Ep255 - Anna Kerrigan, Writer-Director Steve Zahn Film ‘Cowboys’

Screenwriter/Director Anna Kerrigan grew up in a creative home. Her dad worked in visual effects. Her mom worked as a poet. After working in the theatre for a few years, eventually, Kerrigan’s journey led her back to Los Angeles in what she would describe as a “calling.” She made a handful of shorts, including The Rub, Hot Seat, The Jury, and Fridays. In Kerrigan’s film debut, Cowboys stars Steve Zahn, Jillian Bell, and Sasha Knight. The movie follows a troubled but well-intentioned father who runs off with his trans son in the Montana wilderness after his ex-wife refuses to let their son be his authentic self. In this interview, Kerrigan discusses how the story reveled itself to her, how to write a modern outlaw, how to play with Western tropes, and why people are hungry for personal stories. Look for the print version of this interview on Creative Screenwriting’s website, and, if it’s your first time listening, make sure to subscribe and visit my new website for information on the YouTube channel, the blog, this podcast, and my new book ‘Ink by the Barrel’ which takes advice from these 200+ interviews at the link below… Join the email list here: www.writerfieldnotes.com