TV Writer Podcast, Partner of Script Magazine

056 – Brandon David Cole (Bristol Boys)

Gray Jones — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:33:49 +0000

After studying at Tisch School of the Arts in New York, Brandon David Cole set a goal of writing and directing three feature films by the time he was 30. Not only did he hit that goal, but his three indie features, which he also produced and edited, all sold for distribution!

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Brandon David Cole started his filmmaking career making BMX videos at age 14 with his dad’s 2-piece VHS camera. Eventually filmmaking became more of a focus than BMX riding for Brandon and he found himself at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Film & Television program.

After graduation from NYU, Brandon wrote, directed and produced 3 independent feature films, all of which were sold for distribution. He has directed several television commercials and music videos, and edited a long list of reality television shows for MTV, VH1, Discovery, Spike, Speed, MSNBC, G4, Style and E!.

Brandon has made his own dollies, jibs, car mounts other support gear for all three of his feature films, working with machinist friends to create custom rigs. When Brandon bought a Canon 7D DSLR camera and asked his neighbor to build him a shoulder rig in his machine shop, the Midas Mount brand of camera support was born.

In addition to running the camera support brand Midas Mount, Brandon continues to write, produce and direct feature films, documentaries and reality television shows.

For more information about Brandon’s support gear, including the new SnapFocus, go to http://www.midasmount.com.

Follow Brandon on Twitter: @MidasMount.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for several hundred TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com.

Hosted by Gray Jones, the TV Writer Podcast is devoted to interviews with working TV writers. It is brought to you by Script magazine and Scriptmag.com, the leading source for scriptwriting information in print and on the web; and by Final Draft scriptwriting software, the entertainment industry standard for scriptwriting worldwide.

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055 – Jana Sinyor (Dark Oracle, Being Erica)

Gray Jones — Sat, 12 May 2012 04:06:42 +0000

She won an International Emmy Award for her series Dark Oracle, and received 16 Gemini Awards for her series Being Erica. This week, we meet Canadian series creator and showrunner Jana Sinyor!

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After attending McGill for religious studies, it was an epiphany after a tough shift at a call center that led Jana Sinyor to pursue writing for the screen.

In her interview, Jana shares how her time at the Canadian Film Centre and attending screenwriting functions and parties led to her first freelance script for ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation,’ to writing for a children’s series, and then to create her own original series, ‘Dark Oracle,’ which won an International Emmy Award for Best Youth Drama.

Next Jana created the CBC critically-acclaimed one hour drama ‘Being Erica,’ on which she served as Executive Producer and Showrunner. Temple Street Productions produced the series, which subsequently sold to ABC Soapnet and many territories around the world. Being Erica has been nominated for 16 Gemini Awards – winning three. Jana is in active development on a new one hour series for ABC, as well as a new show for CBC with collaborator Aaron Martin.

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054 – Carole Kirschner (Hollywood Game Plan, Showrunner Training Program)

Gray Jones — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 02:38:03 +0000

From executive at Amblin Entertainment to director of the Showrunner Training Program, Carole Kirschner has the goods on how to break in to Hollywood… so much so, she wrote a book about it!

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Carole Kirschner has worked as a senior level television executive for sixteen years. Her posts at CBS and as Vice President of Television at Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment have given her an insider’s angle on how to get in, move up and sell projects. She helped develop award-winning shows like Murphy Brown, Designing Women and Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures. She is also a respected presenter and educator through USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and UCLA Extension, among others.

Carole is the creator of the CBS Diversity Institute Writers Mentoring Program. She also collaborated with writer/producer Jeffrey Melvoin to develop the curriculum for the Writers Guild of America Showrunner Training Program, and as the Director, oversees it.

A regular entertainment industry speaker, Ms. Kirschner leads seminars on how to succeed in Hollywood, including strategic networking, pitching and self-promotion for creative professionals who shy away from promoting themselves. Through her career coaching practice, Park on the Lot, she consults with both Hollywood beginners who need a roadmap on breaking in as well as seasoned writers, executives and other professionals who wish to move up and go bigger. Her book, Hollywood Game Plan: How to Land a Job in Film, TV and Digital Entertainment hit stores March 2012.

Buy Hollywood Game Plan: http://astore.amazon.com/tv-writer-podcast-20/detail/1615930868

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053 – Sterling Anderson (Beyond Screenwriting, The Unit)

Gray Jones — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:25:49 +0000

Sterling Anderson is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated screenwriter, TV writer, and author. His newest book, Beyond Screenwriting, goes where no other industry book goes… into the trenches of today’s writer in Hollywood.

