703. Crosby Selander and the Seven Figure Deal
After years of hard work and hustle, writer Crosby Selander defied the odds and sold his script in a major bidding war to Legendary Pictures. Hear how he did it and cleared that “final hurdle!"

After years of hard work and hustle, writer Crosby Selander defied the odds and sold his script in a major bidding war to Legendary Pictures. Hear how he did it and cleared that “final hurdle!"
Award-winning Brazilian writer Rosane Svartman talks about the story work that goes into writing 155 episodes of one season of a prime-time telenovela.
Hunter Doohan discusses what he’s learned as an actor and as a writer from portraying the role of Adam opposite Bryan Cranston on the Showtime series Your Honor.
Mitch Lusas, Head of Product fo r Coverfly , talks about his company’s approach to finding talent and helping writers.
JaNeika and JaSheika James, co-executive producers of Gossip Girl , talk about the life and career experiences that went into their inspiring memoir, Living Double .
Pilar reads and gives feedback on the loglines that didn’t make the consider or recommend list for the 2020 Logline Contest.
Pilar and Aadip evaluate loglines sent in by listeners. Who will get a consider, recommend or pass?
Career coach Lee Jessup returns to discuss the writing trends popular in 2020 and shares what’s ahead for the new year.
With a little help from Michael Bay, Adam Mason and Simon Boyes wrote and produced a movie about the pandemic during the pandemic. Hear how both the story and the production of their movie, Songbird , adapted to the real-life events happening around them.
Alexander Troxler reached out to other writers during the lockdown and ended up with a collaborative tv pilot and a whole new kind of writers’ room.
Stress relief expert Suzanne Gundersen talks about how writers can overcome writer's block by dealing with their fear, grief and anxiety.
Announcement of the deadline and rules for the 2020 Logline Competition. Plus a replay of last year’s bonus episode to remind you of 10 patterns to help build your logline.
Whether she’s writing on the prequel to Game of Thrones , helping adapt Daisy Jones and The Six for Reese Witherspoon’s company or developing a feature film for Margot Robbie, it all comes down to one thing for writer Charmaine DeGrate: theme.
David Newhoff, author of Who Invented Oscar Wilde , dives deep into the history of copyright and the protection issues writers and creatives still deal with today.
Making movies. Making film festivals. Tony Gapastione of Bravemaker Productions talks about the many things he’s learned as he creates and curates short films and features.
Free-writing, fun writing and brain dumps! Writer/comedian Marc Warzecha talks about ways you can turn an ordinary subject into a hilarious sketch.
Writer/ Producer Mike Royce talks about the ways that life issues and personal stories in the writers’ room inspire episodes of the shows he’s worked on: One Day at a Time , Enlisted, Men of a Certain Age and Everybody Loves Raymond .
Landi Maduro, director and producer at Bluechild Entertainment, offers advice to new filmmakers about creating the emotion, tone and visual look of their on-screen projects.
Writer Delondra Mesa ( Z-Nation, Step Up ) has paid her dues, working from Zombie-movie writer to Executive Story Editor. Hear how she did it and why she is a better writer because of it!
Writer / producer Erica Rivinoja ( South Park, Clone High, The Last Man on Earth ) has great advice about turning simple kids stories into big movies, finding the funny in a scene and pitching with confidence in the writers room.
Shireen Razack and Angela Harvey, co-chairs of the Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity , talk about issues and problems in the industry facing underrepresented writers and the ways in which their report put hard numbers to the anecdotes.
Writer Tiffany Thomas talks about writing on the reboot of The Proud Family and how working as a sketch comedian helped her on the page and in the writers’ room.
Writer Shannon Houston ( Homecoming, Little Fires Everywhere, Station 11 ) is both a writer on and a fan of the HBO show Lovecraft Country which she describes as "complicated, strange and always unraveling.”
Andrew Chapman, Executive Producer of The Resident, talks about the ways in which the show shines a light on the problems within the medical industry and stresses themes of accountability.
Richard Bosner talks about the ways working as a producer on independent movies like Fruitvale Station , Other People and Mapplethorpe have taught him as a writer and director.
Writer/actor Kemiyondo Coutinho ( MTV’s Undressed, Starz’ Step Up:High Water), talks about the ways that creating content for herself led to her current career as a TV writer.
Writer/Producer Michael Jamin (Tacoma FD, Maron, King of the Hill) talks about relying on the truth when he needs to find the story and the funny for TV or memoir.
Screenwriter Alison Peck, writer of Ugly Dolls and You Can’t Keep a Good Girl Down (in development) talks about her approach to writing story and dance in the new Netflix movie Work It .
Fugitives, murders, UFOs and lost loves! Christine Lenig, Senior Vice President of Cosgrove/Meurer Production, talks about the storytelling that goes into the Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries .
TV showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois ( Claws, Self Made, Criminal Minds, ER ) talks about what she looks for in writers' participation and pages, how she breaks story in the writers’ room and why a writing career is like getting to eat chocolate chip cookies all day.