Austin Film Festival's On Story

Austin Film Festival's On Story Podcast is the companion to Austin Film Festival's television show, On Story. Get an uncensored inside look at the creative process of filmmaking through the eyes of some of the entertainment industry's most prolific writers, directors and producers.

Film to TV Adaptations: A Conversation with Noah Hawley 12/25/2024

Watchmen, with Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson 12/04/2024

A Conversation with So Young Shelly Yo 11/06/2024

Adapting Period Pieces, with Alison Eakle and Evan Romansky 10/30/2024

Tales from Texas Film Offices, Presented by TXAFC 09/11/2024

A Conversation with Lee Eisenberg 08/28/2024

A Conversation with Lee Eisenberg This week on On Story, a conversation with Lee Eisenberg about the launch of his comedy writing career. Eisenberg and his writing partner Gene Stupnitsky broke into the industry with their adventure-comedy screenplay, Year One, an irreverent retelling of the Book of Genesis in which they collaborated with the iconic comedian and filmmaker, Harold Ramis, who went onto direct the film for the Apatow Company. In tandem writing with Year One, Lee and Gene were staffed on season two of the notorious comedy television hit, The Office, where they wrote for five hilarious seasons. Masters of craft and discomfort comedy, stories that bring audiences right to the edge of unbearable cringe before easing them with a laugh, Lee and Gene wrote many celebrated teleplays for The Office, including Dinner Party, The Lover, and audience favorite Scott's Tots, in which Michael Scott realizes he cannot fulfill his long-time promise to pay the college tuition of local students. Eisenberg discusses his process of co-writing these scripts and the importance of leaving pathos and humanity into the most cringey comedic protagonists. Eisenberg also expands on his and Gene's process creating the out-of-the-box reality hoax sitcom, Jury Duty, in which Ronald Gladden, appearing as himself, was unaware that the entire case and jury proceeding had been staged. The one-of-a-kind comedy series was nominated for both Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. Lastly, Eisenberg elaborates on his latest project: developing the historical drama miniseries Lessons in Chemistry, based on the bestselling book of the same name. Eisenberg reveals how the artistry of the novel not only sparked his genre switch, but inspired him to subtly impart aspects of his lived experience into the Apple TV series. The Office clips courtesy of NBC. Jury Duty clips courtesy of Amazon Freevee. Good Boys clips courtesy of Universal Pictures. Lessons in Chemistry clips courtesy of Apple TV. /episode/index/show/austinfilm/id/32772032

A Conversation with Karyn Kusama 08/07/2024

The Bikeriders, with Jeff Nichols 07/31/2024

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, with Tommy Lee Jones 06/12/2024

A Conversation with Katrin Benedikt 06/05/2024

Finestkind, with Brian Helgeland 04/17/2024

Past Lives, with Celine Song 04/10/2024

American Fiction, with Cord Jefferson 02/28/2024

The Bear, with Joanna Calo 02/21/2024

Contact, with James V. Hart 02/12/2024

Iron Man 3 w/Shane Black 01/31/2024

Dolemite is My Name w/Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, and Craig Brewer 01/10/2024

Lawmen: Bass Reeves w/Chad Feehan, Christina Voros, and Damian Marcano 12/06/2023