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Sterling Anderson has written for some of the most popular network television shows, such as ‘The Unit‘ on CBS, as well as NBC’s ‘Medium‘ and ‘Heist.’ His teleplay ‘The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn,’ written for CBS and starring Sidney Poitier, received three Emmy nominations and won an Image Award. Sterling’s extensive resume also includes screenplays written for Lions Gate, Disney, HBO, TriStar Pictures and Columbia Pictures.

A graduate in English from St. Mary’s College, the accomplished writer also spent five years teaching screenwriting courses as an adjunct professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Sterling’s first book, ‘Does He Cheat?,’ is a hair-raising, controversial expose on infidelity. He has written three books on writing, ‘Writing Without Fear’ (2010), ‘Beyond Screenwriting‘ (on Kindle and in paperback), and ‘Writing Without Fear: 15 Steps Toward Becoming a Successful (Artist) Writer‘ (on Kindle only). The author often guest lectures and panels on screenwriting at film schools and festivals across the country.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sterling spent his early childhood in Tuskegee, Alabama, before moving to Davis, California. He writes from Los Angeles today. His talents span far outside the world of writing. Sterling has a fifth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and was an award-winning winemaker in Napa Valley.

Follow Sterling on Twitter: @byondscrnwrting

Visit Sterling’s website: sterlingandersonwriter.com

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052 – Daniel Knauf (Carnivale, Bxx: Haunted)

Gray Jones — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:00:37 +0000

For Daniel Knauf, his first TV staff gig wasn’t until his forties, when he sold ‘Carnivàle‘ to HBO… and he’s still breaking barriers today, as he launches a new cutting-edge online experience.

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Today (March 23rd, 2012) is the launch of Bxx: Haunted! Register for your invitation at http://www.bxxweb.com.

To celebrate this innovative new storytelling concept, Gray has an interview with its creator, Daniel Knauf. Daniel is best known for TV show he created, HBO’S Carnivàle.

You’ll love his amazing story!

Follow Daniel on Twitter: @Daniel_Knauf

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051 – Troy Devolld (Dancing With the Stars, Reality TV)

Gray Jones — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:42:25 +0000

Reality TV now represents 57% of American television… and yes, they need writers! This might just be the easiest way to break into the entertainment industry. Want to know more? Find out all the goods on reality TV, with author, writer, and producer Troy Devolld.

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Troy DeVolld is a writer and producer in the reality television genre.

He began his career with Mtv’s Fear and The Osbournes and has gone on to write and/or produce major reality hits Dancing With the Stars, The Surreal Life, Flipping Out, Black Gold and more, including his current show, VH1′s Basketball Wives. In 2009, he was jointly nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his work on Style Network’s Split Ends.

Troy is a graduate of Full Sail University and a member of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Caucus for Producers Writers and Directors, and the WGA West’s Nonfiction Writers Caucus.

Follow Troy on Twitter: @RealityTVTroy

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050 – Kyle Killen (Awake, Lone Star)

Gray Jones — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:08:55 +0000

Four years ago, Kyle Killen faced an ultimatum from his pregnant wife: sell something, or call it quits on this “hobby.” Fast forward to the present: Kyle has sold two features that have gone into production, and sold two pilots that have gone to series. One of those pilots is NBC’s Awake, which has wowed critics and audiences alike.

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Kyle Killen was raised in a small Texas town, but grew up loving movies. He moved to Los Angeles to attend USC film school, but after a series of odd jobs and internships didn’t pan out, he packed his bags and moved back to Texas.

Despite following one of his USC professors’ seemingly counterproductive advice to “quit writing if he could,” Kyle found he couldn’t shake the writing bug. Whenever he tried a new job, he ended up writing about it, and so decided to give Hollywood one more shot.

The only complication: Kyle’s wife was pregnant with twins, and gave him an ultimatum, for sell a script within the next 9 months, or change careers to something more stable. Around 9 months later, Kyla sold the critically acclaimed feature “The Beaver,” which ended up going into production with Jodie Foster as director, and starring Foster and Mel Gibson!

Kyle was on the map, and followed it up by selling the pilot “Lone Star” to Fox, who took it to series, but pulled the plug when the ratings didn’t pan out. They believed in his storytelling, however, and asked him to sign a 2 year overall deal, and come up with a new series.

That series was “Awake,” which just launched Thursday nights on NBC. Critics are calling it the best pilot of this season! If you haven’t had a chance, watch the pilot online, and tune in on Thursday night for the exciting second episode.

Kyla also sold another feature, “Scenic Route,” which is currently in production.

