On The Page

Katrina Medoff, co-founder/executive director of the Moonshot Initiative, talks about the program's mission, events, film challenge and script accelerators - all aimed at getting emerging writers in the door.

Sylvia-Anne Parker is already a rockstar script supervisor, but over the years she's also been selected to the Sundance Episodic Lab, the Writers Lab and the Sony Creative Corridor. Recently, her BBC audio drama A Tale of Two Trumpets won an Imoson Award. Hear what she's learned as she continues on her path to screenwriting success.

Writer Jeremy Slater has built serious genre credentials across major IP, from creating Marvel's Moon Knight and developing Netflix's The Umbrella Academy to writing on Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and the television adaptation of The Exorcist. Here he talks about his latest feature film, Mortal Kombat II, and his approach to adapting IP and making it his own.

Named a top 25 screenwriter to watch by the ISA, Irish screenwriter Conor Dowling has written for everything from kids animation to live-action sci. fi. Here he talks about the ongoing development of his feature projects and the lessons he's learning along the way.

Creating involved character bios and being ready for the script shifting at a moment's notice; LaNisa Renee Frederick talks about the acting-plus-improv process involved in the unconventional Amazon series, Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat. 

Veteran producer Eleanor Greene talks about the ways she discovers and develops stories, often "beginning at the end" to help a project find its way.

Zunaid Mansoor, a leading professional script editor and consultant in South Africa, shares his wisdom about screenwriting, the entertainment marketplace and the future of storytelling for his country and beyond. 

Phil Stark,  screenwriter and licensed therapist, talks about his latest book, How to Be a Screenwriter, covering how to network, get an agent, develop with producers and take notes.

Pilar and her friends Brian Pope, Mike Musa and Alex Troxler get together in person for one last time for their annual discussion about the best screenplay and best adapted screenplay Oscar nominees.

Writer Chris Hill, the host of the podcast Blacklisted, talks about his personal screenwriting journey and what he's learned talking to writers who've made the coveted "Blacklist." 

Following years as a successful screenwriter, Irene Turner talks about the work and fun that went into writing and producing the Ambie Award-nominated fictional podcast Lady Killer for Audible.

Writer/Director Jethro Waters talks about the ways that cinematography reflects emotion and how that is shown in his new independent feature Gunfighter Paradise.

"Dapper" David Bax, host of the long-running podcast Battleship Pretension, returns to talk about the movies that had the most impact on him over the past 10 years.

Craig Brewer, Writer/Director of Song Sung Blue, Dolemite is My Name and Hustle and Flow, talks about his inspiration and script writing process.

Actor/writer Danielle Pinnock gives an actor's take on the writers' room, drawn from five seasons of playing the iconic "Alberta" on the CBS hit series Ghosts.

After graduating UNCSA, fimmaker Kat Street made decisions about what she really wanted to do as she filmed a web series and developed screenplays. 

Writer/ director Drew Feldman is also a financial planner who specializes in helping creatives. Hear what he has to say about smart budgeting, planning for a successful future and navigating the "whiplash" of variable income.

The "first five second rule" and "cliff hangers that force the swipe." Writer Isabel Dréan discusses her new book, How to Write a Vertical Series in Ten Days.

Hanelle Culpepper's career as a director spans dozens of series and a variety of genres. Here, she talks about her character-driven approach to directing and how she often "falls in love" with the script. She also discusses her latest project, "Red White and Blue" a series of short films inspired by the Bill of Rights.

Career coach Lee Jessup returns to discuss the industry changes and writing trends of 2025 and shares what's ahead for the new year.

Pilar reads and gives feedback on the loglines that didn't make the top fifteen lists for the 2025 Logline Contest.

Pilar and Aadip read, evaluate and vote on feature and TV loglines sent in by listeners. Which ones will win and which ones will make the "bonkers" list?

Vilma Llaguno's dream of making her movie 40 Before 40 was accelerated when she won a Kickstarter initiative, placing her film on Tubi and forcing her to learn very quickly.

Actress/writer Corbin Reid shadowed directors and learned what went on behind the scenes of the shows she acted on, making her ready when the opportunity came for her to pitch and executive produce. Her movie The Christmas Showdown premieres on the OWN Network this weekend. 

