The Writers Panel

Writer/director Alex Russell (Lurker; The Bear; Beef) discusses why he directed his own script, writing the unspoken, an apt metaphor for discovering story, his Frankenstein approach to outlining, and more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.
Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ponies creators Susanna Fogel and David Iserson (The Spy Who Dumped Me) discuss how they collaborate, the long road to Ponies, comedy with stakes, American culture through a funhouse mirror, genre as a way of writing about relationships and politics, why pitching is a scam, and more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.
Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/director Gordon Smith (Pluribus; Better Call Saul) discusses what gives Pluribus legs, story as algorithm, a non-mystery mystery, some great directing advice that's really storytelling advice, parsing notes, getting sand in your eyes, and more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.
Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/director Craig Brewer (Song Sung Blue; Hustle and Flow; Dolemite Is My Name) discusses making a narrative out of the Song Sung Blue documentary, how it's autobiographical, finding career inspiration in Amadeus, his writing process, "The Shelf," non-musical musicals, the beauty of "Save As," the Faustian bargain of making art, and lots more. Don't skip this one.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.
Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benito Skinner (creator/star of Overcompensating) discusses creating an honest coming-out story, translating his stand up show to a TV pilot, learning from Shonda Rhimes, writing about gray areas, inhabiting characters, the state of TV comedy, and more.

THE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.
Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.com

SOCIALS:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bablacker/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.