Writers Group Therapy

In this session, horror fans will be excited to hear from The First Omen screenwriting team of Arkasha Stevenson and Tim Smith who also directed and produced the film respectively. We discuss their passion for the original that drove their process in creating a terrifying prequel to the Richard Donner classic.

Arkasha and Tim are a team who have written and produced projects for AMC, Hulu, Netflix, SyFy and Amazon including Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block, Legion and Briarpatch. 

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We talk with “A Bit of Light” screenwriter Rebecca Callard and Director Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton on “True Blood”) about their touching slice of life film that stars Anna Paquin, Ray Winstone and newcomer Luca Hogan.

***Spoiler note: Contains some spoilers***

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What happens when writers say and do stuff that comes back to haunt them? We discuss how the industry reacts to the personal actions of writers and what you should be cautious of when posting and vlogging.

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Brooklyn lawyer turned actor and author Steve Schlam discusses is new novel “The Harvesting of Haystacks Kane” that was released by 8th House Publishing. Steve studied under Joseph Heller, the renowned author of “Catch-22” at City University of New York where he earned his Master’s in Creative Writing and English. 

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On this session, “Barry” co-executive producer and writer Duffy Boudreau talks about writing the award winning Max series as well as his earlier work in comics and journey from Oklahoma to Washington to Los Angeles.

Editor Note: The day after recording our interview with Duffy Boudreau, “Barry” was nominated for Best Comedy Series in the WGA Awards.

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Fashion was the first to get “fast” with “Fast Fashion.” Then saw the rise of “Fast Publishing” and “Fast Music.” Is Hollywood the next creative realm to get to the cheap and trendy treatment? We discuss what is “fast” and how it’s going to come for Hollywood.

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In this session, we chat with Jenna St. John, the writer/actor/producer whose indie comedy series “Sexpectations” reach #3 on the top comedies list on iTunes/AppleTV ahead of “Parks and Recreation.” 

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Special guest, producer and screenwriter Ed Solomon talks about his writers journey and new show “Full Circle” on Max. Ed is know for writing blockbusters like “Men in Black,” “Charlie’s Angels,” and “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” His latest show “Full Circle” featuring Claire Danes, Dennis Quaid and Timothy Olyphant is streaming on Max. 

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This session we expound on the Black Friday and Holiday deals that might appeal to writers and filmmakers. We also discuss writing holiday movies and what are the key elements that go into them.

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Writer/Director Jeffrey Crane Graham discusses his new award-winning, John Hughesian coming of age dramedy “Always Lola” that is premiering for rent/purchase on most streaming platforms including Amazon Prime, YouTube and AppleTV. Jeffrey also teaches screenwriting and produces and cohosts the podcast “The Screen Writing Life.”

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In this session we discuss the state of Hollywood post WGA strike while the SAG-AFTRA strike continues, as wells our own personal writing updates.

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Richie Billing is a UK-based author, podcaster and writing instructor whose debut novel, “Pariah’s Lament” was published in March 2021 by Of Metal and Magic Publishing. We discuss his writing, teaching and more. 

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Jane L. Rosen is an author, screenwriter, and former Huffington Post contributor. Jane often takes inspiration from real-life stories and interviews to craft her novels. Her first novel “Nine Women, One Dress” was translated into ten languages. Her second novel “Eliza Starts a Rumor” has been optioned by NBC. “A Shoe Story” and “On Fire Island” are out now.

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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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