Episode 113: Amy Schumer (Life & Beth) and John Hoffman (Only Murders in the Building)
OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East
Release Date: 06/20/2024
OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East
This week, WGAE AI Taskforce co-chairs Larry J. Cohen and Sarah Montana, and taskforce member A.M. Homes sit down for an OnWriting roundtable conversation about all things artificial intelligence: how we got to where we are today, the risks AI poses to workers, what the WGAE is doing to protect members from this technology, and more. A.M. Homes is a writer whose credits include television series like Mr. Mercedes and The L Word. She is a former member of the WGAE Council and currently a member of the WGAE AI Taskforce. Larry J. Cohen is a writer on the television series Berlin Station and...
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We're kicking off the Fall/Winter 2025 season of OnWriting with a roundtable conversation between screenwriters Nia DaCosta, Benny Safdie and Will Tracy, who sat down to discuss their latest projects, the writing process, and more. Nia DaCosta is the writer and director of Hedda, a provocative, modern reimagining of Henrik Ibsen's classic play in which the titular Hedda Gabler finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life. Benny Safdie is the writer and director of The Smashing Machine, the true story of mixed martial arts and UFC...
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WGAE member organizers Rez Nemorin, Jessica Schulberg and Leah Gotcsik sit down to discuss what the organizing, bargaining and enforcement process looks like at each of their workplaces, how being in a union builds a stronger and more supportive community, the importance and responsibility of being an active union member – especially right now – and much more. Rez Nemorin is a producer in the world of nonfiction television, where she is currently involved in bargaining the first contract at Lucky8. Jessica Schulberg is a senior reporter at HuffPost who helped bargain their second and...
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Co-showrunners Tracey Wigfield and Lang Fisher discuss running their latest writers' room, how the pitching process has changed for them throughout their careers, why figuring out the story is like being good at math, and much more. Tracey Wigfield is a TV writer and showrunner. She created the NBC series Great News and the Saved by the Bell revival on Peacock. Before that, she was a writer on 30 Rock as well as The Mindy Project. Lang Fisher is a TV writer, showrunner and director. She co-created the Netflix series Never Have I Ever and was a writer on 30 Rock, The Mindy...
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Saturday Night Live head writers Alison Gates, Streeter Seidell and Kent Sublette join Greg Iwinski to talk about the process of writing for a different host every week, how giving notes to writers differs from giving notes to the cast, what writing for SNL teaches you about rejection, and much more. Alison Gates, Streeter Seidell and Kent Sublette are the current head writers of Saturday Night Live. Kent has been a head writer for the show since 2016, and Alison and Streeter have been head writers since 2022. Greg Iwinski is an Emmy-winning comedy writer whose credits include Last Week...
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Three intrepid WGAE member Captains – Sarah Montana, Devin Delliquanti and Suzanne Weber – kick off the summer season OnWriting with a roundtable discussion of our Film and Television Captains Network: what a Captain is, how Captains further the Guild’s ability to provide effective union representation for each and every member, the all-important WGA Captain hat and more. The WGAE Captains Network is a group of dedicated and engaged WGAE members in the Guild’s Film/TV/Streaming sector who connect other members in their workplace and networks to the union. They work to build...
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Three Daytime Drama writers whose shows were contenders the 2025 Writers Guild Awards join us to discuss their work, how they became daytime drama writers, how the daytime format helps you avoid procrastinating, some favorite plotlines, and much more. Kate Hall is a daytime drama writer whose credits include Days of Our Lives, All My Children, General Hospital, and Young and the Restless. She was nominated for the 2025 Daytime Drama Writers Guild Award for General Hospital. Ron Carlivati is a daytime drama writer who has served as head writer for One Life to Live, General Hospital and...
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Lynn Nottage is joined by Soo Hugh for a conversation about approaches to adaptation for the screen, improving work-life balance by recentering collaboration, building the writers room for a show that spans several languages, countries, and times, and much more. Soo Hugh is a writer, showrunner and producer who cut her screenwriting teeth as a staff writer on shows like the AMC crime drama The Killing, the CBS sci-fi series Under the Dome. She then went on to serve as creator and showrunner for ABC’s 2015 sci-fi series The Whispers and as the co-showrunner for the first season of the...
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The five contenders for Digital News at the 2025 Writers Guild Awards sit down for a roundtable discussion of their nominated pieces, their writing processes, facing challenges and finding silver linings in the media industry, pre-publication nerves, and much more. The Digital News nominees at the 2025 Writers Guild Awards were Henry Grabar for "Mise-en-Seine: A Paris Olympics Diary" (Slate), Akbar Shahid Ahmed for "What Is Hamas Thinking Now?" for (HuffPost), Molly Olmstead for "Sent by God" for (Slate), Jim Newell for "The Unraveling of Nancy Mace" (Slate), and Jaya...
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A special episode featuring a panel of 2025 Writers Guild Award nominees from the original and adapted screenplay categories. Moderator Kathryn VanArendonk, TV critic at Vulture and New York Magazine, moderates a conversation between Justin Kuritzkes, Joslyn Barnes, Ramell Ross, and Dana Fox to talk about their critically and culturally acclaimed screenplays. Justin Kuritzkes is the writer of Challengers. Joslyn Barnes and Ramell Ross are the co-writers of Nickel Boys. Dana Fox is a co-writer and executive producer of Wicked. This episode is a live taping of our annual...
info_outlineJohn Hoffman and Amy Schumer sit down to talk about the joys and challenges of leaning into the personal in your writing, the importance of finding the right collaborators, confronting the hardest parts of life with both vulnerability and confidence, and much more.
John Hoffman is the co-creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed and award-winning comedy-drama mystery series Only Murders in the Building.
Amy Schumer is a writer, actor, director and producer known for creating and starring in the sketch comedy series Inside Amy Schumer, writing and starring in the 2015 comedy film Trainwreck and creating and starring in the comedy-drama series Life & Beth.
Only Murders in the Building and Life & Beth are both currently available to stream on Hulu.
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