On The Page
666 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 364 ratingsON THE PAGE: Join professional script consultant Pilar Alessandra as she demystifies screenwriting and answers your questions about script craft and story.
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Episodes
889. A Quiet Force
July 05, 2024 12:00 - 36 minutes - 17 MBWriter and “good witch,” Glenda L. Richardson describes her process for capturing voices and crafting stories for celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Taraji P. Henson.
888. Lawyer and Dream-Maker
June 28, 2024 12:00 - 47 minutes - 22.2 MBEntertainment attorney and composer Corey Field sees his work as helping writers and creators achieve their dreams. Here he explains the difference between sales, options and work-for-hire and discusses potential gains and traps along the way.
887. Writing Through the Contraction
June 21, 2024 12:00 - 43 minutes - 20.2 MBWriter Delondra Mesa (American Rust, Pretty Little Liars) talks about her approach to discovering story and creating content even as the industry experiences “The Great Contraction.”
886. Finding the Cues
June 14, 2024 12:00 - 48 minutes - 22.5 MBDirector Dans Karagannis and Writer Liz Renner discuss their journey meeting in an On the Page class and joining together to make their short film Damned If You Do, currently screening in major festivals.
885. Middle East Meets West
June 07, 2024 12:00 - 37 minutes - 17.6 MBWriter Suha AL Khalifa is a senior writer at the Saudi Giant MBC Studios (Rashash, Devil’s Promise) and also wrote the region's first female super-hero film. She talks about how her experience as a psychotherapist and as a "cultural hybrid" (Bahrain, UK, and US) has informed her writing and storytelling.
884. Interactive Storytelling
May 31, 2024 12:00 - 46 minutes - 21.6 MBJoe Gold’s “Shakespeare Inc.” offers sixteen variations of a story. Hear how he wrote it, how “choose your own adventure” storytelling is structured and how this approach can work for video-game and screenwriting.
883. Curating a Film Career
May 24, 2024 12:00 - 45 minutes - 20.9 MBEmily Harris is not only an award-winning writer-director (Carmilla), she also has an amazing “day job” as the Curator of Film at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
882. "Why Not Take a Big Swing?”
May 17, 2024 16:31 - 39 minutes - 18.3 MBWhen writer-director GG Hawkins had access to a unique location for a limited amount of time, she “planted a flag and figured out a way to do it,” writing, producing and directing an indi-feature called I Really Love My Husband.
881. Film in the Age of Consent
May 10, 2024 12:00 - 37 minutes - 17.5 MBFilmmaker/ professor Michele Meek shares her thoughts about changing sexuality in teen films, how rom-coms often rely on a non-consent premise and about her wish that writers put their sex scenes on the page.
880. Story to Script
May 03, 2024 12:00 - 28 minutes - 13.3 MBFrom "safety nets” to “act three payoffs," Pilar goes solo to talk about what she’s learning while working with writers Story to Script.
879. Not Another Deaf Story
April 26, 2024 14:16 - 38 minutes - 17.7 MBWriter/director Hilari Scarl discusses her latest multi-media work, Not Another Deaf Story, written and performed with deaf actors on stage and on screen.
878. Making It
April 19, 2024 12:00 - 57 minutes - 106 MBWriters Chris Lawing and Alex Grossman have independently made the movies they’ve written and prepare to makes more! Here they talk about how they’ve pulled it off and what they’ve learned along the way.
877. Scene Direction Contest 2024
April 12, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MBActor Joel Stoffer (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Stranger Things) stage-reads scene direction submissions from listeners as they showcase their writing skills! Who will win?
876. Telling His Story
April 05, 2024 12:00 - 44 minutes - 20.6 MBWriter/producer Tracy Grant (Lincoln Heights, Lace) tells a personal story filled with highs and lows that led to a number of writing lessons and his confirmation that "you only need one yes."
875. Announcement: 2024 Scene Direction Contest
March 30, 2024 18:07 - 2 minutes - 4.42 MBDid you write a prize-worthy piece of scene direction? Enter it in the On the Page Scene Direction Contest! Pilar explains the rules and gives the deadline.
874. Keeping Creative
March 29, 2024 12:00 - 49 minutes - 23.1 MBA catch up with writer/comedian Laura House as she talks about the lean years and the ripe years, including running a British show in the middle of Covid and learning to feel “the right amount of proud” about her accomplishments.
873. Science and Scirens
March 22, 2024 12:00 - 52 minutes - 24.3 MBScience through entertainment. Entertainment inspiring science. Filmmakers Tamara Krinsky and Taryn O’Neill co-founded Scirens to explore all of the possibilities.
