I decided to finally tackle the dreaded query letter. I bring back to the show screenwriter, author, and IFH Academy instructor Geoffery Calhoun. We go over the Query Letter Checklist in the episode.
We have on the show film finance expert, Franco Sama. His first episode is one of the most downloaded episodes in the history of the show. Franco and I joke that his last episode turned him into a celebrity at film markets and festivals around the world.
SYS Episode 344
This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with the well known filmmaker, Eric Bress.
They talk about his latest credit Ghosts Of War (2020). This is a World War II movie that also serves as a Supernatural Thriller Ghost Story.
Eric Bress has written and directed many popular Horror movies including the smash hit The Butterfly Effect (2004) and Final Destination 2 (2003).
Other topics include how he was able to get a manager and the importance of staying focused if you want a career in filmmaking.
Episode 343
This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with filmmaker Gavin Rothery.
He is the writer/director of the Sci-Fi feature Archive (2020) starring Theo James, Rhona Mitra and Stacy Martin.
Topics include how Gavin Rothery works two jobs and how he started by doing Visual Effects for Moon (2009) thanks to his friendship with filmmaker Duncan Jones.
SYS Episode 342
This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Actor/Writer/Director Oliver Robins.
They talk about his latest movie, a Thriller called Celebrity Crush (2019) which he wrote and directed.
Oliver Robins got his start as being a child actor in the hit movie Poltergeist (1982). He later directed movies such as Man Overboard (2008), which our host Ashley Scott Meyers was a writer on.
Topics include how it never is easy to make it in the entertainment industry and how he sold a script to the Hallmark Channel.
On today’s show, I wanted to give you a sneak peek of Bulletproof Screenwriting’s first official audiobook Writing for Emotional Impact: Advanced Dramatic Techniques to Attract, Engage, and Fascinate the Reader from Beginning to End.
SYS Episode 341
In this episode Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Fiction Novelist Justin Sloan.
He gives details about how an indie author can take a book from idea to being sold on the marketplace.
Justin Sloan is a prolific writer of many novels available for the Amazon Kindle and audiobook, some titles include Prime Evil and the Star Legacy book series.
SYS Episode 340
This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Filmmaker Ben Rood.
He talks about starting out with short films and production during the Covid-19, Coronavirus Pandemic.
Ben Rood is the Writer/Director of the Horror movie Don't Run (2019).
SYS Episode 339
This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Writer/Director Joshua Caldwell.
They talk about his latest Crime Thriller Infamous (2020) which stars Bella Thorne (The Babysitter, Assassination Nation) and Jake Manley.
Joshua Caldwell also talks about winning an MTV Film Award, the good and bad of Social Media and casting Bella Thorne.
SYS Episode 338
This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with the Polish Director Agnieszka Holland.
She talks about her latest feature, the War Time Drama Mr. Jones (2019). This movie stars Vanessa Kirby (The Crown - TV Series, Mission: Impossible - Fallout) and James Norton.
Other topics include, what keeps her motivated over the long career she has lived.
Agnieszka Holland has many credits directing Film and Television, which includes House Of Cards (TV Series) and The Wire (TV Series).
SYS Episode 337
Directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion.
This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with film Directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion.
They talk about starting by making commercials for big brands such as Nike led to the transition into feature films.
Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion have directed several features, most recently Becky (2020), the action packed Bushwick (2017) and the Horror Comedy Cooties (2014).
The cast of Becky includes Joel McHale, Kevin James and Lulu Wilson.
SYS Episode 336
Screenwriter Matt Lieberman.
Topics include writing for animation, Matt Lieberman's writing credits include the hit animated movies Scoob! (2020) and The Addams Family (2019).
Scoob features the voice talent of a cast which includes, Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried.
SYS Episode 335
With Director/Producer Kevin James Barry
They talk about the Thriller Among Them, which Kevin James Barry is the Director and Producer on.
Other topics include working with a sales agent and getting distribution for his movies.
SYS Episode 334
This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Writer/Director Vaughn Stein.
Topics include his latest movie Inheritance (2020), which Vaughn Stein Directed and how he started out as an Assistant Director.
