Take a break! Eat dinner with your family! Hangout with that friend! We promise you’ll still get your writing done. In this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the importance of self-care in a post-strike world, and the various strategies they use to relieve the ever-present pressure of work work work. Step one: acknowledging that you need self-care in the first place! TWIW: Josh experiences notes in real time. Tasha feels pressure to make her next spec definitive while also finish...
Oct 09, 2023•27 min•Season 4Ep. 39
Writing a Pilot is one of the more difficult undertakings of a Screenwriter. It must set up an entire series without revealing too much of the series journey, engage the audience with questions, but not leave enough questions to be confusing. A great pilot starts with a great outline. In this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss how TV Pilots are broken and outlined in a professional writer's room, and how to take those lessons with you to your own personal pilot process. TWIW: the ...
Oct 02, 2023•54 min•Season 4Ep. 38
A great villain is the hero of their own story. Search for their humanity and discover what makes them your hero’s shadow self . Plus, Elemental and the lost art of word of mouth marketing. TWIW: Josh achieves #couplegoals. Tasha struggles to finish her short story, but finds hope in her calendar of all places. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Sep 25, 2023•47 min•Season 4Ep. 37
Why is IP important? Do you need it to make a sale? Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down an article by Steven Hartman, the pros and cons of working with IP, and rethinking how to approach adapting one. TWIW: Goal Buddies keep us on track and motivated to solve Act 1 problems, and why you should sit on notes for a day (even if you agree with them). Link to article: https://screencraft.org/blog/is-this-the-end-of-existing-ip-domination/ Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited b...
Sep 18, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 36
There are 5 (Emotional) Stages a Screenwriter goes through in writing their spec. Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down the writer brain at each stage, and how to power through to get that spec done. TWIW: pitching safely vs. pitching for the win, being a Machiavellian writer to avoid notes, and would TAKEN be as iconic without *that* scene? Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist...
Sep 12, 2023•50 min•Season 4Ep. 35
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down the structure and writing lessons Screenwriters can learn from Act One of SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, including how to use blocking and silence to tell your story, how to maximize spare dialogue, and how to use action to advance your story and hide exposition. TWIW: the structure and writing lessons of WAR OF THE WORLDS, and if you were to fire your rep, should you do it during or after the strike? Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com...
Sep 04, 2023•45 min•Season 4Ep. 34
Eliza Clark (Showrunner, Y: THE LAST MAN) wrote a document for her writers on what to do once they were on set to produce their episode of television. The document highlights the incredible importance of a writer on set, and how imperative episodic writers are for Showrunners in production. Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down Clark's list of writer duties on set, and further elucidate the important, unique and difficult job that a writer has in production. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWri...
Aug 29, 2023•59 min•Season 4Ep. 33
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down with Screen and TV writer Jeff Howard (HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, MIDNIGHT MASS, OCULUS, GERALD'S GAME) to talk about his unique story of how he got started (including meeting the Terminator), how he became director Mike Flanagan's writing partner, his own career struggles, and the realities of working in a TV room. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist...
Aug 21, 2023•58 min•Season 4Ep. 32
Jumping off an article posted by NoFilmSchool.com , hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss what Screenwriting imperatives one can learn from dissecting INDIANA JONES movies, including everything from how to introduce characters in an impactful way and how to keep your story moving with an active protagonist. TWIW: Josh was told his characters sound like him, so what is voice and how do you find it in a character? Tasha's TMNT reactions. Tasha's takeaway re: simple storytelling vs. complex stor...
Aug 14, 2023•46 min•Ep. 53
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman sit down with Alyssa Alvarado, the Screenplay Department Director of the Austin Film Festival, to chat about what makes AFF the best festival in the US for Screenwriters and what writers can expect by both applying and attending the festival, including tips on networking successfully while in Austin. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist
Aug 08, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 30
It is the Midpoint of the 2023 Summer Blockbuster season! Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the Barbenheimer phenomenon and what's been good, bad and ugly so far this Summer at the theaters. TWIW: Act Two's Idea Creation Night, Why studios hire A-list writers when a lower-level writer could do the job for cheaper, Favorite MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE titles and why they do/do not work. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist...