872. And The Nicholl Goes To …
March 15, 2024 12:00 - 37 minutes - 17.5 MBWriter Jimmy Miller reflects on a script that changed as he changed, ultimately leading to his current Nicholl Fellowship win.
871. Writing Tips, Wrestling and Al Pacino
March 08, 2024 13:30 - 1 hour - 28.3 MBWe’re covering it all in this one: Six writing tips from Pilar’s list, some talk of movies that got overlooked at the Oscars and a discussion of writer Sam Benjamin’s new wrestling short film, Screwjob.
870. Oscar Talk 2024
March 01, 2024 16:08 - 1 hour - 47.3 MBPilar and her friends Brian Pope, Mike Musa and Alex Troxler get together for their annual discussion about the best screenplay and best adapted screenplay Oscar nominees.
869. Writer Upgraded
February 23, 2024 13:00 - 34 minutes - 16 MBWriter/Producer Christine Lenig worked hard and took notes for twelve years before her rom-com Upgraded was finally produced with Camila Mendes, Marisa Tomei and Lena Olin. Now it’s #1 on Amazon!
868. Write Like a Poet
February 16, 2024 13:00 - 39 minutes - 18.4 MBWriter/Scholar David Noller discusses his book Master Poetry Forms and talks about the ways that screenwriting and poetry are similar in terms of structure, form and craft.
867. Advice From The Experts
February 09, 2024 13:00 - 38 minutes - 17.7 MBWriter Andrew Zinnes provides nuggets from his new book, Screenwriters Advice, a “how to” as told through the interviews of successful writers of film and TV.
866. Hidden Treasures
February 02, 2024 13:00 - 37 minutes - 17.4 MBSpotlight on Robert Wooldridge and Kimberly Dilts, two talented On the Page writers with excellent material, ready for their big break!
865. Multimedia Storytelling
January 26, 2024 13:00 - 45 minutes - 21.2 MBWriter Allison McGevna talks about how the tools and narrative style she uses in her job as a multimedia storyteller and media executive help her as a screenwriter. Please note: This episode was originally recorded on January 20, 2024 before the recent Conde Nast strike in response to media layoffs.
864: "None of That Boring Love”
January 19, 2024 13:00 - 58 minutes - 26.9 MBToday’s glut of rom-coms: Why do we love them? What do they get right? What do they get wrong? Writer Elizabeth McKenzie has opinions!
863. Proof of Concept
January 12, 2024 13:30 - 48 minutes - 22.4 MBWriter/director Christy Stratton returns to the podcast to discuss her short film, The Runt (and to hear about Pilar’s horror-movie Christmas.)
862. Comedy Expert
January 05, 2024 13:30 - 35 minutes - 16.7 MBJonterri Gadson went from "comedy nerd" to "comedy expert" when she earned fellowships with the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop and Kevin Hart’s LOL to land a show on adult swim and launch a career writing for The Upshaws, A Black Lady Sketch Show and the upcoming animated show Everybody Still Hates Chris.
861. 2023 Writing Year in Review
December 29, 2023 13:00 - 42 minutes - 19.7 MBCareer coach Lee Jessup returns to discuss the industry changes and writing trends of 2023 and shares what’s ahead for the new year.
860. Logline Competition 2023: Part 2
December 22, 2023 13:30 - 1 hour - 33.1 MBPilar reads and gives feedback on the loglines that didn’t make the top fifteen lists for the 2023 Logline Contest.
859. Logline Competition 2023
December 22, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 39.5 MBPilar and Aadip read, evaluate and vote on feature and TV loglines sent in by listeners. Dimwitted extraterrestrials. Time-traveling teachers. Felons at birthday parties. Who will win?
858. Making Things Happen
December 15, 2023 13:00 - 41 minutes - 19.1 MBA healthy “impatience” led writer Lenore Adediran to stop waiting and make a web series. Since then she’s sold a pilot, a feature and the Christmas movie, A Christmas Serenade, produced by Harpo Films and streaming on Max.
857. Building a Better Mousetrap
December 08, 2023 13:00 - 45 minutes - 21.3 MBPortuguese Script writer Miguel Simal spent years in telenovela writers rooms learning to be as creative as possible before going on to co-write the award-winning Netflix series, Glória.
856. A Christmas Movie in 70 Beats
December 01, 2023 13:00 - 43 minutes - 20 MBWriter Isabel Dréan talks about her shift from thrillers to holiday movies, leading to five of her scripts being produced in an 18-month period.
