare promoting books, scripts, shorts and web series.

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We talk with the creators of the new comedy streaming series “The Game.” Writers/creators Matt Curtain and Lauren Henning, and director Amanda Sonnenschein talk about the genesis of the show and its unique tone and humor.

From the show: The Game is an ensemble adventure-fantasy comedy series that follows a group of TTRPG players both IRL and as their fantasy counterparts in the supernatural realm as they embark on a daring and heartfelt journey towards understanding and acceptance of one another and, most importantly, of themselves.

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In this session, we talk our writing goals for 2023, the latest news including the WGA prepping for contract negotiations, Twitch payout cuts, COVID in Hollywood, Moviepass’ resurrection, and more.

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Writer/Director Thomas Tulak, and Assistant Director/Composer Adam Pineless talk about “Who Dunt Dunt DUNNit?” their a hyper-meta, award-winning comedy film. It’s a hilarious murder mystery, wrapped in a murder mystery wrapped in a movie production about a murder mystery.

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It’s been a rough few weeks across Hollywood at studios such as Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, G4 and others. From layoffs to total shutdowns, we take a look at recent turmoil and how it might affect writers.

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For some us, our biggest addictions are caffeine and endlessly scrolling TikTok videos, so, how do we write characters with more serious addictions? We talk to Ted Perkins, a former Warner Brothers and Universal studio executive, producer, screenwriter and now author who tackles the topic in his new book Addicted In Film, for which Ted watched 100 movies in 100 days about addiction.

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This session, we talk with writer/director Matthew Gentile about “American Murderer,” his new true crime thriller about FBI fugitive Jason Derek Brown.

"American Murderer" is based on the true story of Jason Derek Brown - a charismatic con man turned party king who bankrolls his luxurious lifestyle through a series of scams. When his funds run low and his past catches up with him, he plots his most elaborate scheme yet and, in the process, becomes the FBI's most unlikely - and elusive - top ten fugitive.

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Nicholas Bruckman has produced and directed award-winning features, commercials and web-content for groups such as Greenpeace, Black Lives Matter and TED. His films have screened at Tribeca, Sundance, and SXSW where it won the Audience Award. His latest film “Not Going Quietly” is now streaming on Hulu. We talk storytelling in documentary formats, journalistic objectivity and more.

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As writers, we struggle to get our work written, sold, and produced our whole careers. What we don’t hardly ever think about is, what happens after we’re gone? Our writing doesn’t stop being valuable, but who is going to take over managing it and, hopefully, continue to reap the benefits of our creativity for the length of our copyright? We discuss this with Best-selling novelists Matt Buchman, writer of “Estate Planning for Writers” based on his own experiences.

The doctors (not real doctors) are in, again. We’re back from our Summer break and kicking off our 6th year with a look at all the recent stories in the news that impact Hollywood and writers including Roe v. Wade, inflation and supply chain woes, YouTube TV, CA Tax incentives, and more.

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In this session, we talk with novelist and screenwriter/showrunner Dennis Lehane. His award-winning novels and the film adaptations spawned major feature films such as “Shutter Island,” “Mystic River” and “Gone Baby Gone.” The show’s he’s written for, “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire,” are always at the top of everyone’s “best written show” lists. We discuss his journey and his latest project, the true crime limited series on AppleTV+ “Black Bird” starring Taron Egerton.

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Maggie Cohn, one of the show runners and writers of The Staircase, the new HBOMax true crime series is our guest for this session. Maggie won a Golden Globe for writing and producing American Crime Story: Versace and previously co-executive produced Narcos.

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Are the broadcast networks just going through the motions this pilot season? With each having its own streamer, are we seeing the last days of the traditional pilot season? What does this mean for writers? And Tom remembers the day so of Saturday morning cartoon pilot season.

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Our own Rachanee Lumayno takes the hot seat to discuss the release of “Heir of Memory & Shadow” Book #2 of the Kingdom Legacy YA Fantasy series. We discuss was it like writing a second book in a series, self-publishing and marketing the books and what’s next in the Kingdom.

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Amazon has closed its deal to by MGM that it announced in May 2021. How will the purchase of the 98 year old studio impact Amazon Prime, Hollywood, consumers and, of course, writers.

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In this session, Tom talks with Lauryn Kahn, the screenwriter of “Fresh,” the new indie thriller starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan that took Sundance by storm. The film, produced by Adam McKay (“The Other Guys,” “Step Brothers”) and Searchlight Pictures, was acquired by Hulu.

