One of our most listened to episodes. Two PAGE Awards Judges, Victoria Lucas and Laurie Ashbourne, talk about how they evaluate your screenplays, whether you're just starting or have a script in the competition. You do not want to miss this inside talk. ⭐️ Laurie Ashbourne began her film career in Disney animation, and over the past 20 years, she has worked as a story consultant, writer, and producer for Disney, Amazon, and many independent producers. She has over 30 features and short...
Our guest is screenwriter Matias Caruso who lives in Argentina. Matias taught himself English and how to write screenplays — and after writing and working hard to develop his craft, he wrote an absolutely stunning script called CARNIVAL that won our Grand Prize in 2014. After his win, Carnival was optioned by a PAGE judge and signed by an agent. Matias continues to live in Argentina, and he never moved to the States; he has since had a couple of movies (MAYHEM and WITCH) pro...
We continue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our sponsor, The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, with our guest Angela Bourassa. Angela won the Gold Prize in the Science Fiction category for her script EVERYTHING IS RIGHT UNTIL IT'S WRONG, and under its new title, TURN ME ON; the movie was filmed last year, produced by Truant Pictures and Blue Creek Pictures, directed by Michael Tyburski, and starring Bel Powley and Nick Robinson. It's now in post-production. In additio...
We're going to pause on interviewing the PAGE Award-winning screenwriter series to bring you the latest on the Thelma Todd murder mystery we talked about last December. If you haven't listened to the two-part episode called Thelma Todd's Inexplicable Death In Hollywood's Golden Age, I highly recommend you go back and listen. The episodes aired on December 4th and 11th of 2022. Of all the screenwriter crime stories we have discussed on The Writers' Hangout, the Thelma Todd ...
It is Super Bowl LVII weekend, and we have a treat for you. Our guest is television writer Jason Gavin, who got his big break when he got staffed on a show called Friday Night Lights. Kristin Iversen of Nylon wrote, "Friday Night Lights had achieved a rare trifecta in the world of prestige television: critical acclaim, cultishly adoring fans, and a genuinely wide audience (which, sadly, it didn't have when it aired on network television, but what are you going to do).' Jason's other cre...
We continue celebrating the 20th anniversary of the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards with Davah Avena. Davah took home the 2006 Silver Prize for Best TV Drama Pilot and has risen in television from staff writer to Co-Executive Producer on shows like FIREFLY LANE and ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST. Plus Davah Avena plays YOU WROTE THE EPISODE BUT DO YOU REMEMBER THE EPISODE and might just become our Queen Quiz. 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a re...
We continue to celebrate our sponsor, The PAGE INTERNATIONAL Screenwriting awards 20 Anniversary Celebration, I spoke with our Grand Prize winner Alexandra Qin an independent filmmaker based in New York City with a background in technology, social justice, and visual/ performance art. Her first screenplay, ThirstyGirl, won the 2022 PAGE Grand Prize. A raw, intimate story about addiction, sisterhood, and Asian-American identity, it was heavily inspired by Alexandra's own journey of addiction a...
We continue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our sponsors, The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, by interviewing past winners. Today we have Larry Postel, who took home the PAGE Awards Grand Prize in 2005. Since then, Larry has written four original spec screenplays that have made. Including The Main Event, a Netflix Original; High Holiday, a Peacock Original; Flip Turn, an indie drama available on Amazon; and Sony's 5000 Blankets. 👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to...
In honor of our sponsors, PAGE International Screenwriting Awards , celebrating their 20th anniversary, I'm interviewing some of the competition's winners. Today's guest is Nardeep Khurmi, who won the PAGE 2021' Silver Prize in drama for his screenplay, LAND OF GOLD. LAND OF GOLD also received AT&T's 2021 Untold Stories award, which provides a grant of $1 million to underrepresented filmmakers to make their first feature film. We talk to Nardeep about the making of LAND OF GOLD, ho...
We have a terrific show for you today. As promised, for January 2023, we are doing a series of interviews with PAGE Awards winners. First up is R. Scott Shields who won the PAGE Bronze Prize in 2009 for his beautiful family drama STRAWBERRY MANSION and then won our Grand Prize in 2010 for his animated feature SUPERCAT! Since then, sometimes with representation and sometimes without, Scott went on to write a sci-fi fantasy for Hydraulx Entertainment called JASON AND THE ASTRONAUTS ...
