Watchmen, with Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson
Austin Film Festival's On Story
Release Date: 12/04/2024
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Q&A, with Rian Johnson
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, we’re talking to Rian Johnson about his process writing and directing Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. This third installment of the Knives Out series follows an ambitious young Catholic priest, and former boxer, named Jud Duplencity. Jud teams up with detective Benoit Blanc after the divisive Monsignor of his small, rural parish is murdered mid-sermon. Outside of the Knives Out series, Johnson has two decades of experience writing and directing in the mystery and sci-fi genres. He made his directorial debut in 2005 with Brick, a neo-noir mystery set...
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The Prestige Miniseries, with Craig Mazin and Marissa Jo Cerar
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, a conversation on the prestige miniseries with Craig Mazin and Marissa Jo Cerar. Craig Mazin is the creator, writer, and executive producer of HBO’s Emmy-winning limited series Chernobyl. Chernobyl is a five-episode historical drama following the events leading up to the Chernobyl disaster and the cleanup efforts that followed. Mazin is also known for co-creating and co-writing HBO’s The Last of Us, and for his work on comedy films such as Scary Movie 3, and Identity Thief. Marissa Jo Cerar is the creator of the NAACP Image Award-winning...
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Succession, with Susan Soon He Stanton
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, we’re joined by Susan Soon He Stanton for a look inside the writers room of the hit HBO drama, Succession. Succession centers on the Roy family, the ultra-rich owners of a global media conglomerate called Waystar RoyCo. The family business is spearheaded by aging patriarch, Logan Roy. As Logan’s ability to lead the company becomes more and more uncertain, his adult children fight to out-maneuver their Father, and each other, to seize control. Each of the Roy children enters this fight for power carrying baggage from their bizarre upbringings within this cold,...
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Bojack Horseman, with Allison Flierl and Joe Lawson
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, a conversation on the animated tragicomedy series Bojack Horseman with two of its writers, Alison Flierl and Joe Lawson. The series follows Bojack, a washed-up former sitcom star who’s trying to stage a comeback in Hollywood, while fighting against his own addiction and self-destructive tendencies. Bojack is also an anthropomorphic horse inhabiting a world where humans and animals live side-by side. The series, which ran for six seasons on Netflix, features the voice acting talents of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Aaron Paul, and a rotating cast of celebrity...
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A Conversation with Kemp Powers
Austin Film Festival's On Story
First up, a conversation with Kemp Powers on his experience co-directing Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to the 2018 Oscar-winner, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The second installment continues the story of friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Miles Morales, as he is catapulted from his home in Brooklyn, through the multi-verse. In a neighboring universe, Miles encounters a multi-dimensional network of Spider-People, known as the Spider-Society. When Miles clashes with the other superheroes, he has to set out on his own to save the ones he loves. Co-director Kemp Powers...
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The Screenwriter's Guide to Adapting IP
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, a conversation with Nicole Perlman and Jodi Hildebrand on their experiences as writers and producers working with existing intellectual property, or IP. Nicole Perlman is best known for working as a co-writer on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain Marvel, as well as Detective Pikachu. For eight years, Perlman has worked as a Creative Advisor at the Sundance Screenwriting Labs, in addition to mentoring for Global Media Makers, Women in Film, the BlackList, and more. She is currently developing television projects for Fox Searchlight, Amazon Studios, and...
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A Conversation with Rian Johnson
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, a covnersation with writer-director Rian Johnson on his love of genre media from noir to sci-fi, and the long process of outlining which allows him to craft intricate stories without getting lost in the second act. Johnson made his directorial debut in 2005 with the neo-noir mystery, Brick. Set against the backdrop of a suburban high school, Brick draws inspiration from classic noir mysteries while adding a coming-of-age twist. Johnson dove into the sci-fi genre with his time-travel action-thriller Looper, released in 2012. Starring Bruce Willis, Looper follows the work...
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On Writing YA, with Julie Plec
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, a conversation with Julie Plec on her love of YA storytelling, and her experience co-creating and co-showrunning The Vampire Diaries. The Vampire Diaries is a supernatural, romantic teen-drama which ran for 8 seasons from 2009 to 2017. The show follows the life of a mortal teen girl, Elena Gilbert, as she navigates grief, love triangles, small town politics, and supernatural threats from ghosts, to werewolves, to evil doppelgängers. The success of The Vampire Diaries allowed Plec to expand this magical world into two spinoff shows, The Originals, and Legacies. ...
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The Last Showgirl Q&A with Gia Coppola
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, a conversation with Gia Coppola on her process directing The Last Showgirl. This dazzling drama follows the sunset years of Shelly Gardner, a middle-aged Las Vegas showgirl, played by Pamela Anderson. Shelly faces an uncertain future after the iconic revue she’s been starring in for decades stages its final performance. At the same time, Shelly must navigate her relationships with her fellow dancers, and her estranged daughter, played by Billie Lourd. The film had its Texas premier at the 2024 Austin Film Festival, and went on to receive nominations at the Golden...
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Script to Screen: Twisters
Austin Film Festival's On Story
This week on On Story, a conversation with screenwriter Mark L. Smith on writing Twisters – the 2024 summer film that took audiences by storm…literally! The action-packed, thrilling adventure directed by Lee Isaac Chung is a standalone sequel to the 1996 film Twister starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton and produced by Austin Film Festival awardee Kathleen Kennedy. Yet, as the plurality suggests, stakes are raised in Twisters as meteorologist Kate Copper, played by Daisy Edgar Jones, tests a groundbreaking storm tracking system. Copper’s world spirals when she crosses paths with cowboy,...
info_outlineThis week on On Story, AFF moderator Harrison Glaser speaks with Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof and writer Cord Jefferson about the collaborative process of adapting the beloved comic book and writing the series' Emmy Award-winning episode. Watchmen, a critically and commercially celebrated limited series, tells the story of racially motivated violence and vigilantism in the world of Alan Moore’s graphic novel by the same name.
Damon Lindelof is a WGA, PGA, and Emmy award-winning writer who has created some of television’s most iconic shows, including Lost and The Leftovers. A master of smart, character-driven science fiction, Lindelof shares his perspective on breaking story and building mythology.
Cord Jefferson began his writing career as a journalist. Since transitioning to television, he has worked on some of the medium’s most formative shows in recent years: Master of None, The Good Place, Succession, and Watchmen. His debut feature, American Fiction, won the Audience Award at the 30th annual Austin Film Festival. Cord discusses bringing his own perspective to well-known material and honing in on character motivation.
Watchmen clips courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.