This week, host Gray Jones interviews Ali Laventhol, most recently co-executive producer on ‘Ginny & Georgia‘ with her writing partner Tawnya Bhattacharya of Script Anatomy.
Ali Laventhol Biography
Ali Laventhol got her start in show business working on movies like ‘National Treasure: Book of Secrets,’ ‘Terminator: Salvation‘ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.’ Only not as a writer. She was a visual effects compositor for features, commercials and music videos before making the leap to her original love: writing.
Teaming up with Tawnya Bhattacharya and together attending the NBC Writers on the Verge writing fellowship led to staff gigs on shows like ‘A Million Little Things,’ ‘Famous In Love,’ ‘Perception,’ and ‘The Client List.’ Most recently the duo have been Co-Executive Producers for ‘Ginny & Georgia‘ at Netflix and ‘Salsa’ at Apple.
A former competitive equestrian and certified massage therapist, Ali currently teaches TV writing at Script Anatomy. Her free time is generally spent playing in local tennis leagues or with her rescue mutt, Mavis, who has her extremely well trained.
INDEX TO THE EPISODE:
0:04 – Intro, special discounts for podcast listeners – 15% off photo & video scanning/importing at avgearguy.com, and 20% off 9-angle driving plates at drivingfootage.com.
3:41 – Interview start, Ali’s background in visual effects.
10:22 – How she made the career transition into writing.
11:50 – Building a writing partnership with Tawnya Bhattacharya, after meeting her at Writers Boot Camp in 2005.
13:57 – How they got into NBC’s Writers on the Verge, and their experience in the writing fellowship, including getting representation and their first job. Discussion about being in a writing partnership.
19:30 – Her experience on their first staff job, ‘Fairly Legal.’
22:08 – Signposts of their subsequent 8 year successful run, going from one show to another.
25:07 – Discussing producer responsibilities, like visiting set, casting, etc.
27:35 – Their more recent projects, discussing different showrunning styles.
30:40 – Co-executive producing on ‘Ginny & Georgia’ and their most recent project for AppleTV, which was primarily developed over Zoom in a mini-room format.
33:43 – Script tips based on her wealth of experience reading scripts, and coaching and teaching through Script Anatomy.
36:51 – What Script Anatomy offers writers.
39:55 – The most common advice she gives newer writers.
46:37 – Do you really need to go to film school?
48:09 – What does she wish she had known at the start of her career, that she knows now: how different each showrunner is.
49:52 – What helps to get through the harder times?
51:13 – End of interview, how to connect with her.
Follow Ali on Twitter: @AliLaventhol.
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