Paul Kalburgi is a British screenwriter, playwright and TV producer, as well as author and podcast host of the book and podcast “The Writer’s Toolkit.” He discusses his journey as a writer, his process and the tools he uses in his craft. Guest host Sam Gasch.

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This session, we have the multitalented Ken Atchity, a best-selling author, producer, literary manger, professor and editor who aptly goes by the moniker The Story Merchant. He got his B.A. at Georgetown, his Ph.D. at Yale. He was a tenured professor of comparative literature at Occidental College and a distinguished instructor at UCLA Writers program. He’s worked in publishing and filmmaking and is a member of the TV Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the Producer’s Guild.

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This session, we’re excited to have with us James Vanderbilt, a screenwriter and producer with over 20 years of major feature film experience including blockbusters such as White House Down, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, and, one of Tom’s favorites, The Rundown. He is also the Chief Content Officer of Project X Entertainment.

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With shorter and shorter seasons, accelerated by streamers with big budget, high-quality event shows, has the era of 24 episode season containing the inevitable filler episode come to an end? And how would this change impact writers?

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In this session, we look back at the year behind us and at the year ahead and talk about how the industry has changed and where it’s going, our past goals, accomplishments, and future plans.

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Seasons Greetings! We hope all your holidays are happy and healthy. In this session, we chat about the holidays and what we, as writers, think would make great gifts for the writer in your life.

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This session, we chat with cousins Kaz and Ryan Firpo who teamed up as screenwriters and filmmakers and discuss their separate journeys and writing Marvel’s “Eternals” and their other upcoming projects.

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The end of an era. Tom is leaving Los Angeles and heading back to Cleveland, Ohio. We discuss his nine years in Hollywood, what he accomplished, learned, and what he’s taking with him to continue screenwriting outside of Tinsel Town.

In this session, we talk with Zimran Jacob, writer and showrunner’s assistant on shows including “Narcos,” “The Punisher,” and “Hannibal.” He delves into his path to becoming a writer and what it takes to be an effective showrunner’s assistant.

SHOW NOTES: Roadmap Writers: https://www.roadmapwriters.com

WAN Writers Workshop: https://writersassistants.com

Zimran on:

Rachanee and Tom are back from their pandemic Summer breaks with updates on what they and the industry have been up to and what’s coming next.

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Looking for some Summer reading or a new game to while away the hours? This session, we discuss our recent projects; Rachanee’s new YA fantasy novel “Heir of Amber and Fire” and Tom’s just launched head-to-head mobile word find game “Wordcursion.” Both are available at links below in the show notes. This session marks the end of our 4th year! We’ll be on Summer break for a the next couple months. Look for new sessions in August. Thanks for listening!

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Artificial Intelligence already suggests what movies and shows to watch on Netflix, what products to buy on Amazon, and writes stories about sports scores, weather reports and stock prices that you hear on the radio and TV. With technology already able to create real actors in movies, and soon their voices, what’s next for A.I. in Hollywood? Experiments in A.I. screenwriting are ongoing. Should you worry?

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We talk with horror author and screenwriter Tim Gabrielle. He has two novels, "This Land of Monsters" and "The Eighteenth," the latter he has adapted for screen which has placed in four screenwriting competitions. Tim discusses his creative process and screenwriting from his home in Ontario, Canada. He also is in the process of starting a podcast titled "Histories & Mysteries" that features mysteries and strange stories from across North America. 

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Rising star writer/producer Jason Goldberg discusses his career development and writing process. His new film "Stay Out of the F***ing Attic" is streaming on Shudder and his name is on The Launch Pad Young & Hungry List and ISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch List.

Like the pandemic that won’t go away, here is our COVID-19 One Year Later in Hollywood episode. What’s changed? What hasn’t? Where do we go from here?

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It’s hard to open YouTube without seeing a video on the “Exodus” from Los Angeles and the death of Hollywood. In this session, we debate the health status of Hollywood from the writers’ room to the movie theaters and everything in-between.

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We speak with producer, director and writer Jeff Deverett about writing movies for the growing streaming market and how his experience, as a lawyer and distributor helped in producing seven movies and distributing three of them on Netflix.

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The writing/directing team of Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz discuss the genesis of their collaboration and creative journey to “Antebellum” and their upcoming movie and TV projects.

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