194 episodes
The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna Meg LeFauve & Lorien McKenna
-
- TV & Film
-
-
4.9 • 870 Ratings
-
Welcome to The Screenwriting Life, a podcast where Oscar-nominated writer Meg LeFauve and Emmy-nominated writer Lorien McKenna discuss not only the craft and business of Screenwriting, but also the emotional life: the ups and downs of being a creative, to remind you that you are not alone and to keep writing.
-
188 | Playwriting (and some BTS Behind the Making of Coco) ft. Octavio Solis
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 -
187 | Writing For Multi-Cam Sitcoms (w/ Lopez vs Lopez Showrunner Debby Wolfe)
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 -
186 | A Crash Course For Showrunners (And Their Staff Writers) ft. Jeff Melvoin
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 -
185 | Why Tone and Genre ≠ Plot (ft. Cole Haddon)
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 -
184 | What Does A Hollywood Studio Reader Do? (TSL Listener Spotlight)
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 -
183 | How The Animated Film Industry Is Changing (And Why That Matters Creatively): WAR IS OVER Chat, Part 2
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
Customer Reviews
Incredibly insightful and empowering. Must listen for all emerging writers.
Thank you Meg, Lorien and Jeff for your wisdom, generosity and devotion to the craft. I discovered the podcast about 6 weeks ago and I have listened to it constantly since. I am 30 years old and an attorney by trade. My only education in filmmaking comes by way of my lifelong obsession with movies and cinematic television. I learned how to write in the context of academia where I developed a voice and a perspective, but learned very little about the the elements of storytelling with respect to plot structure and character development (and learned even less about the more basic components of screenwriting like how much detail to include in a scene description or character introduction). As a result, I kept getting stuck in the middle of various screenplays I started. Listening to this podcast has helped me get unstuck, so to speak, in that it has provided me with, among other things, a general blueprint for proper story structure and character development and a different perspective as to the emotional components of story telling. This podcast has been my film school and it has empowered me to get into the lava and get past my mental blocks to continue writing a story which is quite personal to me. This is a must listen for all aspiring/emerging writers and filmmakers generally.
Real tools from serious pros
As a director that often dabbles in writing, listening to the established and talented writers on this show help keep my ship on course.
There’s always new tools and new ways to look at classic techniques, all while making it fun, engaging, and very importantly, encouraging. We all need that “go and get after it” speech. This team does it so well.
Nearly every episode I learn something that changes my game.
Integral to anyone who needs help with their storytelling.
So happy I found this podcast!
Meg and Lorien are so helpful. I feel like I am taking a screenwriting course listening to their podcast. I just joined their Patreon Workshop level because it is a steal for how much content and value I am getting from this show. I cannot recommend it highly enough.