57 | Million Dollar Ideas w/ Matt Lieberman

Octavio Solis is among the most celebrated playwrights discussing the Latin American experience, but he wasn't always a writer. Octavio began his artistic journey as an actor-turned-writing-teacher. But when his students started succeeding, he felt an emerging feeling; a need to take his own advice and get to the page. Since then, Solis has written dozens of celebrated plays, in addition to culturally consulting on Pixar's COCO, which we discuss today. JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife

Even though Debby Wolfe began her career writing "edgy, brooding feminist shorts" (her words), but really found her lane as a writer when she wrote a Modern Family spec that launched her career. Since then, she's written on a number of multi-cams, eventually arriving on Lopez vs. Lopez, which she's currently showrunning. Today, Debby discusses how she manages to produce at the pace Network TV requires, how she staffs, and the importance of character-driven comedy. Watch Season 2 of Lopez vs Lopez starting on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 with back-to-back episodes at 8/7c and 8:30/7:30c on NBC. New episodes air next day on Peacock. It will continue in those time slots going forward — which means, yes, you'll be getting two new episodes of the show per week!  JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife

Jeff Melvoin is - for lack of a better word - a legend in TV. He's an award-winning television writer, producer, showrunner, and educator who has written dozens and produced hundreds of one-hour episodes on over a dozen television series. He's also the founder and chair of the Writers Guild of America's Showrunner Training Program, now entering its 19th year. Jeff's incredible book RUNNING THE SHOW, the focus of our convo today, is part memoir, part playbook, and part cheat sheet all about TV writing, from staff writer all the way to showrunner. It's a must read. BUY JEFF'S BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Running-Show-Television-Jeff-Melvoin/dp/1493075292 JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife

Cole Haddon is many things: a feature writer, a showrunner, a novelist, but he's grown an incredibly loyal community for his STORY brain, which mostly congregates on his very popular substack. Today we discuss tone, genre, and plot through a case study in which we compare two very popular TV shows: The Bear and Ted Lasso. In this discussion, we'll trace how, despite them sharing a lot narratively (plot), they exist in totally unique WORLDS when it comes to tone and genre (and why this matters.) For a deep dive into Cole's brilliant story brain, check out his substack: https://substack.com/@colehaddon

Today is a chance to hear from YOU! We were thrilled to invite longtime listener Jennifer Deaton onto our show to hear about her impressive career in the biz including her life as a reader for Focus Features and screenwriting debut, the award-winning indie feature Jack of the Red Hearts. JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife

This year, one of the most talked about Animated Shorts at this year's Oscars is WAR IS OVER. The project, inspired by the Music of John and Yoko, is an 11-minute animated short featuring the 50-year-old classic song Happy Xmas (War Is Over), set against the backdrop of war. Today, we welcome three of the shorts' brilliant creators: Pixar alum and Oscar®-nominee Dave Mullins, Golden Globe®-Nominee Brad Booker, and co-writer Sean Ono Lennon who executives produces alongside Yoko Ono. This is part ONE of our two part conversation with the brilliant trio, so make sure you tune into part two tomorrow! WATCH JEFF'S MOVIE FOR FREE: https://tubitv.com/movies/100007554/always-lola?start=true&tracking=google-feed&utm_source=google-feed JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife

This year, one of the most talked about Animated Shorts at this year's Oscars is WAR IS OVER. The project, inspired by the Music of John and Yoko, is an 11-minute animated short featuring the 50-year-old classic song Happy Xmas (War Is Over), set against the backdrop of WWI. Today, we welcome three of the shorts' brilliant creators: Pixar alum and Oscar®-nominee Dave Mullins, Golden Globe®-Nominee Brad Booker, and co-writer Sean Ono Lennon who executives produces alongside his mom, Yoko Ono. This is part ONE of our two part conversation with the brilliant trio, so make sure you tune into part two tomorrow! JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife

Nimona isn't just one of 2023's best animated movies, it's one of 2023's best movies, full stop (and yes, it is Oscar-nominated). Today, we welcome one it's co-writers, Lloyd Taylor, to talk about adapting ND Stevenson beloved graphic novel, working through a roller coaster development window, and not being afraid to blow up his own work in service of finding the best version of a movie possible. JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife

Elizabeth Hargrave's debut board game Wingspan has become a one this century's most definitional games, but her inspiration to create was pretty simple. She says, "I felt like there were too many games about castles and space, and not enough games about things I’m interested in. So I decided to make a game about something I cared about." This is just one of the MANY points that will apply to your life as a writer. JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife

STORY ENGINE. Two words we so often dread, but let's be honest: the engine of your story is what POWERS your movie. It's make, or break. And today, we break down eight elements to test whether or not you are on your way to a feature film story engine that will take you from fade in, to fade out! JOIN OUR PATREON: www.patreon.com/thescreenwritinglife.