855. Announcement: 2023 Logline Contest
November 28, 2023 00:32 - 3 minutes - 1.71 MBReady to submit for the annual On the Page logline competition? Pilar explains the rules and gives the deadline.
854. Writing His Way Into a New Life
November 24, 2023 13:00 - 46 minutes - 21.6 MBAs he reaches his ten year anniversary of writing, Scotty Mullen returns to share his thoughts on what he’s learned from writing low budget horror, women in peril movies, Christmas movies and so much more. Bottom line: Writing has to be fun!
853. Action and Heart
November 17, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 17.3 MBWriter/Director Lee Whittaker spent years as a stunt man, stunt coordinator and second-unit director before setting out to make a feature film on his own. Hear what he learned from his experience and desire to make a movie with a message.
852. Telling Their Stories
November 10, 2023 13:00 - 36 minutes - 17.1 MBWriter/directors Dave Merlino and Dustin Sweet set out to document the stories of the men who served in the 9th Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. But what they ended up with was a documentary about the need to talk through trauma. Here they discuss their years-long journey making and distributing Apache Blues: Welcome Home.
851. Creating a Community
November 03, 2023 12:00 - 45 minutes - 20.9 MBFrom providing a performance space for the UCB in New York to contributing to "Second Draft” evenings in Los Angeles, writer Ellen Ancui continually brings together groups of creatives and builds her own supportive writing community.
850. Crescent Dials In
October 27, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 17.8 MBWriter Crescent Imani Novell won the Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship in 2018 and has been writing on an animated shows like Dreamworks' Fright Krewe, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Mattel's Barbie: It Takes Two. She’s got excellent advice about story, character and dialogue, with a little personal hustle thrown in.
849. Horror Themes
October 20, 2023 12:00 - 35 minutes - 16.3 MBWriter Seth M. Sherwood (Leatherface, Light as a Feather) discusses common horror themes from “screwed by the system” to “man plays God” as written about in his new book, The Scary Movie Writers Guide.
848. Hammer Time
October 13, 2023 12:00 - 51 minutes - 23.7 MBWriter Nick Smith joins Pilar and her husband Pat Francis in a discussion about Hammer Films, the production company that made Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy and much more!
847. The Strike is Over!
October 06, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 18 MBFrom writers' room minimums to guaranteed second steps, career coach Lee Jessup talks about the “exceptional” gains made by the WGA as a result of the 148-day writers’ strike.
846. All The Things
September 29, 2023 12:00 - 39 minutes - 18.2 MBWriter/director Nico Casavecchia has made award-winning movies and short films with everything from VR to carbon monoxide molecules. Here he discusses his approach to telling story through unconventional mediums and ways to think of AI as a potential creative tool.
845. Calling Himself A Writer
September 22, 2023 12:00 - 44 minutes - 20.5 MBLast time writer/actor Michael-Leon Wooley was on the podcast his script Hey Wait A Minute had just gotten the attention of UTA. Two years later UTA is repping another script, Witch Please, and both have been optioned and packaged by major production companies. His ultimate goal? To write "everyone’s favorite movie."
844. Climate Screenwriting
September 15, 2023 12:00 - 43 minutes - 20.4 MBLeigh Medeiros, co-founder and co-director of the Hollywood Climate Summit’s Pitchfest for Film and TV, talks about how climate screenwriting equals good storytelling and gives “ten reasons why the time is now for screenwriters to help save the planet."
843. The Augustin Empire
September 08, 2023 12:00 - 53 minutes - 25 MBDaniel Augustin and Sh’Kia are actors, writers, musicians and spouses. Listen to how they learned production from music, acquired filmmaking skills from auditioning and started writing directing and starring in their own projects to keep it all alive.
842. Storytelling for Docuseries and Reality
September 01, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 17.9 MBProducers Trishtan Williams and KC Chan Haimes describe the storytelling process behind their new docuseries Why Not Us: Howard Golf and discuss their approach to finding narrative and character authenticity in all of their work.
841. "What Is The Truth?”
August 25, 2023 14:00 - 51 minutes - 24 MBWhether it’s the factual truth for documentary or the emotional truth for her fictional narratives, writer/director Alicia Ontiveros believes in truth and fairness in her work. Here she talks about what she’s learned from her work in docs over the years and where she’s going next in her screenplays.
840. Metamodernism
August 18, 2023 17:03 - 51 minutes - 23.7 MBWhat does Once Upon a Time In Hollywood and Barbie have in common? They’re both examples of “Metamodernism." Writer M. Elizabeth Eller explains it all!