Jul 31, 2023•45 min•Season 4Ep. 29
Back by popular demand, Screenwriter Dan Kunka (12 ROUNDS) talks with hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman about his journey through arbitration for his latest film, LIFT, based on his spec, and why more writers need to learn that being rewritten is simply part of the job. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Jul 24, 2023•57 min•Season 4Ep. 28
Screenwriters have been inspired for a long time by JJ Abrams's "Mystery Box" TED Talk from 2007. It gave a glimpse into JJ's genius as a writer whose movies and shows were irresistible and impossibly engaging. In this episode, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman walk through JJ's TED Talk and how and why the "Mystery Box" could make you a better writer. TWIW: SAG-AFTRA has joined the WGA on strike, "Elemental", breaking in through temp agencies, and an Act Two Patreon? Questions / Comments: ActTwo...
Jul 17, 2023•52 min•Season 4Ep. 27
As huge genre fans, hosts Tasha Huo & Josh Hallman discuss their thoughts on FLASH and INDIANA JONES: DIAL OF DESTINY. *Spoilers definitely ahead, beware!* TWIW: Quiet Writers vs. Loud Writers in a TV Writer's Room, that time Josh saw INCEPTION with Christopher Nolan, and NO HARD FEELINGS (with Jennifer Lawrence) Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg...
Jul 10, 2023•55 min•Season 4Ep. 26
It's a blockbuster Summer like we haven't seen in years. Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the Summer 2023 line-up and what are the must-sees in theater. TWIW: the unlikely origin story of a Fast & Furious cast member, and different structures writers use to write. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Jun 27, 2023•48 min•Season 4Ep. 24
This Week in Writing includes wildly different reviews of Spiderverse by hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman, Hollywood books that have made it on their reading lists, the DGA agreement and AI, and the State of the (Screenwriter) Union. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Jun 20, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 23
What are the main tenets when writing a short film? Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss what you should be thinking about as you embark on writing your short film in terms of story, character and structure. TWIW: ChatGPT writes "Black Mirror" episodes and BURN IT DOWN by Maureen Ryan and toxicity in writers rooms. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg...
Jun 12, 2023•40 min•Season 4Ep. 22
What is Arbitration, how does it work, and what does a Screenwriter have to do when it happens to them? Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss Tasha's recent (and first!) arbitration experience trying to retain credit on one of her features, breaking the process down from start to finish. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Jun 06, 2023•50 min•Season 4Ep. 52
After a day of picketing, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman chat about what it's like to picket and how WGA writers they talked to are currently feeling about the strike. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
May 30, 2023•40 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Hosts Tasha Huo & Josh Hallman discuss a blog post by Final Draft about 5 Ways to stretch your Screenwriting muscles every day so you never lose writing momentum, even on days you don't feel like writing. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg...
May 22, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 19
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss how Screen and TV writers get paid, and why the pay system can make it difficult to grow your Screenwriting career. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
May 16, 2023•46 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss how the WGA Strike has affected them and their projects, and suggest resources for WGA and pre-WGA writers to learn more about the Strike, why it's happening, and how it can affect them. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
May 08, 2023•22 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss the MARIO movie, 3 different kinds of note-taking writer personalities, the hopeful future of movie theaters, and Josh's first visit to a David H. Steinberg Writer Meet-Up. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
May 01, 2023•50 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Back by popular demand... In part two of a series, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss Hollywood phrases that producers, studio execs, and reps say to writers. They discuss what they mean, where they're coming from, and how to address them as a writer. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Apr 24, 2023•50 min•Season 4Ep. 15
Hollywood has its own language that writers must learn to speak in order to succeed. In this Part One of a series, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss some of the most-used phrases that producers, studio execs and reps say to writers. They discuss what they mean, where they're coming from, and how to address them as a writer. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg...
Apr 17, 2023•54 min•Season 4Ep. 14
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman have been in the same Writer's Group together since 2009. They discuss how their group started, how they function from week to week, and the Do's and Don'ts that have kept their group running smoothly. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Apr 11, 2023•59 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss how they go about writing heists. Having written a few heists between them, both for film and TV, Tasha and Josh break down the first steps they take to organize and plot their heist before going to script. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Apr 04, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman discuss Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and how you can apply it to your Screenwriting career. Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Mar 27, 2023•35 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down what it means to "hustle" as a Screenwriter. TWIW: What writers can learn from actors on pitching, How pitching a movie requires multiple skills as a writer so get good at all of them, and the writer term "Is it a bug or a feature?" Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist Music by 414Beg
Mar 20, 2023•40 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman talk about what we can learn about how actors look at writing, discuss whether specs are necessary for a successful Screenwriting career, how to sell a script in animation and more This Weeks in Writing! Questions/Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the great Paul Lundquist Music by 414beg
Mar 13, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 9
