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ON THE PAGE: Join professional script consultant Pilar Alessandra as she demystifies screenwriting and answers your questions about script craft and story.

963. The Ultimate Production Planner 11/21/2025

963. The Ultimate Production Planner Filmmaker Landi Maduro walks us through the elements of her Ultimate Feature Film Production Planner which give creatives a timeline to help stay on track and concrete strategies to make their work profitable. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/39109870

962. Supporting the Writers Room 11/14/2025

962. Supporting the Writers Room Writer Brett Melnick (King of the Hill, Dave) walks us through the different jobs and duties of the “support staff” in a writers' room: writers' assistant, showrunner's assistant and script coordinator. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/39021580

961. A Clear Message 11/07/2025

961. A Clear Message Writer/director Rhona Rees knows what she wants to say before she writes. Here she talks about her award-winning dystopian thriller and her newly completed high-concept comedy, both driven by big issues and a strong message. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38935205

960. The Autism Scene 10/31/2025

960. The Autism Scene Entertainment attorney Britton Payne talks about his work with The Autism Scene, a nonprofit advocating for the inclusion of explicitly autistic characters in kids pop culture. Check out his new competition the AuSPEC AWARDS, a kids animated series spec script competition which requires a series regular meaningfully interacting with an explicitly autistic character. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38848120

959. LaToya Morgan: Fifteen Years Later 10/24/2025

959. LaToya Morgan: Fifteen Years Later What happens when you’re feeling discouraged in your writing career? You “persevere” and eventually carve out a career like writer-producer LaToya Morgan (Shameless, Parenthood, The Walking Dead, Duster). We read her fifteen-year-old letter to the podcast and talk about what happened next! /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38764425

958. A Social Commentary 10/17/2025

958. A Social Commentary Writer Lori Rosene-Gambino does not back down from adding social commentary into her fictional narratives. Hear what she has to say about her movie Anniversary, directed by Jan Komasa and starring Diane Lane. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38612060

957. The "Strange Alchemy" of Playwriting 10/12/2025

957. The "Strange Alchemy" of Playwriting Krista Knight discussed her work as a playwright, screenwriter, and new media artist, including scripting a ride for Tokyo Disneyland, adapting Trolls for DreamWorks/Music Theatre International, writing a stage musical with the late Jill Sobule and creating a VR puppet play during the Covid lockdown. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38525130

956. Epic Intimacy 10/03/2025

956. Epic Intimacy Writers Jake Emanuel and Willie Block talk about the “epic intimacy" they created for their fictional podcast Edge of Sleep which went on to become a book and television show. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38403590

955. Writing a Movie While Staffed in the Room 09/26/2025

955. Writing a Movie While Staffed in the Room Rae Benjamin (The Witcher, Sirens of the Deep) says she’s “inspired by stories and characters” and isn’t afraid to explore any medium to get there. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38356970

954. Trial by Fire 09/19/2025

954. Trial by Fire What happens when fire breaks out on the first day of your film shoot? Writer/director John W. Kim talks about that and other challenges that went into the writing, directing and producing of his independent film Reunion (currently in post-production). /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38274665

953. Your Creative Side-Hustle 09/12/2025

953. Your Creative Side-Hustle Filmmaker Michelle Muldoon joins Pilar to talk about all of the ways your storytelling and creativity can be applied to other creative work that, in turn, helps fuel your script writing. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38143545

952. On a Wing and a Prayer 09/05/2025

952. On a Wing and a Prayer Producer Lauren Vilchik talks about the love and hard work it took to make the movie A Little Prayer, currently in theaters. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/38088920

951. Screenwriting Sensei 08/29/2025

951. Screenwriting Sensei Writer and UCLA Professor Paul Chitlik talks about his newest book, The Screenwriting Sensei, which takes screenwriters from start to finish. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37959500