Vertical storytelling is gaining popularity, with more producers—mostly overseas—hiring screenwriters for vertical series. While these projects originated in Asia and the initial pay was low, they now offer fair compensation for authentic work. At The Writers Hangout, we advise writers to write a short to earn produced credits and gain experience, which can open more doors. With the decline of festivals, vertical series are emerging as the new frontier. Mobile reach is extensive and is...
Tragically, on December 14, 2025, Rob and Michele Reiner were fatally stabbed by their son, Nick Reiner. How could something like this happen? To assist in understanding these devastating deaths, our guest is Neal Nordlinger, an author, interventionist, and former film and television producer, as well as the founder of inCrisis Consultants. This organization supports families in navigating treatment options for addiction and mental health. Executive Producer Kristin Overn Executive Producer...
Hang out with Sandy as she discusses the joint statement from WGA East and West about the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix and the hostile takeover by Paramount. Plus, an update on Carl Rinch, the writer/director who embezzled $11 million from Netflix. Carl Rinch’s trial just wrapped up last week. We also share an inspiring story about resilience involving Meryl Streep and Dino De Laurentiis. Executive Producer Kristin Overn Executive Producer and Host Sandy Adomaitis P...
Rewind. On Christmas Eve 2000, Susan Berman, a talented journalist, screenwriter, and author, sadly lost her life at her home on 1527 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills. Susan, the cherished daughter of a mobster and a former dancer, was raised as part of mob royalty, celebrating birthdays with Elvis and Liberace. Her tragic passing deeply affected her friends, leaving us wondering—did Susan ever suspect her killer? Executive Producer Kristin Overn Executive Producer and Host Sandy Adomai...
Sandy shares writing advice from Guillermo del Toro, a talented director, screenwriter, producer, and artist whose incredible work spans horror, fiction, and fairy tales. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1964, del Toro’s passion for film and horror blossomed during his childhood. His unique style beautifully blends genres, often finding grace in the grotesque, and draws inspiration from anime, manga, and Japanese TV. Del Toro has brought to life impressive big-budget movies like Blade II, Hell...
In remembrance of the wonderful writer, director, and actor Adrienne Shelly, we're excited to share again The Writers' Hangout Episode dedicated to her story, which we originally posted in the month she passed. It's a heartfelt chance to get to know this talented and incredible woman, whose life was tragically cut short. We hope you feel inspired and connected through her story. The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT. Executive Producer Kristin Overn ...
Sometimes, dreams really do come true! We're thrilled to have with us the amazing Jerry Zucker, who, alongside his brother David and their friend Jim Abrahams, played a huge part in transforming comedy in the 1980s. Together, they brought a fresh and hilarious twist to the spoof movie genre with the legendary 1980 hit “Airplane,” which the American Film Institute recognized as one of the ten funniest films ever made. Before that, the Zuckers and Abrahams wrote the cult classic, "Kentucky Frie...
Happy Halloween!! Hang out with Sandy, Terry, and special guest screenwriter Mark Steen as they recap "Ghost and Mr. Chicken," starring Don Knotts from "The Andy Griffith Show" fame. Directed by Alan Rafkin and written by James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" is about a timid typesetter who hasn't a ghost of a chance of becoming a reporter - until he decides to solve a murder mystery and ends up spending a fright-filled night in a haunted house. You do...
Rewind Episode -- British screenwriter Ian Mackintosh’s plane went missing on July 7, 1979, nineteen days before his thirty-ninth birthday, over the Gulf of Alaska. What happened remains a mystery. Join us as we tell the story of Lieutenant Commander Hamish Ian Mackintosh, a British Royal Navy officer, a writer of thriller novels, and a screenwriter for British television. Ian’s series, THE SANDBAGGERS, was groundbreaking. The New York Times said, "the best spy series in television hi...
Rewind Episode: Join Sandy and Terry for a fun chat about how a short story from a dime store magazine turned into one of Hollywood's most talked-about films and the fifth-highest-grossing movie of 1954. The film REAR WINDOW, featuring stars like Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, and Thelma Ritter, was written by John Michael Hayes and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS HANGOUT. Executive Producer Kristin Overn C...