Justified, with VJ Boyd and Chris Provenzano 11/29/2023

A Conversation with Edward Neumeier 08/16/2023

'Never Have I Ever' with Lang Fisher 07/26/2023

A Conversation with Noah Harpster & Micah Fitzerman-Blue 07/07/2023

A Conversation with Stephen Merchant 06/21/2023

A Conversation with Stephen Merchant This week on On Story, we're joined by the comedic genius Stephen Merchant for a conversation on his impressive career in television. Perhaps best known for co-creating (with Ricky Gervais) BBC's The Office, Merchant's work writing and directing the critically acclaimed show attributed to the series earning multiple comedy awards, including three BAFTA awards, two British Comedy awards, two Golden Globe awards, a Primetime Emmy, and a Peabody Award, all before Merchant served as the executive producer on the immensely successful adaptation. The US series was a long-running hit, receiving five Primetime Emmy awards and forty-two nominations of its own during its run on NBC. Other pillars in Merchant's career include starring, co-creating, co-writing and directing the HBO series Hello Ladies, a sitcom based on Merchant's stand-up show of the same name. Currently, Merchant serves as the co-creator, executive producer, writer, director and star of his newest series, The Outlaws. Co-created with Elgin James, the crime thriller and comedic television show follows seven very different strangers who are sentenced to community service as payback for their various crimes. Yet things certainly take a turn when the group discovers a bag full of money, unaware of its dangerous owners, in this hit co-production from BBC One and Amazon Studios. A pivotal creative in the world of comedy, AFF was delighted to honor Merchant as the recipient of AFF’s Outstanding Television Writer Award, a distinction awarded annually to recognize excellence in the television industry. Merchant certainly demonstrates excellence, not only from his impressive collection of awards and accolades, but also through his various titles, roles, and hats, including actor, stand-up comedian, writer, director, and producer, thereby cementing his reputation as one of the most versatile talents in TV and film. Barbara Morgan sat down with Merchant during the 2022 Austin Film Festival for an in-depth conversation on both his creative process and career, eager to hear more on Merchant’s practice of crafting relatable characters, how he found comedic inspiration from drama, and most of all, how he established himself as one of television’s leading comedic voices. So sit back and have a laugh as we talk all things comedy with Stephen Merchant. Clips of The Outlaws courtesy of Amazon Studios. Clips of Hello Ladies courtesy of Home Box Office, Inc. Clips of The Office courtesy of British Broadcasting Corporation. /episode/index/show/austinfilm/id/27227310

A Conversation with James Gray 06/08/2023

A Conversation with James Gray This week on On Story, a conversation with acclaimed writer, director, and producer James Gray to discuss not only his artistic process, but how he established himself as one the industry’s most talented writer-directors. A true visionary, Gray made his directorial debut with his celebrated film Little Odessa, which earned him nominations for both Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay at the 1994 Independent Spirit Awards. Other esteemed features in Gray’s canon include The Yards, starring Joaquin Phoenix, who is in fact a frequent collaborator of Gray’s, and We Own the Night, starring Mark Wahlberg, in addition to his films, Two Lovers, The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z, and Ad Astra, all of which set the bar for both screenwriting and direction. Gray’s most recent feature, Armageddon Time, is a deeply personal film inspired by Gray’s childhood. A reflection on the strength of family, the complexity of friendship, and the realities of class as seen through the eyes of a young Jewish boy growing up in 1980s Queens, the film’s star-studded cast includes leading actors Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway, and Jeremy Strong. In addition to speaking with Gray on his process of writing and directing each of his seven critically-acclaimed feature films, AFF was eager to honor Gray with our coveted Bill Wittliff Award for Screenwriting, an annual award presented to leading storytellers within film, television and new media. Gray adds this accolade to his five Palme d’Or nominations, as well as the Silver Lion Award. During our annual Writers Conference, Barbara Morgan sat down with Gray to discuss how he became a pillar of American filmmaking. Ad Astra clips courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Little Odessa clips courtesy of Fine Line Features. Lost City of Z clips courtesy of Sierra Afinity, LLC. We Own the Night clips courtesy of Columbia Pictures. /episode/index/show/austinfilm/id/27084438