950. Loglining a Life (with Pilar’s Dad) 08/22/2025

950. Loglining a Life (with Pilar’s Dad) As she did with her mother, Pilar learns about her father through a series of “loglines” discussing the movie-worthy moments in his life. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37917695

949. Graham Yost 08/15/2025

949. Graham Yost This week’s writing wisdom is brought to you by the writer/producer of Speed, Broken Arrow, From The Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers, Sneaky Pete, Slow Horses, Silo and more! /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37824820

948. Art Can Start With a Joke 08/08/2025

948. Art Can Start With a Joke Actor / writer Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher, Lessons In Chemistry) talks about the jokes and ideas that inspired her to write and the confidence she has in creating her own content. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37726375

947. Fact Meets Fiction 08/01/2025

947. Fact Meets Fiction A real-life UFO sighting combined with knowledge of the addiction world helped to create the fictional independent movie Star People written and directed by filmmaker Adam Finberg. Here Adam talks about the story process for the movie and how it evolved from script to screen. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37592990

946. Shared Equity Filmmaking 07/25/2025

946. Shared Equity Filmmaking Film entrepreneur Gray Jones discusses the new platform Share which aims to split film profits with everyone involved - above and below the line. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37529680

945: "You Are Your Own Business” 07/18/2025

945: "You Are Your Own Business” Writer Melissa Cassera, who now has 14 Lifetime movies to her credit, discusses her businessperson’s approach to getting and keeping work and the need to stay “obsessed” as an artist. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37449305

944. Vertical Films 07/11/2025

944. Vertical Films Writers George N Koulouris and Will Amato talk about the fun and work that go into writing short, entertaining content for “vertical films.” /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37359045

943. Adventures in Screenwriting 07/04/2025

943. Adventures in Screenwriting Writer/producer David Simkins (Adventures in Babysitting, Charmed, Grimm, Blade, Roswell, Angel) talks about his start as a screenwriter and his evolving process of writing his “core story." /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37282455

942. Truffle Hunting 06/27/2025

942. Truffle Hunting From development funds to film markets, Frederik Ehrhardt talks about what it’s like to write and produce in the United States and Europe. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37119675

941. The Fab Five 06/20/2025

941. The Fab Five The five writers selected for the 2025 CBS/Paramount Writers Mentoring Program talk about the craft and career lessons they’ve learned from the program and each other. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/37040540

940. Young Storytellers 06/13/2025

940. Young Storytellers Bill Thompson discusses his exceptional arts non-profit Young Storytellers and the new report, Growing Pains, which centers around the concerns and tastes of Gen Alpha. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/36965300

939. “What’s the Most Interesting Version of This?” 06/06/2025

939. “What’s the Most Interesting Version of This?” From procedurals to features, writer David Loong (The Hunting Party) challenges himself to find the most creative way to tell a story. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/36877360

938. The Perfect Song 05/30/2025

938. The Perfect Song Pilar hijacks the Rock Solid Podcast listeners to curate a list of perfect songs from iconic movies. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/36781855

937. Scripts with a Conscience 05/23/2025

937. Scripts with a Conscience Writer Troy Mann combines his Texas roots with his world travel and years of teaching experience to create genre scripts that are also intense morality tales. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/36656100

936. The Happiest Killer 05/16/2025

936. The Happiest Killer Writer/director Josh Stolberg (Saw X, Spiral and Jigsaw) returns to talk about the July release of his next indi-horror movie Skillhouse. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/36591005

935. Finding Story from Family 05/09/2025

935. Finding Story from Family Narrative and documentary filmmaker Oanh-Nhi Nguyen makes movies about her family, their past and the intergenerational experience. Here she talks about what she’s learned as a writer-director and how she makes sure that networking is a regular part of her process. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/36444375

934. Disaster is My Muse 05/02/2025

934. Disaster is My Muse Award-winning documentary director Molly Bernstein discusses the process and narrative approach that went into researching, developing and directing her documentaries about Maus creator Art Spiegelman and magician Ricky Jay. /episode/index/show/onthepage/id/36393295

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