It's time for the very last On the Page logline competition! Pilar explains the rules and gives the deadline.

Filmmaker/social scientist Dena Seidel talks about how her digital lab brings the story of scientists and scientific work to the public.

Filmmaker Landi Maduro walks us through the elements of her Ultimate Feature Film Production Planner which give creatives a timeline to help stay on track and concrete strategies to make their work profitable.

Writer Brett Melnick (King of the Hill, Dave) walks us through the different jobs and duties of the "support staff" in a writers' room: writers' assistant, showrunner's assistant and script coordinator.

Writer/director Rhona Rees knows what she wants to say before she writes. Here she talks about her award-winning dystopian thriller and her newly completed high-concept comedy, both driven by big issues and a strong message.

Entertainment attorney Britton Payne talks about his work with The Autism Scene, a nonprofit advocating for the inclusion of explicitly autistic characters in kids pop culture. Check out his new competition the AuSPEC AWARDS, a kids animated series spec script competition which requires a series regular meaningfully interacting with an explicitly autistic character.

What happens when you're feeling discouraged in your writing career? You "persevere" and eventually carve out a career like writer-producer LaToya Morgan (Shameless, Parenthood, The Walking Dead, Duster). We read her fifteen-year-old letter to the podcast and talk about what happened next!

Writer Lori Rosene-Gambino does not back down from adding social commentary into her fictional narratives. Hear what she has to say about her movie Anniversary, directed by Jan Komasa and starring Diane Lane.

Krista Knight discussed her work as a playwright, screenwriter, and new media artist, including scripting a ride for Tokyo Disneyland, adapting Trolls for DreamWorks/Music Theatre International, writing a stage musical with the late Jill Sobule and creating a VR puppet play during the Covid lockdown.

Writers Jake Emanuel and Willie Block talk about the "epic intimacy" they created for their fictional podcast Edge of Sleep which went on to become a book and television show.

Rae Benjamin (The Witcher, Sirens of the Deep) says she's "inspired by stories and characters" and isn't afraid to explore any medium to get there.

What happens when fire breaks out on the first day of your film shoot? Writer/director John W. Kim talks about that and other challenges that went into the writing, directing and producing of his independent film Reunion (currently in post-production).

Filmmaker Michelle Muldoon joins Pilar to talk about all of the ways your storytelling and creativity can be applied to other creative work that, in turn, helps fuel your script writing.

Producer Lauren Vilchik talks about the love and hard work it took to make the movie A Little Prayer, currently in theaters.

Writer and UCLA Professor Paul Chitlik talks about his newest book, The Screenwriting Sensei, which takes screenwriters from start to finish.

As she did with her mother, Pilar learns about her father through a series of "loglines" discussing the movie-worthy moments in his life.

This week's writing wisdom is brought to you by the writer/producer of Speed, Broken Arrow, From The Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers, Sneaky Pete, Slow Horses, Silo and more! 

Actor / writer Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher, Lessons In Chemistry) talks about the jokes and ideas that inspired her to write and the confidence she has in creating her own content.

A real-life UFO sighting combined with knowledge of the addiction world helped to create the fictional independent movie Star People written and directed by filmmaker Adam Finberg. Here Adam talks about the story process for the movie and how it evolved from script to screen.

Film entrepreneur Gray Jones discusses the new platform Share which aims to split film profits with everyone involved - above and below the line.

Writer Melissa Cassera, who now has 14 Lifetime movies to her credit, discusses her businessperson's approach to getting and keeping work and the need to stay "obsessed" as an artist.

Writers George N Koulouris and Will Amato talk about the fun and work that go into writing short, entertaining content for "vertical films." 

Writer/producer David Simkins (Adventures in Babysitting, Charmed, Grimm, Blade, Roswell, Angel) talks about his start as a screenwriter and his evolving process of writing his "core story."

From development funds to film markets, Frederik Ehrhardt talks about what it's like to write and produce in the United States and Europe.

The five writers selected for the 2025 CBS/Paramount Writers Mentoring Program talk about the craft and career lessons they've learned from the program and each other.

Bill Thompson discusses his exceptional arts non-profit Young Storytellers and the new report, Growing Pains, which centers around the concerns and tastes of Gen Alpha.