8 & 3/4: Disrupting Hollywood

We are back from a short break with the latest in virtual reality and one of the coolest conversations I've ever had about storytelling.  In this episode, I have the pleasure of sitting across from Arif Khan, a VR director and producer currently based in Tokyo. An alum from Cambridge University and USC, Arif has worked in VR teams at Oculus Studio, Airbnb and Wevr, before directing his first VR short film all the way to SXSW - so you know this is going to be a fun ride! You can find more about Arif's amazing work here:  Arif Khan - IMDb XRMust - About immersive storytelling - “Incorporating VR’s strength into the narrative backbone of our story” - Arif Khan (BLACK ICE VR) Virtual reality film “Black Ice” selected for screening at South by Southwest Film Festival - UNCSA

In this new episode, I sit down with Adam Sussman, Vice President of Development at Furry Prawn Productions, which has an overall deal with NBC Universal. We talk about the creative process for developing unscripted TV, America's Got Talent and the secret recipe to create a great talent show.  Find more about Adam's work here: Adam Sussman, Vice President of Development – Furry Prawn Productions

For the second part of our animation writing special, I sit down with Nick Rodriguez, staff writer at DreamWorks and a Walt Disney Television Writing Program Finalist. We talk about navigating talent agencies and TV startups at the beginning of his career, his ambition to bring queerness and diversity into the animation sphere and the persistency needed to thrive as a screenwriter in the city of stars.  Find more about Nick's amazing work here: Nick Rodriguez // Screenwriter (nickrodriguezwriter.com) Nick Rodriguez (@NickRodriguez00) / Twitter (*) Note: this program was recorded before Disney's recent public controversy over the "Don't Say Gay" bill in Florida, so we couldn't address it in our conversation about queerness in big animation studios. But that makes my question and Nick's reflection all the more relevant, don't you think?

For this first episode, I sit down with Ellie Guzman, staff writer at Dreamworks and author of the humorous book Rags to Rags. We talk about blowing up on the blogosphere, sipping wine at networking events and working her way up to writers' rooms. You can find more about Ellie's work here:  Ellie Guzman | Writer (*) Please note that the script compensations mentioned during the program are loose estimations. For accurate figures, please refer to the Writers Guild of America's website.