Follow Kyle on Twitter: @killen8

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049 – William Rabkin (Writing the Pilot)

Gray Jones — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:54:24 +0000

5 years ago, a good spec TV script could land you a job on staff. Now, everyone wants spec pilots. So where are the resources on how to write one? Enter William Rabkin: not only has he written and/or produced hundreds of hours of dramatic television, but he literally wrote the book on pilot writing.

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William Rabkin served as showrunner on the long-running Dick Van Dyke mystery series “Diagnosis Murder” and on the action-adventure spectacle “Martial Law.” His many writing and producing credits include “The Glades,” “Monk,” “Psych, “Nero Wolfe,” “Missing,” “Spenser: For Hire,” “seaQuest 2032,” “Hunter” and “The Cosby Mysteries.”

He has also written a dozen network TV pilots. His work has been nominated twice for the Edgar Award for best television episode by the Mystery Writers of America.

Writing the Pilot is not Bill’s first book on TV writing… he also co-wrote Successful Television Writing (2003), with Lee Goldberg. Bill is also the author of the novels “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read,” “Mind Over Magic,” “The Call of the Mild,” “A Fatal Frame of Mind” and “Mind-Altering Murder.”

Bill is the co-creator and co-editor of “The Dead Man,” a monthly series of supernatural action thrillers published by Amazon’s 47North imprint, and has written three instalments.

Rabkin is part of the core faculty of UCR-Palm Desert’s M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts.

Follow Bill on Twitter: @writingthepilot

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048 – Manager Brandy Rivers (Gersh Agency)

Gray Jones — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:57:57 +0000

Brandy Rivers is currently a literary manager/producer at Gersh Agency, working in both film and television. She is responsible for representing authors, screenwriters, and directors as well as developing underlying material including novels, articles, blogs, video games and life rights for production.

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In this interview Brandy goes into great depth about what a manager offers a writer, how they can get you work, what you need to do on your end, and what they’re looking for in taking you on as a client.

Prior to becoming a manager, Brandy worked in development, most recently at Underground Films, a production/management company whose credits include REMEMBER ME, a film she helped oversee from development through post production.

Previously, she worked at Summit Entertainment where she helped develop such projects as the TWILIGHT FRANCHISE, SEX DRIVE, and KNOWING.

She began her career at Jerry Bruckheimer Television where she worked on over 430 hours of primetime network television including the CSI FRANCHISE, WITHOUT A TRACE, COLD CASE, E RING, and CLOSE TO HOME among many others.

Brandy is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina where she received a BA in Psychology and played Division 1 Soccer.

Follow Brandy on Twitter: @brandyrivers8

CONTEST: buy Troy Devolld’s book, “Reality TV: An Insider’s Guide to TV’s Hottest Market,” read it, and submit questions to mail@tvwriterpodcast.com by Monday, February 6th. If you win the random draw, you’ll receive a copy of the new 3rd edition of Pamela Douglas’s book, “Writing the TV Drama Series.”

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047 – Ross Brown (The Cosby Show, Byte-Sized Television)

Gray Jones — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:29:47 +0000

From family TV to teaching web series writing… Ross Brown wrote for some of the biggest family sitcoms of the eighties and nineties, including creating a show that would be the launching pad for Halle Berry‘s career.

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Few of us have more humble beginnings… Ross Brown literally started out on his hands and knees, as a stand-in for a dog in a dog commercial. Clearly there was nowhere to go but up! And up he went, as a 2nd assistant director and then 1st assistant director on such hits as films Private Benjamin and National Lampoon’s Vacation, as well as TV series Knots Landing.

But Ross wanted to write… and write he did. A spec Webster episode led a staff gig on The Cosby Show, followed by The Facts of Life, Who’s The Boss, Step by Step, and many other popular sitcoms. He also created prime time series for ABC, CBS and the WB, such as Living Dolls, in which he helped cast young model Halle Berry in her first acting role.

Ross then began teaching, and expanding his writing horizons. His play Hindsight received two staged readings at the Pasadena Playhouse (Pasadena, California) in July of 2007. His short play Field of Vision was performed in Chicago at the Appetite Theater’s Bruschetta 2008 festival.

Currently Ross is an Assistant Professor of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University in Orange, CA, where he developed a series of cutting-edge courses on creating TV series for the Internet. This series led to his popular book, “Byte-Sized Television: Create Your Own TV Series for the Internet.”

Discover more about Ross at his website: http://bytesized.tv

CONTEST: buy Troy Devolld’s book, “Reality TV: An Insider’s Guide to TV’s Hottest Market,” read it, and submit questions to mail@tvwriterpodcast.com by February 1st. If you win the random draw, you’ll receive a copy of the new 3rd edition of Pamela Douglas’s book, “Writing the TV Drama Series.”

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