The Writers Panel with Ben Blacker

The screenwriter of Nerve, Speak, and other features, as well as American Horror Story writer and producer, discusses writing and directing, presenting psychological states in scripts, her process, her beginnings, and more. 

Direct download: nwp285_sharzer.mp3
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Javier Grillo-Marxuach (creator, The Middleman), Brian Michael Bendis (creator of Jessica Jones and Powers), and Rosemary Rodriguez (director, Jessica Jones) discuss how a storyteller infuses his or her own voice into an often stylized and specific world while still satisfying a pre-existing (and passionate) fan base, adapting one highly visual format to another, and what makes TV such an appealing medium for exploring these fantastical series.

Recorded at ATX Television Festival on June 10, 2016. Get your badge now for ATX's sixth season, June 8-11 2017, at http://atxfestival.com/

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After more than a decade of reporting crime from the streets of Baltimore, how did a career journalist like David Simon learn to navigate a TV writers’ room? The outcome was in no small part due to the indispensable guidance of veteran TV producer Tom Fontana. Together, they brought Simon’s realistic characterization to Homicide: Life on the Street. Separately, the two would go on to create series that defined HBO and stand out as part of the TV revolution: Oz and The Wire. Join Simon and Fontana as they reflect on their earlier and vastly different experiences in the realm of 90s broadcast TV.

Moderated by Beau Willimon (creator, House of Cards) Recorded at ATX Television Festival on June 11, 2016.

Get your badge now for ATX's sixth season, June 8-11 2017, at http://atxfestival.com/

Direct download: nwp283_simon_fontana.mp3
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The creator of Six Feet Under and True Blood discusses the creation of his seminal HBO series, exploring death, working with actors, swinging 180 degrees for his vampire soap opera, writing American Beauty in reaction to his experiences on sit-coms like Grace Under Fire, and more.

Direct download: nwp282_alan_ball.mp3
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Norman Lear (creator of All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude, One Day at a Time, and more) is interviewed by Katey Sagal (actor, Married with Children, Sons of Anarchy) following a screening of the new documentary about Lear, Just Another Version of You. Then, Lear is joined by Nahnatchka Khan (creator, Fresh Off the Boat), David Windsor (executive producer, The Real O’Neals), Phil Rosenthal (creator, Everybody Loves Raymond), and Hollis Rich (co-creator, State of Grace) for a conversation about “The New American Family” and its portrayal in TV comedies. Moderated by Variety's Debra Birnbaum. Recorded at ATX Television Festival on June 10, 2016. Plus: amazing cover of the All in the Family theme by Jean Grae and Ted Leo!

Get your badge now for ATX's sixth season, June 8-11 2017, at http://atxfestival.com/

Direct download: nwp281_lear.mp3
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The best-selling authors of House of Secrets discuss what each of them brings to their co-writing, learning from each other, comic books, and more.

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WGA vice-president David Goodman (Family Guy) and David Slack (Person of Interest; Teen Titans Go!) take a good look at the Writers Guild and discuss why writers need a union, what the union does, what was gained by the 2008 writers' strike, and how the union might improve.

Direct download: nwp279_goodman_slack.mp3
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The showrunner of Veep discusses taking over those duties in the just-aired season 5, early writing opportunities with Al Franken, his three years on Saturday Night Live, his time on Seinfeld, scripting Curb Your Enthusiasm, and lots more.

Direct download: nwp278_mandel.mp3
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Head writer Matt O'Brien, Mike Sweeney, Todd Levin, Dan Cronin, Jessie Gaskill, Jose Arroyo, Leah Krinsky, Levi MacDougall, and Andres Dubouchet.

Recorded April 14, 2016 at the Nerdist Theater at Meltdown Comics.

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Joe Pokaski (creator, Underground), Mike O'Malley (Shameless; creator, Survivor's Remorse), Stephnie Weir (MadTV; The Millers), and Hugh Sterbakov (Robot Chicken). Recorded April 24, 2016 at the Nerdist Theater at Meltdown Comics.

Direct download: nwp275_poaski_omalley_weir_sterbakov.mp3
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