Jonathan Katz is perhaps best known in animated form in "Dr Katz: Professional Therapist." He's had a long career before and since as a standup comic & screenwriter. He talks about his upcoming "Dr Katz: Live" performance & finding his way in comedy.

I can’t be more excited to bring you this episode. On today’s show, we have the legendary writer/director Alex Proyas, the filmmaker behind The Crow, Dark City, The Knowing, Gods of Egypt, and I, Robot.

In the Cracking Your Beat Sheet workshop, you'll start with an idea for a novel or film and leave with the 15 key beats that will become the backbone of your story.

Today we have legendary screenwriter James V. Hart. James is the screenwriter behind some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters like HOOK, directed by Steven Spielberg, based on an idea by Hart’s then 6-year-old son & BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA.

J Horton figured out a formula that would allow him to make a living doing what he loves to do. He produces low budget feature films and uploads them to Amazon Prime. He collects TVOD and SVOD revenue. His key is volume. In 2020 he produced 14 films.

We have screenwriter & script doctor, John Winston Rainey. John is the co-author, along w/ legendary consultant Linda Seger, of the book You Talkin’ to Me?: How to Write Great Dialogue. John has written 25 screenplays of which 3 have been produced.

What if indie filmmakers could access the same virtual production systems used on the hit Disney+ show The Mandalorian? What if you could use that same technology at home for your productions? What if it cost less than most RED Camera packages?

We welcome legendary story analyst and best-selling author Chris Vogler. Chris wrote the game-changing book "The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers." I read this book over 25 years ago and it changed the way I look at story.

Tea Krulos has written some wild true-life stories. American Madness is a deep look at the life of an eccentric "real life super hero" who was radicalized by Alex Jones & David Icke. Conspiracy Theories, Bohemian Grove & Krampus highlight this episode.

John has directed some of the most iconic films in history. From the decade-defining Saturday Night Fever to 80’s hits like War Games, Short Circuit, & Stakeout to 90’s action classics like Bird on a Wire, Point of No Return, Nick of Time, and Drop Zone.

Welcome back author and Story Maps guru Daniel Calvisi. I wanted to bring him back to discuss how to use his story mapping technique on a TV/streaming script. This is based on his book STORY MAPS: TV Drama: The Structure of the One-Hour Pilot.

Welcome back recurring guest, screenwriter career coach, Lee Jessup. Lee is a whiz when it comes to everything that's going on in the industry, and since it's ever changing and evolving, Max and Felicity will get the update on how things are looking now.

Episode 355

This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Miska Kajanus.

Starting as an Actor in Finland, Miska Kajanus moved to Los Angeles and is the Writer/Director of the Finnish language feature, Insanity (2020).

They talk about that movie and how working as an extra is a good way to get started in the film industry.

SYS Episode 354

This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with the Writing/Directing team Ruckus Skye and Lane Skye.

They wrote the Horror movie Becky (2020). The directors of Becky were interviewed in episode 337 of the podcast. Ruckus Skye and Lane Skye also wrote and directed the Thriller The Devil To Pay (2019).

Topics featured here are making The Devil To Pay and how their script Rattle The Cage (2015) was discovered and produced through a script listing service.

SYS Episode 353

This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Writer/Director Seth Larney.

He started with Visual Effects and as a Digital Assets Technician for The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).

Topics include how Seth Larney transitioned into filmmaking. They talk about his new Sci-Fi movie 2067 (2020) which stars Kodi Smit-McPhee.

SYS Episode 352

This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Filmmaker Will Wernick.  Will Wernick is the Writer/Director of the Horror movie No Escape (2020) which stars Holland Roden.  He also Directed Escape Room (2017).

They talk about No Escape and his DIY approach to filmmaking which has served him well.

Episode 351

This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Writer/Director/Actor Jessie McCormack.

They talk about her new TV/Web Series Piss Off, I Love You.  Jessie McCormack is the Writer/Director/Actor of that Comedy series and is the Writer/Director of the feature Expecting (2013).

Other topics discussed includes making movies or shorts with an I-Phone and how networking at film festivals helped launch her career.

I wanted to bring Peter on the show to discuss what it was like to be a part of one of the biggest budget films in Hollywood history at the time.

Episode 350

For the big Episode 350 we have a big guest! This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Horror Filmmaker Darren Lynn Bousman.

They talk about his new feature Death Of Me (2020) starring Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth. Darren Lynn Bousman has a long career as a Writer/Director, his credits include Saw II, Saw III and the upcoming Spiral (2021).

Other topics they discuss includes the differences of producing a movie in Japan instead of the United States.

This is a returning guest, you can hear the prior ep of the podcast with Darren Lynn Bousman SYS 154

Episode 349

This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with filmmaker Sam Macaroni. They talk about his new Comedy Guest House (2020).

This movie features Pauly Shore, Aimee Teegarden and Billy Zane. Sam Macaroni Directed Guest House and wrote it with Sean Bishop and Troy Duffy (The Boondock Saints - 1999).

They also talk about how he worked with Robert De Niro on the movie Heat (1995) and pitching the script for Guest House and where this idea came from.

This week Ashley Scott Meyers talks with Australian filmmaker James Di Martino.

They talk about how he went from a marketing background into making shorts and now a feature film. James Di Martino is the writer/director of the Horror movie The Faceless Man (2019).

They talk about that movie, running a Kickstarter campaign and how he started his own production company.

We are proud to present The Table Read My Screenplay 2020 Genre Grand Prize winning short script, The Ride by Kimberly Truong.
The role of Catherine will be played by Amy Sullivan
Jess is read by Karisa Tate
With narration by Felicity Wren