Vaughn Stein's other credits include being the Writer/Director of the visually stunning Sci-Fi Mystery Terminal (2018) which stars Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg and Mike Myers.
SYS Episode 333
In this episode Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Clark Duke.
Most people will know Clark Duke as an actor in Kick-Ass (2010), or Comedies like Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and The Office (TV-series).
They talk about his feature debut as a Director/Co-Writer/Actor on the Crime/Drama Arkansas (2020). The movie also stars Vince Vaughn and Liam Hemsworth.
SYS Episode 332
As an accomplished Writer/Director, Martha talks about her latest movie To The Stars (2019) and the experience of her work screening at Sundance and South By South West (SXSW) film festival.
I reveal a scam on the show and discuss how you can protect yourself. Stay safe out there. Things are getting scary.
So how can you write a story that audiences will embrace? The answer is simple: Remember what it feels like to be an unwilling audience. Tell the story that would win you over, even if you didn’t want to hear it.
Today on the show we have Filmtrepreneur Mark Harris. Mark is a self-taught filmmaker. His movies have been distributed by major distributors and he’s self-distributed many of his earlier films and sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide.
Today on the show I going to be discussing how NOT to get screwed on a screenwriting assignment. Assignment scripts are generally adaptations of an existing idea or property owned by the hiring company, but can also be original works based on a concept.
Today's guest is the legendary writer and educator Judith Weston. Her book Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television and The Film Director’s Intuition: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques is a must-read for any film director.
Historian Kathi Kresol uses her platform as an author to speak for the victims. Seldom is it so obvious how a writer found her voice than when you hear about the murder-suicide that took place in Kathi's home & the ghosts that remain.
Jon Ronson has lived a life more exciting than one you'd think a writer could live. He's gotten up close and personal with the likes of self-appointed superheroes, countless psychopaths (both in prison and in the boardroom) Extremists & Secret Societies.
Today on the show we have screenwriter, Michael Lucker. Michael is a writer, director, and producer with twenty years of experience creating film, television, animation and digital media. He began his career writing and directing television commercials while earning his undergraduate degree in broadcasting and film at Boston University’s College of Communication.
Soon after he landed in Los Angeles working in production on series and specials for ABC, NBC, CBS and HBO before taking a job as assistant to Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment on feature films Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, Arachnophobia, Joe Vs. The Volcano, Always, Back To The Future II & III and Jurassic Park.
He went onto serve in creative affairs at Hollywood Pictures where he worked on such movies as Crimson Tide, Terminal Velocity, Taking Care of Business and Straight Talk. Michael then embarked on a career as a screenwriter, helping pen more than twenty feature screenplays for Paramount, Disney, DreamWorks, Fox, and Universal, including Vampire In Brooklyn, Home On The Range, Good Intentions and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002 as best animated feature.
“You don’t have to be a writer of action films to benefit from Michael Lucker’s rock-solid screenwriting advice, but if you are an action writer… it is essential.” — John Baldecchi, Producer: Point Break, The Mexican, Conan the Barbarian
He also served as screenwriter on the animated sequels to Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, Emperor’s New Groove and 101 Dalmatians. An opportunity to serve as a creative consultant to Turner Entertainment took him home to Atlanta in 2007. He went onto work as a writer, director and executive producer with non-fiction production houses Encyclomedia, Shed Media, Crazy Legs Productions and Trailblazer Studios before launching his own production company, Lucky Dog Filmworks, which now serves as his home for creating film, television, and commercial content. In television, Michael has worked with Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, History, Discovery, NBC, TBS, TLC, OWN, DIY, MSNBC, and A&E.
His new book is Crash! Boom! Bang! How to Write Action Movies.
A fun, insightful insider’s look at the nuts and bolts of writing action movies, from concept to completion, by a professional screenwriter and professor of screenwriting. Full of witty anecdotes from the front lines (and tricks of the trade from between the lines), Crash! Boom! Bang! promises an enjoyable and educational read for writers and students of all levels. Although bullets and bloodshed abound in cinema, the lessons within will benefit screenwriters of all kinds of movies.