Kandahar Q&A with Ric Roman Waugh 05/17/2023

A Conversation with Alec Berg 05/04/2023

The Inspection Q&A with Elegance Bratton and Raúl Castillo 04/19/2023

The Inspection Q&A with Elegance Bratton and Raúl Castillo This week on On Story, AFF Moderator Andy Volk sat down with writer-director Elegance Bratton and actor Raúl Castillo for a post-screening Q&A of their latest feature film, The Inspection. Released last November by A24, The Inspection is an absolutely heart-wrenching drama inspired by Bratton's own experience. The film follows Ellis French, a young, gay black man played by Tony-nominated actor Jeremy Pope who is rejected by his mother and family. With very few options for his future, Ellis joins the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that has cast him aside. This deeply moving film is a sharp look at how one can find strength, support, and a sense of belonging in the most unexpected places. Just as inspiring as the film is Elegance Bratton's own artistic trajectory, which exemplifies perseverance and determination in creation. Bratton began making films while serving as a US Marine after spending a decade homeless. Now an acclaimed, boundary-breaking director, writer, and producer, Bratton's films have played at over two hundred film festivals worldwide, including Sundance, Outfest, BFI, New York City, Black Star Film Festival, and of course, at the Austin Film Festival. Beyond Bratton's festival success, he made his television debut as the creator and executive producer of the Viceland series, My House, which was nominated in 2019 for the GLAAD Media Award's Outstanding Documentary category. Additionally, his 2019 documentary, Pier Kids, made its streaming debut in August of 2021. Also in 2021, Bratton received the Film Independent Truer than Fiction Spirit Award presented to emerging directors of non-fiction features. And let's not forget that Bratton holds degrees from both Columbia University and the NYU Tisch Graduate School of Film. Yet summing up Elegance by merely his degrees, accolades, and awards does not provide the full picture. A master of harvesting film narratives and the overlooked stories right in front of us, Elegance uses his vision to highlight the universal power of our shared humanity. Joining Bratton is actor, playwright, and Texas's own Raúl Castillo. Castillo stars in the film as Rosales, a drill instructor who takes French under his wing. Castillo's artful performance is a nuanced depiction of masculinity and vulnerability, subverting traditional narratives through the duality of Rosales's stern yet nurturing mentorship, a complexity Castillo was eager to explore. Known for his starring roles in Amexicano, Cold Weather, We Are the Animals, as well as his role as Richie Donado Ventura in the HBO series, Looking, Castillo is known for his truthful embodiments of complex masculinity. Originally a playwright, Castillo has brought authentic Latinx stories to off-Broadway stages through his plays Border Stories, a trio of one-acts about life at the US-Mexico border, Knives and Other Sharp Objects, which premiered at the Public Theater in New York City, and his dark comedic family drama, Between You, Me, and the Lampshade, developed with the Atlantic Theater Company. We were thrilled to have both Elegance and Raúl, two exceptional storytellers, at the Austin Film Festival to speak to their creative process behind the film. So, do I have your attention yet? Are you standing at attention? Good. Let's dive deeper into The Inspection. Clips of The Inspection courtesy of A24. /episode/index/show/austinfilm/id/26593830

Armageddon Time Q&A with James Gray 04/05/2023

Women Talking Q&A with Dede Gardner and Sarah Polley 03/15/2023

Women Talking Q&A with Dede Gardner and Sarah Polley This week on On Story, it's all about Women Talking, and I'm not just referencing our powerhouse guests, Academy Award-winning producer Dede Gardner and Oscar-nominated writer-director Sarah Polley, but also their newest film collaboration and adaptation, Women Talking. Women Talking is a drama feature based on Miriam Toews' critically acclaimed novel of the same name. Inspired by true events from a sequestered community in Bolivia, the film follows a group of women in an isolated religious colony as they struggle to reconcile their faith amidst a series of assaults committed by the colony's men. This raw and vulnerable look at domestic violence is ultimately a story of women's resilience, and it's beautifully portrayed by leading actors Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessica Buckley, Judith Ivey and Frances McDormand. Austin Film Festival was thrilled to include this powerful film in our 2022 film slate. But a little more on the women talking in this post-screening Q&A. AFF was honored to award Dede Gardner with the 2022 Polly Platt Award for Producing, an Austin Film Festival award intended to recognize producers with a keen sense of story who have demonstrated a commitment to fostering new talent. Throughout her career, Gardner has produced many Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning films, including pioneering work such as Minari, If Beale Street Could Talk, Moonlight, The Big Short, Vice, Selma, 12 Years a Slave, And Terrence Malick's Palme d'Or winner, The Tree of Life. Her recent television releases include HBO's limited series, The Third Day, as well as the Amazon series, The Underground Railroad, and Outer Range. Joining Gardner is Women Talking's writer-director, Sarah Polley. Formerly an actress known for her leading role in the television series, Ramona, Polley made her directorial debut with her film, Away from Her, which was Oscar-nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Polley also received the Writer's Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay for her doc, Stories We Tell. Most recently, she executive-produced and wrote the Netflix limited series, Alias Grace, which she adapted from Margaret Atwood's novel. In short, Sarah Polley is a master at taking existing stories and filtering them through a lens of her own. AFF moderator Marissa Padden spoke with Dede Gardner and Sarah Polley after their screening at this year's Austin Film Festival to give our audience an insider's look at the art of adaptation and to host an honest conversation about tackling stories with difficult subjects. Sh! The women are talking, it's time to listen. Clips of Women Talking courtesy of United Artists Releasing. /episode/index/show/austinfilm/id/26241666

Nanny Q&A with Nikyatu Jusu 03/08/2023

Austin Film Festival's On Story

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